Nonprofits please note

Attention nonprofits: this used to be the last week you could credibly drop a mailing with a year- end donor ask. Now, you can go right up to Christmas, and beyond, with e-mail, Facebook and mobile. And well you should.

The End of E-Mail?

An executive at a large web services-providing company recently remarked to me, almost casually, that "E-mail is over." What he meant was, his company and all the other big players are focusing heavily on the future they see coming: content and messaging for mobile devices. E-mail from computer to computer? That's over and done with, in these guys' minds. Since we all eventually follow where they go, I'm just sending out a heads-up here.

A Time to Sell, A Time To Tell

It's Friday eve at a busy airport and I arrive breathlessly, hoping I'm not late and wishing for once my flight will be DELAYED so I won't miss it.
Racing to the departures board, I start frantically to search through eight screens of flights to find the gate and time for mine.
As I search for the New York flght, the whole &^%$* eight-screen display blinks, goes blank, then shifts to...a gorgeous photo mosaic of the city I am in.
Thanks, Chamber of Commerce! This is totally NOT what I need right now. I am angry and frustrated as precious seconds tick away and I await the departure data to return. By the time it does, I now suddenly hate the entire city of Chicago for doing this to me.

This is so how NOT to market. Here's the analogy to our real world lives: You have to know when people are coming to you (your website, your office, calling you) because they need information and guidance RIGHT NOW. And you have to know when they are in receptive mode for listening and responding to your "sell message." Fortunately this is easy to do. You just have to listen and observe for 30 seconds, and it's clear.

There's a time for everything - a time to sell, a time to listen, a time to advise. Consumer product companies and commodity-type services can get away with being in-your-face-all-the-time, but professional services and nonprofits cannot. We have to sit at a higher plane to earn the market's respect and attention. Know when it's time to sell and when it's time to tell.

What to Do Now

Reach out regularly to your referral sources, prospects, clients. Once a week if you can. No sell message, just a slice of you, however you choose to define that. They like/buy you because you are you. Just give them some you. By email, blog, mail, Facebook or Twitter. Just stay out there so you are on their minds.

How Can I Make Marketing Easy For Me To Do?

Step 1, as in the post below, is keep it simple and easy. Small pieces like emails, postcards, one-page snailmails.

Step 2 is to write just a few simple sentences about something timely,new, upcoming that you know and your prospects and clients/customers should know. 2-3 sentences, that's it. Enough to show them your marketing pieces have valuable information.

Step 3 is to invite them to contact you if they would like to know more. Or to pass the info on to their friends who need to know.

Step 4 is to do this at least once a month.

It's really that simple. Are you telling me there aren't 12 things a year you know that your clients don't? You wouldn't still be in business if that were the case.

What To Do & How - Why A Professional Service Is Different

You can market a product with clever or funny or gimmicky materials/messages.But when people hire a professional to do a service, they are buying a relationship with YOU. They need to trust you, see that you possess expertise, and value that expertise. Is anything about that funny or gimmicky?)

Last of all, they need to remember you -- because they may be hiring or referring you next month, when they need your services.

To tackle the last item first -- remembering -- you have to remember something yourself. To send out emails, postcards, letters, or something that works for you, on a regular basis. You can't do it once a year, or once a season, and hope they'll remember you when the time comes. They won't.

To win their trust and showcase your expertise, you have to send short emails, postcards, letters, etc not that SAY you are great, but that SHOW it. The way you do that is you showcase and share little bits of your knowledge.

What To Do - And How To Do It

To market and grow a smaller professional practice of any kind is different than marketing a product, or a bigger organization. It takes some smart thinking, to avoid spending too much or wasting what you spend. But I'm here to say it can be done.

It starts with understanding how you're different and what you need to do.
These are the questions that you have to ask, understand and answer in order to get something done. Future posts will take these questions on, one at a time.

1) Why do I have to market a professional service differently than a product?

2) Just how do I do that in a way that is easy, common sense and do-able for you?

3) Why do so many professionals seem to struggle when it comes to marketing, and is there an easier way?

4) How can professionals and service providers cut through the clutter to get noticed?

5) How can I do that on a recession-sized budget so it doesn't hurt financially?

6) How can I do something effective to accelerate growth - without spending a bundle on consultants, marketing agencies and other vendors?

7) What are the specific strategies I can use to make something happen with my practice growth?

Those are the questions. The answers will follow in this space over coming weeks...

Financial Advisors & Planners: Get Going

According to a recent nationwide study reported in the Wall Street Journal:

72% of retirement-savings plans contributors have NOT changed their level of contribution.
16% are contributing MORE.
Just 11% are contributing less.
25% plan to postpone retirement.

In other words, people need investment guidance as much or more than ever. BUT, just 25% have sought help from a financial pro.

So, that leaves 75% of the market still out there, waiting for you to find them.
Start reaching out to the ones you know/can find, sharing your advice and building the relationship that will lead to them becoming clients. All the indicators point to this being the right time to do it.

Try Something Now

If you've held back from marketing yourself or your business from fear that 'people aren't spending right now,' consider giving it a try. People seem anecdotally to me in a more positive mindset the last few weeks.

I remember back in the '90s recession, having a disagreement with someone over whether it was ok to feel like things were better. She said no - she was reading the news reports of layoffs (a trailing indicator). I said yes - from what I was seeing and experiencing around me. That time I was right.

I have the same feeling now. I don't think we are out of the woods. I think we are due for a second hit late this year. But it feels to me like a thaw for now, and this would be a good time to get out there and make that call or send that mailing. I am doing it. What do I, or you, have to lose?

Learn More About Marketing a Professional Practice

My website is a good place to start - resources, articles and more. www.MediaImpact.biz

Inspiration From An Unlikely Source, 2

"If you have some daily anguish from some cause that's not really your fault -- a rotten family, bad health, nowhere looks, serious money problems, nobody to help you, minority background, rejoice! These things are your fuel!" -- Helen Gurley Brown

What's Your Jetliner?

Boeing says despite "the economy" it will build a 737 jetliner a day. Experts say they can't/shouldn't. I say, setting an audacious goal is a great place to start the conversation.

Inspiration From An Unlikely Source

If the banks could get from where they were in December to what they're reporting now (if it's true), imagine what YOU could achieve in 3 months. Or pretend to have accomplished and get away with, which in life is often just as good.

Do You Have a Call List?

Are there five people you've been meaning to call because they could be business, a referral, or a helpful lead? Write down their names and numbers on a pad, and keep it out on your desk until you have called each one. At some point, you will get tired of having that piece of paper clutter your desk, and you'll get those calls made.

Marketing For Independent Professionals: It’s Wake–up Time... You can’t stop marketing in a recession. Here’s how to do it – even on a “tough times” budget.

I recently caught up with a college student I know. He’d graduated high school last year bursting with dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. How did he feel now, I wondered, after this year of global economic turmoil? As gung-ho as ever, it turned out. Excited, even. “In down times,” he told me, “there’s less to lose, more to gain – and less competition.” What a great attitude. Nothing beats being 19! How many of his parents’ generation of independent professionals and entrepreneurs wake up every morning feeling such optimism? Not enough of us, I fear. But really, folks, what good is despair going to do? And let’s not be distracted by the gloomy headlines about big companies shedding jobs. We’ve always known that stuff happens. We decided long ago we’d rather have our fates in our own hands. So what are those hands doing today? What have you done to market and find new clients?

It’s so easy to say, “No one’s buying,” or “I can’t afford to spend on marketing.” To dispel the first myth, I’ll point out that I am writing these words on a brand new computer. It is one of TWO new ones I now have. I really didn’t want to buy two new computers now – I had no choice. The lesson: somewhere, someone needs what you offer. Your job – and that person’s – is to find each other. Here’s how independent professionals can do that in 2009:

Job 1 : Stay visible. Maintain a good database of clients, prospects and referral sources. Use it often – and inexpensively – by sending simple emails, letters and postcards. Make phone calls. Attend networking and community events. Be top of mind with prospective buyers.

Job 2: Stay valuable. Use your mailings to showcase your expertise, not to tell the market-place you are great and they should hire you immediately. All those e-mails and mailings should serve up a little slice of your knowledge: a tip or suggestion, a small hint of what you provide to your clients, a re-minder that they – or someone they know – may need you, even now (just like I needed those new computers.) To get a quick idea of how to do this easily, visit my website, www.AwakenTheMarketer.com.

Job 3: Stay frugal. Keep these pieces simple, and low-cost. Two or three helpful sentences on your topic of expertise may seem superficial and “scratching the surface” to you. But to the marketplace, it’s insight. Don’t do any marketing that costs major time or money. Just get some ideas out in an email or postcard or letter! As you gain confidence in this system, expand it by developing your website similarly, sharing bits of your expertise on it. Then widen the approach to social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and blogging.

Don’t wait for “good times” to return – do something good with your time today to make something happen.

Welcome