Patience -- Give Your Marketing a Chance to Work
Frank Traditi
What does nearly every independent business owner tell you they wish for when marketing for new clients?
They wish it would happen faster.
Time is the enemy of a small business owner. I'm convinced that the day I chose to open my business, the clock moved at 1.5 times the speed I had been used to. All of a sudden, 90 minutes seemed to go by just as fast as an hour. Add that up over the months and you've bought yourself a new watch.
The unfortunate by-product of this new timepiece was the expectation that my marketing efforts would pay off just as fast. I was sorely mistaken and frustrated. I figured that since the marketing engine was in full throttle, prospects and clients would come running toward me. Why not? I see other companies doing it with excellent results.
Then the questions start to float around in my head:
• What am I doing wrong?
• Am I turning people off?
• Am I selling the wrong services at the wrong time?
• Do I need new marketing material?
• Does my marketing stink?
• Maybe I should go back to Corporate America?
Then I realized the question I should have been asking right from the start:
"Do I have the patience to make this successful?"
My mom will tell you that I was an impatient kid. I was always on the go and wanted to have things moving as fast as I was. She constantly told me to slow down. Now I know the reason why. It works.
Discovering the art of patience in marketing can be quite liberating. Practicing patience and persistence and consistently getting the word out about your business and services, will eventually payoff. However, the key word in tandem with patience is persistence.
Be persistent about delivering your message and marketing yourself. Tell people - lots of people - what you do, over and over again. The consistent visibility of your message motivates people to want to work with you. They see that you have something to offer that can solve their problem. Some people will call you right away and others will take longer.
Here's the simple math:
Patience + Persistence = Success (more clients)
How does one acquire this fine art of patience? You already know one answer -- it doesn't happen overnight. But you can focus on some key strategies and tactics that will significantly reduce the time it takes to build your marketing engine.
Have a simple marketing action plan
A daily focus on marketing yourself and your services are a must. This plan
lays out day-by-day and week-by-week your marketing activities. Phone calls,
emails, letters, faxes, networking meetings, lunches, and newsletters are
all ways to communicate your message to everyone who needs to hear it. By
doing this, you remove the anxiety built up doing something only once and
expecting big results.
Set up your budget accordingly
Know the limits of what you plan to spend dollar wise on your marketing
efforts. Also know that most good marketing does not cost an arm and a leg.
Word-of-mouth and referral marketing costs nothing. And it's the most effective
means of getting clients for any small business owner. Money issues can
implode a small business. Constantly think of how you would market yourself
if you had no budget.
Set short-term milestones
Set you up for accomplishing many milestones along the way. For
example, let's say your big goal is to get 100 contacts in your database.
The milestone checkpoints along the way are: researching networking events,
setting up a computer system, calling all of your personal contacts, talking
to at least 5 people at every event. Before you know it, you've got over
100 people in your contact database.
Celebrate small achievements often
Many of us don't take time to celebrate the small stuff. We want
the big stuff and we want it now. If it doesn't come, we get disappointed
and call ourselves a failure. Feed off of your small achievements. Celebrate
the fact that you went to a networking event and met 5 new people. Something
you may not have done before. Again, the additive effect of recognizing
small achievements are realized when prospects call you and say they were
referred by a friend.
Create your own personal sales force
Don't worry about hiring your own sales force -- create it through
your network. Expand your contact database everyday. Make them part of your
marketing team. Ask for referrals. Give back referrals. Teach them about
what you do so they can talk you up to their network. This is your personal
sales force. Is there a better way to shorten the timeframe to getting qualified
prospects and clients?
Give yourself some breathing room. Be patient with your marketing efforts. Persistence pays off with a good dose of patience. People will start to call. Prospects will make contact with you. New clients will come your way.
The rock band The Eagles said it best. . .
"Take it easy -- Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy."
Copyright © 2006, Frank Traditi
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