Follow Up Marketing Experts Blog

Buddy and Fancy, The Follow Up Marketing Cats want a tribe.

Report on Thomas Dos is he is better today.  He is still eating and drinking and a little more social.  We will keep you posted.

The Follow Up Marketing cats have posted many ideas that you can use in your business.  However, not everyone that gets this blog is a business owner.  We are hoping to get a few more people as part of our Tribe.  If you are a business owner and like the ideas we post, please sign up for a email notification in the upper right hand corner.

Tomorrow we sit down with our Master's son and discuss his business and what needs to be done.  Goals are on the agenda.  We are doing monthly, quarterly and yearly plus long term goals as well.  Do you have your goals written down?  If not, it is time to do this.  As cats, we have our goals.  Daily we try to catch the red dot, eat and drink and play.  Yours should be more detailed since you are a business owner.

If you have others that can help you, ask them.  It is always more fun to do this with others.

Some suggestions might be:

1.  Goal for your weekly income both net and gross

2.  Goal for the number of new clients or customers

3.  Goal for the number of repeat clients or customers

4.  Goal for the number of referrals you will get from clients or customers

Please share any ideas you have on Goals.  This is such an important part of your business and will mean the difference between success and failure.

Ok, back to catching the red dot...my goal for the day!  Meow and Purrs!

Thomas Dos, The Follow Up Marketing Cat - Is having a bad day.

I, Fancy, am writing this post for Thomas Dos because he is having a bad day.  The stones are kicking up again.  We will see what happens. 

I am going to try to think of something cheery since we need that around here.  I am trying to think as I watch Buddy chase the red dot around the floor.  Why does he like that red dot so much!  I guess it gives him exercise and he enjoys it.  Are you chasing a red dot and just can’t reach it?

A red dot could be something you really want.  It might be a new car, new job, new body etc.   What is the best way to catch the red dot?  From what I have heard, if you write something down you have tons more chances of achieving it.  This is really important for any business.  This is one mistake that my master’s son made in his business and now he has to regroup and practically start over.  This will be done this evening in a board meeting and we will see what happens.

So, if you don't have goals for your business, perhaps you should get a pad and pen and start writing down what you want to accomplish in 5 years, 3 years and this coming year.  After that, you can break down the steps that it will take to reach that goal.  The more you break down the steps, the better chance you will have of achieving them.

This should be based on a niche.  Maybe it is doing landscape work in Johnstown, CO.  Once you know your niche, it is easy to put together your goals.  Be sure these goals are very specific.  The more specific you are the better.  Small steps are easy to accomplish and will probably get done.  Big chunks look like mountains and may never get done.  So get the pen and paper and start writing down the goals that you want to accomplish.  We will be doing this tonight.  I will try not to purr too loud or be too much of a problem but sometimes I just can't help myself.

Until tomorrow, Meow and Purrs!

Again, remember to sign up for this blog.  Just put your email in the box at the top of the page to receive some great meow topics on marketing.  Marketing just gets under my fur!

Also, if you want any advice about marketing, you can click on the business card at the top right hand corner to reach my master...and me!  We love to help small businesses!

12 Highly Effective New Year's GOALS!Kim Garst - Social Media Strategist, Personal Branding Specialist, Social Media Training, Social Media Coaching | KimGarst.com

via kimgarst.com

What is your Mindset?

 By Pam Lutey

According to the dictionary, Mindset is your mental attitude.  In other words, what you think about things.  If you set your mind to do something it will most times come true.  You set your sites and goals in the direction you want to go.  Suppose you want to get an A on a test.  You set your mind to thinking that you already have achieved that goal and most times it will happen.  You study your lesson and know it very well.  With your mindset on achieving an A, and knowing what you do, most of the time you will achieve it.  If you want to be a great swimmer, you set your mind to thinking you are a great swimmer and with lots of practice and determination, you will become a great swimmer.  If you study successful athletes, you will find that most see themselves already winning.  They practice until they are the very best, but their mindset sees them as already winning.  Think about Tiger Woods.  Did he just become a great golfer?  No, he practiced and practiced and had a winning mindset.  You will find that all great people have a winning mindset. 

The number one businesses set their goals and then go after them.  Their minds are on achieving that goal.  They set up steps to reach it.  They continue to do these steps until the goal is obtained. 

Usually in January or perhaps August, we think about our goals again.  We sit down with a pad and paper and jot down what we would like to accomplish.  Some people have a goals book.  Some people put each goal on a 3 x5 index card and review them each day.  Whatever works for you is what you should use.  Many times we do this and don't review them daily and guess what....most of the time they don't get done. 

I am starting this book with this chapter because this is what the top 1% of business owners do and guess what, that is why they are number one.  If you want to be #1 or just want to accomplish a certain goal, simply write it down and look at it daily. 

Ask yourself the following questions.  What is your life purpose?  Are you doing what you truly are passionate about?  The top 1% of businesses are passionate about their business and love going to work each day.  If you are not passionate about what you are doing, you might want to rethink it.  Think about what you are truly interested in doing.  This is probably your passion and if you can gear your life’s work in that direction, you have a very good chance of being in the top 1%.

 

Do you have goals?   Are they written down?  If not, start a list of goals you would like to do over your lifetime.  Keep these in a book or on a list and review this list twice daily.  Keeping goals in front of you on paper will increase your chances of achieving them

.

Do you believe in what you do?  Pick a niche that you are really interested in and can promote 100%.  If you don’t believe in your business your customers won’t either.

 

Vow to never give up. Be Persistent.

 

How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Mid-Year Quarterly Marketing Makeover

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June 1st, 2010

Guest Post From Adam Urbanski, The Millionaire Marketing Mentor

In just 30 days the first half of 2010 will be over. Are you on track for hitting all your business goals for the year? If YES – congratulations. If not, now is a great time to review and modify your marketing action plan.

A quick check-up of your marketing strategies and promotional efforts can reveal “weak spots” and help identify what needs tweaking to give your business a healthy boost and put you back on a success track. In fact, this one activity is so important, I recommend you do it at least quarterly!

Here are five key areas to focus on with your quarterly marketing makeover.

1. Clarify Your Objectives (some prefer to call it goals)

Are you clear on where want to end up? If you think this has nothing to do with marketing, think again! You cannot design and implement effective strategies unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish.

If you are looking for a magic formula to give your business a boost here is a tip: there is nothing more powerful than writing down your objectives.

Your ability to clearly articulate – in writing – what you want to achieve exponentially increases your chances of getting it!

2. Makeover Your Business Model

Many of my clients paint themselves into a “limited-revenue corner” by structuring their businesses in a wrong way. No matter how hard they work and try, they can’t seem to be able to make more money and just end up being more frustrated.

Take Debra for example. She is a successful small business consultant. Her well developed lead generating process attracts enough clients to actually make them wait a few weeks before she can start working with them. But she still makes only half the money she wants to make. Let me explain…

You see, Debra’s business model is to deliver her services using one on one engagements and she can only handle about 15 clients at a time. With her average monthly client value approaching $1,500 she’s right on target to make just over $250,000.00 this year. But what she wants is $500,000.

Can you see the problem?

Chances are in some way, you might have a similar challenge: your current business model is incapable of producing the results you want.

What’s the solution? Here are a few ideas:

• Diversify your product/service offering. Analyze your clients’ needs and look for new ways to serve them. (Hint: you do not have to deliver all the solutions yourself; form strategic alliances instead).
• Find new ways to work with clients. If you only work with people using one-on-one format, start offering group programs. Develop tele-seminars or live workshops. You’ll actually be able to attract more clients and exponentially increase your earnings.
• Multiply yourself. If you already have a successful service business and a lot of happy customers, chances are you are following a proven process. Bring in other professionals (junior partners) who can be trained to deliver your process to clients who are not willing to pay your fee but will settle for working with your associate at a discounted rate.
• Develop info products. There is no better way to leverage your knowledge than turning it into passive streams of revenue. If you are not regularly putting out new products, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to boost your bottom line.

3. Makeover Your Lead Generating Systems.

How many ways are you generating new leads? Do you have at least three to five lead generating vehicles that are consistent and automated?

Too many businesses don’t understand the lead generating process and depend on vague methods of getting new clients, like word-of-mouth and networking. Not having structured and easy to duplicate system to attract attention and turn it into sales is a sure pathway to a total disaster.

• If you need clients fast consider direct mail, fax broadcasting, narrowly focused direct-response advertising, and strategic alliances. Also, ask your current clients for referrals and, don’t forget the big one, reactivate your past clients!
• To ensure long term positioning and visibility in your market place focus on publicity, getting speaking engagements, and writing and publishing articles.

4. Makeover Your Follow-Up.

Are you keeping in touch with your clients and prospects? Do you have a way to automatically connect with them at least monthly? If not, you are only getting about 20% of the money you could be making!

Most people give up following up after just three attempts. Most prospects don’t make a buying decision until they’ve been exposed to your marketing message at least five times? See a problem here?

If you are not doing it yet, start an online or offline newsletter. Create a monthly postcard program. Regularly send out information you come across that your audience would benefit from.

Use technology to automate your follow-up. Online use sequential autoresponders that can be put on total auto-pilot. Offline use fax and voice broadcasting technology, or even simple postcards to leverage your time and connect with people quickly, meaningfully and affordably.

5. Makeover Your Marketing Assets.

We all have a limited amount of time, and if you are spending it all working with clients you are not creating long-term leverage. Every week schedule time to create marketing assets that work for you.

• Give your marketing materials a quick look-over. Are your business cards, websites, and brochures consistently communicating the right marketing message? Are they written in a lively, persuasive and client-relevant language or are you still insisting on telling your prospects your company’s history, vision and mission statement thinking they actually care?
• Continually build your credibility and positioning. Ask all clients for testimonials, develop new talks on your subject of expertise, and create information products.
• Develop tools and systems. Create checklists to make routine tasks easier to delegate. Develop and implement a few extra follow-up steps that can be automated or outsourced. Record your talks and teleseminars and turn them into Attraction Tools™.
• Invest in your own knowledge. Read more books, attend high-end training programs, purchase home-study courses, hire mentors to help you gain greater proficiency. Become a perpetual learner and always look for ways to transfer or implement your knowledge quickly.

Finally, keep this in mind: these are all simple things but combined they can make or break your business. That’s why I suggest you get busy giving your business a marketing makeover starting right now.

The author, Adam Urbanski, helps service professionals and business owners how to attract all the new clients they want, and how to develop marketing strategies to increase sales and profits. His website offers more how-to articles and free tips to create a winning marketing action plan at www.themarketingmentors.com.