From "Marketing Energizer Ezine For Consultants
And Other Independent Service Professionals" Issue 98
Excited and inspired by our two-day MasterMind group meeting,
we share with you the high-energy marketing ideas that
grabbed us and won’t let go.
In this article you'll discover:
- an engaging tactic that could prompt new business
from your clients (You'll find it in the "How-Not-To-Be-Boring
Department") plus
- two quantum-leap strategies.
"The How-Not-To-Be-Boring Department"
During a short break in our MasterMind meeting we overheard
a business owner negotiate over the phone with an actor to become
the voice of a leprechaun.
His plan: to entertain 220 clients with a 30-
second message from a leprechaun.
And this is important - he arranged a series of 3
encounters in 3 media (email, phone, and fax).
Here’s how the sequence goes:
First, his clients get an email from Ivar Quigley the
staff lebrechaun.
Second, they hear a voice broadcast on St. Patrick’s
Day from Ivar.
Third, they receive a fax in Ivar’s handwriting
the day after St. Patrick’s Day, telling them about the
parade.
Will he get their attention? Yes.
Will they listen to the message? Yes.
Will they laugh? Most will.
Will they talk to others about the call?
Probably.
Will they respond to his offer?
We don’t know yet until the results are in. Those marketing
geniuses, his clients, haven’t weighed in yet. We'll let
you know their verdict.
The actor’s fee is $350 -- in the businessman’s
market a cost-effective investment.
What can YOU do so that you're lively and appealing? So
that you're NOT dull and lifeless?
It’s too late for St. Patrick’s Day, but you’re
always just in time to arrange for the next occasion. Sign up
for the Oriental Trading Company catalog for a mountain of ideas
for events, holidays, and
moments to plan on and for eye-catching items to send.
Have Fun; Amuse Your Prospects
One more thing: Notice that this caper went to the businessman’s
clients. And he tells me his clients are super responsive to
new offers.
Could it be because he charms them and courts them with attention?
Strategic Question: How much new business would
you win by paying more attention to your clients?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Warning: What follows, "The Billionaire
Mind Set," isn’t for everyone. It’s only
for independent service professionals who are ready and willing
to let go of ordinary opportunities and grab the extraordinary.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The Billionaire Mind Set: “Go Big Or Go Home!”
The words are Donald Trump’s from his reality show “The
Apprentice.”
Think of Donald Trump and his larger-than-life personality
and his HUGE projects.
And, in contrast, look at Oprah and the fears that
are tying up her potential and shutting down her opportunities.
If you are a guest on the Oprah show, we learned, you are
required to sign a form saying that you will not mention her
name or the fact you were her guest. No more “As Seen On
Oprah!”
So what does this have to do with you?
Recently, we wrote an article that urged, "Think like
a billionaire!” To us that means to:
Concentrate your resources (your time, money, and people)
on those things that will make the most difference in
getting the results you’re after . . . above all, to be
strategic.”
So here's your Billionaire Mind Set Question:
As a professional, do you reach high enough? Or do you “stay
home?”
Talented professionals can let their versatility work against
them. Let us explain . . .
You may see many areas where you can affect change in your
client’s lives.
Some may be high-gain; others are small-change where you’re
lost in a cluster of people doing the same thing.
Or you may be dealing with a problem that’s not truly
important enough to rivet the attention of your particular clients
and prospects.
You may offer a service that could be a blockbuster . . .
if only you developed it more fully and marketed it imaginatively.
As it is, it becomes just another pebble in your “pond.”
The big opportunities in your professional practice may
go untapped as you hang onto your usual way of doing business.
You may continue to focus on the lesser opportunities and
handle them better and better while the big ones slip from your
grasp.
Real-Life Example #1 (We’ll call him Stan)
As an independent professional, Stan developed a powerful
and efficient system in his field (really a harsh competitive
field where
professionals are seen as a commodity). He pulled his business
out of this commodity swamp by offering uncommon personal service
to a niche.
And, yes, he reaped awesome profit margins.
Looking ahead, Stan saw the next big opportunity for his
business in marketing. Not in finding yet more ways to tighten
the slack in his system.
And you? Do you recognize marketing as a strategic opportunity
for your business?
Do you make the shift? Do you hang on to implementing the
details of your professional practice or do you train someone
else to carry out the day-to-day work so that you can concentrate
on the marketing?
Real-Life Example #2 (Let's call him Richard)
Richard provides a service at a modest fee for a group of
clients. He makes an OK living by keeping on top of numerous
details and learning new marketing tricks.
He hustles to keep current clients happy and add a new client
or two each year.
By thinking BIG, though, he uncovered the potential to
make a giant leap . . . to leverage his contacts, experience,
and skills.
He envisioned adding new services and products to his business
to reach big players in their fields who would pay for the value
he’ll add to their businesses.
This new venture demands all the gumption and savvy Richard
possesses plus extra energy to make it happen.
He’s going for it!
There’s no guarantee it will pay off (He won’t know
for sure until the marketing geniuses in his target segment weigh
in), but he’s doing
his homework and taking the project forward one shrewd step at
a time.
And you? Do You Stay Home Or Go Big?
Do you hang in there with your current practice and implement
the details in a way that only you can do? (You’re good
at what you do!) Or do you turn over this familiar work to someone
you train and free yourself to start up the Bold New Program.
Are you stuck in the “Equal Opportunity” mind
set?
Do you see all opportunities as the same? Or can you separate
the opportunity that’s extraordinary from the run-of-the-mill
and RUN WITH IT
So where's your unique opportunity?
Maybe it's in full-speed-ahead marketing for the extraordinary
practice you’ve built. Could you find it in catching the
big
chance that’s inherent in the business you’ve created?
Wherever you discover it, go full speed ahead.
