Marketing Autopilot
To Attract Prospects Now And When
You Don't Have Time To Market

copyright 1998-2002 by Bob and Shirley Hanson

Would it be helpful to have a marketing pillar in place working for you even during those heady times when every day is crowded with clients?

How valuable would it be to draw in prospects continually so you can stop worrying about where your next good client is coming from?

That's "Marketing Autopilot!"

It's simple.

It's proven.

It requires only a little of your own time because you've systemized the details, and it allows you to leverage time you have already invested in your marketing.

And you'll enjoy the results!

It delivers a steady flow of good prospects.

And when you have a procession of good prospects, you can choose the jobs and clients you find most challenging and rewarding.

And you can drop those demanding clients who drain all the fun out of your work.

When you're really busy, it's especially tempting to forget about marketing. Who needs it then? You do, if you want to bring your ideal consulting practice into reality.

A word of warning: Marketing autopilot is not an option if you engage in marketing in fits and starts...now and then...perhaps only when you're up against the wall with a huge gap in your schedule and you need clients fast.

It could be building strategic "partnerships," seeking referrals, sending articles or a newsletter to prime prospects, networking, or another marketing tool.

Once you've chosen a favorite marketing tool, test it. Try something out and track the results. Extract every bit of learning from your test. Refine your marketing to reflect what you've discovered.

And, then, engage in another test to improve it even more. And keep testing.

When you have improved your marketing tool until it brings you the returns you want, devise a system to keep it going even when your time is fully booked. And act on your system. That's a key to lifting your business to the next level.

And remember you don't have to engage in the process alone. You can find an individual, a service, or someone else in your firm to carry it out entirely or take care of the details only.

The next three Power Points direct you to profitable candidates for marketing autopilot.

One marketing pillar we'd like to suggest is strategic relationships. Begin the process with three questions:

1. Whom do I know who is positioned with my market?

2. Who contacts them regularly?

3. Who in this group is NOT competitive with me?

Then, think through an arrangement with these individuals that will be valuable for you and your "partner." You want referrals or contacts. Figure out what they want. When you sit down with them, illustrate in full color what they will get out of the relationship.

A rewarding relationship can last a long time, so it's worth putting in the effort up front to make it happen. A consultant we know has this tool perfected with five or six strategic "partnerships" in place at all times. And he has a system for continually seeking and building relationships, so that when one peters out, he has someone else waiting in the wings to take over.

The outcome for him is a full schedule year after year at his price.

After all, you already put in the time to attract your clients. If your assistance made them happy, they are your cheering fans.

We're sure you can think of many ways to approach them. A simple one is to write a thank-you note. Handwritten is best because it is so rare today. If you have a large client list, divide it into segments. Express appreciation in a sincere way, and wait for the results.

A word of warning: For this to work, sincerity is a must.

Current projects may be keeping you so busy that you haven't contacted anyone on your prospect list for a long time. You, however, have put effort into accumulating the names.

How can you effortlessly (almost) capitalize on your list?

One way is to send them an article that addresses their needs. It may or may not have anything to do with your services. Send a copy to each prospect along with a short note or (to save time) a post-it note from you.

Then, be alert for a second article...and another. Send something of value at least every 90 days, or more often if you can.

Tips to put this technique on marketing autopilot: You can turn over to someone else the responsibility of implementing for you. Your job becomes simply discovering valuable articles and uncovering prospects to add to your list. When you have time, you follow up with phone calls as a bridge to convert prospects to clients. Or as part of your marketing autopilot system, you can find someone else to make the phone calls.

The five Power Points will start you off on marketing autopilot. Once you are prepared, very little effort is required to keep your marketing technique tuned up and running smoothly. And you'll keep the prospects coming even when you are too busy to market.

The autopilot system give you more choices:

• You can "fire" a client who hassles you.
• If you count on brokers to get work, you'll find you are relying on them less and less.
• And you'll be happier as your work days fill up with more and more A+, or ideal, clients.

Discover how you can end poor results and get on track for more clients...