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The Top Ten Things You Need to Know to Market Your Professional Services
By Leni Chauvin1. Know your craft. You can advertise and market your business until the cows come home, but your marketing efforts and marketing dollars will rarely pay off unless you know your craft There is absolutely no substitute for being able to deliver what you say you can deliver.
To do this, you've got to avail yourself of the best training you can get in your profession and not just hang out a shingle calling yourself a Professional _______ (fill in the blank). Read every book you can get your hands on, Take continuing education courses. Work with a mentor or a coach who has walked in your path before you and has achieved the type of success you want to achieve
2. Know whose business you're after. That means knowing who your ideal client is. The big/gest mistake I see solo professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners make is that they dilute their marketing efforts by going after "everybody's" business instead of honing in on the people whose business they are likely to get or actually want. If you are clear on who your ideal client is, you stand a far great chance of succeeding in your chosen field. Why? Because you have to name it before you can claim it!
3. Know who is going to make the buying decision. There is no big/ger. time waster in the world of business than marketing your services to someone who is not in the position to give you the go ahead.
There are only two things a savvy professional wants when it comes to getting business: a quick "yes," or an equally quick "no."
The quick "no" allows you to move on to greener pastures. "I don't know," " I have to talk to my supervisor," or "I'll pass it along to head office" can be deadly and a sure indication that you're not talking to the right person.
4. Know how to make the buying decision easier to potential customers and clients. That means offering them choices, choices, and more choices. Don't let their only choice be "yes or no." Let it be "which one?" To do that you'll need to offer your products and services in different ways. For example, you can offer different fee structures for your services depending on the duration of each appointment or you can offer volume discounts for buying more than one product at a time.
5. Know your ideal clients' pain. How are they suffering? What's missing for them? What do they need to make their lives or businesses better? Then you need to know how you can take that pain away from them and replace it with pleasure. Next you've got to know how to articulate how you can help them.
6. Know how to deliver your marketing message two ways: in a 30-second "talking billboard" and in a ten word or less 'teaser." Make these strong and powerful so your listener will ask "how do you do that?"
For example, here are a couple of my teasers: "I help ordinary people build extraordinary businesses." "I help professionals attract more clients and make more m.o.n.e.y." People always want to know how I can help *them* build an extraordinary business or attract more clients and make more m.o.n.e.y, too. By asking the question, they have given me permission to talk about my business and to market my services to them.
7. Know what is so special about you. People are always tuned to station WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) so you've got to be able to let them know why they should do business with you instead of your competitors. This is often referred to as your Unique Selling Proposition or USP.
8. Know what the features and benefits of your offering are. Does your product come in many colors? What are your hours? The house has three bedrooms and four baths. Those are your features.
Once you know what your features are, add the words "so that" to them and you'll have you're benefits. For example: The house has three bedrooms and four baths so that nobody in your family will have to stand in line for a bathroom and you'll all get out the door on time every morning.
9. Know who has your client. Who is also targeting the same market segment but in a noncompetitive way? You can make mutually beneficial strategic alliances with these people and you'll make more m.o.n.e.y together than you could alone. Think about everyone who is getting your ideal client's business and approach them to do some creative marketing together.
10. Know who you know. It is estimated that between 80 and 95 percent of business today comes from referrals. These referrals are coming from people who know, like, trust, and respect us: our overlapping and interconnected spheres of influence. In short, our various business and social networks. If you don't know who you know, how can you possibly have access to who *they* know?
Bottom Line: Be in the know if you want your business to grow!
About the Author:
Leni Chauvin, The Client Attraction Coach,™ helps small business owners and solo professionals move mountains. If you’re ready to attract more clients, make more money, and have more fun while you're doing it, you'll find TONS of free resources to help you at http://www.AttractClientsGalore.com