This blog post has been authored by Terri Levine, Heartrepreneur LLC
4 Easy Tricks to Gain More Clients
There are three major marketing mistakes I see with business owners. The first mistake is that business owners go it alone. They do not really have a proven marketing formula and have not spent years studying and testing marketing. Yet, they do not get any professional help and they keep trying different tactics and hoping something will actually stick. Or they get help from a self-proclaimed marketing “guru” or a course that doesn’t work. Are you making any of these mistakes?
The second marketing mistake is that most entrepreneurs and business owners do not really know the marketing fundamentals required to get qualified prospects, how to close prospects, and how to generate income. So, they keep trying things and spending money and time and energy on wasted sales and marketing that does not result in leads and income. Does this sound familiar?
The third marketing mistake business owners make is they really do not know what to do with their marketing so it doesn’t generate cash flow for them.
Be honest, are you making any of these mistakes?
I am curious, are you using any marketing strategies and tactics right now? Maybe an ad, brochure, postcard, flyer, website, webinar, podcast, blog, etc.?
Well, if that marketing piece does not follow the lead generation secrets, I’m about to reveal to you, that even most marketers and business strategists and consultants do not know, you probably won’t get results. It is not your fault. You have not learned the Conversion Equation.
Not only do you need to learn the Conversion Equation you must also learn how to apply it correctly. When you do, you will no longer compete on price. You will have more qualified prospects and your marketing and advertising effectiveness will typically increase more than 100 times. You will also convert more prospects and dramatically increase your sales.
I like to think of this system as a way to turn on your marketing faucet to always be able to control your marketing and turn up the faucet whenever you want more prospects.
Getting in Control of Your Marketing
Business owners typically make the first mistake because they really have no idea what marketing is supposed to do. Let me explain. The purpose of marketing is to capture the attention of your exact target market by relating to their “pain” or “problem”; then showing them that you have a solution to remove their pain or problem and that you are the only business who can do that; and finally lowering the risk of them engaging in the buying process while educating your qualified prospects regarding the value you offer.
When you market using the Conversion Equation and stop doing marketing wrong you will have more prospects and customers deciding to do business with you. I mean this. Regardless of price.
You may have heard that 96% of all small businesses fail within their first 5 years. In my experience these business owners fail because they lack expertise in lead generation. If you are doing marketing wrong, like almost all business owners, it is not your fault. Everything people are teaching about marketing is based on trying a lot of different tactics and hoping something will work. Instead, marketing must be done by having a proven system based on strategy then tactics. When you do your marketing the right way, the lead generation problem is fixed and your chances of having a successful and profitable business are greatly increased.
This distinction between strategic and tactical marketing is huge and is one that you need to be acutely aware of before I start talking to you about generating more leads. More about that, later. However, for now, understand that placing ads, sending out mailers, joining a networking group, attending tradeshows, implementing a prospecting follow up system and anything else you might currently be doing, is simply a tactic.
You must understand the strategic side of marketing. Strategic marketing is what you say in your marketing and how you say it. Strategy is always more important than the marketing medium or tactic you use.
Failure to make this distinction means your marketing will most likely fail. If you wonder why your marketing has not worked for you in the past, it most likely is not the fault of the marketing medium. Instead of blaming the tactic for failing, and saying that email does not work or Facebook ads do not work, etc., you need to look at what your strategic marketing message is. That is where you are typically making big mistakes. If your marketing isn’t getting you the results you want this is either because of poor strategy or poor tactical execution.
If you are like most business owners, a major marketing mistake you are making is using a lot of platitudes in your marketing. Platitudes are things like, “we have the lowest prices”, “we provide the best quality”, “we have great customer service”, “we have been in business 29 years”, “we have convenient parking”, “I am a bestselling author, etc.
Take a look at any of your current marketing. Is it filled with platitudes? This is a marketing mistake that is not at all your fault. Small business owners have been taught to believe platitudes are the correct way to market their businesses. Why? Most advertising including the Fortune 500 firms do their marketing this way. Think about the ads you see on TV or in magazines or on-line. They are filled with platitudes. When everyone has this type of marketing, prospects will buy from the business that offers the lowest price since all the businesses look exactly the same.
Check your marketing messages. If your marketing is based on platitudes you will forever need to compete on price.
I reveal this proven formula in great detail in my upcoming book, so you can actually apply the formula and generate more leads, close more sales, and make more income!
Terri Levine is a business strategist to struggling female business owners and helps them get an avalanche of qualified prospects using her proprietary HEART® method with a guaranteed 200% ROI or she pays you your investment back plus writes you a check for $5,000 if you fail.