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SECRETS OF BUILDING AND MAINTAINING MARKETING MOMENTUM
By Charlie Cook
Some people seem to steadily increase their income while others just
make enough to pay the bills. What's the difference between the people who
make millions and the people who struggle all their lives to get
ahead?
If you want to attract more clients in order to build a more
profitable business you need three things. You need clear goals, knowledge of
how to market your business and a plan of action. Your marketing is like
the proverbial three-legged stool. To function effectively, all three legs
need to be solidly in place.
Without clear goals you won't move forward.
Without marketing knowledge you'll waste your time instead of pulling in
many more clients. Without a plan of action, your marketing won't get
done.
Setting Your Marketing Goals
Staying on track can be a struggle,
whether you are trying to stick to a diet or get your marketing in shape. How
can you get started and maintain your marketing momentum? What you need to
do is make a commitment to specific marketing goals.
Winners set both
large and small goals, and they put specific goals in writing. This last task
may sound superfluous but it can make a big difference to
your success.
One of my goals had been to write a book, a task
that seemed overwhelming. Of course, no one writes a book all at once,
they are written a page at a time. With a short-term goal of writing three to
five pages a week, I made steady progress, wrote three books and
have outlines for two more.
Take a piece of paper or fire up your word
processor and make a list of goals for yourself and your business. Include
both long and short-term objectives. When you write your objectives where
applicable include who, what and when.
The easiest way to get started
is by beginning with your long-term objectives and then getting more
specific. Ask yourself the following questions.
- What are your
five-year goals for your business?
- What are your marketing goals?
(They
could be skills, knowledge, new prospects or new
customers.)
Be as
specific as possible when answering these questions and defining your goals.
For example, you might say, "I want to have published eight training manuals,
be earning two thousand dollars a day and working less than 40 hours a
week in two years."
In addition to setting broad and long-term goals, you
need
to set small and short-term goals. Define your annual, monthly,
weekly and daily goals. Once you've got them down on paper, take a copy and
thumb tack it over your desk.
- What's a one-month marketing goal you can
accomplish?
- What's a one-week marketing goal you can
accomplish?
Some days you'll feel like you're on a treadmill
going nowhere and your long-term goals continue to be out of reach. When
this happens, try two things. First look at the list of what you've
accomplished in the last week, month and year. Second, with your larger goal
in mind, circle the next finite and easily completed objective on your list
and get going.
Every time you complete one of your objectives, no
matter
how small, you're that much closer to reaching your long-term
business goals. If you're writing a book, each page you write puts you that
much closer to your goal.
- Could you improve your marketing by
clarifying your long and short-term marketing goals?
When you have
clear goals and track your marketing accomplishments, it is easy to stay
motivated. As you make progress, revise your goals and you'll continually
improve your marketing and be more successful.
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2004 © In Mind
Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The author, Charlie Cook,
helps service professionals
and small business owners attract more clients
and be
more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing
Guide, '7
Steps to Grow Your Business' and the
'More Business' newsletter, full of
practical tips you can
use at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com
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