The top 7 marketing strategies for independent professionals on a budget
The top 7 marketing strategies for independent professionals on a budget
Now, these figures may seem staggering to the independent professional on a budget, but don't panic; there are lots of effective strategies you can utilize that will help you grow your business fast. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Identify your niche. One of the easiest ways to attract customers is to figure out which group of prospective customers you get your very best results for and go after them exclusively. Many professionals are afraid to do this claiming that they'll be leaving someone out, but many marketing experts agree that niche marketing as the easiest and fastest way to get business.
2. Position yourself as an expert. Why? Experts make more money and get more media attention and that's free advertising! Let's face it; it's easier to trust a specialist than a generalist who's trying to be everything to everyone. Once you've identified your niche, let the world know about how you can help.
Provide free information products, write articles and white papers about the problems your clients face and how they can solve them. Conduct workshops, seminars and tele-classes specifically geared towards helping your prospective customers and before long you'll be regarded as an expert in your field. And, while you're at it don't forget to, collect names, emails and addresses of prospects to keep filling your pipeline.
3. Develop ongoing relationships with complementary professionals and build your referral team. These are other professionals who sell non-competing services or products to the same niche customers you are targeting. For instance, my clients often need the services of bookkeepers, accountants and business attorneys. Likewise, they refer business to me. Here's a couple of other examples:
* Residential realtor, mortgage broker, real estate attorney, home improvement contractor, architect and interior designer.
* Commercial printer, copywriter, graphic designer
4. Institute a system to keep track of all of the people who are interested in your product or services, and find creative ways of keeping in touch with them on a regular basis. To start, go through your notes. Put together a list of all of the people you've spoken to in the last 6-9 months who've showed interest in you but haven't become paying customers.
Follow up with them in a variety of ways: call them to touch base, use email, ask them to subscribe to a newsletter, send them interesting articles, or invite them to join you at events. It takes numerous impressions to make the sale; that's why you see commercials on TV over and over again for the same products. By keeping track of all of the people who've showed interest and keeping your business on their radar screen you'll turn more of them into paying customers.
5. Let your satisfied customers help you sell your products or services. Here are a couple of ways to do this:
* Ask them for referrals - right away (if you were a car salesman you wouldn't wait for the new car to get dirty and dented!)
* Ask them to write testimonials for you, (also right away) and compile a list of testimonials to use in your all of your marketing collateral.
6. Create a marketing calendar and keep to it consistently. Scheduling marketing activities that take place weekly, bi monthly, monthly and quarterly will help you to avoid the feast or famine syndrome that most independent professionals fall prey to. And, by doing so, marketing will become easier since it becomes a regular part of your business life.
7. Identify innovative ways to get more business from existing customers. It's much easier to get business from customers who are already happy with your services or products. So develop additional services or products to keep customers coming back for more.
The top 7 marketing strategies for independent professionals on a budget - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Martin's Website.
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American companies spend billions of dollars each year on marketing. As a matter of fact, in 2001, U.S. advertising expenditures alone topped $230 billion, more than doubling the $105.97 billion spent in 1980. (Source: "Advertising: Exposure and Statistics" November 2003 newsletter of the Media Education Foundation)
Now, these figures may seem staggering to the independent professional on a budget, but don't panic; there are lots of effective strategies you can utilize that will help you grow your business fast. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Identify your niche. One of the easiest ways to attract customers is to figure out which group of prospective customers you get your very best results for and go after them exclusively. Many professionals are afraid to do this claiming that they'll be leaving someone out, but many marketing experts agree that niche marketing as the easiest and fastest way to get business.
2. Position yourself as an expert. Why? Experts make more money and get more media attention and that's free advertising! Let's face it; it's easier to trust a specialist than a generalist who's trying to be everything to everyone. Once you've identified your niche, let the world know about how you can help.
Provide free information products, write articles and white papers about the problems your clients face and how they can solve them. Conduct workshops, seminars and tele-classes specifically geared towards helping your prospective customers and before long you'll be regarded as an expert in your field. And, while you're at it don't forget to, collect names, emails and addresses of prospects to keep filling your pipeline.
3. Develop ongoing relationships with complementary professionals and build your referral team. These are other professionals who sell non-competing services or products to the same niche customers you are targeting. For instance, my clients often need the services of bookkeepers, accountants and business attorneys. Likewise, they refer business to me. Here's a couple of other examples:
* Residential realtor, mortgage broker, real estate attorney, home improvement contractor, architect and interior designer.
* Commercial printer, copywriter, graphic designer
4. Institute a system to keep track of all of the people who are interested in your product or services, and find creative ways of keeping in touch with them on a regular basis. To start, go through your notes. Put together a list of all of the people you've spoken to in the last 6-9 months who've showed interest in you but haven't become paying customers.
Follow up with them in a variety of ways: call them to touch base, use email, ask them to subscribe to a newsletter, send them interesting articles, or invite them to join you at events. It takes numerous impressions to make the sale; that's why you see commercials on TV over and over again for the same products. By keeping track of all of the people who've showed interest and keeping your business on their radar screen you'll turn more of them into paying customers.
5. Let your satisfied customers help you sell your products or services. Here are a couple of ways to do this:
* Ask them for referrals - right away (if you were a car salesman you wouldn't wait for the new car to get dirty and dented!)
* Ask them to write testimonials for you, (also right away) and compile a list of testimonials to use in your all of your marketing collateral.
6. Create a marketing calendar and keep to it consistently. Scheduling marketing activities that take place weekly, bi monthly, monthly and quarterly will help you to avoid the feast or famine syndrome that most independent professionals fall prey to. And, by doing so, marketing will become easier since it becomes a regular part of your business life.
7. Identify innovative ways to get more business from existing customers. It's much easier to get business from customers who are already happy with your services or products. So develop additional services or products to keep customers coming back for more.
The top 7 marketing strategies for independent professionals on a budget - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Martin's Website.
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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