What's My Secret to Marketing Implementation? 3 Simple steps...

Guest Contributor: Shannon McCaffery
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I get asked this question a lot - and what they really want to know is how do I get so much accomplished for myself and my clients? I actually love this question because it really gets to the heart of people's frustrations with getting things done.
What is my secret?

Step 1 - Ask yourself these questions: What are you trying to accomplish in your business? What are your goals, long term, short term? If you're having trouble figuring out what your goals are, or what you want to accomplish in your business, it might be time do an overall marketing analysis. This is incredibly helpful because it gives a really good snapshot of where you are with your business, what's working, what's not, and what needs to change. It's all about gaining clarity and focus for your business. The more clear and focused you are about what you want to accomplish in your business, the easier it will be to do it.

Here are some questions that I use when I do a marketing analysis for my clients:

-Describe in detail what products and/or services you deliver.

-Who is your ideal customer? Describe them - what do they read, do they own a home, have a credit card, what are their hobbies, etc.

-Why would a customer choose you over your competitors or over not doing anything at all?

-What's working right now in your business?

-What's not working in your business?

-What would you like/need to do differently in your business to create more prospects/clients?

Once you answer these questions, you'll have a much better picture of where you are and what you need to do to increase your prospects/clients and in turn, increase your profits. The real key is to analyze your business, come away with some clear goals and direction, as well as figure out where your holes are in your business and what steps need to be taken to seal them up. I've done a number of these analysis' for my clients and the biggest takeaway is that I always find areas of lost or hidden money. Often times it just takes a few tweaks to turn the faucet of your sluggish business into the steady stream of a fire hose.

Step 2 - Take all your answers and create a plan of action together with your goals and how you will accomplish them in the next 6 months to a year.

Step 3 - Put your plan into action. These last two steps really seem to trip people up. The biggest part of this secret is you must take time to work on your business, to put a plan together. If you're a pilot flying a plane, you have to have a map and controls so you know where you're going, that's the same for any successful business. And the other crucial part is to simply take action! Remember you can't do it all yourself. It's time to find some good talented people who can help you. Promise me you'll stop doing it all yourself! Go find a good virtual assistant, copy writer, web master, transcriber, etc. I've found many talented people on guru.com or elance.com or craigslist.org. I also have a bunch of resources at my fingertips, including doing a marketing analysis for your business. I'm happy to help you, just send an email (info@marketingimplementer.com ). So, go take some action!