There are two things that I commonly hear from my marketing clients. The first is that they don’t have enough clients - they are struggling to keep their sales pipeline full. Often they are so busy one month that they don’t take the time to market themselves and as a result, their business declines drastically.

The second problem is one of capacity. In this situation, my client has a steady stream of business but feels overwhelmed, exhausted, and stressed. If you fall into either one of these scenarios, rest assured that you are not alone. There are many entrepreneurs who are in the same boat. The good news is that there are solutions you can incorporate into your business to solve either of these problems. The answer to this problem involves creating systems - these systems leverage your time and your knowledge. By doing this, you can attract an ongoing flow of clients into your pipeline and serve more of them with less effort. Here are tips to help you systemize your business:

1) Delegate, delegate, delegate: Are you still doing your own books, running your own errands, or organizing your own files? If so, ask yourself, “Is this activity my highest pay-off business activity?” Or is there something else you could be doing with your time to bring revenue into your company? Be ruthless with your time and delegate the busy work to an assistant. You can also outsource to graphic designers, copywriters, bookkeepers, and website programmers to save you money, time, and energy.

2) Document your processes: Take the time to write down the specific way your company does things. You should have a specific method for closing sales, storing your files, developing proposals, pricing your services, and communicating with your clients. By creating “How-to Guides” for all of these activities, you begin to standardize these processes. This makes it easy for an assistant or other person to step in and take over these tasks. It also makes it easier for you to repeat and refine these actions so that they improve over time. When systems work, they will lead to the same positive results over and over.

3) Cluster your activities: It takes a lot of energy to switch gears. And when you switch gears constantly, you lose time and money. Therefore, the best solution is to be ruthless with your time. Group like activities together and then create a schedule on your calendar and stick to it. For instance, if you know that a high payoff activity for you is to make phone calls to your clients, then set aside blocks of time to do this each day or each week. During this time, do NOT answer e-mails or begin other project work. Commit to these activities and follow through without fail.

4) Put it on autopilot: Look at your business to see if there are any activities that you can automate. For instance, when people sign up for your ezine, you can set up an autoresponder to thank them. Another example is placing a page on your website that answers all of the questions your prospects typically ask. You can direct people to this page instead of spending time on the phone answering the same questions.

By creating systems for your company, you’ll have more time to do the things you enjoy and the ones that bring in revenue. Instead of spending your day scrambling to get your daily tasks completed, you’ll be able to focus on the high payoff activities that will make your company more successful. You’ll also be able to reap the rewards of having more time to market your company leading to a steady stream of clients. Begin the systemization process today and you’ll enjoy the rewards for years to come.

Maven Action Tip: Start by making a list of your daily activities. Just keep a piece of paper next to your desk for a week and make a note of every task that you do and how long you are spending on it. Once you’ve done this for a week, notice how much time you are spending on technical (busywork) aspects of your business and how much on business-building activities. Then add to this list everything that is not getting accomplished because you don’t have enough time. Once you have this list completed, begin to develop strategies to delegate, document, cluster, and automate.

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Wendy Maynard, the Marketing Maven, publishes the Maven Marketing Ezine, featuring marketing strategies for business owners, marketing professionals, and entrepreneurs. If you’re ready to learn the best techniques to market your company, sign up now at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/ezine_3.html

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There are a lot of scammers on the Internet who promise the moon and the stars from Internet Marketing. They tell you that you can become a Millionaire in just a few weeks by promoting their products while you lie on the beach.The problem is that it just isn’t true. These shysters are misleading people and it makes me MAD!

Unfortunately, some of my clients come to me with the idea that they can just set up an affiliate site and watch the dollars pour in. I wish it was that easy! But alas, an Internet business - whether it sells your own products or someone else’s - still relies on the basic premises of tried and true marketing strategies.

While the Internet DOES have incredible power to help companies leverage their time and services, it is still fundamentally just like any other business. You establish a brand, a niche, and you target an audience. And then you begin to build relationships with them. It requires patience and an approach that will engage your site visitors and entice them with a compelling offer that is of VALUE to them!

Hugs and success,

Wendy Maynard
your friendly marketing maven

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Is there something that your company does that is just a little bit different than the norm? If so, then use this as a marketing tool to help differentiate you from your competitors.

For example, Mollet Printing in Portland, Oregon uses a SmartCar for all of its deliveries. The SmartCar gets 60 mph and is very cute as you can see from the picture. So Mollet features a picture of the car on the home page of their website with a link to more information about their commitment to Reducing Their Carbon Footprint.

Don’t you love how the photograph of the car is positioned right in front of their sign, reinforcing their brand - clever, clever, clever!

They also highlight the fact that their company is committed to environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable print production with environmentally-friendly paper, ink and paper recycling programs, and vegetable-based, non-toxic inks. In addition to helping our planet, the great thing about highlighting the company’s commitment to the environment is that it can sway someone to try them for the first time because it differentiates them from their competitors who do not do these things. It also helps reinforce the commitment of their existing customers commitment to them and creates stronger loyalty.

Are there things that set your company apart? If so, then incorporate them as part of your marketing efforts - put them on your website, in your brochures and send out press releases. If just might make the difference in getting your next prospect to choose YOU.

Hugs and success, Wendy Maynard
Your friendly marketing maven

P.S. For those of you in the Portland area, we use this company for some of our clients’ printing and they are great to work with!

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Are you harnessing all of the power of the Internet as a marketing tool?

The Internet really is like a big net or spider web with billions of connections all crisscrossing in every direction you can imagine between websites. Your task is to make sure you have a number of these paths leading back to your website or blog. Imagine a bicycle wheel with the hub in the middle and the spokes radiating out from it. Your website/blog is the hub and the spokes are the many different ways to drive people to you.

And some powerful traffic drivers that you may not have considered are the social networking sites. MySpace is not just for teenagers and Facebook is not just for college students. There are many celebrities, politicians, and business professionals who are leveraging the traffic that these types of sites can bring.

For example, look at the websites of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain. If you scroll to the bottom of these pages, you’ll see that they all have links to their MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube pages as well as some links to other social networking sites such as LinkedIn (which by the way, I also highly recommend). These politician hire the savviest marketing strategists that they can find to orchestrate their campaigns. If they are all using the social networking sites to drive traffic, you can place a sure bet on these strategies as being very effective.

Here are some examples to show you how a business professional might set up their page on MySpace in a way that helps them sell products/services, build their subscriber list, and get people to take action:

Cesar Milan, Dog Whisperer on MySpace features prominent links back to his main website as well as his DVDs and other products.

Barbara Boxer, US Senator on MySpace has a bio on the senator and her policies, as well as links to donate to her campaign, to sign up to volunteer, and to take action on bills and causes that she is promoting.

Robert Kiyosaki, Author on MySpace created a MySpace page with links back to his catalog, speaking events, latest book, and a link to find out more about his Insiders School.

There is a debate among entrepreneurs, bloggers, and columnists as to whether MySpace and Facebook are worthwhile to businesses that are not trying to reach people 18-28.

In my opinion, it is worth the few hours it takes for your or your assistant to set up. These social sites have tons of traffic and they are one more path to lead people to your website.

Hugs and success, Wendy Maynard

P.S. Here is a link to my MySpace page (it’s still a work in progress!): http://www.myspace.com/wendymaynard

P.P.S. A friend of mine, Nancy Marmelejo, has written an ebook called Making MySpace Your Space for everything you every wanted to know about how to set up your profile.

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I am posting two videos on the evolution of marketing messages on the Web. Each is just under 5 minutes long.

The first is a video entitled Web 2.0…The Machine is Us/ing Us. It describes the evolution of messaging from the written word into the latest Internet form of Web 2.0.

The second celebrates the birth of web video - and more specifically vlogs (video web logs). The integration of YouTube to the Internet world allows anyone with a webcam to post their personal messages and stories on the Internet. The Internet has a Face is an “exploration of the content and purpose of Vlogs, as well as the networking and connectivity as users respond and reach out to each other within and beyond the YouTube website.” (from Digital Ethnography, Kansas State)

I dedicate this post especially to the Web Geeks among my readers.

Hugs and success, Wendy

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To get more new clients, master the art of a quality presentation. For many professionals (consultants, designers, architects, etc.) this is a key aspect of the sales cycle that can’t be ignored. A successful presenter is one who comes across as confident, creative, and convincing.

Here are some key features of a winning presentation:

1. Be prepared: Know your subject intimately. Be ready to answer questions and describe the benefits to your client in detail. Well in advance, brainstorm your client’s potential objections and have a solution prepared.

2. Create rapport: Don’t be so focused on the presentation that you forget to nurture the relationship you are building with your clients. As you are presenting,  continue the conversation with them. Your clients want to know more about you. This helps sell your ideas as much - if not more - than the concepts themselves.

3. Present by objectives: With each component that you present, explain its advantages and how it will help your clients achieve their specific goals.

4. Show one concept at a time: Don’t place all your cards on the table. Each idea deserves special attention. If a client looks at work before it’s formally presented, he or she may form negative opinions before hearing its merits.

5. Describe, then show: It’s important to take it slow, giving your audience time to absorb each concept. Explain the details of each idea BEFORE you display it.

6. Let ‘em hold it: Once you put something in someone’s hands, they begin to feel ownership. Let your client get involved in your creative process. Encourage questions and discussions.

7. Keep it simple: Keep your description direct, clear, and concise. Don’t oversell with long-winded explanations. Good ideas don’t need to be pushed.

8. Leave informed: Make sure you are clear on how you will move forward. You may have to be the one to say, “So, what are our next steps?” Your client may not have a definitive answer, so be prepared to define this what you mean by next steps. For example, you may suggest a specific date for a follow-up call or your next meeting.

Practice makes perfect. If you aren’t comfortable with making presentations, role-play with an associate or friend. You can also perform in front of a mirror. Observe your posture and mannerisms. Are you fidgeting? Do you maintain eye contact? Are you ready to persuade and make a call to action?

ACTION ITEM: Examine your presentation style by asking for a second opinion from someone you trust. This can be an associate, a mentor, or a supportive friend. It isn’t easy to do, but if you use this feedback to improve your skills, you will reap the rewards in all of your future presentations.

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As you may have noticed, lately I’ve been offering regular teleclasses. I have created classes on subjects that my subscribers and readers have requested to help you accelerate your marketing. The last two classes were on blogging and the next one (scroll down for details) is called “How a Niche Can Make You Rich.”

A week or so ago, I received a question from a subscriber asking, “Why should I pay for your teleclass on blogging when I can find so much information on the Internet for free?” Here is my answer:

I have spent over two years actively blogging, conducting research, growing my blog ranking, and regular readership. I packed what I have learned into two teleclasses (see below for details) to help you quickly achieve blogging success. Spending a little bit of money to get an info-packed session gives you a much better return on your investment! And here’s why…

Time is one of the MOST valuable assets you have and it is always a limited commodity. Spending hours on the Internet to learn about a topic is not the highest, best use of your time. For example, if you are worth $100/hour and it takes you five hours of research to gather “free” information instead of using that same time to generate revenue from your business, what is the real cost to you?

Anytime you can shortcut your time to reach success, go for it!

Hugs and success,
Wendy Maynard, Your Friendly Marketing Maven

A Niche Will Make You Rich Teleclass

You may think selling to the widest possible pool - trying to be all things to all people - is your best chance to succeed. Unfortunately, this approach is causing you to make less money and attract fewer customers. And by choosing a niche, you can be rich.

In this 60-minute Audio Class I will teach you how to:

• Strategically find a niche that is profitable.
• Set yourself apart from your competitors.
• Position yourself as an expert so that people flock to you for business.
• Develop lifetime customers who will buy from you again and again.
• Take advantage of your interests, passions, and differences.
• Find your target audience and the best ways to reach them.

TIME: Thursday, September 6th at 1:30 pm PST (2:30 pm MST, 3:30 pm CST, 4:30 PM EST)

SIGN UP: You can learn more and sign up here: http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/marketing_teleclass_niche.html

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