Body builders may look like towers of power but few, if any, can play a sport. All that pumping iron builds muscle, but only a few people, such as NFL football players, are able to put to use more than 25% of the muscle they have. All that muscle looks impressive, but if all you can do with it is lift weights at the gym, what good is it?
It's the same with your marketing. You may be spending a lot of time and money bulking up your marketing and advertising or your website, but is there any correlation between marketing activity and results?
You could send out 20,000 brochures, spend $15,000 a month on advertising, or spend $250,000 on a web site, as one client did. You could bulk up your marketing with a lot of effort and big budgets without improving your marketing results.
You could be pumping iron with your marketing, lots of activity but not enough sales.
Take these five steps to make better use of the marketing muscle you have, attract new clients and increase your sales.
1. Set Goals for Your Business
The first question I ask people who call me about growing their business is what their goals are. I ask them how much revenue they want to generate in the next twelve months. Few have a specific number in mind. They just know that they want to make more money.
Of course you want to make more. Who doesn't? But in order to create a marketing plan that will get you where you want to go, you need a clear idea of your destination. Without a plan, you're planning to fail.
Set your revenue goals, for the year, the month and the week. Write these numbers down post them prominently so you see them every morning. With your destination in mind you can determine the best way to get there.
2. Set Lead Generation Goals
To achieve your revenue goals you're going to need to attract prospects, lots of them. Most businesses convert 1% to 10% of their prospects to clients and customers, even with excellent salespeople. You'll need to attract 10 to 100 prospects for every sale you'd like to generate.
Based on your revenue goals, determine your monthly sales targets and, in turn, the number of qualified prospects you need to attract. That number is your monthly lead generation goal. Write this number down next to your revenue goals.
3. Create a Lead Generation System
Imagine your prospect is Donald Trump or Meg Whitman, the CEO of eBay. What's your objective? You want these busy people who have a lot on their minds to contact you and buy from you.
It doesn't matter what you are selling or to whom you are selling. To attract prospects, they have to be motivated to contact you. You need a lead generation system that prompts them to call you, email you or stop by your showroom.
The lack of a simple and reliable lead generation system is the number one barrier to growing most small businesses.
4. Avoid Losing Potential Sales
On average, businesses of all sizes miss 80% of potential sales due to lack of follow-up. Most companies lack the simple marketing systems they need to capture these sales.
Once a prospect contacts you, you need a system for converting them to clients. And once you've closed the first sale, you need a system for getting your first-time customers to buy again.
And it doesn't stop there. People who have purchased your products and services are your best source for new clients. You also need a system for mining this resource to generate a flood of referrals.
Don't just "pump iron" with your marketing. Set your goals and establish marketing systems to generate more business than you can handle. When you have a reliable system for generating leads and converting prospects to clients, you'll develop muscle where you want it, in your bank account.
2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved
-----------------
The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com
