Why your marketing is not working

I get lots of questions  about marketing.

“What new techniques should I be using to grow my business? I have been (blogging) (Tweeting) (attending a networking group), and I don’t seem to be getting many results.”

“How long have you been doing it?” I ask.

“For two whole months!” the person says.

<Heavy sigh>.

We often think that new tools,  techniques or formulas will be the answer to our marketing woes.

When in reality, it is the consistent application of good tools or techniques that get long-term results.

As I mentioned in my 20X Rule post, developing relationships that turn into sales takes much longer than you think.

I have been working with a group of entrepreneurs all year in my Power Boost Marketing program. We explore a new way to reach customers each month.  The people who get the best results are those who consistently apply the lessons from each module, and integrate them into their ongoing marketing activities. Marketing strength and competence builds as you layer one skill on top of another, such as cultivating new connections on Twitter, which leads to speaking engagements which you ace, which you follow up with a strong and effective consistent content from your newsletter, which leads to future sales.

Too many new entrepreneurs are on information binges, taking every class, program and workshop about building a business, but never actually putting any to into practice. This is frustrating and expensive.

How to ensure your marketing is focused:

1. Make sure you know the profile of your ideal clients, who they are connected to, and where they hang out.
   My Ideal Clients Avatar, Ecosystem and Watering Hole post from last year will help you define this.
2. Make a list of your top 50 prospects, and work the list on a daily basis.
   When I spoke at the San Francisco and Phoenix Spark & Hustle conferences, CEO and Good Morning America host Tory Johnson said that she always has a list of her top 50 prospects for sponsorships. She shares her list with her team, and it is constantly updated. When you know who you need to connect with and exactly what you are pitching, it makes your marketing very efficient.
3. Analyze your past offers and note which are the most profitable.
   You can spend a huge amount of effort and energy developing and promoting something like a $97 ebook, when in fact a different offer may take much less time to market and be more profitable. In order to get this information, you need to be sure to review your books and your calender on a monthly basis, and apply the learning to your plan for the next month, and quarter.
4. Know which offer you are promoting at the moment.
   If you are promoting three different things at the same time, both you and your market can get confused. Make sure that each week, you know exactly what you are promoting, and whom you are promoting it to. This way you ensure that you do a thorough job of reaching ideal prospects, instead of weakening and scattering your efforts with multiple offers across multiple marketing channels.
5. Plan on business growth taking more time than you think.
   Nothing stresses out new business owners like needing to make instant revenue without a track record or experience. Plan to have inconsistent results in the early stages of business, and sock away money for months when your sales do not match your expectations. Some people are motivated by “burning the ships” and having no option but to make sales, but in my experience as a coach, that situation can skyrocket the stress for some entrepreneurs with a lower tolerance for risk.

Remember that business is just a huge experiment. Have fun with learning, analyze your efforts, put in the time and sweat, and you will see success.