Running ragged with marketing tasks?
STOP and review your plan – or create one.
Solo Pros run themselves ragged with all the ‘tasks’ they think are important to market their business in an endless search for new clients. It can truly be overwhelming.
But when I stop and ask them, “What’s the plan, here?” The answer comes back “I need more clients!!!”. Yet when they’re asked to describe who those clients are or what exactly they do for them – I get a blank stare and silence.
Ready, Fire, Aim. . .
There are two problems here: 1) No real Plan and 2) No real business model (hint: We’re going to talk more in-depth about both of these in my upcoming FREE teleclass this week – why not join me?). Solo Pros can get obsessed with marketing. They’re driven by a manic fear that they’ve got to get the next client – but the aren’t sure who that client is or what they do for them – let alone where they are or what to say to them.
Stop and take a breath. One hour of strategizing can relieve the overwhelm, totally streamline your business and provide you with a year’s worth of well-paying work.
The Solo Pro Business Plan for 2012
If you’re rolling your eyes and thinking of that dusty old business plan you were taught to make by the Small Business Admin. Not to worry. Today’s Solo Pro Business plan is meant to meet the needs of Solo Pros – NOT the bank’s.
What is ‘Marketing’? It’s an over used word that has changed meaning over the last decade and a half. It gets confused with a ton of flurried activities surrounding ‘broadcasting’ a sales message. That’s not effective marketing for the Solo Pro today.
Today, ‘marketing’ is more about building a relationship
and having a series of conversations.
If you’re not entirely clear on WHO you’re talking to and what you do for them – you’re wasting valuable energy, time, and money marketing.
Consider this scenario of a client I recently worked with. She was adamant that she wanted to work with people by meeting with them physically – despite the fact that she lived literally on a small island that was sparsely populated. It’s mostly rural and there are very few small businesses within a drive of less than an hour. But she was determined that she wanted to go to off-line networking events ONLY. Her plan was to follow up with people she met at these events with a series of pre-written ‘canned’ email messages. The services she offered? She was still fuzzy on that end. She’s a ‘business’ coach – so she wanted to ‘coach’ business people. (to do what?).
Our initial conversation was combative, to say the least. She was set on her course. This was her marketing plan. She had spent two months writing her ‘canned’ emails before she had ever been to a single networking event or had spoken to a single potential client. (after all, she wanted to have ‘everything in place’ first, right?)
Do you see the holes in this plan?
Let’s identify them and how we fixed them. They’re actually very common to Solo Pros everywhere – even though this case is a little extreme. BTW: This was a smart business woman who had been in business for a while, she’d just never been taught ‘Solo Pro Business Strategy’. (FIY: I got her permission to tell this story; after a specialized intensive program we worked on her problem and now she’s doing quite well!)
- She had never made an inventory of her services and the end result of each thing she did for a client
- She had never described in detail who her ideal client was
- She had never identified what problems and pain those ideal clients had – or how her solution helped them
- She had never done any research to see if there were any of her ideal clients within driving distance
- She had never actually spoken to or - more importantly - listened to those ideal clients to see what language they were using to describe their problems or what they were looking for
- She had no idea if those ideal clients wanted to only meet physically or if they preferred online connections – or a mixture of both
- She had no clear ‘offerings’ beyond her fuzzy ‘business coaching services’
- Finally, she had not seen the discrepancy between saying she wanted an in-person off-line experience and then having a very impersonal email follow-up program of pre-written ‘canned’ email messages
Broken out in stark detail, it’s fairly easy to see what the problems are, isn’t it? Are you making the same mistakes? Now let’s take the steps and create the plan:
- Inventory exactly what you do; every task. Identify what you’re best at and describe why that task is important and what the end result is.
- Describe your ideal client in detail: Age; Gender; Mindsets; Business types; etc.
- Brainstorm where they’re hanging out – either in person or online. (tip: Do they have something in common? Check groups that cater to that commonality).
- Start hanging out there – whether it’s a forum online, a networking group or association… Listen to what they’re saying. Are they talking about problems they have that you can solve with those services you inventoried earlier? What language are they using to describe the problem? That’s the language you must use to describe how you solve their problem. (WARNING: do NOT use your words or jargon! Use their words. This signals that you’re one of them).
- Now that you know who they are, where they’re hanging out, and what they’re problems are – and you’ve got your solutions translated into lingo that speaks to them – you’re ready to begin your conversation with them. REMEMBER: Marketing is about building relationships and having conversations. It is NOT about broadcasting a sales message.)
- Structure your offerings into clear and concise packages that revolve around a specific end result that solves their problem. Focus initially on only two or three packages. THINK: Clear – not cluttered.
- Your marketing tools can be social media, speaking, an email newsletter, video, podcasts – whatever… Your message now is centered around their problems and ways to solve them. Of course, if they want in-depth help they’ll need to come invest in your packages. But you share your expertise by guiding them toward your solutions in your content.
There a simple Solo Pro Business Plan which includes a streamlined service offering, marketing message and action plan. You business model includes the packages you choose to deliver combined with the channels you choose to send your message (and deliver your services) through. Now just work the plan. No more frantic.
You’re welcome to use this article, I just ask that you be sure to keep the author’s info with it and please link to our website.
Author Info: Barbara Saunders is a publication designer and has run a successful solo pro business for more than a decade. She is the Solo Pro Success Coach and the Director of the International Association of Self-Employed Communication Professionals and the Solo Pro Academy. She also hosts the Solo Pro Radio show everyday at 10am Pacific and 1pm Eastern It’s our mission to build community and help creative solo pros build and run successful businesses by providing support, innovation, tools, and strategies. Our goal is to liberate our members from the feast and famine cycle.
