Marketing your business consistently and effectively is the only way to keep your pipeline full of ideal clients. If you’re having trouble implementing your marketing plan, it may be because you are allowing excuses to get in your way. Giving into excuses can only hold you back and can keep you from achieving your vision of success. In this podcast, I reveal the top three excuses for not marketing consistently– and simple solutions to bust through these roadblocks.

How to Market Effectively With A Small Budget and No Time (SSMS Episode 41) [ 7:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (156)

One of my favorite quotes comes from Basil S. Walsh, who simply asks, "If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?"

Do you know where you are going in 2011? Have you drawn out a ‘road map’ for the direction you plan to take and assembled all the tools necessary to assure you will reach your business goals in the coming year?

I know people who refuse to ask for directions when traveling. They think they will be able to eventually figure out where they are and where they need to be – and they may – but at what expense? An extra cost in gas? Arriving late to their destination, perhaps missing out an important opportunity? Or at the very least, experiencing more frustration and stress than necessary, potentially spoiling what could have been an otherwise enjoyable journey. Wouldn’t it be easier to just stop, regroup, and ask for help from someone more familiar with the area?

While you alone are responsible for following through on your New Year’s Resolutions – here are some simple strategies for service professionals which are sure to assist in making that resolution a reality:     MORE

Believing in yourself and your business is crucial to your success as service professional.    Learn how to approach your business from a place of confidence and overcome common mindset pitfalls – TODAY!  It will mean the difference between barely surviving and successfully thriving in your business in the coming year!

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So often, it isn’t a lack of knowledge which prevents service professionals from achieving their business and marketing goals.  Instead, a lack of focus and motivation are more often the culprits.  You may be a person who knows exactly what you need to be doing, having the head knowledge, but not enough confidence in your ability to make it happen and succeed as an entrepreneur.

Throughout the many small business communities that I belong to, both online and offline, I often see a LOT of untapped potential.  I see service professionals who have the potential to command top dollar for their work, to create businesses that truly give them the flexible schedule they crave and work only with clients who respect them and value their contributions.  I see this in them, but many times, they just can’t see it for themselves.

“WHY?” you may ask?

It’s because they don’t believe in themselves.  Perhaps they doubt their worth or don’t believe they can truly succeed.  Perhaps they are accustomed to bosses, HR departments, and companies that look down on them.  Perhaps they have limiting beliefs (i.e. "I can't charge that much" or "I can never be as good as ...") and, as a result, just can’t see the abundance of opportunity available. MORE

Feeling overwhelmed can make it difficult to consistently market your business.  I invite you to learn my “7 Simple Steps to Eliminating Marketing Overwhelm” which can be the difference between spinning your wheels and realizing your goals. If you find yourself too busy to think, take action, or make decisions regarding marketing your business, this week’s podcast is for you. Learn how to overcome instead of being overwhelmed!

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Have you ever felt overwhelmed when trying to market your business?  Perhaps you are confused by the many options available and you don't know where to start?  Or maybe you are an entrepreneur who finds yourself so busy working with clients, putting out fires, and trying to catch up that you don't see how you can possibly add one more thing to your already overwhelming schedule.  If this is the case with you, you’re not alone.  These are common challenges faced by service professionals.  The danger of being overwhelmed is that it can lead to “analysis paralysis”, but I want to encourage you - there is a cure!

These challenges CAN be overcome and you CAN break through your “overwhelm” to begin marketing your solutions to the people who need them most.  To do so, you just need to follow a few simple steps:

1. STOP and re-boot - If you are feeling weighed down and confused, the best thing you can do is STOP.  Really!  Stop dead in your tracks.  Just like you need to re-boot your computer when it’s running sluggishly and taking forever to load, you need to re-boot your mindset and your action plan when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed.  Recognize that you need to re-set your psyche and give yourself at least one morning or afternoon (preferably a full day) just to re-group.
2. Get organized - Not having your marketing ideas, materials and plan in one easy to access location is a sure fire way to undermine your efforts.  So if you've been writing your "plan" on sticky notes, random pieces of paper or just have your ideas floating around in your head, it's time to get organized.  Use your re-boot day to gather all of your marketing information in one place so you can access what needs to be tackled first.

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Sticking to the basics and focusing your time and attention on simple, proven strategies is what creates the best marketing results. This week I'm sharing three specific marketing tactics that are easy to tailor to your individual budget and schedule, can be implemented immediately, utilized with minimum effort, and maintained consistently. This is smart simple marketing advice at its finest! MORE

3 Easy Ways To Earn More Money In Your Service Business (SSMS Episode 24) [ 6:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (424)

Joseph Ghabi said, "Your life will begin changing the moment you decide that you want it to. In order to facilitate change you must first be willing to allow it to manifest in your life, your heart, and in your thoughts."

The same principle applies to growing your business.  If you want to serve more people, create more profits, and enjoy more freedom in your business, you must make the decision to do things differently than you are currently doing.  And that starts with your mindset.

I find that many service professionals understand this, but struggle to take the first step because their mind is cluttered with ideas, client requests, overdue to-do items, and more.  REALLY- the first step must be to de-clutter and organize your mind, so that you can think clearly, determine exactly what you want to accomplish, and start taking the necessary, strategic action to achieve your goal.

Do you find any of the following details to be cluttering your mind? MORE

You've gotten clear on what you want to accomplish in your business. You've set specific, measurable goals for yourself. You've mapped out a plan and scheduled time on your calendar to take consistent action. What else can you do to ensure that you achieve your goal of consistently attracting ideal clients to your business?

Two things:

1. Determine how to eliminate your goal saboteurs
2. Create a support/accountability system to keep you on track

First, let's address the goal saboteurs. We ALL have them. Overcoming them is simply a matter of acknowledging yours and setting up systems to eliminate them.

The most common saboteur I see is "bright shiny object" syndrome. If you have ever taken small children to a candy store, you may have laughed to yourself as you watched them run around the store trying to taste everything they could put their hands on. There is no focus or logic to their decisions. They just want to try everything.

You don't want to run your business this way, where you're chasing every new opportunity presented to you, without any rhyme or reason. If you have a tendency to always want to try the next "new" thing, recognize that you have to have rein yourself in. From today forward, start making decisions in your business based on which path will get you closest to your specific goals. Setup a support system so that you don't get sidetracked and lose sight of what you're trying to accomplish. MORE

One of the most important elements of effective marketing is often the most difficult for solo service professionals to maintain.  That is marketing consistently.  To keep your pipeline filled with ideal clients who happily and readily pay for your solutions, you MUST market your business consistently.

I find though, that many service professionals feel that they don't have time to do so.  It can be easy to become so consumed in serving the clients you do have and running your business that your marketing efforts may unintentionally be pushed aside.

If you've ever found yourself having "fallen off the wagon" when it comes to your marketing efforts, you'll be happy to know that a quick and easy tune-up can get you right back on track.

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