Whether you’re in start-up mode or an established business owner experiencing a cash crunch, you may find yourself without as much capital as you’d like to spend on marketing your business.  That may be your reality, but that is no excuse for not marketing your services.  The only way you’re going to grow your business and create more cash flow is to market your solutions consistently. Fortunately, there are several FREE strategies that you can use to put your business in front of the people who need what you have to offer.

Use all or one of these strategies to market your business on a budget:      MORE

Meetup.com is one of my favorite marketing resources for many reasons. Perusing the various groups listed on the site will allow you to locate a specific demographic of people who are interested in specific topics. Not only can you join and interact with the groups online you can actually "meet up" in person for networking, sharing resources and more. It's the perfect tool to help you with your market research!

I've met a number of fabulous business people through Meetup and attracted a few new ideal clients as well. After learning more about Meetup, what if you decide you want to step up your networking a notch and attend an event? And instead of just attending a Meetup, what if you decide you want to host your own?

I have just the resource for you! Check out this article published by Mashable.com:     MORE

Offline marketing is sometimes ignored by solo service professionals – but it shouldn’t be! By holding workshops and in-person appearances in your local area, you can increase your income, raise your public profile, and build a foundation for a stronger business in the future. In addition, you help build your relationship with your audience. You’ll be able to get to know your local target market while you’re earning revenue from the event AND laying the foundation for future upsells to other products and/or services. MORE

The fact is a LOT of solo service professionals struggle to fill their practice with clients and keep a full pipeline of prospects. If this has been a challenge for you, I have good news. You CAN breakthrough the barriers keeping you from enrolling ideal clients into your business! Listen in to today's episode as I share three of my proven, time-tested strategies for quickly enrolling ideal clients into your practice.

3 Easy Strategies for Connecting With Ideal Clients (SSMS Episode 35) [ 8:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (544)

Many service professionals get overwhelmed with the idea of marketing themselves. Marketing is simply a matter of sharing solutions in an appealing way with people who are already looking for them. This becomes infinitely easier when you know exactly who you are marketing to – your ideal client. Here are three easy steps that you can use right now to attract and keep more of the people you’d love to work with. 

1. Frame your business in the right way.

Few service professionals realize that they are limiting themselves with their labels. Being a “graphic designer” or “interior designer” doesn’t spark much interest for the vast majority of people. Instead, you should focus on the benefits and results that you create for the clients you work with. For example:

“I help stressed out moms eliminate the clutter in their homes.”
“I help women business owners create financial freedom.”
“I help busy entrepreneurs create more money in their business.”

By doing this, you identify your target market, describe what you do and how you solve problems AND you make your work relatable. You’re suddenly someone who solves problems instead of just another one of the hundreds of graphic designers or interior designers out there to choose from. You’ll set yourself apart and grow a real following this way. MORE

Even though you’re a solo service professional, you don’t have to go it alone when it comes to building your business.

Partnering with other service professionals that serve the same market in a different way can really pay off. For example, if you’re a professional organizer, you’re probably working with client who could use the services of a personal chef, interior designer, landscaper, painter and real estate agent in your area. By networking with these types of professionals, you can significantly boost the reach of your marketing efforts. You can cross promote one another’s services since you serve the same market without competing with one another.

Create powerful, profitable partnerships easily by following a few simple steps:

MORE

The BIG 3:  Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Everybody who's anybody has a profile in each.  And it seems everybody is preaching the same thing:

• You HAVE  to have a Facebook Fan Page
• You HAVE  to be on Twitter
• You HAVE  to join LinkedIn and participate in groups

But, do you really HAVE to do any of this?  Will your business fall in the water if you don't?

The answer depends on your target audience.

Remember, your target audience determines where you should be and how you spend your time.  If your target audience spends their day on Twitter, then that's where you should be engaging with them.  While it may be a little challenging to have a full-fledged conversation, you can still interact and find out what their challenges are, participate in the conversation when they are looking for solutions and become a trusted adviser.

The same could be true if your target audience hangs out on Facebook.  Maybe they prefer to interact there because there's no character limit (like the 140 characters on Twitter.)  They may like the back and forth conversation of posting comments on each others wall and seeing their updates throughout the day.

MORE

Public speaking is one of the most effective ways to connect with ideal prospects for your service business. Even if you’re not entirely comfortable talking in front of a crowd, it would serve you well to add this strategy to your marketing mix. Why? For one reason, it’s the fastest way to establish yourself as an expert in your industry.

Think about it.  When you're looking to hire a service provider, don’t you typically want to work with the BEST person for the job?  Would you really consider hiring a provider who isn't well versed in what you need? Of course not! So neither would your prospective clients.

By speaking publicly about your expertise, you automatically put yourself in the driver’s seat. Whether your presentation is 5 minutes long or 90 minutes long, the room is focused on you. Everyone is listening intently to your thoughts and if you deliver great content, they are writing down what you say and noting questions they have.  (Which is great because it means they are envisioning working with you!)

Also, public speaking allows you to develop that "know, like and trust" factor quickly and easily.  In listening to your presentation the audience gets a sense of who you are, how you teach and how they can benefit from the services you offer.  So instead of slowly developing a relationship over time, perhaps via online marketing, you speed up the process so that prospects feel more comfortable with you and can see the value of working with you.

MORE

When you’re out networking, attending a seminar or otherwise meeting new people and are asked, “What do you do?” how do you respond?

Do you label yourself? (i.e. "I am an Interior Designer", "...Financial Planner" or "...Virtual Assistant".)

What happens next?  The person you're speaking to may say "Oh, that's interesting" or change the subject and go on talking about something else.  Worse yet, you could get that "deer in headlights" look because they can't relate to what you've just said.

The truth is, associating yourself with a particular profession doesn't mean much because the person you're speaking to may have no idea what you're really talking about. And even if they do, you likely have a unique skill or specialty that sets you apart from others in your industry.  For example, how many different types of lawyers are there?  You could meet three attorneys at one event who all have different specialties, expertise and knowledge.  So if each one says, "I'm a Lawyer" this hardly showcases the value they provide to their clients.

MORE

Looking for a simple way to set yourself apart from the other service providers in your industry? And to stay top of mind with prospects, clients and referral partners? Online marketing strategies are highly effective and can work well for this purpose. But nothing grabs someone's attention like receiving a handwritten note, letter or card from you in the mail! Learn how to implement this simple, low-cost marketing strategy in your business TODAY by listening to this week's episode!

Stand Out and Stay Top of Mind Using Good Old Fashioned Snail Mail (SSMS Episode 17) [ 9:48 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (221)