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Are You Playing Checkers or Chess?
When you think about how to attract more clients for your professional services, are you playing checkers or chess? You're playing checkers when you... * Attend a networking event and expect it to generate business * Invest thousands of dollars in direct mail and expect prospects to eagerly call about your services * Treat your vendors poorly by not paying them on time or not communicating with them in a timely manner * Misunderstand the differences between advertising, PR, and promotion - and what they can and cannot do for your professional service firm * Underestimate how important it is for your to address your clients' PERCEIVED need (i.e., what THEY think they need) vs. what you know they need You're playing chess when you... * Understand that there are right clients and wrong clients for your firm, based on where you want your firm to be in one year, two years, five years - and that your definition of "right" will change over time * Consider what the right kinds of clients look like for your firm and then carefully develop a roadmap for all marketing activities that align with your definition of "right" * Use a combination of carefully crafted "touches" to move prospects through your relationship pipeline from Stranger, to Acquaintance, to Friend, to Lover, to Loyal Partner. Are looking six moves ahead, instead of at the next move. Whether it's developing your website, deciding what committees or networking groups to join, if you should invest in a particular piece of marketing collateral, or where to publish your next article...chess players see the connections between today's marketing decisions and their impact months and years ahead.For a game plan to avoid checkmate, try these things: * Consider where you want to be in 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 36 months. Identify the big steps to get you there. I organize my actions by "theme of the month." For example, within 6 months, I want to be well into developing an online platform to launch subscription-based marketing tools. So January and February are Research Months. I'm attending two related conferences to quickly assess the latest approaches, make some good contacts, and scope the competition. * Your time is precious, so why squander it on marketing activities that don't fill your pipeline with the right kinds of prospects? Decide how or if to invest time in a particular action (networking, developing a brochure, sending thank-you notes, writing a newsletter, giving a talk) based on how it aligns with attracting attention from the right kinds of prospects. I've recently joined a Steering Committee because, in addition to loving the cause it supports, I'll be exposed in a leadership capacity to my target audience. * When following up after an initial contact or introduction, you're nowhere near making the sale. The game is just beginning. Make your goal one of learning more about the other person's condition so they feel comfortable you're tuned into their needs. Moving from Stranger to Acquaintance to Friend to Lover takes several "touches," including telephone conversation(s), face-to-face meeting(s), email, sending them to your website to dig around (because you've stocked it full of valuable freebies), seeing you in action as a speaker, or reading about you in the press. Put a predictable system of "touches" in place and run everyone through it. * Set a huge, "unattainable" goal and then connect the dots to reach it. In 2005, I have my eye on penetrating specific major organizations and creating partnerships for national distribution of my marketing education programs. I'm envisioning what these relationships look like in the end and am taking much smaller, practical, "doable" steps now to get there. These include attending conferences where I can meet key contacts that I've already identified (and where I'll get the lay of the land to speak at next time), putting the wheels in motion for a series of books (the ultimate business card!) to build credibility and exposure, experimenting with local prototypes (where the sales cycle is shorter and there's not a lot of expensive travel involved to make the sale), and building a solid relationship slowly with VIPs before jumping the gun. Ready to play chess? Your move! (c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Guests on today's TV news shows (San Jose Mercury News) News ShowsLineup for today's TV news shows: ABC's "This Week": Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Veterans for Obama to hold forum in Newport News Monday (The Virginian-Pilot) NEWPORT NEWS Two retired military leaders will make four stops across Virginia Monday in support of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Rear Adm. Jamie Barnett and Command Sgt. Maj. Michele Jones, both retired, will discuss challenges facing Virginia veterans, according to a news release from the campaign. At each stop, they?ll be joined by Virginia veterans. Get the latest news in racing (Daily Racing Form) In order to read Daily Racing Form's free daily news stories it is required that you have a DRF.com free membership. If you do not have a DRF.com free membership, please register here . You will NOT need to be logged in to read each day's free news stories. Good news for Johnson, but '08 over (MLB.com) Good news for Orioles' Johnson Ruling Party Predicts Big Win In Angola Election-News Agency (Nasdaq) LUANDA (AFP)--The governing MPLA party on Saturday predicted it will win big in Angola's first peacetime election, based on preliminary results it said it had seen, Portugal's Lusa news agency reported. Mid-American Conference News and Notes (The Sports Network) Mid-American Conference News and Notes UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) ABC embracing 'Motherhood' ... Script work to delay '24' filming ... Two more 'Spider-Man' movies likely ... T-Pain wins big at BMI Awards ... News from United Press International. Journals week in review: news from One Microsoft Way (Ars Technica) In this week's top Microsoft news on Ars, we cover the Gates-Seinfeld ad, The Ultimate Steal, Internet Explorer 8, the Zune, a new non-laser mouse, SkyMarket, and OneCare. See inside for details on what's new with these products. Read More... Week in review: top news stories on Ars Technica (Ars Technica) It was a shiny, happy week in the world of tech news with the launch of Google Chrome and all the hype that surrounded it. We recap the week's most important stories. Read More... News Services (The Scottsboro Daily Sentinel) Letter to the Editor The Daily Sentinel welcomes your commentary. No letter will be published until authorship is confirmed. Press Release Submit your news and event information to The Daily Sentinel. Site: news - Google News Palm's new smart phone steals the show - MarketWatch
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for marketing SearchDay: Online Videos as Learning and Marketing Tools (Search Engine Watch) Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: YouTube-ery: Online Videos as Learning and Marketing Tools; Change How You Think About Your Life and Company; MapQuest, Google Launch Blackberry Mobile Apps; and more. Lend a Hand: Use marketing skills to help nonprofits (Portsmouth Herald) It's hard to get attention these days, especially as a nonprofit with limited means. If you're a marketing professional with skills from graphic design to public relations, then you can make all the difference for nonprofits that need to share their... Wechsel im Marketing (FVW.com) Helen Bardtenschlager verantwortet ab sofort die Marketing-Aktivitäten von LAN Airlines in Deutschland. Ihre Vorgängerin Angelika Lucius geht in den Mutterschaftsurlaub. Pfizer: withdraws Zeven marketing applications (Pharmaceutical Business Review) Healthcare giant Pfizer has announced that the marketing applications for its skin infection treatment Zeven (dalbavancin) are to be withdrawn, pending another multi-center trial for the drug. This setback could cost Pfizer dearly: another trial could push the drugs launch date out to September 2010, five full years after its proposed launch date and just two years before its first patent expiry. Ag Society, IdeaLogic Marketing part ways (North Platte Telegraph) The North Platte Telegraph The marketing firm of IdeaLogic has handled the marketing and advertising efforts for the Lincoln County Fair for the past two years - but there won't be a third. Kmart names new marketing chief (Chicago Sun-Times) Ailing retailer Kmart has reached into the hotel industry for its new chief marketing officer. Next plots marketing revamp (Mad.co.uk) Retail giant Next is overhauling its marketing strategy in a bid to increase sales, following a slump in its profits due to the economic downturn. The importance of marketing to open-source projects (CNET) Open source may make better software, but marketing is what makes people care enough to download it. Powered Shares the Secrets of Successful Social Marketing Programs at Shop.org Annual Summit (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance) AUSTIN, Texas----Powered, a leading provider of social marketing programs that drive measurable business results, today announced that it will be exhibiting at the Shop.org Annual Summit, taking place September 15 - 17 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Europcar UK plans major brand re-launch, strengthens marketing team (eyefortravel.com) Europcar UK Group has appointed Catriona Lougher as marketing director as the group strengthened its marketing structure in preparation for its multi-million pound re-launch in the UK in 2009. Site: marketing - Google News Columbus tech firm buys Dayton marketing company - Bizjournals.com
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