The Simple 30-Day Marketing Plan

Today's guest post is by Dan Janal, from PR Leads.

Every Saturday I go to my Spanish class. It isn’t easy and it isn’t necessarily fun. But I go anyway. Learning a language is difficult. I find that the only way I retain info is by speaking it, writing it and hearing it. Many times. After a while, it sinks in. No one ever said it would be easy.

So why do people think that marketing and sales should be easy? I meet so many people who expect instant results and success but they don’t want to do the work. Do you see a disconnect here?

Marketing doesn’t have to be hard. It just needs to be consistent. That’s what my business coach Mark LeBlanc says.

Decide on the activities you think will help your business and repeat them every 30 days. Track your numbers. Do more of what works. Less of what doesn't.

Here are 5 things you might do every 30 days to market your business:

1) Write one article a week

2) Post the article to your blog and to Ezinearticles.com

3) Send out one press release via a service like Guaranteed Press Releases, to improve your rankings on Google and brag that you were covered in more than 40 media websites

4) Do one free teleseminar or webinar to build rapport with your list. Or do a webinar/teleseminar with another person to grow your list

5) Do one free speech -- a showcase -- in front of the right prospects to get more business and referrals.

Easy? No. Simple? YES!

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, a free Client Cloning Kit can help. Grab your copy here. 

Customer Delight on a Plate

Last week, my family and I stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel, in Schaumburg, IL.

I chose it on Expedia because of its high customer-service ratings -- more important than low prices when my family is involved.

During check-in, Patrick, the manager on duty, was friendly and accommodating. That was expected.

As I signed my name, he offered us a batch of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. That was unexpected.

Bummer: I had to turn him down because we were headed out for dinner at a nearby restaurant -- cookies would spoil my daughter's appetite (not to mention mine).

What did Patrick do? He offered to save us some cookies for later, after we came back.

Sure enough, when we returned from dinner, there was Patrick with a half-plate of cookies -- still warm and covered with a napkin -- just for us. Oh, and did I mention the glass of milk for my daughter?

That was REALLY unexpected. Remarkable, even.

Think of it. In a world of race-to-the bottom prices -- with customer "service" to match -- here was a guy who delivered customer delight on a plate ... of warm cookies.

You can bet we'll stay there again next year on our way to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving.

So: What does all this say about service these days?

It is STILL easy to stand out and be remarkable, that's what. All you need do is one small, unexpected favor.

I travel all the time. I check into and out of hotels all the time. And I can't remember the last time I enjoyed the process.

Patrick didn't delight me at check-in with a whiz-bang computer system or a fake smile. He won my loyalty and widespread praise with a plate of cookies.

Now. What small, unexpected favor could you do for your clients?

How about giving them a non-selling phone call? An article in the mail? A thank-you note? An introduction to a prospective new client?

Don't hire a focus group or kill yourself trying to be creative. Just show real appreciation for your clients by doing them a small, good turn -- one they didn't pay for or expect. The results may delight you.

For more ideas like these, download Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.

Why Mail Thank-You Notes? This is Why

Yesterday, I mailed a thank-you note to a very nice meeting planner who booked me to speak two nights ago. And today I got the following email from her:

RE: Your card made my day
               
Hey Kevin,

I’ve been dealing with some crises for people all day and your cheerful card raised me up. Bless you and thank you! And I’m very excited to have you be at the December meeting.

Susan 

Can an email "thank you," dashed off on your Blackberry, do that?

Your mother was right. Write and mail a thank-you note to every person who does you a good turn.

First and foremost, it's good manners.

But, as a side benefit, good manners often equal good marketing.

UPDATE: Here's another take on thank-you notes from business author, Shep Hyken:

Don’t ever forget to say THANKS! It can be face to face, over the phone or via written thank you notes. Customers like to feel appreciated. Recently I bought some clothes from a local retail store. Just a few days later I opened my mail and found a thank you note from my salesman. Was I impressed? You bet. Will I go back? You bet. And, when I do, I will be looking for my salesman.

Bio: Kevin Donlin can help you grow your business and enjoy the breakthrough results your hard work deserves. If you're interested in boosting your revenues and profits, please click here.

Marketing Test: Would You Do It Again?

One test of any marketing is this: Would you do it again?

Was it profitable enough to merit repeating? If not, you have two options:

1) change it
2) stop doing it

I got that idea walking through the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, where there's almost always someone playing piano or harp, selling their CDs.

I realized two things:

1) I have never seen anyone buy a CD from an airport musician

2) I have never seen the same musician twice

Caveat: This observation is NOT scientific. Maybe I'm somehow blind to a revolution in airport marketing that's rocking the music world.

Still, it makes you wonder: Could these musicians be spending their marketing dollars better elsewhere?

Bottom line: Be on the lookout for marketing that repeats. Because, if you see something more than once, it's probably profitable.

Examples of marketing to watch for and learn from:

* any sales letter you get more than once
* any infomercial you see on TV for more than 30 days
* any direct-response ad that runs in Parade Magazine or other major periodical for more than 30 days (by direct-response, I mean the ad asks for the order and gives you a phone number to call or web site to visit)

If you see marketing that repeats, study it. Then emulate it in your business.

Meanwhile ... if you want to put an end to "feast-or-famine" syndrome in your business, my free Client Cloning Kit can help you. Grab your copy here, while they last. 

Productivity Tip: Hanging, Nekkid Body Scanners, TSA Crotch Patdowns

Samuel Johnson said, "...when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully."

Today, with the new TSA Nekkid X-Rays and Crotch Patdowns in place, you could easily replace hanging with flying.

Because, as much as we hate the hassle of business travel, it does concentrate the mind wonderfully.

Case in point: In a few hours, I'm flying to Philadelphia to give a speech tomorrow morning on careers. Then, I fly to Minneapolis to give another speech tomorrow night, on copywriting.

And you know what?

I've done more work in two hours this morning than I typically do in 4 or 5. Because I didn't have time to read the newspaper for 30 minutes over breakfast, or check out my favorite blogs, or otherwise goof off.

With a hard deadline looming -- leaving for the airport at 1:30 -- I have to work all the time I'm working this morning. What a rare experience. And how sad.

But you've had the same experience. Think of your last business trip -- didn't you get more done in the hours before you had to leave? Sure you did. You had no choice.

Now. Wouldn't it be nice if every day were as productive as a travel day?

Well, there's nothing stopping you (or me) from setting deadlines -- even little ones, like meeting the spouse for lunch or calling a client -- to concentrate the mind and get more done.

Best part: No TSA body searches or X-rays required ... and you can keep your shoes on.

(For more ideas like these, download Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Small Questions, Small Steps, Big Profits

"The next time you're worried about something, ask yourself, 'What small thing can I do right now?' Then do it. Remember not to ask, 'What could I possibly do to make this whole thing go away?' That question does not get you into action at all."

So says Steve Chandler, author of "100 Ways to Motivate Yourself."

This has two important implications:

1. One small action is more productive than any amount of worry, and
2. Trying to solve a big problem at once can paralyze you with confusion.

Whatever you're doing to build your business today, you can't do it all. But you can do something.

Here's a simple way to do something small today that adds up to big revenue tomorrow. Ask yourself this question:  

What small, trivial thing could I do to grow my business? 

The results may shock you.

Want an example?

About 12 years ago, I ran a business called Guaranteed Resumes. It was successful -- I was usually booked with resume-writing clients 5-10 days in advance.

Problem: I lost out on prospects in a hurry. Whenever somebody called asking if I could write their resume the same day, I had to politely decline. I was booked, you see.

After a few months of turning down business (and losing money), I asked myself a simple question: What could I do to stop losing these prospects?

The answer didn't come right away. I quickly got -- and rejected -- the idea of hiring employees. Later, I set up a joint venture with a local writer that failed.

But I kept asking myself the question: What could I do to stop losing these prospects?

Then, I got an answer.

I created a simple Web site and "staffed it" by arranging to send prospects to other resume writers across America. These writers were fast and could write resumes the same day. I processed the credit card orders, in exchange for a commission.

I named the site 1 Day Resumes (now offline) and linked to it from the main page of my Guaranteed Resumes site. Now, people in a hurry were directed to that new web site. I didn't even have to answer the phone.

The results?

An extra $21,000 in sales in one year, from almost no effort on my part -- about two hours a week managing the site and customer service.

The extra profits didn't come overnight, but they did come -- after I persisted in asking a simple question to build my business.

There's big power in small questions.

And it's worth repeating: What small, trivial thing could you do to grow your business?

You can't receive if you don't ask.

(For more ideas like these, download Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)

Never Shower Alone

Want more good ideas for your business?

Here's how to get an endless supply, by "reading" an extra 10-30 books every year --

-- just listen to audiobooks in the shower. That's my trusty (waterproof) Sony CD Player above.

This morning, I "studied" 3 tracks from the audiobook, "One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way to Success," by Dr. Robert Maurer.

Brian Tracy says that, if you listen to audiobooks while driving, you can create a "university on wheels" by learning new information during the hundreds of hours you spend in the car each year.

And if you believe, as I do, that we often make poor use of the 168 hours in every week, your shower is another place to turn down time into learning time.

Yes, of course, you do need some down time that's really down time -- no deep thinking about business or marketing. But that's what sleep, family meals, and weekends are for.

Now. If you think listening to audiobooks in the shower is a tad bit eccentric, you are wrong. Eccentric is writing notes to yourself in the shower.

(For more ideas like these, download Guaranteed Marketing for Service Business Owners.)