My good friend, Ronnie Noize, Google’s #1 Marketing Coach http://www.veronikanoize.com wrote the following exceptional article for anyone who’s interested in finding new clients.

The first challenge of most business owners is to find prospects who turn into clients, but how and where to find them can be a puzzler.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet that instantly generates a slew of clients. What usually has to happen is that we surface a number of suspects (people we SUSPECT may be interested in products and/or services such as ours), and from that pool we find our PROSPECTS, or people who are prospective purchasers if all needs and conditions are satisfied. Finally, when the decision to purchase is made, we have clients (or customers or patients or members or whatever you wish to call them).

What may be different from one business to another is the process for attracting suspects, cultivating prospects, and acquiring clients. In some cases the process is relatively short and simple, in others, the process may require multiple steps to qualify the prospect and nurture the relationship to fruition.

The key to success is to meet your suspects halfway–showing up where they are looking for or thinking about the solution to the problem you solve or the experience you offer, so that even if they don’t know that YOU exist, you have the basis to begin a relationship.

Here is a short list of quick and easy ways to surface likely leads (suspects and prospects who turn into clients) for your business:

1. Offer a valuable piece of educational material on your website. This piece of information could be a free report, ebook, audio, newsletter, assessment, or other tool; all that really matters is that it is of sufficient perceived value to entice your visitor to exchange her name and email address in exchange for it. Caveat: Make sure that you require a double-opt in process, rather than an immediate redirect to the free stuff so that you capture valid contact information, or you won’t be able to follow up.
2. Speaking at a meeting, seminar, or other public event. As the guest expert (which speakers usually are), you are in a position of visibility and credibility that is a powerful combination for prospecting. Invite your audience to give you feedback, request a copy of your presentation, or redeem a free or reduced price consultation with a feedback card that you bring to the presentation. Or you may simply hold a drawing for a book or other prize at the end of your presentation, using the drawing entry forms or even business cards as leads.
3. Referrals from your current clients are usually much more likely to buy than cold leads, so consider putting referral programs in place. There are three ways to get referrals, and you should be using all of them. The first way is to earn referrals, meaning that your clients are so thrilled they can’t stop telling others about you. The second way to is ask your clients, colleagues, and Power Partners for referrals, and to take responsibility for following up so you don’t burden your referral partners with the work of referring. The third way to generate referrals is to reward those who refer in both a public and a generous manner. Perhaps you thank them in your newsletter, award points that they can redeem for cool prizes, or better yet, send them personal thanks by mail.
4. Post special offers and/or specific programs in your online communities. Examples include Craigslist in the small business ads or classes sections; or in listservs such as Yahoo or Google groups; online communities such as LinkedIn, Biznik, and Facebook; or even online forums and bulletin boards.
5. Live meetings and events provide the perfect opportunity for eyeball-to-eyeball connecting, and can be fun, too. This doesn’t have to be a networking meeting per se, although those can be terrific for meeting new folks. Also in this category are association and trade meetings, conventions, rallys, and other meetings that offer opportunities for interaction between participants.
6. Drawings or giveaways at trade shows, conventions, or other live events can generate loads of great leads, as well as plenty of folks who are not at all interested in what you offer, so be sure that your prize is something that is of specific interest to your target client, or that the pool is already pre-qualified in some way. One way to pre-qualify is to use entry forms that gather pertinent info rather than simply using business cards.
7. Direct mail to a qualified list of suspects can be very profitable, as long as the list is qualified and the offer is strong. Lists can be obtained in a variety of ways, but one way that I really like is the endorsed mailing to a Power Partner (a non-competing professional who shares your ideal client). This strategy combines direct mail with referral, and can be very persuasive. The endorsed mailing can be as simple as a letter from the Power Partner to her clientele introducing you (and your special offer) and explaining why she’s recommending that her clients work with you.
8. Advertising is often the first thing business owners consider, and for most folks traditional advertising is a total waste of money because it is not measurable. Advertising can be a good lead generator when it is what is called direct response advertising, so that you can see a return on your investment by the number of responses you receive. This would include a coupon, special offer, toll-free phone number or other response mechanism that can be measured and evaluated. Remember that pretty ads may win awards, but direct response ads win leads.
9. Recorded messages on toll-free information lines are a wonderful way for the shy suspect to investigate your product or service without the pressure of having to speak to a sales person, so do consider using this as a tool. The free message is not about how to buy from you, but usually a message educating the suspect on the pitfalls, dangers, or unexpected outcomes of choosing a vendor before knowing all the facts, or some other piece of information that is necessary to make a good decision, followed by a special offer and call to action.
10. Coupon mailers can entice new clients to try your services at a fraction of the cost of regular mass direct mail. This is an especially good option for retailers or recurring services businesses like dentists and garages. Caveat: If your offer is for a price reduction on a regular product or service and you run the offer consistently, you will teach your prospects to wait for the coupon to buy. However, if your coupon is for a discount on an additional item or free bonus or premium, you will not canibalize your regular sales, attract new customers and keep your margins high.
11. Directories such as the yellow pages are often best for emergency services, but a solid offer in a directory ad can bring in the new folks like clockwork. I like to test messages and offers with a Google adwords campaign before committing to a full year in a directory, so that I can be confident that my ad will actually work without just crossing my fingers and wishing.

Of course, there are lots of other ways to attract new clients, but there is a reason that these are on this list: They work. Now go out there and find new clients!

SoHo Marketing Guru 
Business Coaching & Development LLC
951 Officers Row · Vancouver, WA 98661 · USA
360-882-1298 voice · 866-560-1510 fax

People, who are building their business through networking, can be some of the most successful professionals, and also some of the most active.  Because of this, I asked Abigial to contribute the following article so we can all gain some benefit. Enjoy.  Thanks, Abigail!

When someone else is managing a project or outcome they will remind you of what is due and when. When it’s your own business, especially if you are a sole proprietor or only have a few employees, it is often extremely difficult to stay focused on the priorities or to feel like you are making progress toward your goals.
 
Tyranny of the Urgent
If you’ve read the Steven R. Covey book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, you already understand the difference between important and urgent tasks. If you haven’t read this book, it’s worth making the time to at least understand the four quadrants and where you are spending most of your time.
 
Taking Action
In addition to understanding the difference between urgent and important, it’s crucial that you understand the difference between an action and a project. What we think is one action might actually be a series of actions required for a result. My own experience and my clients have taught me that business owners often label a result as an action.
 
“Update your website” is a result I often see on my client’s list. It’s usually been on their “To Do” list for months, because they haven’t taken the time to break it down into bite-sized actions. Without breaking it down, they cannot figure out what action is needed, so none is taken.
 
Example
Let’s talk about the steps involved to get to the desired outcome of an updated website. This list is neither comprehensive, nor in priority order. It’s merely an example to clarify the difference between the desired result and the many actions it takes to achieve that result:

• Establish a budget for updating website
• Get recommendations for a web designer
• Hire a web designer
• Establish priorities for the site update
• Call photographer for new photo
• Schedule haircut prior to photo
• Select photo
• Hire a writer to update content
• Hire marketing expert to consult on new brand/content/logo
• Book meetings with designer to review updates
• Proof updates
• Schedule soft launch of new site
• Marketing blitz for major launch of new site

The important point is that most of these steps are easy to do. If necessary, assign them to your assistant for completion.
 
Prioritize Daily
When there is a fabulous vacation coming up, or a crisis, most of us easily prioritize what must be done and what can sit or be delegated. Developing that skill on a daily basis dramatically increases results and reduces stress. Many years ago I discovered that I need to write things down.
 
All that writing meant I spent years with a “To Do” list with 20 to 40 things on it, every day. The pressure of undone tasks was exhausting. Recently, I learned a new discipline – prioritize three daily. I still keep a list in my notebook of all the things that need to be done for my businesses, my health, my home, and my family. The night before, I review the list, and select the three next actions that will have the biggest impact. I write those down and make them a priority for the next day. I might get them all done by noon; sometimes it will take the entire day to get them done. At the end of the day, I know I am moving forward on my highest goals. Occasionally, when I’ve been able to complete the three priorities for the day early, I will take on the next two or three highest priorities in the same day. Some days, once I’ve accomplished the highest priorities, I give myself permission to take the rest of the day “off.”

 © 2009 Straight Edge News          All Rights Reserved.

Contributed by:

Abigail Dougherty
Straight Edge Solutions 503-297-5798

Abigail@StraightEdgeSolutions.com

You may wonder what Tips for Outlook has to do with Networking Is Not Selling, but if you are trying to grow your business by networking, I’m sure you’ve found, like I have, that you need to stay organized. One of my favorite writers/speakers, Abigail Dougherty, has given us some useful tools to stay organized using Outlook.

 1.  Change Your View

Set up your Outlook page so you see your calendar before you see your email. That keeps you focused on the tasks that must be done for the day, before you risk being sidetracked with email messages.

 On Microsoft Outlook main page click on TOOLS, then OPTIONS. At the top of Options page you have choice tabs:  Preferences, Mail Set Up, Mail Format, Spelling, Security and Other. Click on OTHER.  Under General (the first choice) there are two buttons – select ADVANCED OPTIONS.

 Under “Startup in this folder”:  Browse for CALENDAR
Then OK yourself back to the main screen.

This will prompt the calendar to be the first thing you see when you turn on Outlook.

2.  Turn it OFF!

A. Turn off default meeting reminders – You can manually set this for only your critical appointments. This will save you a long list of reminders for appointments that are passed when you’ve been away from the office for a few hours.

On Microsoft Outlook main page click on TOOLS, then OPTIONS. At the top of Options page you have choice tabs: Preferences, Mail Set Up, Mail Format, Spelling, Security and Other. Select PREFERENCES, go down to Calendar (second choice) and remove the check mark from default reminders. 

B. Turn off all the incoming email notifications

On Microsoft Outlook main page click on TOOLS, then OPTIONS. At the top of Options page you have choice tabs: Preferences, Mail Set Up, Mail Format, Spelling, Security and Other. Select PREFERENCES, go down to email (first choice), click on EMAIL OPTIONS. This opens up Advanced E-mail Options.

The second section “When new items arrive in my Inbox” should ALL be UNCHECKED. You do not need a ding, a ghost, a changed cursor or an envelope to tell you email is there if you get in the habit of regularly checking your email only two or three times a day.

3.  Building Your Contact List
Use your signature block on all new messages.

On Microsoft Outlook main page click on TOOLS, then OPTIONS. At the top of Options page you have choice tabs:Preferences, Mail Set Up, Mail Format, Spelling, Security and Other.

Select MAIL FORMAT, go down to SIGNATURES (third choice) and select your email account(s) that need a formal signature block. Select signature blocks for both the original messages as well as responses to messages. Click on SIGNATURES to see and edit any signature block you currently have set up.

The key is to click on APPLY, rather than OK once you have made your updates/corrections.

 When someone pulls up your message they can easily create the contact page in Outlook to reconnect with you. They will simply drag your message into CONTACTS, which automatically opens a new contact. It’s a quick cut and paste to put the information in the right places in the contacts form.

4. Booking Appointments

Have you ever missed an appointment because critical information wasn’t on your PDA or calendar page?  It’s not even necessary to open the email to turn it into a calendar event.

Simply drag the email message onto the Calendar selection and a new appointment will open – with today’s date and the current time. You will need to edit the date and time to match the actual meeting time. It’s also an excellent time to copy-paste the location or bridge line information into with the subject or the location of the appointment. Now your PDA will show the necessary details. A copy of the email will stay attached to the appointment in your calendar. The original message is still in your in box, so you can file it appropriately.

These simple steps will make your life easier and allow a few more minutes to call that client or talk to that vendor you’ve been needing to meet.

© 2009 Straight Edge News          All Rights Reserved.

Contributed  by Abigail Dougherty

Straight Edge Solutions  

503-297-5798

Abigail@StraightEdgeSolutions.com

A wonderful woman I met at a meeting I spoke at (Sellwood B2B) on Effective Internet Marketing You Can Do Yourself for Free mentioned when we spoke again that she hadn’t been able to attend recently because she felt she had to choose between clients and a networking group, and what follows is what I wrote back to her hours later when the comment resurfaced in my mind – that she said she greatly appreciated.  Becky asked me to post it because it has some very good points about networking – and the one at the end has been one of my secrets to success for my business!

“You commented earlier about weighing priorities as in clients vs the network groups, and it just popped in my head again, but I think the two can and should be complimentary.  But I’m not selling you on networking groups – this is my intuition telling me to email you back and let you know: in networking we work together to bring each other more clients (we are each other’s part time sales force), to foster a better reputation, and to grow personally by surrounding ourselves with like-minded professionals.

I actually have a great group of professionals, a majority of them are quality women, that meet on Tuesdays at noon at Kennedy School McMenamin’s. I have no idea how far that is from you or what your Tuesdays look like, but I think you would be a stand out contributor and find great value in it.  I happened to invite another woman today that may also be a good fit, she’s in payroll which we need – but actually I see you as an ideal fit.

I gave a networking tip today to the group that was EXTREMELY well received and it has worked wonders for me – invite your prospects and clients to the meetings.  How does that serve them and you?  They are able to do business with people at the group, able to receive referrals from the group and they get to hear about you from some of your closest (networking) partners who may also be client’s themselves (as I would).  I personally make it a point to do business with people in my groups so I can give a testimonial as a client.

Just a few cents I hope make sense.”

——————————————

Charles Montgomery

Northwest eSource

(503) 922 – 1446

charles@nwesource.com

http://www.NWeSource.com