When I was a Business Development Executive, I would “chase” (yes, that’s the word we used) after really big, multi million dollar deals. Often, it would take months (or even years) of marketing to finally get that new client. Then what would happen, I would be so busy with my new (very large) client, that I would stop marketing to attract new clients. All of a sudden, a few weeks or month later, I’d turn around and I had no new business coming in. Nothing in the pipeline. Boy, was that scary.
The good news is that I quickly learned from my mistakes on how I was running my business. I realized that to have a successful business I needed to have balance between the marketing and providing the service. Also, having a really amazing mentor to keep me focused on what I was doing and where I was going was invaluable.
I see many entrepreneurs get stuck here and don’t know how to get out. They’ll do a great job of marketing for a while and as a result will attract a few clients. Naturally, they get very excited about this success, they get busy and stop marketing. Then, they look around a month or so later and start getting really panicky because they don’t see any new business coming in (the only thing they have coming in with any regularity are the bills that are due!)
Here are a few of my Top Tips to keep the marketing and service part of your business balanced:
1) Create easy to implement systems for marketing and schedule them. For example, if you know that you are going to send out an ezine on the 1st and 15th of each month, then you can plan accordingly.
2) Use companies that help maximize your time, such as, “Hoot Suite” or “Tweet Deck” to post on social media in multiple places at one time. This is a huge time saver!
3) Hire the support (coach, VA, bookkeeper, social media expert, etc) you need to help you in some of areas of your business to give you more time in your “genius zone”.
4) Develop a marketing plan for the next 12 months. Use that as a guideline to keep you on track. (Hint: you can start this anytime, you don’t have to wait for January)
5) Create a spreadsheet to show projections of your revenue. Review this each month to make sure you’re on track. This will help you before you fall to far off course.
Having consistent income is a core necessity of any business. That’s why I created the Quick Cash Infusion Summer School. I saw too many entrepreneurs falling off track in the summer and then scrambling in the Fall trying to catch up. For many, this was an impossible task. If you’ve found that your income drops in the summer, too, join me this Summer (with an amazing group of heart-centered entrepreneurs who have already enrolled) at http://www.quickcashinfusionsummerschool.com
Be Brilliant,
Kate Beeders, Transformational Mindset & Marketing Expert
www.KateBeeders.com
Great tips here Kate! Bottom line is you should always be marketing. Systematizing your marketing and following a master plan, makes this easier.
thanks, Stephanie. That is absolutely correct 🙂
Thanks for the tips! This will be very helpful for my business. I never really mastered the marketing part of my business and only looked into operations. This is exactly what I need.
you’re very welcome, Lynne. I’m very lucky to have had such a solid background in marketing when I worked in corporate. So glad you’re finding this helpful.