Debbie LaChusa

I finished up my Fall Extreme Marketing Makeover Program last month and one of the things we focus on in that program is setting everyone up with a system to fill their pipeline with prospects. And not just a system, but ideally an automated system that will work for them 24/7.

Why? Because then you don't have to constantly be out there looking for clients. Clients come to you instead. It's a much easier way to market and it's the best way to set up your business for success. There are many methods you can use, but one of my favorites and probably the most prevalent method out there today is featuring an opt-in box on your website and offering your site visitors something valuable (for free) in return for their email address.

That something might be a newsletter or ezine, like The 10stepmarketing Ezine. Or, it could be a special report or an e-course, like my '7 Days to More Marketing Success!' mini-course. It could also be an audio recording or podcast. The goal is to come up with something that will be of value to your prospects.

Once you've decided what your lead generation system is going to be, you then have to start thinking about how you're going to make people aware of it and how you're going to drive them to your website so you can capture their email address and begin building a relationship.

How about you? Do you have a system that delivers prospects into your business 24/7?

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Today I'd like to share an un-marketing-related experience I had this week that ended up teaching me a very big marketing lesson.

My daughter Brianna and I traveled to Ohio last weekend to visit Kenyon College. It was our first college trip and it was very exciting. Built in the 1800s in rural Ohio, Kenyon College is both historic and beautiful. You see, the softball coach at Kenyon College is recruiting Brianna for her team and invited us out for the visit.

Brianna spent the night in the dorm with a member of the softball team, as well as spending time with other team members, students and staff. We were given a tour of the college and its brand new $70 million dollar athletic center, we ate lunch in the dining hall and Brianna even attended a Calculus class.

On the trip home we couldn't stop talking about how great it would be for her to go to school there. Now she just has to take care of a few minor details like applying and getting accepted (it's a not an easy school to get into) and hoping she will be awarded a scholarship and financial aid - it's a VERY expensive school - far above our budget.

At the same time I found myself thinking of any and all possible ways we might be able to afford to send her there, if the financial help doesn't come through. And, it was at that point I realized that Kenyon College and the softball coach are great marketers.

They paid for Brianna's visit to give her a taste of what life at Kenyon would be like. Knowing full well I'm sure that most students will not only feel honored to be invited to such an exclusive school, but I'm also guessing they have a pretty good idea that their recruits are such a great fit that the chances they will fall in love with the school are pretty darn good.

Most importantly they understand that making the emotional sale is far more important than making the logical sale, at least at FIRST.

Because when you are emotionally sold, your mind opens up and your barriers go down. You want to make the purchase so you look for ways you can make the purchase. Instead of doing what we usually do when we're being sold, and that is looking for reasons NOT to make the purchase.

Intellectually I know the necessity of making the emotional sale first. But this week I think I was re-introduced to the power of it

Did you know that how you deal with failure will in large part determine your level of success? We all have disappointments in our lives and with our businesses. Things don't go the way we planned. They don't turn out the way we want them to.

What we need to realize is we don't always know the best way to get where we want to go. Our viewpoint is limited to our current knowledge base and circumstances. So we plan a path within the confines of our knowledge believing that's the best way to get what we want.

When in reality, there may be a much faster or easier way to get there and we just don't know it yet. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me. I used to get very upset if I was moving along according to plan and I just wasn't getting the results I thought I should be getting.

My business wasn't growing as fast as I thought, or I wasn't as successful as I thought I should be. But what I've seen over time is that every time things didn't work out according to MY plan, that failure opened the door to another way. A way I wasn't aware of before. And I grew. And, best of all, based on that new knowledge, my business grew, too.

Failure is hard to swallow. Society celebrates winners. Winners in sports. Winners in elections. If you don't win, you're branded a loser. And no one wants to be a loser. But I have to say, that more often than not, I've found a beautiful silver liner in my losses and failures. And they've helped me grow to a much greater degree than my successes ever have.

How about you? Have you turned a failure into success? And, if so, how did you do it?

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Weekly Marketing Success Podcast:

"Interview with Brian Tremblay of Brian Tremblay Photography

Brian is the second photographer I've interviewed. And, he is another great example of a small business owner "doing it right." Brian's business and his marketing are both very focused and simple. The key is he is consistent. He knows how important it is to the success his business to create "top of mind awareness" and he shares some creative ways for achieving it.

Brian recognized early in his business (he's been at it for 13 years) that he had a choice to make. He knew he'd either have to justify his price or apologize for his quality. He chose to be paid for the value he provides, which means a little extra education is involved in the marketing and sales process. Learn the smart marketing techniques he's using to do this along with the 4 steps he recommends for success.

Click Here to Download MP3/Audio

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A common problem I encounter with my clients is overwhelm. They are busy trying to create a new business, and they're trying to market that business and run every aspect of that business and they feel totally overwhelmed with all the tasks and responsibilities on their plate.

I've been there, too. Back when 10stepmarketing was just an idea in my head, I got stuck in that state of overwhelm for 9 straight months! I was busy running my consulting business and at the same time I had all these ideas for building this new business. Problem was, I had SO many ideas swimming around in my head, I couldn't see straight.

So what did I do? Unfortunately for 9 months I did nothing to start making my new business idea reality. I couldn't take a step because I was so overwhelmed with the enormity of the idea. I didn't know what to do first.

How did I break out of this standstill? Well, I didn't do it alone. I hired a coach. And that coach helped me break down my ideas into one step at a time. It seems silly as I look back now, because that was the concept behind 10stepmarketing. To break down the task of creating and implementing a marketing plan into simple, one-step-at-a-time tasks. But I was so overwhelmed that I couldn't even see that I could apply that same approach to my own situation.

With the help of my coach, we determined one step I could take each week to start turning 10stepmarketing into a reality. After one step was complete, my coach would ask me, "What's the next thing you can do this week to move this idea forward?" I'd pick ONE thing, and commit to doing it. And over the course of four months, I created the business.

It's amazing how simple things can be when we learn to focus on one step at a time! And, when we learn to ask for help when we really need it.

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As the end of the year looms, now's a great time to take out your Elevator Pitch, dust it off, and freshen it up for the new year. I'll bet you and your business have changed and grown in the past 12 months. Has your Elevator Pitch grown with you? Does your Elevator Pitch still focus on the primary benefit you offer to people? Does it reflect your uniqueness? Is it short, focused and concise?

Also evaluate how it has been working for you. Does it grab people's interest? Does it make people want to know more about what you do? Now's your chance to spruce it up so it really shines. So you'll be ready to kick off 2007 with a powerful Elevator Pitch that will make people stand up and take notice.

Want feedback on your Elevator Pitch? Why not share it by posting it on this blog? I'll kick it off by sharing mine:

"Hi, my name is Debbie LaChusa and I created 10stepmarketing to help small business owners and solo-professionals learn how to successfully market their own business in 10 simple steps."

What do you think? Share your feedback on my Elevator Pitch and get feedback on yours by posting it with a comment. Let's help each other kick off 2007 with the best Elevator Pitch possible!

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Marketing Mix. That age-old strategy where we mix together several types of marketing in order to effectively reach our target audience with our marketing message. In other words, it means we don't do just one thing to get the word out. For example, we might run ads, issue press releases and implement a referral program.

This week, I was the beneficiary of a successful marketing mix. Quite unexpectedly I must admit. But it reminded me of the power of this simple concept. So I wanted to share it.

It's Christmas-time and I was stressing out as usual about not starting my holiday shopping sooner. In my family, we celebrate so many birthdays in November that I can't even think about buying Christmas presents until after Thanksgiving.

So floating around in the back of my mind was this problem - I needed to buy lots of presents but I didn't have lots of time to do it. So of course it caught my attention when I saw a television commercial for a website called Gifts.com. I made a mental note to check it out later. And promptly forgot about it. (Even potential clients with the best intentions can get distracted and forget about you pretty easily when they are not ready to take action right that minute.)

A few days later I happened to be talking to a friend on the phone and we were discussing how little time we had to go Christmas shopping. When she said, "I did all my shopping online this year. I went to Gifts.com and found all my gifts. It's a great website."

I immediately remembered I had seen the TV commercial and had wanted to check it out. The TV commercial was just reinforced by Word of Mouth. And that was all it took for me. That night I went to Gifts.com and put a big dent in my Christmas shopping. And I found some very cool gifts to boot. Needless to say, I've been spreading the word ever since.

Gifts.com clearly spent a hefty sum on their television advertising campaign. But alone, that campaign wouldn't have moved me to action. The fact that they offer a great service that gets people talking (marketing that doesn't cost a dime by the way!) is what pushed me over the edge and turned me into a customer. Definitely something to think about!

Weekly Marketing Success Podcast:

"Interview with Eric Lofholm of Eric Lofholm International

Mentors Magazine called Eric Lofholm a "World Class Sales Training Guru." Ah, sales. Something most of us probably wish we didn't have to do. But do it we must if we want our business to succeed. Eric's approach to sales might surprise you. It's about as far away from the stereotypical used car salesman persona as you can get.

Eric shares why he thinks most people are uncomfortable when it comes to sales, the biggest mistake most of us make when selling our products and services and what we can do to not only become more effective at selling, but how we can sell and be totally comfortable doing so.

Click Here to Download MP3/Audio

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The end of the year is a great time to spruce up your Elevator Pitch for the new year. I'd like to invite you to post a comment and share your Elevator Pitch right here on the 10stepmarketing Connection Blog. Let me and others in this small business marketing community share feedback to help you improve your Elevator Pitch. Here's mine. Feel free to tell me what you think of it. There's always room for improvement!

'Hi, my name is Debbie LaChusa and I created 10stepmarketing to help small business owners and solo-professionals learn how to successfully market their own business in 10 simple steps.'

Click "Comments" below to share your opinion and your Elevator Pitch.

If you've read the book 'E-Myth' then you know that in it Michael Gerber talks about systemizing your business. You create this system so that as your business grows, you can either automate parts of your business or you can employ others to handle parts of your business. The system ensures the delivery of your products and services is consistent no matter who is doing the work. And, it is essential if you want to build a successful business.

What do most small business owners do? They start a business by doing everything themselves. Okay, so that is a necessity for many people starting out, myself included. They know how to do everything, but the system is in their head. So there's no easy way to grow the business and bring on new people.

This limits how big your business can grow. And it limits how much money you can make. The simple solution is to create a system, automate as many parts of that system as possible, and delegate the tasks that don't require your expertise. Do this and you'll enjoy your work more, your business will grow faster and you'll make more money without getting burned out.

Do you have a system in place for your business? Or does everything rely on you being there to get done?

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Does anyone else have trouble focusing on work this time of year? There is so much going on with the holidays and shopping and parties that its downright tough to stay on task sometimes.

As a solo-professional, this can also become a year-round problem. When you work for yourself and by yourself, there's just YOU to keep you on task. You know what you need to do, but you may have a tough time getting yourself to do it. Or, you may get distracted and never get around to the important tasks that are required to build and grow your business.

Other than the holidays, I've never had too much trouble with this. If anything, I tend to work too much because I can, and because I love building my business and watching it grow. But if you're one of those people who gets off task easily, its even more important to have a plan. By taking the time to create a business and marketing plan that maps out how you want your business to grow, and spells out exactly what you need to do on a month-to-month basis to acheive that growth, you can more easily stay focused.

And, you can build some extra down time into your plan around the holidays, or over the summer, or whenever you want. Ahhh, the advantages of being self-employed!

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Weekly Marketing Success Podcast:

"Benjamin Williams of ProvidingInterviews.com Interviews 10stepmarketing Founder, Debbie LaChusa"

Today's Marketing Success Podcast is a little bit different. Instead of me interviewing a successful small business owner or marketing expert, I'm the one being interviewed! Benjamin Williams of ProvidingInterviews.com recently interviewed me about 10stepmarketing and about success. And he was a diligent interviewer, rattling through more than 20 questions in under 15 minutes! We talked about marketing and how I ended up in this business, my $3000 mistake, why some people are successful and others aren't, and a whole lot more.

Click Here to Download MP3/Audio

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I always take some extra time off during the holidays. My kids are home on winter break, and its nice to be able to spend a little more time with them and just enjoy this time of year. That's one of the things I love most about having my own business - the ability to take time off when I want to.

The other side benefit I always realize is that by taking time off, and stepping away, it allows me to see things more clearly. It enables me to step back and really see my business from the outside. And I always come back to work refreshed and full of new energy and ideas to move my business forward.

It's easy to get caught up in the "to do" lists and the day to day tasks involved in running our business. So I encourage you to take a little time off, step back and focus on something else. It'll be good for you, and for your business, too.

What do you do to re-energize yourself and take a fresh look at your business? I'd love to hear about it.

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