Debbie LaChusa

One of my 10stepmarketing Ezine subscribers recently wrote in to ask what to look for in a networking group. The email went on to say "I have very limited time and I know how important networking is. But I feel like I have been wasting my time at a couple of these non-dynamic groups."

Boy, can I relate. In fact, I have curbed my networking considerably for this very reason. In fact, I wrote an article on this topic a few months ago. You can read it here and learn the 4 key steps to successful networking that I recommend.

Laser Networking
I now practice what I call "Laser Networking" and have found it to be much more effective. In fact I just added an entire section to my The 10stepmarketing System on Laser Networking because I don't want my clients wasting time on marketing activities that don't generate results.

Laser Networking, like the rest of the marketing activities I recommend, is very targeted. As a Laser Networker, I am very selective about who I network with. And, most of my networking doesn't happen at official networking meetings. Instead I seek out people who have the clients I want, or who I believe I can create a successful partnership with.

Is networking effective for you? Post a comment and share your experience!

Are your sales lagging? Do you have a sales letter on your website but aren't generating any sales? Do you have a tough time converting prospects you speak with into paying clients? Are your speaking engagement "back of the room" sales lacking?

Ahhh ... sales. The other half of the marketing equation. Even if you are an excellent marketer, and you attract prospects like bees to honey, if you can't convert those prospects into paying clients, your business is still in trouble.

A few years ago I learned a sales trick from my mentor T. Harv Eker, that works like a charm. It's called the "Incredible Offer." And, I'd be willing to bet that you have been persuaded by the Incredible Offer at least once in your life.

An Incredible Offer is when you put together such a great package, that your audience - whether a crowd at a seminar or a single person on the other end of the phone - thinks it's crazy NOT to buy. You build up the value so high that they have absolutely no reason not to say yes.

If you're not sure what to offer, check out the article I wrote titled "Increase Your Sales with an Incredible Offer" for 10 tips to help you get started.

Then build up your offer, and go back and rework your sales pitch, your sales letter copy or your landing page to make it absolutely irresistible!

Do you have an example of an Incredible Offer you'd like to share? If so, please post a comment!

Weekly Marketing Success Podcast: "How Much Follow Up Is Enough?"

When it comes to following up with prospects, the question often arises, how much is enough? If you don't follow up enough, your prospects will never become paying clients. And, if you follow up too much, you risk being branded a pest. Here are a few tips to ensure your follow up is just right.

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(length 6:00 minutes)

I got a lesson in effectively preparing the stage for "the sale" this past week from my 17-year-old daughter's boyfriend. Prom is just around the corner and my daughter's friends were giving her boyfriend grief because he hadn't yet asked her to the prom. Seems he didn't realize he had to "ask!"

Once they made sure he knew he needed to ask, they also let him know that he had to ask in just the right way. Apparently how you ask someone to the prom is almost as important as the big day itself. Times have sure changed since I was a teenager!

So last weekend, he took her out on a surprise date (she didn't know where they were going) and arranged for her best friend to come over to our house while they were gone and leave a poster he had made and a dozen roses in her bedroom. When they got home from the date, he suggested she go up to her bedroom to get something and when she opened the door, she found the poster asking her to prom and the flowers.

Needless to say "he did good" and she said "yes."

So what's the sales lesson? Well, sales is all about preparation. Too many times, people think they can just launch right into the sales pitch. They don't take the time to set the stage and prepare their prospect for receiving that sales message. By carefully planning your entire marketing and sales process and effectively setting the stage BEFORE you launch into your sales pitch, your prospects will be much more likely to say "yes."

I remember early in my marketing career, I never really understood all the hoopla and "dog and pony" show that accompanied new business presentations. After a few years in the business, and some experience on the receiving end of such pitches, I came to learn that all of that preparation, extra effort and "show" are a very important ingredient in getting the prospect to say "yes."

It shows that you took the time to plan. It shows you care. It says a lot about how you'll treat that prospect once they become a client. Because in the end, customer service BEFORE the sale is just as important as customer service after the sale.

One of the biggest oversights I encounter with my clients is that they don't have a marketing plan. It's a common problem among small business owners and is in fact the primary reason I developed The 10stepmarketing System.

But lately, I've received quite a few questions from small business owners regarding the difficulty they are having implementing their marketing plans. It seems that for these business owners, writing the plan is easy, but executing the plan is the challenge.

If you find yourself in this situation, here are three tips.

(1) First, make sure you have a marketing activity calendar that goes along with your marketing plan. This calendar should lay out all of your marketing activities, by month, for a 12-month period.

(2) Then, look at the activities that you feel comfortable doing yourself. Schedule those activities into your daily calendar, setting aside time to do them every day, week or month as appropriate. Treat them with the same diligence as you do servicing your clients, paying your bills and other important business tasks.

(3) Then, look at the activities you either don't know how to do yourself, or know you'll avoid because you don't enjoy that type of work. And, find someone else to do these tasks. That may mean hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA), or a writer, web designer, sales person, or any of a whole host of other marketing and sales support people.

While you may not believe you can afford to hire help, what you need to realize is that you should spend your time doing what you do best and generating revenue. And the more time you can free up to do that, the more money you'll make. In my experience, if you take the step to hire help, you always find a way to pay for it. It just isn't an issue.

Where can you find help? Ask friends or business colleagues for referrals. Post your project on Elance where service providers can bid on your project - this is a great way to find inexpensive, qualified support. Check out AssistU to find a VA. Hire a college intern. Be creative.

Once you find help, delegate those projects you don't want or know how to do. I think you'll find that your business will grow and you'll be a whole lot happier.

Have you taken the step to hire help and delegate. If so, how has it worked for you? Post a comment and share.

Weekly Marketing Success Podcast: "How to Get Your Prospects to Follow Up: 5 Tips for Frustrated Marketers"

Are you frustrated with the results you get from your marketing? Are you tired of spending time, money and energy to create and send out marketing materials and then getting no response? Here are 5 tips to get your prospects to take action.

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(length 5:07 minutes)

I hope you don't mind me veering away from marketing with today's post. But something else is weighing heavy on my mind and I feel the need to share.

As I have been working today, my mind keeps wandering to the tragic situation that occurred at Virginia Tech yesterday. Even though I didn't know anyone at the school, I can't help but feel connected. I am the mother of a high school senior who will be going off to college in just a few months. Additionally, I just heard today that the first victim was a twin, and I too am a twin and I run a twins website.

It is heartbreaking to hear about so many young people being killed in a place they went to expand their horizons and grow. I can't imagine how the families and loved ones are dealing with this.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been touched by this situation. As I heard Dr. Phil quip on the news last night, "There is no making sense of nonsense." And that's just what this is. When will all of this insane violence stop?

As you know, I am all about planning. I believe you absolutely must have a plan for your business, and more specifically a marketing plan. But sometimes, even the best laid plans don't bring us the results we think they should. So while it's important to create a plan, and to take steps everyday to execute that plan, you simply can't be attached to the outcome.

This lesson was thrust in my face two times over the past few weeks. Reaffirming my belief in planning, but also trusting in the Universe. Today I'm sharing one of these lessons.

Over spring break we travelled to Las Vegas for a high school softball tournament with our 17-year-old daughter Brianna. She started off the three-day tournament with a bang, earning the nickname "big hitter." Then, on the night before the semifinal and championship games, she became extremely sick, and was unable to play on the final day of the tournament.

Her coach and team rallied around her and said, "We've got to win for Brianna, our big hitter," and they pulled together and scored 10 runs in the first inning of the semifinal game. They won that game, but ultimately lost the final game, and took second place in the tournament.

After the tournament, the team and coach circled around sick Brianna on her blanket under a tree, for their team recap. And the coach presented Bri with the team's second place trophy.

Even though Brianna was disappointed she couldn't play in the final games, I told her later I felt the outcome of the day served her better than playing that day ever could have. You see, even though Bri is a great softball player she still felt like she had to prove herself to her coach and team. The response by her team and coach when they knew they had to play without her, and the coach's honoring her with the team trophy showed her she is an important part of the team. This is a lesson she needed to learn. And it's a great example that even when things don't turn out they way we expect, they usually turn out to serve us better.

Tomorrow I'll share a client's story about how her marketing is opening unexpected doors.

I was talking to a client this week who was expressing extreme frustration in her ability to get clients. She explained that while she was having great success with her speaking engagements, public relations efforts and article marketing, and has even become the known expert in her area, when push comes to shove, people don't seem willing to fork out money to hire her.

She admitted she is having great fun speaking and writing, but she is not growing her business the way she planned. However, she did share an unexpected result from all of her marketing efforts, and that is ... everyone wants her to write articles. She is strongly considering becoming a freelance writer. It is something she really enjoys and there is strong demand for her services in this area. She's now wondering if all of her marketing is now leading her in a different direction, perhaps a better direction for her business.

At this point, we don't know for sure. But I love her attitude and willingness to trust and follow where she is naturally being led. After all, in the end isn't it all about creating a business that allows you do what you love?

Weekly Marketing Success Podcast: "How Much Time To Spend On Marketing"

Wondering how much time should you be spending on your marketing? Listen as I answer this important question and share the top two areas I believe you should be spending the majority of your time on.

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(length 5:47 minutes)

Following up on my ezine article and podcast titled "How Much Time Should You Spend on Your Marketing?" here is an example of how I spend my time on a typical day.

8:00am Read the news, read and respond to emails
9:00am Make and return phone calls to clients, vendors, partners
10:00am Complimentary coaching session with prospective client
10:30am Coordinate details with infomercial producer
11:00am Client coaching session
12:00pm Read and respond to email
12:30pm Coordinate ad changes for consulting client
1:00pm Work on marketing plan for consulting client
2:30pm Write weekly ezine article and blog posts; record weekly podcast
4:00pm Go to one of my kid's sports events or hit the gym for a workout
5:30pm Check email
6:00pm Update website copy
7:30pm Dinner & relax with family
10:00pm Check email and look at tomorrow's calendar
10:30pm Read a self-improvement, business or wealth building book
11:00pm Go to sleep

I'd love to see how you spend your day as a solo-professional. Why don't you post a comment and share?

Take a peek behind the scenes of 10stepmarketing and see where it all happens! Sit back and watch as I take you on a tour of my home office. See where I produce my weekly podcast and information products (including the equipment I use) and where I do my tele-coaching and teleclasses to teach solo-professionals and small business owners to successfully market their own business. You'll even see the "Do Not Disturb" sign my daughter made for my office door!

When I was in charge of marketing and public relations for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) back in the early 1990's the customer service representatives were my responsibility. These were the folks who were on the front-lines (via telephone) with our prospects and customers every single day.

The management felt that because the CS reps were the ones our prospects and clients interacted with, they ought to be managed by the marketing department. As I look back, I can see it was a pretty smart move on their part. Plus, it opened up my eyes to an entirely different side of marketing, for which I will be forever grateful.

Speaking of customer service, someone sent me a video last week with an inspiring story of the difference customer service can make. It shows that anyone can make an impact, with even the smallest gesture. I hope it inspires you to find a way to connect with your customers.

Click here to watch the video. It takes a minute to load. Be patient ... it's well worth the wait!

Enjoy!

Weekly Marketing Success Podcast: "How to Drive Tons of Traffic to Your Website: 3 Cheap Online Marketing Tips!"

You can have the greatest website in the world but if it isn't getting any traffic it's not going to do much to build your business. So how do you get traffic to your website? Especially if you're marketing on a shoestring budget? Listen as I share 3 cheap, but effective, ways to drive traffic.

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(length 5:10 minutes)

This week I am celebrating the launch of a brand new program. It's called 6 Figure Work At Home Mom. I have been planning the launch since the beginning of the year and I purposely timed it to coincide with Mother's Day.

In my experience, tying marketing in with events and holidays is a great way to improve exposure and response rates. And, as a small business marketer, I am always looking to get the biggest bang for the buck!

I am very excited about this new program because it will allow me to help other moms do what I have done: find a way to be home with my kids and still have a challenging, mentally stimulating career that allows me to earn good money.

The program begins on May 16th and there are a limited number of spots available. You can get all the details here.

If you'd like to read the press release I used to announce the program, you can do so here.

Later this week I'll be sharing more about how you can make the most of your small marketing budget by tying your marketing in to events and holidays.