Do you feel like marketing is a scurry of activities that seem never-ending, and you don’t know what to do next?  I can say this because that’s how it felt for me when I first started my business.  Although you can’t get away from marketing, it can become a lot easier and more fun.

It is essential to Have Your Marketing Strategy Focus on Your Who and What.

It is not only important, it’s impossible to build a successful business and a successful long-term marketing system without your Who and What.  When you know what you provide your service on, you become an expert on it, build your confidence, and one thing leads to another.  It also helps you determine where to focus your marketing efforts.

When you reach your target market, you can talk to them.  It helps people know who to refer to you for business because you’re telling them exactly who you work with and what you work on.

Let’s correlate this to some specific marketing strategies using Direct Mail as an example.  If you were to choose this as a strategy, to whom would you mail if you didn’t know your target market or niche?  It would basically be spam.  To whom would you rather mail?  If I knew who my Who was, I’d send it to them versus just sending it to anyone on a random mailing list.

What percentage of people would have a chance of responding to the mailing list created from your Who versus a random mailing list?  You have higher chances of getting responses from that targeted mailing list.

Your target market should be specific and your niche should be benefits- and results- oriented.  If someone’s already having a problem in a particular area—finances, health, business, work/life balance, etc.—they know it.  They’ve identified it and they’re feeling it.  Then, they get something from you in terms of marketing whether it’s for a teleclass, speech, or direct mail.  Do you see how their chances of responding are improved?

If someone does marketing and gets zero results, it’s almost always because it’s not consistent with their target market and niche.  There’s no way you could do a tradeshow where many people there are your target market and not get clients from that.  It means you’re at the wrong tradeshow.  Reach out to those people, communicate effectively, and have them feel what it is you have to offer.

For some Who groups, there would be certain marketing strategies that wouldn’t be applicable, and you’d have to do something else.  Let’s say your target market is the over 60 bracket.  You’re probably not going to use social media as your marketing strategy because most of them are probably not on there.  You wouldn’t know that if you didn’t who your target market was.  Hence, the first key marketing piece being to have your marketing congruent with your target market and niche.

Remember, not everyone is your client and you shouldn’t prospect everyone you meet.

There are times to market as well as times when you don’t.  This isn’t about feeling that the three people in front of you in the supermarket line are your prospective clients.  I don’t know about you, but that stresses me out—thinking that every time I leave my house I have to be at the top of my game.  It’s not true.  This is done during my marketing times by creative, proactive marketing strategies.

Under the ‘what works for you’ are the things you enjoy.  Cold calling might be a great strategy, but it’s not one I promote because everyone I’ve talked to doesn’t really like it.

If you’re not good at doing something or don’t like it, don’t pick what I suggest as a strategy because you probably won’t do it.  Your goal in marketing is to enroll people in complimentary consultations and use that session to determine if they’re a good fit and if they’d like to hire you.  Marketing that works results in people signing up for a complimentary consultation.

In general, the marketing strategies that work best are those that allow people to experience you.  For example, when you’re speaking, giving a workshop, or hosting a teleclass, you’re out there showing what you can do.  You’re basically speaking on or about something related to your service in front of people.  Plus, they get a sense of your style and personality, which will allow them to determine whether you’re a good fit for them and see your expertise and skill level.

Have you noticed that people prefer to do business with people they know, trust, and like?  That’s huge.  When you engage in marketing that allows people to experience you it’s going to have a much bigger impact than if you just put a listing up on a referral site and they haven’t experienced you.

How do you determine what works for you?  Start by doing the things you like to do and find fun.  You can be much more effective when you have an element of joy in what you’re doing than if you’re going through a routine and trying to do things that aren’t’ comfortable.  If you don’t enjoy it, more than likely you won’t end up doing it.  A marketing strategy may not be particularly fun, but if you go for a thing that you enjoy and where you’re comfortable, that’s great.

Another piece is something that you’re good at doing.  You want to pick things that you do well or can learn to do well—things you know now or want to learn so you can actively do your marketing.  For example, when I chose speaking as my engine activity, I went out and learned everything I could about teleseminars—how to give an effective one, how to market them, how to get people in there, how sell during them, etc.  That’s what you can do once you pick your marketing strategy.  You can fine-tune it so that you become an expert at it.

Some of the things that personalize an office space in a very unique way are the renderings of the children in your life. These can come from your own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or godchildren. You know those little drawings, finger paintings, and a host of other projects? They can all become a part of your office décor as well as showing anyone who enters just what kind of person you are.

You can take some of the really impressive paintings or drawings and frame them to hang up on your walls. Those cute little knick knack type gifts are perfect decorations for your desk. You are sure to have more than one collaged pencil holder presented to you by precious little hands. In fact, you may get a new one each year so you can swap them out.

If you don’t have children around to make things for you, use some of your own quirky ideas about things you like to lend your personality to this working space. For example, maybe you have a passion for baskets. This is an easy one. Fill baskets of all shapes and sizes with things that are both beautiful and necessary for an office. Put plants in some, and use others for things such as pencil and pen holders, paper holder, and other things you may need to get your hands on quickly.

What if your thing is lighthouses? You can have a wall calendar that uses photographs of different lighthouses, a small ceramic lighthouse to hold push pins on your desk, or paintings of beautiful lighthouses on your walls. This tells people that you enjoy the peacefulness and beauty of lighthouses. It shows them that you have a certain serenity about you and that may draw them to you. Lighthouses also keep your environment peaceful and serene in appearance.

There are many reasons to use things that you truly enjoy as a part of your surroundings when you are working. What can make you feel more productive than to be in the midst of the things that calm and soothe you the most?

What successes have you had in your business?

What challenges have you had?

Come together with other business owners, committed to the success of their business and yours, to share ideas, successes, and challenges.

Led by Patty Benton, Founder and Lead Coach of the Failure is NOT an Option Coaching Program.

This event requires membership.  You can get all membership details at: http://pattybenton.com/membershipoptions/.  Register for the MasterMind Program for only $19.95/mo, and get full level support from Patty Benton and other amazing and successful business owners!

Now that you have your Engine all tuned up and ready to go, with your train chugging down the tracks, you need to get your cars in place so your passengers have a place to ride when you pick them up through your marketing efforts.  This will ensure they stay on your train until they are ready to buy.  We know that the Engine of the train makes it move, but the cars hold passengers which you need to make your marketing worthwhile.  We will uncover the components that make up the Cars of your train and how to effectively create the cars to work for you.

Register now, for FREE, and come with an open mind to find out how to get your Marketing Train cars in place, no matter where you are in your business!

If your house is large enough to devote a complete extra room to your office you probably already have a lot of ideas for it. Just remember to make the most of the space afforded to you. It will turn into just what you want with some imagination. You don’t have to spend a fortune on it either. Visit some flea markets and scour the classified ads of your local newspaper for some good secondhand office furniture. While your computer, printer, etc. should be new and state of the art, it’s perfectly acceptable to put some decent used furniture to use. It will also leave you more money to spend on the truly necessary office equipment.

Now for smaller living quarters with no extra room to spare you will need to get a bit more creative, but it CAN be done. Simply choose the room that offers the most space that can be reorganized. All you need is a corner that you can tuck into and that should not be that hard to find. People have used portions of all kinds of rooms in their homes or apartments from corners of living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and bedrooms to laundry rooms and enclosed porches.

For those tucked in corners, you will want a small desk, preferably one that is designed for small spaces. It’s also possible to go up instead of out and around when it comes to shelves and places to keep important things. You can fix it just like a puzzle by fitting each piece where it will go perfectly. If you would like a bit of privacy, invest in a privacy screen to match the décor of the rest of the room and you’re all set!

If you happen to live in a studio apartment, it may be a bit harder to find a working place, but, again, it’s not impossible. It may require some re-arranging of your furniture but you can find even a tiny space to work. You might even have a walk-in closet that you can section off to form an office. Basically, any space you can clear out for your working area will be fine.

When it comes to creating your home office, there are plenty of options. You just need to use your imagination in order to see them.

Everyone has a bad day. It’s simply unavoidable even if you are completely happy with your chosen Virtual Profession. Every day is just not going to be a perfect one no matter how much you would love for that to happen. So when you happen to have an off day, do your best to understand what’s going on so that you can keep control of your personality. Do everything you can to treat all of your clients just as you would like to be treated, even if you are getting some difficult ones.

When you have an unhappy client who seems to be doing nothing but trying to make things worse, do what you can to take a step back and calm down. Imagine yourself in the shoes of your disgruntled client and look at things objectively. Does your client have a valid complaint? If so, you need to provide reassurance that you will sort out whatever the issue is. On the other hand, if you really cannot see what the problem is, you may want to consider that your client is also having an off day.

There will always be motivating factors. A big one is when you get paid. There’s really nothing like seeing money turn up for work you have done to get you feeling energized and ready to do some more work. So when you are having a day where you aren’t feeling quite so tolerant, don’t go after someone for a late payment. It’s just not the day to do so. There could be many reasons why the payment is late. If you are in a bad mood, chances are you will come off hateful and rude. Therefore, wait another day to sort things out.

Whatever you do, when you have one of those days where nothing goes right, do not take it out on others, especially your clients. Remember to think closely about how YOU would like to be treated and proceed accordingly. The next “good day,” you will be quite thankful that you put the Golden Rule into effect.

What successes have you had in your business?

What challenges have you had?

Come together with other business owners, committed to the success of their business and yours, to share ideas, successes, and challenges.

Led by Patty Benton, Founder and Lead Coach of the Failure is NOT an Option Coaching Program.

This event requires membership.  You can get all membership details at: http://pattybenton.com/membershipoptions/.  Register for the MasterMind Program for only $1 for the first month, and then only $19.95/mo, and get full level support from Patty Benton and other amazing and successful business owners!

So does marketing really work and can just anyone market?

These are 2 questions I hear all the time! The answer to both questions is YES!

Marketing is not rocket science. It doesn’t take special skills, and truly is something that anyone can do.

So, what are the 2 reasons we don’t market effectively?

1. We try to do it all
2. We have no consistency

So how can you shut off the noise & get onto making yourself a marketing guru?

“The Marketing Training System has been a blessing to my business. Before taking Patty’s training program I used to think marketing was a waste of time, because I did not know how to market for results. I would start a marketing plan and after a few days I would quit, because I was not sure of what I was doing. No more!”
Sheila Edens-Brown, Sheer Elegance Virtual Assistant, www.sheerelegancevirtualassistant.com

Be You!

• Determine who you are and what you like to do.
• Where is your target market.
• What do they respond to?

What can you put in place today to turn off the noise?

• What noise is distracting you?
• Have you picked a specific marketing strategy or are you doing hodge-podge?
• Define your target market– and then determine what you “need” and don’t need

This is only the tip of the iceberg in what we cover in the Marketing Train System. When you go through this program, you will develop a belief in yourself, learn how to target your marketing effectively, price yourself so that you are attractive to a wider variety of potential clients in your Target Market, as well as setting up a strategic Marketing System that is built around YOU!

The consultation was awesome!!! By combining what I’ve learned in the Marketing Train with solid coaching (instead of my usual consulting), I was able to have her with me from the 1st five minutes. Our consultation lasted for almost an hour and she didn’t even ask what the hourly was. She received the contract, sent it back and paid the invoice on the same day as the consultation. I am actually looking forward to doing more. Sad to say, but I thought it was actually fun!!!!”
Becki Noles, Virtual Accuracy Companies

When I finally did the Marketing Train System myself, I tripled my business in 1 year – and I had already been in business for 5! You can make this year different!

It is up to YOU to decide what works for you in your marketing.

The Marketing Train System Webinar Series consists of:

• 6 – 2 hour calls
• The calls are held Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Feb.21^st from 1pm -3pm MST (Denver)/ 3pm – 5 pm EST (New York) for 3 weeks
• You will also get a workbook to work through as you go through the webinar
• Recording of each call
• Time for Q and A with Patty

REGISTER for only $197!

If you register by January 1^3th you can get this program for $47
This is for members of our Failure is NOT an Option Leveled Coaching Participants only!

Plus, refer a friend and receive 20% thank you per referral as our thank you!
(Just have them note your name when they register)

Presented by:

Patty Benton

I have helped hundreds of virtual professionals grow their businesses and I can help you too!

Remember, you may be solo but you are not alone!

“I was part of Patty’s Marketing Train System coaching program. One of my goals, which is encouraged in the program, is to work on obtaining speaking engagements and appearances. I was recently approached by two local organizations to be featured — one as a panelist, and one as a guest on a talk show. In the back of my mind, I remembered from our course that opportunities like these (and free, too!) are what we work toward. I moved forward and said yes to both opportunities. Without the true knowledge that something like this could propel my business, I might have opted out (“chickened out”!) and just said no. Now, I am committed and know I’ll grow from these experiences. One more “check” to add to my credentials.”

Tara Fort

So does marketing really work and can just anyone market?

These are 2 questions I hear all the time! The answer to both questions is YES!

Marketing is not rocket science. It doesn’t take special skills, and truly is something that anyone can do.

So, what are the 2 reasons we don’t market effectively?

1. We try to do it all
2. We have no consistency

So how can you shut off the noise & get onto making yourself a marketing guru?

“The Marketing Training System has been a blessing to my business. Before taking Patty’s training program I used to think marketing was a waste of time, because I did not know how to market for results. I would start a marketing plan and after a few days I would quit, because I was not sure of what I was doing. No more!”
Sheila Edens-Brown, Sheer Elegance Virtual Assistant, www.sheerelegancevirtualassistant.com

Be You!

• Determine who you are and what you like to do.
• Where is your target market.
• What do they respond to?

What can you put in place today to turn off the noise?

• What noise is distracting you?
• Have you picked a specific marketing strategy or are you doing hodge-podge?
• Define your target market– and then determine what you “need” and don’t need

This is only the tip of the iceberg in what we cover in the Marketing Train System. When you go through this program, you will develop a belief in yourself, learn how to target your marketing effectively, price yourself so that you are attractive to a wider variety of potential clients in your Target Market, as well as setting up a strategic Marketing System that is built around YOU!

The consultation was awesome!!! By combining what I’ve learned in the Marketing Train with solid coaching (instead of my usual consulting), I was able to have her with me from the 1st five minutes. Our consultation lasted for almost an hour and she didn’t even ask what the hourly was. She received the contract, sent it back and paid the invoice on the same day as the consultation. I am actually looking forward to doing more. Sad to say, but I thought it was actually fun!!!!”
Becki Noles, Virtual Accuracy Companies

When I finally did the Marketing Train System myself, I tripled my business in 1 year – and I had already been in business for 5! You can make this year different!

It is up to YOU to decide what works for you in your marketing.

The Marketing Train System Webinar Series consists of:

• 6 – 2 hour calls
• The calls are held Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Feb.21^st from 1pm -3pm MST (Denver)/ 3pm – 5 pm EST (New York) for 3 weeks
• You will also get a workbook to work through as you go through the webinar
• Recording of each call
• Time for Q and A with Patty

REGISTER for only $197!

If you register by January 1^3th you can get this program for $47
This is for members of our Failure is NOT an Option Leveled Coaching Participants only!

Plus, refer a friend and receive 20% thank you per referral as our thank you!
(Just have them note your name when they register)

Presented by:

Patty Benton

I have helped hundreds of virtual professionals grow their businesses and I can help you too!

Remember, you may be solo but you are not alone!

“I was part of Patty’s Marketing Train System coaching program. One of my goals, which is encouraged in the program, is to work on obtaining speaking engagements and appearances. I was recently approached by two local organizations to be featured — one as a panelist, and one as a guest on a talk show. In the back of my mind, I remembered from our course that opportunities like these (and free, too!) are what we work toward. I moved forward and said yes to both opportunities. Without the true knowledge that something like this could propel my business, I might have opted out (“chickened out”!) and just said no. Now, I am committed and know I’ll grow from these experiences. One more “check” to add to my credentials.”

Tara Fort