I often have conversations with clients that go something like this:
Me: You have a good, clear definition of who you help and how you help them and a good offer. Time to start getting your message in front of prospective customers.
Client: Great! OK! So I’m going to start sending a monthly ezine.
Me: Good idea.
Client: [...]

[Read more →]

If you’re a small business owner you don’t need to be up on the newest and coolest marketing activities around. You just need to make sure you have activities for these four marketing elements.

[Read more →]

The marketing strategy that will get you faster and farther than anything else put together is developing strategic alliances with other businesses so you can promote each others products and services.

Unfortunately many business owners sabotage their efforts by writing self-centered proposals which turn off prospective alliances looking for equitable win-win partnerships.

Here’s how to show prospective allies that you’re interested in a trust-based, mutually rewarding alliance.

[Read more →]

Recently, the owner of a consulting practice contacted me. In the email, she said that she needed an easier, more predictable way to find ideal prospects. She had already tried a lot of different things but nothing worked.
So we set up a meeting so I could learn more about her situation and whether I could [...]

[Read more →]

Marketing for small service businesses sucks because it’s challenging for owners to explain why their services are so valuable. Instead, use concrete examples in the customer’s own words from the customer’s perspective to explain who you work with and the problems you solve. Add use customer success stories to help prospects understand why your customers love working with you.

[Read more →]

I typically write a lot more about the “human side of marketing,” because I think topics like trust, sincerity, and emotions get overlooked in most marketing advice discussions.
And no matter how clever your copy and fail safe your system, neglect trust building and you will have to work twice as hard at your marketing for [...]

[Read more →]

What prompted this article was a client who was unhappy with me. I had given them some feedback and it hit a nerve and they told me.
There’s a time when I would have simply responded with a very logical email explaining why I was right and suck it up and follow my instructions.
And I was [...]

[Read more →]