One of the worst marketing mistakes a self-employed professional can make is to create a marketing plan that consists of activities you don’t enjoy and aren’t good at. There’s no boss looking over your shoulder, so who’s going to make you do things you don’t want to? Read more (members only)

“I asked a new client recently what he had been doing to market his professional services. “Everything,” he said. “I’ve been running pay-per-click ads on the web, I paid a copywriter to write a sales letter and mailed it to a list of local companies, I have a display ad in the Yellow Pages, I’ve even been posting flyers around town… and I still have almost no business.” Read more (members only)

“I don’t like to sell.” “Asking people for business makes me uncomfortable.” “Selling feels manipulative and sleazy.” “I’m good at what I do. Why don’t clients just come to me?”

If any of these thoughts seem familiar, Read more (members only)

Remember the Phil Collins song “Follow You, Follow Me?” I’d like to add one more line to those lyrics — follow up! Imagine that over the next five days, you were to meet five people who have the potential to immediately: 1) give you a lead, 2) do business with you, Read more (members only)

The most powerful marketing technique available may cost you nothing. Getting other people to promote your business is not only the least expensive marketing you can find, it’s often the most effective. When people begin telling their friends about you, Read more (members only)

A curious thing happens to entrepreneurs in the spring of every year. They wake up one day and realize they had better figure out how much money they made last year so they can pay their taxes. But wait, shouldn’t a business owner already know how much money he or she made last year Read more (members only)

Many business owners start the year with a written list of things they intend to accomplish, yet by year’s end these goals have either been forgotten or left by the wayside, ready to be recycled for the coming year. Read more (members only)

Many aspects of business are driven by numbers, but marketing often seems to be all about words. Whether it’s naming your business, coming up with a tag line, or writing copy for your website, you probably spend a big chunk of your marketing time trying to find just the right words Read more (members only)

Selling professional services can often be a challenge because of their intangibility. When a client hires you to deliver a service such as accounting or web design, they can’t see the outcome in advance. They have to trust that your work will produce a result they will like, Read more (members only)

“How can I improve my marketing?” a student recently asked me. “I’ve spent hours and hours trying to get clients, and none of my efforts seem to pay off.” Read more (members only)