Have you developed a profile for who your best clients may be in the business-to-business marketplace? Do you know what kind of organizations need your service the most? Or what their biggest challenges are? Does your marketing strategy address these Read more (members only)

A common mistake service professionals make is to focus on nice-to-have benefits in their marketing messages. But in order to get your prospects to respond, it’s not enough that they might want what you offer. It has to be something they are willing to spend money on, and they must be able to justify that purchase to themselves and others. Read more (members only)

Should you focus on a particular niche or target market, or let the niche find you? That’s a question that many service professionals wrestle with, especially in the start-up phase of their business. I recommend a combination approach. Read more (members only)

As a long-time GET CLIENTS NOW! program leader and now Director of Training and Licensing for GCN, I’ve noticed that one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding for users of the GCN system is the relationship between Appetizers and Success Read more (members only)

If you’ve been in business for more than five minutes, you already know that the best way for any self-employed professional to get clients is by referral. But the process of building sufficient word of mouth to produce the number of clients you need can seem daunting. Read more (members only)

“I’ll have a grande, no foam, non-fat, six-pump, caramel, extra hot, latte macchiato.” This is what I actually heard someone order at a local famous-name-brand coffee shop. What has the world come to? In order to make it through the day, we have to order Read more (members only)

Independent professionals often struggle with trying to identify their market niche or target market. Sometimes when you are struggling to accomplish something, it can be helpful to look at why you are doing it in the first place. The core reasons for getting it done can frequently provide guidance that all of the tactical how-to’s can’t offer. Read more (members only)

This planning worksheet can be used to lay out the details of any business or marketing project. It includes space to record an overall goal, resources needed, potential obstacles, time and money required, a task list, and the project’s timeline. Read more (members only)

A bit of a trick question with just one answer — yes! — but it often meets with varying responses. Some business owners don’t want to choose one, and others had never really considered it (shouldn’t I be willing to work with anyone who is breathing Read more (members only)

This sample form for collecting and filing information about prospects and contacts is designed to be used as part of a manual contact management system, or as an input document for a computerized system. It records your prospects’ contact information, Read more (members only)

If you’re feeling stuck about naming your business or brand, or finding just the right phrase for your tag line, here’s one of my favorite techniques for stimulating your creativity. Take a pad of small sticky notes and on each note write one word that says something to you about your business or brand. Read more (members only)

The best way to go about choosing your market niche depends a lot on the products and services you are selling. For self-employed professionals who market their own services, the formula for a solid niche is: target market + specialty + desire + affinity. Read more (members only)