| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Top 10 Tips To Market & Build Your Professional Practice
In building and running a professional practice (or any small business or a home-based business), there are many items that must be monitored closely. As a small operation, you can't afford to find out too late that a critical aspect of your business has gotten off-track! This list looks at 10 items to emphasize at the start of a new year, or any time you want to rapidly grow your business in a short period of time. This Top 10 is really two groups of 5 items each. The first 5 items are tools, things to have on hand that will help you grow your business quickly, while items 6 through 10 are personal qualities or personal styles that create a powerful sense of "attraction" for new clients. 1. A business plan. Include a clear mission statement, describe the services you provide, the population you serve, the benefits you provide, and financial projections. 2. A marketing plan. Include a description of your targeted market groups and budgets for time, energy and money to reach those specific groups of people. 3. A comprehensive set of brochures, exercises, hand-outs and "give aways". If word of mouth is the best advertising, make it easy for your clients to say the nicest things about you! Make sure every client has valuable information, tools and ideas to share with friends. Put real value in your literature. 4. A plan for networking. A huge part of success is just showing up! Whether it's civic activity, volunteering at your child's school, or in your house of worship, show up! The more you put into your community, and the more you contribute, the more you will get back. 5. The perfect office. Are your waiting room chairs comfortable? Are your magazines current and appropriate? How about the wall paper, the music, the carpet? Your office should tell each client that when they choose you, they are getting the best! 6. Over-respond to every situation. Give far more than expected. Answer every question, then send a relevant article a few days later. Return phone calls immediately! Promise less, then deliver twice what you promised. 7. Eliminate the cost of delay. Never wait "until you can afford" new equipment, a better office or more training. The cost of delay includes too many missed opportunities. If you need it, and you'll do it eventually, do it now! Get on the internet, get a computer billing system, upgrade your phones. Delay costs you money, time, energy and limits your creativity. Do it now! 8. Take superb care of yourself. Exercise and eat well, get plenty of rest and hang around the most delightful, challenging and exciting people you can find. See one less client per day, and spend that time adding value to your remaining clients. 9. Market yourself shamelessly. Market your practice with style, with passion, good taste, and a low-key honesty that is shame-free and comfortable for everyone around you. The community needs your skills far more than you need a job - clearly communicate what you do and how well you do it. Your community needs you! Let them know how to find you! 10. Tolerate no distractions. A clear vision and passionate commitment to your priorities makes life simpler and you become incredibly attractive to those who share your vision. Clean up any distractions and serve your clients with absolute integrity and total commitment. People know when they are getting your best. Always focus on what you want for your business in the months ahead. We don't generally get everything we wish for in life, but being clear, focusing on the important rather than the convenient or the familiar, and being smart and working hard can take us further than we imagine. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to get it. © Copyright 2003 by Philip E. Humbert. All Rights Reserved. This article may be copied and used in your own newsletter or on your website as long as you include the following information: "Written by Dr. Philip E. Humbert, writer, speaker and success coach. Dr. Humbert has over 300 free articles, tools and resources for your success, including a great newsletter! It's all on his website at: http://www.philiphumbert.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Where to Find New Customers Using B2B Direct Mail The challenge in business-to-business direct mail is knowing where to look for new business. You need a source of potential new clients that is reliable and affordable. Hispanic Market Reality and Purchasing Power How many Hispanic people live in the US currently. Well there are 35. Cause-Related Marketing Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Postcard Marketing Done Right Say it with a post card. A well designed, colorful, high impact postcard in the mail box of your prospect is your best ticket to a new customer. Small Business Pricing: Setting A Price For Your Product / Service The importance of pricing can not be underestimated as incorrect pricing can often result in the failure of a business. New businesses often make the mistake of either charging too little or too much for their product or service. How to Save Thousands on Your Marketing Marketing can be expensive. It doesn't have to be, but sometimes you will spend more than you should. Your Company Need More Marketing? Or Just Better Marketing? Many sales problems can be solved by improved marketing. Selling harder is often not the solution. How to Leverage Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool Second in a series of three articles:What if you could reach thousands of prospects, build fruitful, pro-active relationships with them, and stay top-of-mind with them on a regular basis?and not spend a fortune in the process?If this sounds too good to be true, then you've not mastered the art of leveraging your firm's online strategy. A web site is one of the most unique and powerful marketing tools you have, if you develop and use it correctly. Newsletters - A Great Way to Build Business Relationships This is an excellent way to grow your business using your mailing list (which I trust you are constantly building). However, you have to accept that there are people who'll read your newsletter and there are those who won't. Rules of Thumb for Marketing to Your Past Customers Keeping in touch can dramatically increase business, when done properly.It's a fact that your customers are your best leads. Guerilla Marketing Lesson 2: Why Do People Call Me? Before we begin, I want you to think about how many times you actually sought out an advertisement. How did you know where to look for it? Why did you choose that one? Whether you know it or not, the number of times you were exposed to the message has a huge impact on you. Gift Cards - Is It Time to Use Them for My Business? You're probably thinking, here we go again somebody is trying to sell me something that I really don't need. I'm sure it will benefit them, but will it benefit me? Firstly let me say that my company, Solutions Ink does sell gift and loyalty cards. What You MUST Understand About Your Web Numbers Two years ago, when I first started selling online, I focused on doing what I did best: generating useful content that people would want to pay for. But I quickly learned that selling a product online required me to have to learn about . Laws of Marketing - The 10 Immutable Most marketers believe that anything is achievable if you are energetic, creative or determined enough. But laws of marketing follow laws of business, and if you violate them, you risk your marketing dollars. Lessons From a Six Year Old My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Two weeks ago she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. The Fine Art of Relationship Marketing The buzzword these days is "relationship" marketing. Just what is it? And why is it important? Relationship marketing is so much more than "networking. Collecting Customer Data The Easy Way Market research is a critical component of any marketing strategy. There are many expensive sources of customer information available today. Winning At Business With Your Marketing Game Plan Stuart from Colorado had talked to a number of marketing firms and gotten estimates for designing and printing his marketing materials and building a web site for his business producing promotional cds. One firm quoted $100,000 to build his web site alone. A Forgotten Marketing Tool - The Postcard The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many of our customers and/or students use them in their business. How to Up-Sell Change As Freud cautioned, it's insanity to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. You know things have to change.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
