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On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from C.J. Hayden | Selfgrowth.com
- From Prospect to Client in Thirty Seconds - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenThe process of converting a prospect to a client can seem like it takes forever. You meet a prospective client, follow up with him or her over time, and hopefully have a chance to make a sales presentation or schedule an initial consultation at no charge. Then you follow up some more, trying to ...
Views: 1366 - Where the Clients Are - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenA friend of mine is an IT consultant. He's been an independent contractor for the 20-plus years I have known him, and gets all his consulting contracts through agencies. Even when he works a year or two for the same client, the agency takes 15-20% of what the client is paying for his services. I ...
Views: 1447 - Being Unique is a Good Thing... Isn't It? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenNew entrepreneurs frequently hear the advice to "be unique" in their marketing. The basic idea is a valuable one -- to get attention in a crowded marketplace, you must stand out in some way. Distinguishing your product or service from the competition can make your marketing more effective. ...
Views: 1443 - What You Are Marketing Is Yourself - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. Hayden"Call us today and change your life," proclaimed the hot pink flyer on the bulletin board. It was signed "Sunrise Hypnotherapy" with a phone number and a blind email address. No practitioner's name appeared anywhere on the flyer. Posted near it were numerous other leaflets, advertising ...
Views: 1351 - What if No One Signs Up? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenIt's the nightmare of every professional who offers group programs. You design a powerful workshop, schedule a date, broadcast your marketing message… and no one registers. Then what? Let's assume you have the basics down. You've chosen a compelling topic, identified a likely audience, and ...
Views: 1384 - To Attract Attention, You Have to Show Off - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenRecently, a client of mine complained, "I'm really good at what I do. I shouldn't have to market myself." In fact, he is quite good at his profession, but the problem is that not enough prospective clients know about him. Like many professionals, he is reluctant to talk about his ...
Views: 1400 - Making Time for Marketing - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. Hayden"I don't have time to market." It's a common complaint from self-employed professionals. When you are the only one who can serve the clients, manage the business, and perform all the sales and marketing functions, time becomes the most precious commodity you have. How can you find time for ...
Views: 1489 - Have You Created an Impossible Business? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenIt's easy to think that any business can be successful if you work hard enough, but there are many situations where this just isn't so. Consultants, coaches, and other service professionals often start a business believing that all they need to do is charge a "reasonable" fee and sell ...
Views: 1389 - Five Myths of Internet Marketing for Independent Professionals - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenThere's more marketing hype published on the Internet in one day than P.T. Barnum generated in his lifetime. Like a worm swallowing its tail, the Internet marketing beast feeds mostly on itself. The vast majority of what appears on the Internet about marketing is designed to help you market ...
Views: 1437 - What's Your Business Model? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenIf you have enough clients to keep you busy, you must be making a good living, right? Well, not necessarily. Some of the busiest professionals around aren't earning enough to pay their bills. On the other hand, there are some consultants, coaches and other service providers who have plenty of ...
Views: 1434 - Turning Your Services into a Product - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenOne of the biggest challenges in selling professional services is that what you are offering is intangible. Your product can't be seen, touched, or tasted. Until your prospective clients experience what you do, they have no way of knowing if it will turn out, whether they will like it, and how ...
Views: 1197 - Web Technology in Marketing: Friend or Foe? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenEvery independent professional should have a website, an ezine, and an email marketing strategy, right? If you're not taking maximum advantage of web technology to market your professional services, you are behind the times, and missing out on huge opportunities. At least that's what most ...
Views: 1246 - What Do Your Clients Need? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. Hayden"Every person who has ever started a business, I imagine, thought he had a good idea. It's the smart person, and the rare person, who tries to find out the most important thing: do other people think it's a good idea?" Those words of wisdom come from Bernard Kamoroff, author of "Small-Time ...
Views: 1204 - You, Too, Can Be a Salesperson - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenI am not a sales and marketing guru. I've written two books on marketing and taught thousands of people how to sell themselves, but really, I don't know more about sales and marketing than most of you. What I know how to do is talk to people, all kinds of people -- restaurant owners and ...
Views: 1120 - Changing Your Position When There's Competition - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenAre you finding many of your best prospects already working with competitors? When you pursue a new opportunity, is someone else capturing the prize? Maybe it's time to re-evaluate your positioning. Your market position is the place you occupy in the mind of your prospective clients. It's ...
Views: 1127 - Is Procrastination Holding You Back? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenWhen you look at your marketing to-do list, do many of the items on it look all too familiar? Have entries like "call Donna Sanchez" and "follow up with Floyd Corp." been copied from a previous week? Putting off unappealing tasks may be human nature, but for an entrepreneur, procrastination can ...
Views: 1258 - Marketing or Selling -- Which Is More Important? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenA question I often get from clients and students goes something like this: "I've been collecting marketing ideas... and I have a drawer full! I also have a stack of promising leads I've accumulated. And I know it's important to stay visible, so I do a lot of networking, but then I just end up ...
Views: 1216 - Managing the Time You Haven't Got - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenDo the words "time management" rub you the wrong way? For many busy professionals, the real problem seems to be that there isn’t any time left to manage. You can sometimes get better at managing your time by prioritizing all your tasks and scheduling carefully. But when you're already using all ...
Views: 2169 - Networking on the Net - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenNetworking is one of the most effective ways to find clients for any consulting or professional services business. But if you limit your networking to only what you can do in person, you'll be missing out on a huge number of possibilities. Networking is more than entering a room full of ...
Views: 1494(1 vote) - Networking on the Net - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenNetworking is one of the most effective ways to find clients for any consulting or professional services business. But if you limit your networking to only what you can do in person, you'll be missing out on a huge number of possibilities. Networking is more than entering a room full of ...
Views: 1494(1 vote) - Can't You See I'm Working? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenFor many working parents, telecommuting or a home business may seem like the answer to your prayers. You want to have more time with your kids and greater flexibility, so you take the leap, install a second phone line, and set up a computer in the dining room. But the first thing you may ...
Views: 1358 - Will Seminars Get You Clients? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenI often suggest public speaking as a powerful way to show prospective clients what you can do. Many professionals and consultants have built successful practices by giving free presentations to associations, businesses, and educational institutions. But what about producing your own seminar, ...
Views: 1307 - What's Your Marketing Attitude? - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenEntrepreneurs pay a lot of attention to the mechanics of marketing. They take workshops, read books, and hire consultants to find out how to do the best job they possibly can. With my own clients, I often discover that their knowledge of marketing techniques is quite good already. What they ...
Views: 1319 - Breaking the Voice Mail Barrier - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenEven if you never place a cold call, you still have to reach people by phone. That customer who was so interested last month never called you back, and now you must call her. You call once, twice, three times, but you can't get her in person. How can you manage to close a sale if all you ever ...
Views: 1395(2 votes) - Lack of Business Isn't Always the Problem - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenWhen you're just starting out in business, it's a safe bet that you need more clients. But what if you have been up and running for a while, and you're still not making as much money as you would like? You may be in the habit of thinking that attracting new clients is the answer, but this isn't ...
Views: 1420(2 votes) - New Year's Revolution - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2009 from C.J. HaydenNo, that's not a typo in the title. Resolutions are easy; most of us make them at least once a year. A revolution, on the other hand, is something you may not have made since you started your business. Starting a business is actually quite revolutionary. When you began yours, there were ...
Views: 1551(2 votes)