Out of desperation sales people in the services industries are often tempted to buy a done for you marketing system. It sounds so good just what you need to get things going. The problem is the system was developed by someone else for someone else, not you. It doesn’t necessarily fit your business and you don’t know how to implement it the way you’re supposed to. Consequently you don’t get anywhere near the results you expect to get.
There aren’t any get rich quick solutions. The only ones getting rich from get rich quick solutions are the people selling them. Instead of trying to take a short cut and ending up on a long diversionary path you’d be better off learning how to develop a marketing system that’s specific to you and your business.
You need to develop your own marketing system for generating your own proprietary leads. It doesn’t do you any good to buy internet leads that are sold to 50 competitors too. When the leads are your own you’re much more likely to earn some business.
As a professional sales coach I’ve found the quickest way to generate real leads is to show my clients how to develop a marketing system that’s specific to them. For many this is foreign and scary territory. For others its small changes in what they have that result in the quantity and quality of leads they’re striving for.
Your sales success is directly tied to your ability to attract the right prospects. As you develop your marketing system you want to do so in a way that forms a message to market match, and filters the market for the people you want to work with. This means you stop investing time in activities that don’t produce results, you hold fewer appointments and generate more business because you aren’t meeting with long-shots hoping to convert them into buyers, and you have time to actually enjoy your work and your clients.
If you can’t enjoy your clients they can’t enjoy you, and that means: lower client retention, few if any referrals, and more work for you. It all ties together in a smooth flow. First, you have to attract and get the attention of the right people. Next, you have to get them to reach out to you. Then you qualify your leads for the ready buyers and focus your energies on them.
Long-term success in service businesses is determined by your ability to develop long-term relationships with your clients. A good marketing system will get the right prospects entering your sales funnel, a good sales process will help them become clients, and a good referral system will keep them loyal to you.
It takes both work and time to develop the systems required for business success. But it takes a lot less time than cold calling and acquiring low value clients that don’t stay with you. Once you understand how to put it all together business becomes fun again, and you have the time and financial freedom to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
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