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Advertising, Sales and Marketing
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The 7 Crucial Steps Independent Professionals Need to Take before Marketing Their Servicesby Susan Martin Are you an independent professional who needs more customers? You don’t need a large marketing budget to generate sales for your product or service. But you will need to take some important steps in order to “position” yourself in the marketplace. Here are 7 steps you won’t want to skip: 1. Identify your ideal client and claim your niche. Hone in on the type of person or business you can get the best results for. Get really clear on the market segment or type of problem you solve. Get really specific, don’t be afraid that you might be eliminating 90% of the population, the more specific you get, the easier it will be for them to recognize themselves and know you’re the right choice. 2. Pinpoint their pain. What are the things that keep them awake at night that your product or service can help them solve or eliminate? People buy when there is a need. The more urgent the need, the faster and easier it is to make the sale. Recognize their pain, hit a nerve and help them understand that they need to solve it! 3. Understand what their customers really want. What are the results that your ideal clients are looking for? What are the REAL reasons they’ll want to buy from you? Avoid talking about features here; concentrate on the results they’ll get from working with you and the things that will motivate them to buy (like make money, save time, etc.) 4. Get clear about what makes you different from your competition. Identify your USP. Give them a reason to say YES! With so much competition out there these days, you really need to stand out. Don’t forget about this critical step. 5. Create a compelling values proposition and USP. And use them in all of your marketing communications - your website, business card, sales letters, brochures, sound-bites etc. 6. Develop a powerful message. And make sure that your message matches your target market and customer, and your market matches the medium (the vehicle you’re using to reach your customer.) This way your message will hit the people who need you the most. 7. Position yourself as an expert problem-solver. Write articles, do workshops and seminars, publish a newsletter etc. to let your ideal customer know you’re the person who will best help them solve their problems. Once you’ve taken these 7 critical steps, you’ll have a compelling marketing message that will help you attract the customers your business needs. © 2004, Susan Martin, Business Sanity. All rights reserved. No duplication without written authorization. Susan Martin is owner of Business Sanity. Visit Susan on the web at www.business-sanity.com to learn more about her Business Sanity program or contact her at: susan@business-sanity.com.
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