PRACTICE MARKETING blog

Now more than ever you need to differentiate yourself from your peers. Everyday you hear that times are tough and that money is tight. This may be the best news that you have heard.

What am I saying? Have I lost my mind? Just the opposite: read on. When times are tough and money is tight, one of the first budget items that practices and firms cut is marketing. Cutting back saves money doesn’t it? Actually, cutting back on marketing can create an even deeper problem called smaller market share.

Not investing in marketing is counter intuitive to good business thinking. When you promote yourself when many aren’t, prospective clients will consider you above others. This climate presents the opportunity that you have been waiting for and lends itself to a high ROI for your strategic marketing investment. Do not be one of the many who act counter-intuitively to good business sense. Grab as much of the market share as you can handle, while others cut back.

You can market yourself with little or no cost. Actively gather testimonials and referrals. Publish a blog and an e-newsletter. Attend targeted networking events. Set up speaking engagements. These are just a few ideas. For maximum efficiency and accountability, retain a marketing coach.

Have you noticed that many professionals spend a great deal of time and money on collateral literature? They hire a graphic artist and a copywriter to put their masterpiece together. They spend hours discussing design and colors.

The finished product is this four color trifold brochure. It tells the history of the business with all the services and features provided. This truly conveys a professional image that one is proud to hand out.

Have you ever received one of these brochures? I am sure that you have. Did this piece of work motivate you to buy? Did you read it from cover to cover? Most likely the answer is no.

You accepted it graciously and wanted to know how this service or product would make you money or save you money. Somewhere in the brochure it was mentioned but it did not stand out, nor was it compelling. In fact you never even read it before putting it on your desk.

If this sounds familiar, what has been accomplished? I call it collateral damage. The objective to grab the interest of the prospect failed and you are told that it will be read. If there is interest they will get back to you.

Your objective should have been to uncover the needs of the prospect and demonstrate what is in it for him/her. The hot buttons can only be hit when the prospect tells you what they are. Literature, though nice, does not accomplish the objective unless it is uniquely customized for the prospect.

You would be better served spending more time on relationship building; more time on presentation and discovery skills; more time promoting your expertise and less money and time creating pretty brochures that are about you. The result would be less collateral damage.

The price of stamps are going up to 44 cents on May 11, 2009. You have until May 11 to buy the 42 cent Forever Stamp that will be valid, forever (they go up to 44 cents on 5/11 too). As the cost of stamps will be going up about .05% every year, it may be a pretty good investment! I’ll leave that up to the financial advisors.

My concern is that direct regular mail marketing is a staple of day-to-day marketing. You may not want to utilize regular mail marketing due to its low lead generation ratio (and possibly low closing ratio). Arguably, it’s about 1%. True, one man’s junk mail is another business’ direct regular mail marketing campaign.

How do you go through the mail? Over the trashcan? The chuck-ratio of regular mail marketing is rather high. The chuck ratio of package mail marketing is much better - we don’t throw away gifts as easily. Inevitably the cost of this will also go up.

Moreover, I am saddened that during these challenging economic times our USPS is making it more expensive for the average business to market itself. They would argue that they are only meeting their own costs; and are staving off their own bail out.

What do you think? How does this impact your Word-of-mouth marketing strategies?

We were discussing the “BENEFITS OF ASKING FOR (AND COLLECTING) TESTIMONIAL LETTERS” at a Rainmakers Roundtable we were doing at a law firm earlier this week:

1) Obviously, to show potential clients (prospects).
2) Also, to show your other partners and associates (to set an example).
3) To make your other marketing materials (e.g., websites) more credible and relevant.
4) To segue into asking for referrals.
5) As your client writes the Testimonial Letter they are branding the positive experience they had with you (they are more apt to remember and thus recommend you).

It is best that they write the Testimonial Letter, and not just sign off on it. But you can give your clients ideas: Instead of a simple “praise letter” that basically says “you did a great job, thanks”… Ask your clients to be as specific as possible, without revealing private information, for example:
“In one or two sentences, can you describe the situation you were in?” (adversity/aspiration/problem)
“In one or two sentences, can you describe what we did to help you?” (advice/action/solution)

“In one or two sentences, can you describe how what we did helped?” (achievement/advantage/benefit)

This simple template for an anecdote thus makes the Testimonial Letter more substantive.

Today Michael Arrington took a break from his extremely popular blog TechCrunch; read his blog post. You may not know his name; but in high geekdom, in the Web 2.0-mosphere, in the blogopshere… Michael Arrington may as well be a deity. And I’ve read enough blog commentary and outright reports about Michael’s Arrogance. Maybe he is… or maybe he is stand-offish for rightful reasons. Or sick and tired of being pitched all the time… I can only imagine.

But this brings up a more serious question… NOT “what will happen to his blog?” For Michael has empowered other writers to contribute to his blog; like a magazine - not a column. TechCrunch is an institution; not a personal brand. And I’m sure Michael’s brand will be preserved (in whatever perception people have). [Incidentally, I am also proud of how Dan Schawbel has brought on other writers on his Personal Branding Blog. Likewise, I welcome Barry & Mark that have begun to post here too.]

That’s lesson #1 to be learned. Leverage your personal brand: Create intellectual property that no requires your physical presence. Musicians create albums, then create labels. Trump is not just a real estate developer. This way you can take a break, and keep rollin’.

But there’s another lesson opportunity raised…
It’s a frustration raised to me by luddites, naives, the confused or complaining alike.
“Facebook and all that blogging stuff just makes my personal life too… public.
I like my business communications to stay… professional.”
Of course, it is said to me with a sneer or disappointment. I have to smile. And I have to comfort. … I listen and nurture, before predicting and advising. If they’re nice

First I explain, Continue Reading »

Stories where you’re quoted helps promote your “expertise brand” - as is my case with the Wall Street Journal’s Startup Journal & Entrepreneur magazine some time ago. But I prefer to help my clients create on-going columns and other articles, as is my case with Long Island Business News and Financial Advisor magazine.

While being quoted helps get your name out there, regular articles helps to get your expertise out there. Getting your articles regularly published in professional journals, local newspapers, and colleagues’ newsletters is actually easier than being in the right place at the right time for journalists (as PR agents do).

My latest articles can be found in Personal Branding magazine, where I interviewed “G” from FOX’s Secret Millionaire - about his own personal branding success tips. You can also read my latest column in the New York Real Estate Journal in this week’s issue.

The first step is to write… which is why blogging is a great start. Having a cache of 2 or 3 articles enables editors/publishers to take a look at your work. Many times they can will publish it as-is, or request a new (unpublished) topic. The traditional column length is 700 words.

The second step is to mine your relationships for media contacts… which is why LinkedIn, etc. is a great start. Ask your centers of influence and other colleagues about writing for their newsletters, contacts at local/regional newspapers, and trade journals.

The third step is to a) learn more about these publications & b) develop a relationship with these contacts. Like any business relationship, don’t begin with a pitch. Rather, start with questions. You should already know if they’ve covered the kind of topics you want to write about. (Avoid a foot in mouth response: “Umm… actually… we published something like that last month.”)

Yes, it takes more time than simply “cold e-mailing” your articles… but relationships are more valuable than transactions. For example, last January, one of my clients had introduced me to the publisher of the New York Real Estate Journal. She was overwhelmed with professional and personal pressures that prevented us from developing our relationship. Now exactly a year later, we’ve begun to add value to one another - and to her readers. Likewise, I’ve since been quoted by Long Island Business News several times since ending my series of business columns.

With due diligence and diligent efforts, you too will develop a long list of media quotes and better yet, published articles. Have you been quoted some place? Do your articles appear regularly in publications? Comment below; we get about a 1,000 readers every week.

On Friday, one of my clients, Bruce Maasbach arranged a seminar for his circle of real estate agents. While much of the time should have been dedicated to a tactical, Web 2.0, Marketing Action Plan… my inspirational preamble was more valuable. First a mindset change, or a paradigm shift, has to take place for a Real Estate Agent to do business from 2009 on. Hear what I mean:

Three 10-minute parts will automatically be on the right-hand of the video above when I upload to my blip.tv account. With the poor lighting and zoom, the video quite frankly sucks. But my audio silhouette - with hand gestures - gets my points across!

VIDEO 1: I go through how the market has changed over the past 10 years.
VIDEO 2: I explain how ludicrous the real estate industry has been, and a brave new vision for them.
VIDEO 3: I talk about how real estate professionals can begin creating a new business model.

Originally, I had brought my projector, my laptop, with a PowerPoint… but there was no table for the equipment, screen (or white wall), and I’m sure WiFi would’ve been “too secure.” I’m a speaker, not a presenter, so I didn’t care.
LESSON TO BE LEARNED: I did bring hand-outs, which are low-tech and guaranteed to work.

What do you think about the new Business Model Vision I proposed for real estate agents/brokers?

A few days ago, I was then invited to speak at the Attorney/Accountant Networking Group; there, I outlined a PRE/PRESENT/POST goals for our networking. Here’s a re-cap:

PRE the meeting: Have a goal of who/type of person you’d like to meet & how many. PRESENT: Be present; leave your cell phone or Blackberry alone. Don’t participate in “drive-by” networking (those who run past you handing business cards). Don’t pitch anybody; likewise, a good 10-minute conversation is “enough” with 1 person. I “doggy-ear” those I plan on getting back to - especially prospective clients. POST: Follow-up within 3 business days. They may be prospects, centers of influence, or potential connectors to either of those 2. AND, put them into your database - and preferably, your e-newsletter list.

SO what are the 4 types of groups?
1) Trade associations: Not necessarily those of your peers, but your target market’s association. Of course, as a lawyer, you probably get a lot of referrals from other attorneys… so Bar Associations are a good choice. And more and more CPAs are concentrating on a niche market, or specialized service; thus, Societies can also be a good trade association choice. Nearly every profession/industry have national and local associations; plus within their profession/industry there are sub-categories/specialties; moreover, often ethnic/geographic groups form within trades/professions.
2) General gatherings: These include chambers of commerce and other open rooms that attract a variety of professionals. Often they meet early in the morning or in the evening. There may be competitors, peers, colleagues, and clients in the room. For all those folks, standing out and showcasing your distinctive expertise (preferably with a 1-liner) is paramount. Don’t forget the ones sitting down; often business owners and other decision makers don’t know how to network well. And don’t forget to wear your own badge.
3) Non-compete groups: Like the one I belong to, American Business Associates (ABA), these are usually small, round-tables of 15-20 professionals. As it implies, there are no competing professionals in the room. While there may be more than one financial advisor or attorney, they usually agree on specific areas of focus. Some non-compete groups are more ‘retail’ oriented, featuring more business-to-consumer businesses; others are more ‘professionals’ oriented, featuring advisors including attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors; still others are more niche, featuring professionals who all target one market (e.g., healthcare).
4) Database meetings: These are the informal meetings that you can create from your own database. By networking your clients, centers of influence, and colleagues, you are growing everybody’s network, influence, and thoughts of you. As they invite their circle of influence, your network grows exponentially. Don’t overlook this bounty in your own background; and don’t underestimate the folks that are dormant in your database. The new year is a great time to spark old relationships.

This write-up will soon appear in the NCCPAP Nassau-Suffolk newsletter. On Tuesday, January 6, I facilitated the first meeting of our NCCPAP Marketing Roundtable. I would like to extend a special thank you to Doug Sinetar, a Roundtable member, for opening up his conference room to us. The small CPA firms represented ranged from solo practitioners, to partnerships, to firms with around 7 accountants.

Each member received a copy of my book, “365 Marketing Thumb-rules: Daily reminders for rainmakers.” I used the book to remind our members of the different types of marketing channels and marketing collaterals. It will continue to be our workbook, reminding members of what can and should be doing.

Unlike a seminar or workshop, I asked the Roundtable a series of questions; thus each member had an equal opportunity to share their backgrounds, their marketing questions, and marketing experiences. After our introductions, we began to share some marketing questions and concerns. For example, one member felt she may have been doing “too much networking.” Another member was more concerned in general lead generation, while another chimed in that he wanted to “upgrade” his clientele.

On the other hand, another CPA wanted to Continue Reading »

Many people today are frightened and misfocused. You may be one of them. Are you looking back and rehashing the things you did wrong or could have done differently. Well, none of us have the ability to change the past. What we do have control over are our actions going forward. Therefore you may want to focus your energy on the future.

You have the ability to stop wasting your energy on events that are beyond your control. Find a mentor or a coach who could help you get clear on the activities that would be in your best interest and the right actions you can take now. When you are in action good things usually happen. Not only will you have your focus properly directed, some positive results may come of it.

I hope that these words help you or someone you know who could benefit from a mental adjustment.

In addition to the blogs I typically read, I use Google.com/ALERTS to keep me apprised whenever any blog or article uses a phrase I’d be interested in (e.g., “practice marketing”): Often these two lists overlap. Case in point, this morning I read a great post by Kevin O’Keefe who writes the “Real Lawyers Have Blogs” (which conveniently, properly, and ethically promotes the LexBlog ‘bLAWg’ platform). His latest post berated an attorney who did what I refer to “on-line ambulance chasing”:

The latest comes from Dallas Attorney Shezad Malik who posts ‘Ambulance And Car Accident in Leonard, North of Dallas.’Of course the longest paragraph in the post:

If you or a family member has been injured because of the fault of someone else; by negligence, personal injury, slip and fall, car accident, medical malpractice, trucking accident, drunk driving, bad product, toxic injury etc then please contact the Dallas Texas Personal Injury Attorney Dr. Shezad Malik. For a no obligation, free case analysis, please call 817-255-4001 or Contact Me Online.

Blogs like this are being used to game Google and for no other reason at all. The lawyer is regularly updating his blog with keywords related to his locale and injury matters hoping that his blog will rise to the top of the search engines for related terms. And of course throw in a few links in target text like ‘personal injury’ linking to your website for added SEO effect.

To the majority of bloggers, the media, and sane people, the lawyer looks like an idiot at best. To me, he’s an embarrassment to our profession.

To which I commented (and felt it was worthy enough for re-print as a post here): Well, there are 4 issues going on here: 1) codes of ethics 2) personal ethics 3) value of blawg and other educational marketing 4) SEO.

1) The above example (and the many, many others) are the on-line version of “ambulance chasing,” which has given the PI atty a bad brand to begin with. Hence, there are codes of ethics on how to use the web — and they will be improved (that is, more specific - not just more words, hopefully) as years go on.

2) Of course, like other regulations and laws (like speeding), there is only so much policing to be done. It’s comes down to personal responsibility, values, ethics, and pride. Thus, the PI/trial world been able to overcome much public derision (and good jokes).

3) As blawgging, podcasting, video, e-book marketing grows more mainstream (in the legal community), more attorneys (and para staff) will realize that the real value isn’t just mere “display advertising,” but rather credibility and remark-ability as they share insight, thought, perspective (though not advice).

4) SEO: keyword-dropping, like name-dropping, will be a perennial if not pretentious issue. SEO algorithms have grown more sophisticated and we should always blog with it in mind. It isn’t WRONG; heck, as an intelligent form of marketing, blawging should be SEO conscious: Though our SEO-friendly posts & comments should be checked with the above 3 principles.

On December 16, I was invited back for a 3rd time to address the Preferred Providers Network of the National Network of Accountants. My topic included a worksheet that would help the room of CPAs, attorneys, and financial advisors to “Trigger More Referrals, with a catchy 1-liner.” You can practice along, with the worksheet attached, and the video below. Better yet, add your 1-liner below in the comments. (The video seminar brightens up after about 15 seconds.)

I introduced our Community Hexagon™ to the room. Many had been to a previous seminar (Target your Market to the 4°), which went over the Community Dartboard™. They are similar concepts - in that they outline the 6 facets of a “community,” a like-minded demographic that shares lifestyle aspects that encourages culture & identity. It’s not so esoteric: Dog lovers and trial attorneys are sub-cultures, that is, they share all 6 facets of the Community Hexagon™.

Likewise, we can take the more-general community of pet owners and the community of professionals and go to the “4th degree” in the Community Dartboard™. By doing so, we would be able to check-off all 6 criteria on the Community Checklist™ with which the worksheet begins. How far can you go on the downloadable Worksheet? Does your target market meet all 6 facets that would make it a Word-of-mouth buzz-friendly group?

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CPAs and attorneys are actively marketing themselves now more than ever; financial advisors have been savvy for years now. Yet most professionals fall into the same branding quagmire as most marketers: They get mesmerized by the Madison Avenue marketing jargon like “branding.”

First of all, most professionals (and marketers) confuse a brand with a logo. Your logo (or face/fashion for a personal brand) is not the brand… it’s the branding iron.

Remember that the concept of a brand comes from the cruel practice of singing the hides of cows, etc. The brand isn’t the tool the cowboy (or factory farm) owns. Rather, it’s the image burnt onto the animal. Cowboys branded their cattle to showcase ownership (and prevent theft from competitors). At the risk of relating our clients to cash cows, our brand is meant to be a sign of ownership over them. That means we should first and foremost be “branding” our clients. They should know our branding irons… our marketing materials, especially a S.M.A.R.T. 1-liners [click for related post].

Secondly, we should presume ownership over our target market community. That is our brand should quickly showcase to whom we are best suited… our ideal client. This is more easily done with a S.M.A.R.T. 1-liner trigger than even a logo.

As you design or improve your marketing materials and Marketing Action Plan, keep your brand in mind. Not its image or even “brand experience,” but keep the result of your branding irons in mind. BTW: The original brands were simple geometric shapes (that could be easily fashioned by blacksmiths). Lesson? Keep it simple.

By focusing on your brand - and not just your irons - you can more quickly practice marketing your expertise and personal brand, within your codes of ethics and compliance obligations.

For the second year in a row the American Bar Association has compiled The bLAWg 100 (clever pun intended); the cover story for the December issue of the ABA Journal. Even more dramatic than how the legal community has taken to blogging, is the American Bar Association launching their own social network, called LegallyMinded.com. Poised to become the LinkedIn for the legal community, it not only enables lawyers to launch their own blog, but also provides articles (Resources) on practice management, marketing, and careers. While it’s just beginning, ABA is pro-actively helping to make blawging (and on-line networking in general) acceptable and soon mainstream.

Are you getting any comments from prospective customers like “our budgets being slashed”, or “It’s not in the budget”? Continue Reading »