Marketing YOUniquely eNewsletter How-to Strategies, News, Resources... A Mini-Workshop in Every Issue! www.CraigValine.com August 7, 2007 Volume 2, Issue 11 Published the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. You are on our list because you subscribed to it at our website. To change your subscription, see link at end of email. Sign Me Up for This Ezine! Disclaimer: If you find misspellings or grammatical errors in this newsletter, it's my dog's fault! (He get's me into trouble all the time! :) ================================== ¨ In this Issue: ================================== Snoopy, Happy August 7th! Feature [Guest] Article: "Too Proud To Market?" by Robert Middleton A Note From Craig: Position yourself as THE authority Craig Recommends: "Stuff" to make you more successful Please add "info@craigvaline.com" to your white list or address book in your e-mail program, so that you have no trouble receiving future issues! ================================== ¨ A Note from Craig ================================== Dear Snoopy, There are many experts in marketing - many who cater to the niche market to which I serve, which is YOU, the independent consultant, coach, or solo-professional. What makes me different than any of my major competitors? Oh, I don't know for sure. But, I can tell you that I rarely see or hear it from them. But, I think the major difference is, I confess to being a 'former' struggling consultant. When I started out I had read & studied marketing from the 'best of the best' for more than two decades before I decided to 'jump in' the business world as a consultant. I had 'insider' information that could, if properly utilized, help businesses become massively successful and profitable. However, I had no 'freakin' idea on how to BE or MARKET myself as a consultant. I attended lots of workshops and seminars, and I read a lot of books and listened to a lot of audios from 'consulting experts' - trying to find the secrets to selling myself as a credible consultant. One Saturday, I spent the entire day listening to a presentation on how the most successful and highest paid consultants market and promote themselves. Do you have any ideas on how they do it? I sort of knew, but I wasn't practicing any of the strategies at all. The most successful professionals in the world are the ones that position themselves as experts in their fields of expertise. They may or may not actually be THE expert (in the eyes of the few), but they position themselves as such with their highly-targeted markets. Many not only position themselves as experts, but position themselves as an 'authority' on the subject for which they serve. The best of the best become a celebrity, in fact, thereby positioning themselves above everyone else. (Can anyone say "Tony Robbins"?) What do the most successful professionals do that we don't do that make them so successful? They specifically serve a highly-targeted niche market They write articles, books, and special reports that focus on the problems of that highly-targeted market and provide solutions They design and create programs that specifically address and solve the problems of their highly-targeted niche market. They only speak to the groups that this highly-targeted market belongs to They use publicity and PR to their advantage to gain visibility to their highly-targeted market They let the media know they are available when they need an expert for news items They create synergistic profitable relationships with other types of businesses that cater to their target market They use testimonials from happy and satisfied clients in all their marketing materials, and use endorsements from well-known centers of influence They provide unique and innovative services to their clients They communicate with their target market on a regular basis and treat their clients like dear and valued friends. ...just to name a few. The most distinctive advantage of positioning yourself as THE expert or authority in your field of expertise is: You don't have to ask for business. Business comes to you. How can you use these strategies to propel your professional business forward? If you get one thing out of what I just wrote, the key message here is: "Position yourself as not only THE expert in your field of expertise, but become THE authority on the subject, and you'll never, ever, have to ask for business again. I write this newsletter for one reason and one reason only. I've been there. I've struggled getting clients, and I've struggled knowing what to do with them once I get them. I don't have to do that anymore. If you need assistance finding new clients or systematizing your current marketing program, ask me for help. I'm happy to help you become massively successful. Or, check out the upcoming Get Clients NOW! Marketing Coaching Program coming up in September. More info below. Have a profitable week! Craig :) P.S.  If you ever USE what I've shared in this newsletter, and it has created success for you, share your success story with me. I would love to share it with the world! Send your success stories to success@craigvaline.com P.P.S.  As a subscriber, your primary business may not be in selling consulting or professional services. That's ok. Be sure to recognize the marketing lessons being communicated and find as many ways as possible to see how it can apply to your specific organization or business. ================================== ¨ Coaching & Upcoming Workshops ================================== The next Get Clients NOW! 28-day Marketing Coaching Program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches begins on September 4th. "[Get Clients NOW! is] A brilliant and effective 28-day marketing program for professionals and consultants... offering tools that readers can inject into their marketing efforts with renewed energy and fresh enthusiasm, utilize to design enhanced plans of marketing action, and dramatically increase their client base no matter what are of consultative practice." - Bookwatch Are you getting by with a few clients every month, but know you can do better? Would you like to make getting new clients simpler and more profitable? Are you frustrated with your current marketing plan? (Or 'lack thereof'?) The Get Clients NOW! Marketing Coaching Program is designed to make life simpler, more effective, and more profitable. To discover more about the upcoming Get Clients NOW! marketing coaching programs, go to: http://www.craigvaline.com/getclientsnow.com If you have questions on any of the programs listed, please email me at questions@craigvaline.com ================================== "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."   - Goethe ================================== ¨ Featured [Guest] Article ================================== Too Proud to Market? by Robert Middleton I was talking to my friend Patrick last week about his wife's band. Renee is a full time musician and one of the guitarists and lead singers in Hard Rain, a folk/rock band in Los Angeles. And of course, the topic turned to marketing. Bands need to market themselves as well. Most bands are not rich and famous. Renee's band works hard to get their gigs. They play at several restaurants and clubs, but Patrick pointed out that events and private parties are much better gigs that pay two to three times as much. Patrick has been working to help Renee get more of these kinds of gigs. And in the course of our conversation, I shared some ideas of how I'd do it. "Look, whenever Renee and the band have a gig, they need to make an announcement from the bandstand that they are available for events and private parties." "Well they do that occasionally, but not consistently," said Patrick, "They don't do much more than a brief announcement, almost apologetically... 'Don't forget, we do private parties and events.' The moment passes so quickly, most in the audience miss it." "Then they need to do something that will get more attention," I continued. "For instance, somewhere in the middle of each gig they could perform their 'parties and events song.' It would go something like this..." I won't embarrass myself by sharing my pathetic song-writing attempt, but imagine a short, fun and up-tempo song announcing that the band did events and private parties, from corporate gatherings to birthdays, retirement parties and weddings. Not a hard thing to do (they are songwriters, after all). And then they could hand out a nicely printed postcard with a picture of the band and a list of the kind of events and parties they did on the back, along with contact information and web site address. ( http://www.andyandrenee.com ) Such a simple promotion would accomplish several things: the audience would know the band did events and parties, the audience would have an easy way to remember and contact them, it would be a fun and memorable promotion, and some people might actually pass the postcards around. Slam dunk, right? Virtually no cost and no time. A perfect marketing strategy. Except for one little thing... "Here's the problem, Robert. I love the idea. I think it would really work. But I don't think they'd do it." "Why not?" "They don't feel comfortable promoting themselves. They feel self-conscious, even embarrassed about it. "They know they're a great band and when people hire them, they love their music. So I think they wish that people would hire them without having to promote themselves. Perhaps they don't want to come across as if they needed more work." Sound familiar? I pointed out to Patrick that a very large percentage of independent business owners (from bands to consultants, from artists to financial planners) struggle with this. People feel too proud to market themselves. It shows up in their thinking: If I'm great, people will finally discover me I'm lowering myself by self-promotion Promotion is boasting and I'm not a boaster People will think I'm like a used car salesperson I don't want to embarrass myself I don't want to put myself out there and be rejected People already know what I do, so why push it? But aren't these all pretty poor excuses? Yes, they are totally lame. You want to be a success, attract more clients (or gigs) and make a difference, and yet you let these considerations stop you. You talk yourself into not putting yourself out there because it might damage your fragile self- image. Yikes, what if you failed? Listen, if you promote yourself, it might actually work out! Imagine you were listening to Renee's band, and in the middle of the gig they did a fun and interactive song to promote themselves. Wouldn't you smile? Wouldn't you accept a card? Wouldn't you take it home and stick it on your fridge? Would you feel pressured, manipulated and coerced into calling them to hire them for a special event or party? Of course not. You'd understand that they, like every other enterprise, need to promote themselves. You'd actually appreciate that they did it in a fun way that got you involved and gave you an opportunity to contribute. And I'm also willing to bet you'd think about them every time someone said they were looking for a band for a special event or party. You might even pull the postcard off your fridge and hand it to a friend or your boss. Look, promotion is not hard. There are a ton of things you can do that will bring you more business. Any marketing consultant could come up with half a dozen good ones in less than an hour. But your pride will stop you. I've seen it in my clients hundreds of times. "You're suggesting I do what!!??" And then, with some gentle persuading, I point out that they probably won't die if they give it a shot. And they do. More clients flow in very soon after. And happiness replaces pride. The More Clients Bottom Line: Let go of your foolish pride that's holding you back from promoting yourself. Be willing to make a fool of yourself, in fact. You might even discover that marketing not only brings in new business, it can be a lot of fun. (Oh, yeah, and when you're successful, hire a band and celebrate.) By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses." ================================== ¨ Craig Recommends ================================== Here are a few tools that I use (or have used) to help me earn more in less time. Discover the Most Reliable, Easiest, Cost Effective Tool to Capture Visitor Sign Ups, Send Unlimited Follow Ups and Newsletters Increasing Your Profits - http://tinyurl.com/2yf299   Check Out a Simple "Traffic Machine" Tool That I use Regularly That Creates An Instant Avalanche of Website Traffic - http://tinyurl.com/3944wz   Introducing the world's first step-by-step, 'do this then do that', 'color-by-numbers' plan for making money online in 33 days or less! http://tinyurl.com/2ovxxd   GET CLIENTS NOW! - a 28-day results-oriented marketing program for Professionals, Consultants, and Coaches. This book is the basis for the Get Clients Now! Coaching Program. - http://tinyurl.com/24erp4   Increase Customer Loyalty and Brand Recognition in Your Organization at http://AdvertisingUniquely.com  ================================== ¨ About Craig Valine ================================== Craig Valine is an entrepreneur and Marketing Performance Coach who helps independent consultants, coaches, and solo-professionals GET MORE CLIENTS, make more money, and have more fun in their professional entrepreneurial businesses. Craig offers FREE audio classes, reports, workshops, coaching, and other resources to help professional entrepreneurs market themselves and build ultimate success. Learn more now at http://www.CraigValine.com Enhanced Marketing Performance 556 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, #469 · Pasadena, CA 91105 Toll-Free Info & Customer Service: (877) 405-0015 info@craigvaline.com · Fax: (626) 507-8504 Copyright © 2005-2007 Craig A. Valine. All rights reserved

Did you like what you just read? Every issue is just a little bit different.

Click here to Subscribe Now!

Home | Articles | Marketing YOUniquely Blog | Free Article Submission Sites | Fact Sheet
Coaching Programs | For Jaycees | AdvertisingUniquely.com

Craig Valine, Marketing Performance Coach
Enhanced Marketing Performance
556 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, #469, Pasadena, CA 91105
Toll-Free: (877) 405-0015
Email: questions@craigvaline.com

© 2007 Enhanced Marketing Performance