PierToPeerCoaching

Keeping in contact...or how's your marketing going?

How's your marketing going?  Do you have a list of potentials in your pipeline?  Or are you just winging it and hoping businesses will contact you?  Maybe it's time to systemise your client contact process...

Client Contact System

Are you yawning already?  Thinking you have to purchase some special, spendy, software to do the job for you? Yes, that was just my reaction until I created a simple system that works perfectly!  (Goodness it sounds like a sales pitch).

I'll readily admit, my own client contact system, until recently, was a series of very handy sub-folders in my Outlook Express account.  All filed very tidily, in date order by year.  It worked well, up to a point...that being I had to open the folders every once in a while...which I did of course.

Tracking where I was with potential clients however was a little more tricky.  There was no obvious way to see exactly where I was in terms of contact aside from following the email trail.

Authentic Marketing (or why I abhor Squeeze Pages)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against marketing on the Internet (that would be plain daft, all my businesses are virtual) however I've come to a realisation that, for me, marketing is always best when it is an authentic expression of the business owner and their values.

That's why when I read this article b Psychotactics Ltd I was so excited...finally someone else who abhors the apparent "bullying" tactics favoured by many Internet marketeers!  Read on and see if you agree:

Why Squeeze Pages Are Stupid

Imagine you went for a date with a person you hadn't met before. And your date wore a paper bag on his/her head.

He/She refused to show you his/her face.

That date refused to tell you anything about his/her past.

Or let you into any information at all.

And yet you had to give them information. Like your first name, last name, blah, blah, blah.

How do you feel?

Well that's exactly how the customers feel. They feel irritated, frustrated and to choose a mild word: trapped. They know they want the information, but they can't seem to get the any information from you without filling in that stupid form.

Managing your time - making it work for you!

Whether you feel inundated with client demands or your business is going through a quiet spell, time management is essential for the successful day to day running of your VA practice.

I'd go further to suggest that to build and develop your business in the long term you simply MUST balance your time equally in three ways:

1. Work ON your business: this is the time you spend developing and marketing your VA practice.

2. Work IN your business: this is client billable hours.

3. Time for YOU: this is your own "down time", extreme self-care and self development.

Creating a buisness niche - your key to easy marketing!

The question most asked by aspiring VAs at One Life Live was: "how do I market my business?" My answer every time was: "your starting point is to create a niche for your business".

Exactly why is this the easiest way to market yourself?

* Create a niche for your business

* Position yourself as an expert in your field

* Enablding you to attract clients easily

First things first, what is a niche? Another word for "niche" is "specialism". Instead of providing across the board administrative services to all comers, you are providing either a specialist service to a wide range of clients, or services to a specialist group of people or industry.

Meet me at One Life Live!

Pier to Peer Coaching and The VA Conference, UK will be at ONE LIFE LIVE - Olympia, 29 February - 2 March 2008!

Come and meet me at One Life Live and find out first hand about the VA industry. Virtual Working: How To Create A Business To Fit Your Life will be located in the New Careers Zone (stand L30).

I'll be joined by past course participants who will be able to tell you their own personal experiences of training with Pier to Peer Coaching, and how they have gone on to create their own successful VA businesses.

We will also have advance information about the 2nd VA Conference, UK which will take place in Cardiff the last weekend in September 2008.

For information on opening times please see the One Life Live website.

I'm looking forward to meeting you at THE exhibition about life change for 2008!

Do you have a marketing plan for 2008?

As the end of 2007 approaches are you ready to hit the ground running for the new year? This is a great time to start thinking about your strategy for marketing in 2008...where will you begin?

A really useful starting point is your calendar. It sounds a bit obvious, but if you're planning for 2008 why not start with setting dates in your diary. I'd like to suggest a strategy to get you started, with different options from which to pick and choose.

Who are your target market?

1. First things first though, do you have a clearly defined target market that you wish to reach? Without this, your marketing efforts will be fragmented and without focus!

2. Once you have your niche market defined, you need to find out where and how to reach them. Where do they congregate, what do they read, what are their own networks?

3. When you've found out what events/conferences, publications and networks your niche market are a part of you're ready to move on to the next step and decide the way to reach them effectively.

How do you like to market?

Do you like to write, speak, attend networking groups, or network online? There are options open to you for each: