We don’t accept every potential client that comes our way.

Honestly.

We not only must feel we can help them in a material way, we must be enthused at the prospect of doing so. This positive feeling is based upon our grasp of – and appreciation for – their mission and business model.

Then we take a leap of faith, which should be at the foundation of any good relationship, business or personal. At this point, we focus on doing everything we can to assist them in achieving their marketing objectives while, hopefully, making them glad they chose to partner with us.

As we trust any client-centric marketing consultants will appreciate and identify with, this feeling is something like falling in love . . . without having to remember birthday and anniversary dates.

We don’t accept every potential client that comes our way.

Honestly.

We not only must feel we can help them in a material way, we must be enthused at the prospect of doing so. This positive feeling is based upon our grasp of – and appreciation for – their mission and business model.

Then we take a leap of faith, which should be at the foundation of any good relationship, business or personal. At this point, we focus on doing everything we can to assist them in achieving their marketing objectives while, hopefully, making them glad they chose to partner with us.

As we trust any client-centric marketing consultants will appreciate and identify with, this feeling is something like falling in love . . . without having to remember birthday and anniversary dates.

Summer vacations or summer doldrums (a malady being experienced by those NOT on vacation), when combined with pre-election doubts is a phenomenon that traditionally causes many marketers to crawl into a protective shell and do nothing.

BULLETIN! This neither is a positive tradition, nor is it a particularly protective shell. It’s more like a cop-out, an excuse which amounts to nothing other than a self-fulfilling prophecy for – at best – mediocre “returns on non-investment.”

Instead, make a list of clients or prospects from whom you haven’t recently heard or with whom you would like to cultivate a relationship.

Step 1: Make a list.
Step 2: Pick up the phone (yes, one of those) and call them
Step 3: Discus how they might use your services to advantage

Like magic, almost before you know it, you will be looking back on a summer that was more productive for you than it otherwise would have been.

Many — if not most — of us are caught up in the social media movement, and that’s a good thing . . . up to a point. While it’s an absolutely incredible way for staying in touch, the danger line is crossed if and when something like postings or tweets are habitually substituted for face-to-face interaction with clients, prospects, associates, vendors and others on whom we rely. If we generally avoid opportunities to “get out among ‘em,” we do so at our own peril. Sure, time is our most precious commodity, but an honest-to-goodness relationship is a terrible thing to click away.

To survive, let alone be a category leader, adequate numbers of prospects must be developed. This cannot be accomplished through time-and-energy-draining two-way communication, either face to face or on the phone. Publisher McGraw Hill has estimated that the average sales call requires approximately 45 minutes, and that an average of three calls is required to close a sale. That’s simply inefficient. Prospecting is what marketing – the one-way communication element of sales – is ideally suited for. Whether by e-mail, surface mail or online, your sales success likely be in direct proportion to your one-way outreach.

Your centers of influence, i.e. friends and fellow group members, are a great source of referrals and direct business. Use (your choice) email marketing or surface mail to stay in touch with your core contacts, no less than once monthly. Try to build your message around news or other helpful information (occasionally, special offers are OK) rather than out-and-out selling pushes. This way, your missives are more likely to be welcomed rather than dreaded.

My friend Eden Sunshine, the business process guru, calls many of the “solutions” to which entrepreneurs are attracted, “bright and shiny things.”

Certainly the marketing moves that bid for our attention almost daily can fairly be said to fall in the same category. They look good – and attributes the media salesperson or online “wizard” ascribes to them are, indeed, enticing. But before plowing precious dollars into a tactic that seems to be a quick fix, cool off long enough to consider how it does – or doesn’t – complement your overall marketing strategy.

Sometimes that pig in a poke disguised as a “sure cure” is better left alone to burrow its way into somebody else’s well-conceived marketing plan.

It’s a numbers game

To survive, let alone be a category leader, adequate numbers of prospects must be developed. This cannot be accomplished through time-and-energy-draining two-way communication, either face to face or on the phone. Publisher McGraw Hill has estimated that the average sales call requires approximately 45 minutes, and that an average of three calls is required to close a sale. That’s simply inefficient. Prospecting is what marketing – the one-way communication element of sales – is ideally suited for. Whether by e-mail, surface mail or online, your sales success likely be in direct proportion to your one-way outreach.

Energize your energy!

Huh, you say?

Well, it’s true. We all have a savings account of energy. Some days we may spend little beyond brushing our teeth and flipping on the TV, yet on other days we seem to have an energy surge.

Come nightfall, those low-energy days may leave us dissatisfied, while at the end of a high-energy day we look back with satisfaction. I can’t account variances in “brain wattage,” but I do believe the following:

The greatest energy producer is motivation, whether it’s a desire to produce, excel or merely survive. Determine that you are going to make this one of those more productive days. How about doing something especially for a friend, client or customer, and surprise them by sending it to them . . . TODAY.

Then, surprise me by telling me how that worked.

Really good e-mail marketing should inform, instruct or provide other types of relevant, useful information for recipients. Those that merely scream, “Buy this!” give e-mail marketing a bad name; you know, that nasty “s-word.” More people prefer to get their information by e-mail than any other way. But remember, what people really want is to be helped – not hustled!