Time is precious to a business owner.  Are you using yours wisely?  Do your marketing strategies allow you to leverage your time and reach an abundance of prospective clients?

If you’re spending the majority of your time marketing one-to-one you may be missing out on a lot of business.  One-to-one is you communicating with one other person; one sender and one receiver.  This could be a conversation in person, on the phone, or via e-mail.

A more effective marketing approach is one-to-many.  This is you communicating with many people at the same time.   

Here are some one-to-many marketing ideas using three different marketing strategies: speaking, writing, and on-line networking.

1. SPEAKING

* If you enjoy being in front of a group, speaking live in person for people who are interested in your work is an amazing way to connect.  People get to see you and hear you speak which is very powerful.

* Getting interviewed on the radio, TV, or by someone with a large website presence will get your message in front of thousands of people.  Just be sure the audience matches your ideal clients.

* Another way to reach a large group of people is a teleclass (you speaking on the telephone with many people).  Using the phone you may be able to reach even more people than you could at a live event because geography isn’t an obstacle for attendance.

There are a multitude of companies who provide teleconferencing services.  One I have used, which is free and offers a private bridge line and free recordings of your calls, is http://www.freeconferencecalling.com/.

* You can share the digital recording of your presentation with groups of people on the internet.

* The digital audio file can also be burned on to a CD and you can give away the CD’s to groups.

2. WRITING

* Sending a regular newsletter (ezine) to people who have requested to receive information from you is a superb one-to-many action.  In addition to valuable information be sure to make an offer with a clear call to action.

* Articles you write, for your ezine or otherwise, can be posted on article database websites.  This multiplies the number of readers.  Many people can read the article where you posted it in addition to places where your article is re-published.

* Posting new content on your blog (or other people’s blog) gets your message out to many as well.

* Interviews can also be done in a written format.  You do the interview once, and it goes out to numerous readers.

3. ON-LINE NETWORKING

When you post messages, comments, or updates on the various virtual/social networking websites your communication reaches everyone who is connected to you.

So if you don’t have many connections, make the time to invite people to join you.  Here are some popular places to network on-line.

* Facebook.com

* Linkedin.com

* Twitter.com

* Plaxo.com

Are you starting to see how you can invest less time and reach more people simultaneously by using one-to-many marketing?  Review your current marketing strategies and think about how you can incorporate the concept of one-to-many into as many activities as possible. 

Make the decision to implement your new strategies and see the difference it will make in your business.

(c) Stephanie Ward, 2009

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire!  Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

In addition to direct marketing strategies you want to be sure your existing passive, or indirect, marketing activities are as effective as possible.  When is the last time you took a good look at your existing marketing activities?

Here are some fast, easy (and free to inexpensive) ways to update and upgrade your existing marketing activities.

YOUR VOICE MAIL MESSAGE

Does your voice mail message give additional information about your business?  Use this opportunity (you have a captive audience) to provide some additional information.

You can mention your website or newsletter, promote an upcoming event, or offer a free report.

YOUR E-MAIL SIGNATURE

This is a chance to send a marketing message along with every e-mail that you send.  Remember, e-mails are often forwarded.  Think viral marketing (if this term is new to you, check out Seth Godin.  It’s a good thing).

Do you have an upcoming event?  Do you offer a free article or report? Are you having a sale?  At a minimum put a link to your website in your e-mail signature.

In addition to interesting content, think about the color and font of your e-mail signature and create something that is attractive and fits with your brand.

YOUR BUSINESS CARD

Use the back of your business card.  Don’t leave this valuable space blank.  Make an offer for something like a free report, your newsletter, a sample of your services, a discount, etc.  Get your business cards out into the world so people can hear about your offer.  Ask for permission to leave a few cards at places your clients frequent like stores, restaurants, gyms, waiting rooms, etc.

YOUR EXISTING PROFILES

I hope you have profiles on networking websites, directories, clubs, industry associations, and the like out there.  Has your marketing message, your offer, and/or your products/services changed since you first created your profiles?  I am betting that is a yes!

Review all your profiles to make sure they are up to date.  This is a great chance to take inventory of all of the places where you have profiles and create a list you can refer to later.

If you have a photograph of yourself to add to your profiles, please do so.  Add your photo to your own website if it isn’t already there.  Connecting your face with your company makes your company more human and personal.  Remember, people buy from people they know, like, and trust.  It will also help people recognize you at events.

YOUR COMPANY LETTERHEAD

This may seem like a no-brainer but I have seen business owners who don’t have their contact information on their letterhead.  Your letterhead needs to include your phone number, e-mail address, and website.  This goes for your printed hardcopy letterhead as well as the electronic version.

The only way to know which marketing strategies are working for you is to keep track.  This includes the activities above as well as all of your other strategies (networking, referrals, direct marketing campaigns, etc.) 

Always, I mean always, ask people who contact you how they heard about your business and record this valuable information.  It is easy to do, simply create a list of all of your marketing strategies and how many people respond to each one.  It is easiest to do this electronically using a spreadsheet so you can easily calculate percentages and totals.  You can also use old-fashioned pen and paper if you must.  Whatever method you prefer, just make sure you do it!

It’s time to get into action.  Take some time and go through all of your marketing materials.  What marketing tools do you have laying around that could be dusted off and upgraded up to work even harder for you?

(c) Stephanie Ward

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire!  Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

One of the most effective ways to market your products/services is to create strategic alliances.   Strategic alliances are partnerships with companies who sell to a client base similar to yours but they sell different products/services.  The idea is to find partners whose clients may also be interested in your products/services.

Many times people will casually agree to spread the word about each other’s products/services.  This is the idea of ‘you send me clients and I will send you clients.’  This isn’t very effective for the following reasons:

1. The agreement is vague and undefined.

2. The people may not fully understand what the other does.

3. People are busy and forget.

4. Both people may be waiting to ‘get something’ first before they get into action to help the other.

5. One of the people may be more interested than the other.

6. There may be a higher value for one person than the other.

To eliminate all of these issues, simply create a specific offer for potential strategic alliance partners.  Offer to give something to your partners for every person they refer to you who ends up purchasing your products/services.

This can be a percentage of your fee or total purchase, some of your products/services, or something else you mutually agree upon.

The motivation for partners to send you clients isn’t only about what they will get in return.  It is just a way to thank them for their effort, let them know that you are serious about the alliance, and to create commitment. 

Think about it, you’re probably currently spending money doing some kind of marketing or advertising.  There is no way to know for sure that you will see a return on this investment.

When you create strategic alliances your investment is guaranteed because you only ‘pay’ once you have a new client. 

What’s more, strategic alliances leverage marketing efforts because a partnership allows you to market to many people via your partners (one-to many) instead of one-to-one.

Strategic alliances are a triple win.  Your partners win because they are able to be a resource and help someone find what they need as well as receive an incentive for their effort.  The person who buys the products/services wins because they find what they need.  And you win because you have a new client.

Get started by simply thinking about companies you know who may be potential partners and contact them to see if they are open to the idea. 

An alliance doesn’t have to be complicated and in most cases a written agreement isn’t necessary.  The goal is to create alliances with people you trust and who trust you. 

Here are some examples of strategic alliances:

* Nutritionist and a Personal Trainer or Gym

* Employment Recruiter or Language School and a Relocation Agency

* Tax Advisor and a Financial Advisor

* Artist and an Interior Designer

* Massage Therapist and a Hair Salon

* Professional Organizer and a Moving Company

* Consultant and a Trainer

* Website Designer and a Copy Writer

In order for your partners to give you a genuine referral it is important that they have sampled your products or experienced your services.  If they understand firsthand the benefits of your products/services it will make it easy for them to tell others about you.  

These are just a few ways your strategic alliance partners can help you:

- Mention your company in their newsletter

- Give a coupon for a sample of your products/services

- Send a letter to their clients introducing them to your products/services and perhaps offering them a special deal

- Add your website link to their website

- Simply telling clients about your company when the opportunity arises

If your partners want to create their own specific offer for you in return for you sending them clients, that is great as well.  It is an added bonus and it isn’t a requirement in order to create a beneficial partnership because the agreements are separate from one another. 

By now you can see the value of creating strategic alliances. So what are you waiting for?  Look through your contacts and see which companies might be perfect strategic alliance partners for your company.  Then get into action and contact them! 

© Stephanie Ward

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this information with it: Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire!  Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus monthly business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.