It doesn't matter the size of your business or what industry it is in, I recommend creating a list of the clients you would looooooove to work with -- your dream clients. This is a list of large to medium size companies that are your ideal prospects. You are going to spend the majority of time, marketing efforts and energy targeting this group of people.
We all have a limited budget for marketing. That's just life and you need to make due with you've got. Your job is to get the most exposure and the most response for every dollar you spend. The best way to do that is to be very targeted to the people you send your message to, and spend your energy on.
You should also know that most people are, on average, exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day. Because of this over exposure to advertising most people won't remember or recognize your message until their seventh or ninth exposure to you. Spending your limited time and budget on a smaller very targeted group of prospects, is the best way to get your prospects attention in the shortest amount of time.
So, how do you get started making a list of your dream clients? If you have narrowed your niche and identified what your ideal client looks like and who they are (say chiropractors and others doctors involved in natural healing techniques), you may look for and identify some of the largest practices in the area or the country, and add them to your list.
Where do I find these people? Always be looking for prospects to add to your dream client list. Look in the business section of the paper, online, with products you use, names you hear about from others. Also know that this wonderful list of yours is a working list. Take prospects off as they become clients; you'll also take prospects off if you either decide they will never use your services or that you don't want to work with them.
Once you add a prospects name to your list you will start doing some work. Call and find out who you need to talk to. The practice manager or marketing director? The CEO? Find out who they are and get as much contact information as you can. Phone number, mailing address, fax number - whatever you may use for your marketing efforts. And then get busy.
These dream clients will get our most expensive and special marketing attention. We won't just stop at sales letters - what other marketing techniques can you think of to stand out from the crowd in their eyes? A colleague of mine made a CD about her company and sent the CEO a CD player to go with the CD. THAT got somebody's attention!
You will still do talks and marketing and other things to become known in your niche, but this targeted group of dream clients is who you will save your special stuff for.
Sometimes this dream list is also called a "top 100" or "dream 100" list. Your list may be 20, or it may be as large as 500. There is no set number. 100 is a number that is thrown around a lot and is a good goal. Also know that the size of the list can and should fluctuate as you work it.
Let me summarize all of this for you:
1. Identify your niche
2. Look for medium to large companies to target your marketing
3. Always, always be looking for prospects to add to your list. Look in unusual places too.
4. Once you pick a prospect, find out who your contact would be and get all the information you can about them.
5. Market like hell. Be creative and don't stop until you take their name off your list.
Copyright (c) 2006 Kelly Robbins |
