What To Do When You Want More Clients

Q: I have suddenly realized that it is Melbourne Cup Day and this is a perfect opportunity to run a special campaign for my clients. It's this week! Eek! What can I do that will get me great results, with such a short time to prepare?

A: This is a great question. There are so many under utilized opportunities on the calendar for you to make special offers or to run promotions that will get you more clients and, increase your profits.

Creating A Successful Promotion. It's my guess that at some stage you have experienced the situation where you were running a promotion, holding a workshop or offering a new product for your business and you are all excited, almost bursting at the seams and when the big day arrives......barely anyone shows up!

This scenario is the same whether you are running an offline or an online campaign. Just because you knew the event was happening, and were as excited as a kid at Christmas, doesn't mean that so is everyone else.

There are smart ways to make sure that any campaign, launch or promotion, has the very best chances of success.

Let's take a look at some ways to promote and what not to do, and then what to do to have the best chance of success.

Signs You Need to Improve Your Promotions

- There is not a flurry of interest when you first market - You're not sure what you expect to achieve from the occasion - You do the same thing over and over and don't get any better results - Your promotions are costing you more than you make

What Not To Do

- Decide to run the promotion at the last minute - Think that the phone to ring off the hook with enquiries while you are doing little more than sitting behind your desk - Rely heavily on others to promote the occasion for you - Go fishing in the wrong pond for your clients. Trying to promote knitting needles to truck drivers is most likely not going to work! That is extreme, but you get the picture.

What To Do

Here are a few suggestions for breaking out of promotional rut and achieving outstanding results - Begin by planning out your calendar at least 12 months in advance. Evaluate your best promotional days, months and opportunities that are worth your attention, and the best fit for your clients. Plan out all the details of the event. Leave nothing to chance. The more you plan out the details and systemize your events, the easier and more successful they will be. - Give yourself plenty of time to create an effective promotion. A general rule of thumb is that you need a 3-6 week lead in period to maximize a successful promotion. - How Much/Where/Who: Decide who you are targeting with the promotion, where will you find then hanging out in large numbers, inexpensively. Do your maths and know how much it will cost you to get the attention of your ideal clients - Know the desired outcome from the promotion. What is the primary motive for the promotion? Are you looking at building your client base, creating cash flow, highlighting your credibility and platform? Knowing what you want to achieve will mean that you direct your clients to take the action you want them to take. - Make a list of all the resources you already have to use, and another list of all the resources that you need. Make it your mission to gather all your resources so that there is no excuse for something not being done.

The more successful your promotions are, the more clients you will attract and the more people you will be able to serve. It's a win - win for everyone. Your Action Plan for This Week: - Decide on what you want to be promoting in 2011 - Get out the 2011 calendar and mark off when the best opportunities are for these events - Where do you want to take your business during 2011?

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com