Time to begin a new series… on marketing… the last in the triad of “getting business.”  The other two elements are generating leads and making sales. Like the legs of a stool, all three are equally important.

Don’t overcomplicate things. Getting business is much like going fishing. There are three simple steps:

• Marketing – Decide what kind of fish you are after and where you might go.
• Leads – Based on that, decide what kind of bait and tackle to use.
• Sales – Catch the fish and get them in the boat.

Here are five key marketing questions to consider:

`(1) WHAT services will you offer? And is there a market? Are there any fish in the lake? Is there competition?  Barriers to entry? Any way to test? Remember, you don’t need to catch all the fish —  only enough to feed you.

(2) WHO will you offer them to? What kind of fish are you going after? Who is your ideal client? Come up with some personas — law firms with 5-20 attorneys who need help with juries? Engineering managers with EMI test failures —  my personal favorite?

(3) WHERE will you go to find them? Mountain streams for trout — southern lakes for bass. What are your target niches – industry, geography, B2B/B2C/B2G?

(4) HOW will you reach them? Bait and tackle. Gave you twenty ways to generate leads. Now is the time to pick a couple, make a plan, an start executing. It’s never too early. Remember, if you want a baby, it takes nine months. So if you want a baby in a month, you should have started eight months ago.

(5) WHY are you doing this? Probably the most important question. Hating you job or boss is NOT a good reason. Nor is just getting laid off (or fired.)  Is there a higher calling driving you? A drive for independence (my favorite?) Do you want it so bad you can taste it? Is there something you always wanted to do, and now is the time?

Take some time to consider these questions, and jot down some answers. We will expand on each of these questions in future posts.

Stay tuned…

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