“$15,000”, said my client, “That was the quote”.
She was talking about the cost of getting someone in to create a marketing plan for her business.
I choked a little on my biscuit, memories of the $36k website quote I’d once uncovered during my Corporate to Freedom adventure coming to mind.
Marketing can feel like the Wild West sometimes, only I suspect it was easier to work out the baddies from the goodies back then and anyone who didn’t know what they were doing probably wouldn’t survive as long.
“How about we give it a go,” I said jumping up and grabbing a whiteboard marker.
(Given my track record with hogging whiteboards, I’m surprised it took me so long).
The memory of a book surged through my brain. The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allan Dib.
“So,” I asked, “What are we trying to do?”
I wrote down exactly what was said, splitting the board into three equal segments.
- Connect with prospects (BEFORE)
- Convert them to leads (DURING)
- Turn existing clients into referrers (AFTER)
Next, I split the whole thing into nine boxes, three per row, by drawing three vertical lines.
To be able to attract clients into your business, you need to define three things.
- Who you’re aiming for (MARKET)
- What they are looking for and how your advice will help them get it (MESSAGE)
- How they will find you (MEDIUM)
Once they’ve found you, there are three steps to turn them into clients.
- How will you get them to give you their contact details so you can start some sort of dialogue, be it digital or otherwise (CONNECT)?
- How will you accelerate their journey from “just looking” to “ok, I get what you do” to “I can see how you can help me” (NURTURE)?
- Finally, when they do decide to take the next step, what’s the process to get a YES in the first meeting (ENGAGE)?
The final part is what I think is the most fun of all. Client experience, retention, turning clients into advocates who love what we do and want to tell others about it.
- What will you deliver that creates WOW (EXPERIENCE)?
- What will you do to be able to help clients who need it to get all the help they need (EXPAND)?
- What do you deliver that prompts clients to refer (EQUIP)?
I sat down with a smile on my face.
“That was pretty good”, said my client. “You just saved me $15k.
Unfortunately, we lost it all that night on a game of craps to Jay from Jamiroquai behind an unmarked door in Pyrmont…but that’s another story.
