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In this issue:
Marketing Article: Trade shows, here you come: Getting ready to connect
Marketing Article: Top Five 2005 Required Marketing Tips Needed to Succeed UPDATED

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This just in: marketing agency George P. Johnson Co. released a study last week reporting that face-to-face events continue to deliver a better return on investment than other marketing tools, including advertising. Quite a coincidence, since most of the marketers we know are just gearing up for trade show season, where they're hoping to make as many contacts as they can.

With that in mind, here's a great list of tips to keep in mind as you plan your trade show strategy.

1. Expand your goals from simple brand awareness toward partner education. What can you do to let contacts know more not just about your company, but your industry? Your products and services?

2. Play the numbers game when you're setting other goals. How many contacts constitute a success?

3. Find your inner librarian— in other words, do your research. Make sure the show or shows you've chosen are going to connect to your ideal audience. Contact the organizers to find out everything you can about the event's history and audience.

4. Location, location, location. When you plan your booth, make sure you know where it is on the floor, who your neighbors are, whether electrical outlets are available, and the general building environment.

5. Good visuals can take you far: consider display boards hung at eye-level, fabric cloths on tables and counters, and of course, several signs with your company name and logo are a must.

6. Then again, don't overdo it. Catch your contacts' eye with a big, bold logo, but remember: your display isn't there to sell your company. You are.

7. Display racks look much better than flat stacks when it comes to displaying flyers, offers and brochures.

8. Let there be light. Setting up little spotlights on your company logo sign is a great way to make your booth stand out in a fluorescent-lit showroom.

9. Does your staff have t-shirts or button-downs bearing the company logo? It's a nice way to present yourselves as a unified team and reinforce your brand.

10. Never underestimate the power of snacks— the yummier, the better. They'll get people to hang around and chat a while.

11. Other great ways to rope ‘em in: computer games, good old-fashioned trivia teasers or contests of every sort. Think of your challenge at the trade show in terms of making small talk at an awkward cocktail party. It's all about starting a conversation, making people smile and putting them at ease.

12. Giveaways, including business cards, brochures, pens, magnets or special discounts, work even better when you make people earn them. Make it fun: “Step right up, sir, and answer a funny work-related question or share your best advice in order to win this fabulous notepad!” Again, think of making conversation as your No. 1 goal. If people just grab the goodies from your table without stopping to make eye contact, what have you accomplished?

13. Speaking of business cards, don't forget to bring a big stack. As old-fashioned as they may seem, those little pieces of card stock are still a great, collectible way for people to find you when they need you.

14. Discounts and coupons for 10 to 20 percent off your services are a great way to collect new customers.

15. Become a friend of the media. Find the press booth for your industry magazines and make contacts there. Trade show publications can spread the word about your company, and industry reporters can be an invaluable resource. They'll listen to your brilliant story ideas, share what and who they know, and maybe even teach you the basics of how to write a great press release.

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When marketing your practice, as well as designing your brochure, web site, business card, flier, advertisement, or other marketing effort, we recommend investing the time and effort needed to effectively address all these tips. Not one of them can be omitted.

Tip 1. MARKET FOR YOUR DESIRED PROSPECTS, NOT YOURSELF

What looks good to you is not necessarily effective for your desired audience. This is the biggest mistake I see people make over and over again. They come up with an idea, they think it’s great, a few friends, family or nontarget market people give them the thumbs up and they run with the ball. When it doesn't work, they just can't understand why.

Do market research and test your strategies on your target market. Big companies do lots of market research before launching a product or service. The little guys don't have the resources to match this but that doesn't mean you omit it. Even if you are an independent professional, you need to do marketing research. And market research isn't a one-time deal. It needs to be incorporated into your marketing system and it needs to be ongoing.

Tip 2. YOU MUST ANSWER THESE FOUR CRITICAL MARKETING QUESTIONS

Question 1: WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?

Is it immediately clear to the reader what is being offered? Any opaqueness, confusion, or question marks in their mind, even for a second, and they have moved on. Don't be cute or clever. Make it simple and clear. Cute and clever has a reference point now with S*P*AM or hype. Don't let them place you into that category.

Question 2: WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

The big benefits are very clear and directly stated... not implied; the reader doesn't have to guess. The listener doesn't have to guess. They come to you from all different stages of readiness and desire levels.

How do you handle each one when they arrive makes what occurs afterwards critical? It isn't what you perceive that they want, it is what they perceive what they want. Stop guessing just because you are too lazy to do the legwork. Start asking and don't ever stop.

Question 3: CAN I TRUST YOU?

How do I know you are safe and credible? Can I find out easily enough if I want to? Is your photo and contact info prominently displayed so I can build a relationship with you? Put your photo on every web page. It doesn't matter if they are different pictures.

People don't trust any more especially if all your contact information isn't on your web site. Put your phone number and address on ever page. It says you are credible. Put them in every ezine, in fact, add them twice -- beginning and end.

Create a safe place for them to be -- a comfort zone. If you offer a complimentary session, realize that people don't immediately sign up for these because they aren't comfortable yet. It doesn't matter if you think you are safe, it’s what they think. Step them through becoming safe with you.

People are either boulders or blue birds. Blue birds are easy to convert to clients. Boulders need to know that they have a safe place to roll to before they will move.

Question 4: DO I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THIS?

Do I WANT to engage you? Do I feel COMPELLED to click or pick up the phone (or whatever the call to action is)? Do I feel good about myself in deciding to engage you? Can I trust that I'm making the right decision? What's my motivation? Am I being motivated by fear, shame, or being empowered to make a good choice? Am I so excited that I want to tell all my friends?

Lots of questions need to be answered to deliver the emotional needs people have before they buy from you. Don't leave these out.

Tip 3. ALWAYS INCLUDE THESE THREE KEY ELEMENTS IN YOUR MARKETING MESSAGES

Element 1: POWERFUL HEADLINE

This grabs their attention and lets the reader know what you can do for them; the big benefit. Say what the biggest benefit is up front. Make it about them. Use attractive words that rock their boulder so they read more.

Element 2: COMPELLING CALL TO ACTION

Your desired result is to motivate your ideal client to act immediately to engage you directly or indirectly and generate a prospect by getting their contact information. What do you want people to do? E-mail, phone, what? What will compel them to take action?

Element 3: OFFER THEM MULTIPLE CONTACT METHODS

Offer a choice between e-mail, telephone, web site, etc, so your prospect can choose what is most comfortable to them. I have visited many web sites where I had to search for five minutes to find their contact information. I am a persistent person and I know that most others who have left after 30 seconds. Can visitors to your web site find your contact information in 30 seconds? Put the information on every page.

Tip 4. CREATE A SYSTEM

Design a marketing system that you can implement repeatedly. Make it as automatic as possible. Ask the most valuable series of questions to yourself, "And then what do you want them to do? And then what? And then what? Etc." If they visit your web site ask, "And then what?" If they subscribe to your ezine ask, "And then what?" And then when they do that, ask "And then what?" Keep challenging yourself to come up with the answers.

No, I didn't say it was going to be easy. When I work with clients, sometimes it takes months to create a system. Most people give up to easily. Once you have it set up and it runs automatically, you will understand.

Don't waste your time, effort, and money with one-shot deals or fragmented marketing activities. Leverage everything. If you use writing for publicity, don't just write an article once for your ezine, ask "And now what?" Send the article to past clients with a "just in case you didn't see this yet."

Tip 5: FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, AND FOLLOW UP AGAIN

Following up is one of the biggest areas independent professional fail to do. Set up a follow up system that is a part of your overall marketing system. Make it as automatic as possible -- so that I can run while you are on vacation.

If you want to always have that "personal touch" with everyone, hire a virtual assistant as part of your system. Always have the next step planned and let your prospects know of future opportunities to engage you.

Working with many independent professionals this past year, including coaches, insurance agents, real estate agents, engineers, too many medical practices to mention, I found they never asked the challenging question I mentioned earlier, "And then what? And then what?" Etc. They did speaking engagements and there was only one "And then what?" and they stopped there.

Remember people are at different levels and need to build trust with you. Give them the ladder and the rungs to do that and they will.

Always contact your leads within 24 hours of receiving them. Contacting them a week or two later, they people have moved on. If they had an issue they need to solve that you had a solution for they had most likely already found someone and by-passed you.

Always follow up by e-mail, telephone, etc, multiple times. Yes, it’s true, 80% of sales are made after five or more contacts.

These elements will make all the difference in the world between struggling to get clients and becoming wildly successfully in marketing your services. They are worth investing your best efforts and getting the support you need to implement them effectively.

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Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specializes in writing, marketing and product development. Newsletters and additional articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com