Be Brave Not Safe

So far, we’ve discussed our #1 Marketing Channel (the Internet) quite extensively, as well as a basic approach to networking.

To ensure we continue our marketing activities, there is another area to address: Organizations and/or associations which may have participants (members and/or attendees) who are your target prospects.

The process can be quite simple, taken in stages.

Stage 1) Attend events sponsored by these organizations and apply the networking technique shared in a prior post.

Stage 2) Offer (unofficially or officially) to volunteer. This could include performing things behind the scenes (setting up for a conference) or on the front-line (staffing a registration desk).

Stage 3) Position yourself as “front and center.” This can include performing as a moderator for a panel discussion and/or speaking on a topic for which you have significant expertise.

Know that any organization of quality (i.e., they have active members who consistently attend events) are STARVING for high quality individuals to join them in any of the above 3 “stages.”

Note: In the beginning you will most likely have to cover your own costs (travel, lodging, event registration, etc.). However, as your business gains recognition and/or you’ve consistently demonstrated you can deliver value “to the crowd” the more likely it will become for the organization to “begin” footing your bill (lodging, event registration, etc.). And, over time, you may even be able to capture a nice fee for speaking at a larger event.

Bottom-line: Showing up is half the battle. Simply, be there!

Click here to review the next article in the series.

At this point, we have covered a LOT of ground regarding Launching a Consulting Business. One thing I hope you are observing is that it all ties together. It is like we’ve taken a bunch of what may have seemed to be disparate puzzle pieces (along the way) and put them together into a beautiful picture (a.k.a. a money-making machine)!

In prior posts I promised to follow-up with other strategies you can use to leverage the Internet, which is our #1 Marketing Channel.

Here we go…

The beauty of the Internet is that we can hang out a very comprehensive “shingle” sharing what we do. However, if we don’t take appropriate steps it is like assuming our prospects (potential customers) will find a needle (us) in a VERY LARGE haystack.

No good…

Realize, that “most” people do their online research via Google and/or Yahoo! But, how are we to get our website to show up on the first page of search results (the goal)?

We’ve already discussed the following elements of your online presence (these are “merely” the foundation):

• Your Shingle
• Comprehensive LinkedIn Profile
• Website
• E-Newsletter / Blog

If you haven’t read these (or need a refresher) click on each of the 4 links above, before proceeding…Again, all this stuff ties together.

We will now “build upon” the above foundation.

After establishing your online presence, there are other steps we can take to be found. One that is very effective is: SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

SEO: The process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results.

First, I’ll explain my “very high-level” understanding of how SEO works.

Google and Yahoo! determine rankings of “where” they’ll list the results of searches (1st, 2nd, 100th page) based upon:

• How many places they can find reference to a website elsewhere on the net (within other search engines and other websites).
• The frequency of finding the specific keyword or keywords on a given website
• I’m sure there is more to it, but that is enough for now 🙂

So, how do we make the above happen? Leverage a Search Engine Optimization Tool / Service.

There are MANY out there. Early on, I began using a service called Submitnet.net. In a nutshell, you create an account / profile, including your:

• Company Name
• URL – Website address
• Keywords – The terms that you expect people to be searching on, when they are looking for you / your services

After subscribing to the service for 2-3 months, and doing the things outlined in the post on Hanging Your Shingle you will observe your website showing up MUCH earlier in search engine results. It has been a while since I tweaked my profile, but they have a great wizard / set of parameters that you can tune to increasingly improve results (to achieve higher rankings in search engines).

Case and point: When someone searches on “customer centricity” (which happens to be a business concept AND my company name) they are presented with a link to my website as the first “unpaid” link, on the very first page of search results from both Google and Yahoo!

What a great place to be 🙂

And, I’ll say, that this (being found by prospects who didn’t know me previously) has generated SIGNIFICANT revenue! In fact, that is how we landed our largest client who has been going strong since 2005!

The cost: $19.95 per quarter (every 3 months). Mere peanuts, for the return on investment!

Give it a try!

Click here to review the next article in the series.

We’ve all heard the term networking and have some vision in our mind of what it means.

It takes many shapes, the most common would “seem” to be organizational events (Chambers of Commerce, Industry Associations, After-Hours “Mixers”, etc.). Often, people have the objective of going there (quite uncomfortably) with a pocketful of business cards and the goal of handing out and collecting as many as possible before the night is out.

To me, this is NOT networking. This is trading baseball cards.

Here is (what I would consider) a perfect example of networking.

I was the coach of one of my son’s baseball teams. Naturally, I met a lot of new people (the kids / players) and their parents. Some readers may now be thinking: “Oh, I’ll bet that as soon as you got one of those parents cornered you pitched them your business.” NOPE!

Instead, I would ask: “So, what do you do?” From there, I let them talk. And, I ask questions, as I am truly interested in what people do, and I often learn something about a profession or industry that I didn’t know before. And, as they are talking, I take mental notes about how I might be able to help them (a book or article that I just read or wrote, an upcoming event they or their business may benefit from, etc.).

And, if we don’t run out of time, they will often (but not always) ask me what I do. At this point, I share just a “little” blurb about my business (my 30-second “elevator speech”), and just leave it at that. If they want to know more, they’ll ask. If not (or we run out of time) that’s it (for now).

Because they are on my baseball team, I already have their contact information…

Later, when I get back home (or when I come across information several days later that pertains to this person), I’ll send a follow-up note sharing the information that I think might help them. And, if you recall, my email signature provides my company name and website.

If you do this dozens (or hundreds) of times, you are bound to cross paths / connect with someone in need of your services.

In fact, I’m having dinner this evening (at time of writing) with the gentlemen I met in the above / baseball example who turned into a customer several years ago. He has since engaged me a few times. Just recently he asked to meet because he has “a couple of issues (a.k.a., business challenges) to discuss.”

I LOVE this!

Click here to review the next article in the series.

p.s. – This is not meant to say that you shouldn’t attend networking-type “events.” If/when you do, go there to build 1-2 relationships vs. trading baseball cards.