Four ways to grow a business

• Increase the number of customers
• Increase the number of transactions
• Increase the average sale (raise rates, sell more services, bundle services)
• Increase the efficiency of your process

Marketing methods

Most common and effective methods for small service business:

• Networking
• Direct mail - Typical response rate is 1-3%. Dick Potter has done research that shows:
  • Compelling copy can increase responses by 50%
  • Great graphic can increase responses by 150%
  • Offers tied to a total campaign can increase responses by 30%
  • Selecting a targeted list can increase responses by 1000%
• Business cards
• Web site - free service available that tracks who hits your web site

Least common and effective:

• Yellow pages ad
• Newspaper ad
• Magazine ad
• Radio
• TV

Marketing to current customers is very effective. If you increase customer retention by 5%, you increase the bottom line by 125%.

Your network

Your network is everyone you know and everyone who knows those people

Social vs. business - some people keep completely separate

Developed vs. undeveloped

Developed network is people:

• You know or see regularly
• You think about and maintain contact with
• You feel comfortable asking for a referral or business

Introducing yourself

Get people to ask what you do or how you do that

Examples:

• I am a mortgage banker. I help people play the game of monopoly in real life and win.
  
• I am a business consultant. I take successful businesses to exceptional levels.
  
• I am a marketing consultant. I create innovative concepts to help businesses grow.

Attracting a network - Define and uncover your assets

Use this exercise to find out what makes you stand out, different, special.   

1. Write 5 reasons why I do what I do.

2. Write 5 things that make me good at what I do.

3. Write 5 benefits that my clients receive from using me.

Marketing materials

When you get people to read the first 50 words, you stand a great chance of getting them to read the next 5000. So start with words like (parenthetical is percent of great ads that start with the word):

And to those you can add: