Note: this recording was originally posted in April 2008…but I just had to bring it back due to the high demand…It’s one of my wittiest posts to date!

Todays marketing minute will focus on getting rid of those dreaded TIME WASTERS, those customers that drain your energy while making you little or no profit. The ones that you keep hoping will one day give you that big job or tell all their friends to come buy your product or service. Is it crazy to think that you can PICK the customers with whom you do you best work with and leave the rest behind? The answer is a resounding No…

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According to Wikipedia Viral Market is defined as follow:

Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages.

It is claimed that a satisfied customer tells an average of three people about a product or service he/she likes, and eleven people about a product or service which he/she did not like. Viral marketing is based on this natural human behavior.

The goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is to identify individuals with high Social Networking Potential (SNP) and create Viral Messages that appeal to this segment of the population and have a high probability of being passed along.

The term viral marketing is also sometimes used pejoratively to refer to stealth marketing campaigns and the use of varied kinds of astroturfing both online and offline to create the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm.

Watch for my upcoming published book called Increase Your Traffic: Using the Internet for Business Growth coming out mid to late summer. I will be posting a free condensed eBook version with in the next 2 weeks. Within this book you will find additional information on viral marketing as well as other great topics such as social media, podcasting, video podcasting, webinars and the like.

Also, check out this great free eBook on Viral Marketing by David Meerman Scott:

http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/documents/Viral_Marketing.pdf

Why would people choose to do business with you? Is it enough to have a unique service, the best quality around, the top method of doing whatever it is you offer or the most highly-trained, professional staff available? No. When people choose to do business with you, it’s all about them, not you! The sooner you realize that, the faster you will be able to grow your business.  

People are looking for answers to solutions. They have a need or desire that must be met. You, as the businessperson, must be able to do that. If you have the solution to the problem they are experiencing, then they will choose your service. If you can provide them the benefit they want, then you will be whom they choose. However, you must effectively communicate that you are the solution to their problem, otherwise they may never know. 

So how do you go about ensuring that you can fulfill the needs and desires of your potential clients and communicating to them that you are the best choice? 

• • The most important step is you need to stop trying to be everything to everybody. Find yourself a target market – one portion of the market you are presently trying to reach, that you enjoy working with. If you are particularly passionate about one aspect of your business or one type of client, then focus on that. By doing so, you give yourself the opportunity to specialize and learn even more about it. When you specialize in one particular area that you enjoy, you will become even better at what you do, and you will become known for your specialty in that area. If you want to expand into related areas later, it will come much more easily.
• • Your target market is made up of the people and business that need what you are offering. After deciding on your target market, you must then learn more about them. Find out what types of needs and desires they have. By doing market research and surveys, you will be able to gauge what concerns them most. If you know what benefits your customers are seeking, you will be much better able to market to them and obtain their business.
• • You need to provide something that will make a significant difference to your client’s life. The key is that your service should be able to effect a 20 times return on investment for your client. That may be a monetary return, a happiness return or something else.
• • In your marketing, focus on the benefits that your clients will obtain from your service. After all, it is all about the client, not you. If you communicate how your service will solve the problems your clients have, then you will be in higher demand. No matter what type of marketing you do, focus on communicating the benefits for clients.
  • Expressing the benefits you can provide to the members of your target market will be much more effective in connecting with them. This will result in more clients more quickly. By limiting yourself to a smaller potential base of clients, you are actually opening the door to greater success. 

Confidence is key. Remember you are now focusing on an area that you enjoy and are passionate about, so have fun and enjoy yourself. It will make you even more appealing to clients. Be sure to keep the right framework for your role with your clients. Think of yourself as an asset to them, an advisor with their best interests in mind. Doing so will make it obvious that you care about them and their needs. If you keep these things in mind, you will surely be chosen, and referred, time and again by your target market.

Choosing your customers sounds like a dream come true. In some perfect world, we could hand-select our customers and they would behave exactly as we want them to. They would provide us with all the work we want and would be a joy to work with.

Well, that perfect world is here. The secret to having a roster of choice customers is to do something that is pretty unorthodox; something that will have you shaking in fear; something that will take you totally out of your comfort zone. The secret to having your dream customers is, to dump the ones that are not ideal for you.

Yes, I know that we go into business to get as many customers as possible and to be as successful as we can. So the whole idea of canning our customers is totally foreign. It goes against everything that we as business people believe. However, by taking this step, we will make our business interactions much less stressful, produce better work and be on the path to attracting more ideal clients.

So how do you go about this process? You can’t just pick up the phone and say “I’ve decided to dump you as a client” to any client who upsets you on any given day. You need to put these steps into action.

Thoroughly analyze your list of clients. Put them into three categories: the ones you totally enjoy working with and work best for and with; the ones you dread working with and therefore give less of yourself to; and those who fall into neither category.

Then, do some deeper analysis of the list of ideal clients and ask yourself what it is exactly about them that makes you enjoy working with them. When you have compiled that list of reasons, you now have the criteria of what makes an ideal client for you.

Those who are in the list of those you dread working with are there because interactions with them tend to be difficult, they rob you of your energy and your productive time and therefore your work for them is less than stellar. By getting rid of these clients, you will enjoy your workday more and work at your peak potential more often. This will result in better output from you and even happier clients.

When you have made the decisions of which clients you will no longer serve, the way to trim them from your client database is by referring them to other people who may be more capable of serving them well. Essentially having a good fit with your clients is important to doing a good job, if you are not a good fit, you are doing them a service by referring them to someone else who may be.

When you have successfully eliminated the stressful, demanding, counter-productive factors, a.k.a. clients, in your business, you will see that you have created a much better work environment for yourself. Just imagine how pleasant and enjoyable it could be to work with only your ideal clients. It will refresh your spirit and creativity and you will be a much more positive, confident and successful individual.

By doing so, you will find yourself much more productive and producing better results for your remaining clients. This good work will, in turn, reward itself, by earning you more referrals to other ideal clients. Your happy clients who you enjoy working with will be thrilled to recommend you because they are so pleased with your work. Your client base will fill back up, replacing the less-than-perfect clients you got rid of and more.

Remember those clients who were somewhere in the middle, neither a joy to work with nor a torture? Your increased productivity and better work will often reflect positively on these clients and they will become more like your ideal clients. If they do not, and they fall into that category of those you dread dealing with, it is your signal that it is time to do a little more cutting into your client database.

The scary step of choosing the customers you want to work with and getting rid of the ones you don’t want to can make a huge impact for the better on your business and your life. Once you embrace the step that needs to be taken, you will be rewarded with the results you seek in your business.

Guarding Your Most Precious Resource…your TIME!

Think you’re good at time management? Chances are that you do, nobody thinks they’re bad at this. We’re all so busy being busy that it seems like a mortal sin to let time get away from you. In fact, most people would say they’re way beyond time management , they’re time masters! So, maybe we’re not talking about you; we’re talking about someone you know well.

Based on results, cold, hard numbers, that is, there’s no link between a full schedule and a full bank account. Business owners typically spend 80% of their time on 20% of the tasks needed to make their businesses succeed. (Darn! There’s that 80/20 rule again!)

Time is the one truly limited resource you have. Money can be replaced (usually a headache). Personnel can be replaced (more of a headache). Buildings, products, even ideas, there’s more where those came from. But once you’ve spent your 24 hours today, they’re gone. A wise business person recognizes this, and squeezes the most value out of every minute. If you’ll adopt a sense of vigilance with the clock, you might be surprised by how many of your minutes sneak past you without giving up the goods.

Where does the time go? Every minute appears to be honorably discharged , until you take a closer look at the results you get from it.

Case in point. Every business owner knows that relationships are huge in the master plan for success. You are your brand , and to get that face time in, and you’ll stay on your prospect’s radar. Treat your small customers just like you’d treat your big ones. These sayings sound good , but face-to-face time is some of the most expensive you’ll ever spend. You could easily kill an entire afternoon schmoozing, getting to know your prospect’s needs, building an everlasting bond and all with the idea that your loyalty upfront will pay off with something big down the road. Chances are, you’ve just spent 80% of your day on a client who might (if we’re really generous with the numbers) add 20% to your bottom line for the month.

Does this mean you should shun face-to-face meetings? Not necessarily. But neither should you necessarily jump at the first mention of a meet and greet. After you figure in your travel time, the time you’re likely to spend cooling your heels in your prospect’s conference room, and all the extra minutes that will pool at your feet just by the nature of an in-person meeting, you’ve lavished quite a luxury on your prospect and with no guaranteed return on this investment.

In-person meetings are great but recognize them as the powerful tool they are rather than running willy nilly just because someone asked.

Or, here’s another one for those who are just getting started. Want to drive every business contact and vendor crazy from the get-go? Waste their time along with yours!

Commercial printers see this on a daily basis. Brand-spanking new entrepreneurs come in to kick some tires. They’re long on enthusiasm, short on funds, and nowhere on viability. They’re ready to take on the world, and want to get four color brochures, banners, business cards, a custom logo, a website, and even custom-printed t-shirts for their hordes of satisfied customers. Creativity , check! Clue , nope! In fact, not only do these folks end up ordering only a cheap set of single color business cards, they do it only once because they don’t stay in business long enough to need a reorder.

Enthusiasm is great but it’s no substitute for solid planning and real action.

Here’s one more example that disguises itself as fiscal responsibility. Say you need something done. You call every listing from A to Z to find the absolute best price. Calling, calling, calling , the minutes and hours leaking through your clenched fists as you search for a way to save a few dollars. When price becomes king, you forget all about quality, or the value of momentum.

Getting the most bang for your buck is great but not when you end up stepping over dollars to save a few cents.

Chances are you’d never even consider sitting around playing Solitaire on your computer during your workday , most entrepreneurs would recognize this for a gross misuse of irreplaceable time. But if you let your guard slip throughout the day, you might be surprised to see how many minutes escape unused.

Become a true master of the 24 hours you have each day. Constantly evaluate whether any given task makes the highest, best use of your time. Make the adjustments you need so that you’ll use the 80/20 rule to get the results you want.

Book Yourself Solid (Review & Summary)

The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling

Book by Michael Port

To build your service business, cut clients who drain you, so you can handle new ones who inspire you.

Get clients by becoming an authority, and by being likeable and trustworthy.

Build credibility with clients by providing high-quality products or services, solid credentials, effective processes, reasonable rates and customer-focused service.

Know your target market and be able to explain the benefits of your services.

A strong sales process requires knowing your market and what it needs. Be sure your targets know how to find you, why they want you and how to get you.

Your sales cycle should include meeting potential clients daily, having an event to invite prospects to attend and using free offerings to bring in customers.

Always have something else to offer prospective clients. For example, selling a simple, low-cost entry product can hasten the sales cycle.

Choose among seven basic self-promotion strategies: network, reach out, get referrals, have a Web site, write, give talks and always follow up.

A business Web site starts conversations with potential clients and adds credibility.

An e-mail newsletter is a valuable marketing tool.

1. Networking Strategy: Networking doesn’t necessarily mean making sales pitches,and racing to collect and hand out business cards. It is an opportunity to provide value to other people using the 50/50 approach spend half of your networking time with potential clients and the rest with other professionals in your field.

2. Web Strategy: A Web site is a must-have to draw new clients. It demonstrates your expertise, represents your brand identity, lets you collect the names of potential clients and helps you connect with the right clients while sifting out people who do not fit your target market. Your Web site should encourage visitors to act. Enable them to call, send an e-mail or enter contact information. Entice visitors to provide data by offering a free report, seminar or tutorial. Follow up every opportunity. If someone signs up for an online course, connect with the visitor before and after the class.

3. Writing Strategy: Build your expertise and credibility by submitting articles to email newsletters, online e-zines and Web sites, as well as standard publications. If you find writing too stressful, hire a ghostwriter. Write about your passion for an area of your field. Tie your articles to your business. Give readers valuable information. If you publish online, include a short biography with a link to your Web site. Offer a resource box that prompts the reader to do something, such as join your mailing list,request more information or sign up for a free event.

4. Speaking Strategy: Use the podium to get your message out and find the people you are meant to serve. You are not limited to standing in front of an audience. Offer free teleclasses. Seek events where you can talk to as many people as possible. Pursue opportunities to conduct demonstrations, start clubs or hold monthly lunches to build your reputation as someone who helps people connect with each other. This builds trust and credibility.

5. Referral Strategy: Who gave you your last referral? What did the client need? What was the outcome? Use this information to determine why that approach worked so you can boost your referral traffic. Ask for more referrals. Try to get names and contact information so you can follow up.