I know I tend to talk about the importance of having a marketing system quite a bit, but today, I want to talk about it from the point of view of diagnosing your marketing problems.

One of the nice things about having a system is that it helps you answer questions and address problems in an logical manner.

I find that without a system, we tend to go into a “hit or miss” mode. We try lots of things. Some times we find something works and we’re not sure why it worked. Did we find the answer or was it just dumb luck?

Let’s take a common marketing issue - disappointing results from our referral activities. Usually this sounds something like this:

"I am networking and meeting people. I am even giving a lot of referrals to others. But I’m not getting any business in return. What am I doing wrong?"

A good place to start looking for the answer is to  ask this question - “What does the system tell you to do?”.

In this case, I'm going to assume "your system" is the Referral Flood Marketing System. If you have a different system, it probably contains something similar to these 7 steps:

1. Create a list of individuals who can be motivated to refer. This can be clients or a network of related businesses.
2. Identify your ideal client – In order to receive high quality referrals you must be able to quickly communicate the exact type of person or business that makes a great referral.
3. Communicate your core message – so you can quickly and clearly explain the value you can bring to anyone who is referred. “We show estate attorneys how to become famous.”
4. Design a referral education system – increase the number and quality of referrals by systematically educating your sources on: Who makes a great referral, what’s in it for them to provide a referral, how to refer you, and the exact steps you plan to take with that referral.
5. Outline your referral lead offer and system – This is where you devise the creative offer that makes people want to refer you. Example: Earn a 100% refund on your tax return preparation when you refer 4 people who become clients.”
6. Create a referral conversion strategy – what good are referral leads if they don’t become customers? Map out a specific set of steps that will allow you to convert your referral leads into customers.
7. Following up systematically usually involves a) a way to continue to market to your referral leads that don’t immediately turn into clients and b) a way to systematically communicate the progress of a referral back to your referral sources to keep them motivated.

Now that you have your system outlined, you can use it as a framework to diagnose your problem and look for solutions. You can ask questions related to the system, such as:

• Are you focusing your efforts on individuals who are motivated to help you?
• Have you clearly, and narrowly, defined your ideal customer?
• Do you have a Core Message that communicates how you are different from everyone else who claims to do what you do?
• Are you teaching referral sources how to spot your ideal prospect? Have you told them how to explain what you do?
• Do you have a referral offer that is compelling to your referral sources?
• Are you staying in touch with your leads and referral sources? Or do you tend to lose touch after one or two meetings and if something doesn’t happen right away?

Chances are you will find a gap where your system was not followed or maybe a step was skipped.

That's all for this week. Best of luck in growing your business.

Bill
913.962.9261

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