MaineBusiness.com

It's June and it's time for a mid-year goal check up. Take out your plan for 2006 and look at the objectives you set for your business 6 months ago. If you're looking at a blank page, no wonder you're not where you want to be 6-months into 2006. If you don't have a target - how can you hit it?

For those of you who DO invest the time in your own success and take the time to plan, where are you? Are you half-way to achieving what you set out to achieve? If yes, congratulations! I would love to hear from you. Tell me what, in your mind, is the biggest contributor to staying on track. I'm sure there are many of us out here who would like to hear from you.

If you are falling short of where you wanted to be at the 6 month mark, let me ask you again to look at your list of goals. Do you see a list of "processes" or do you see a list of "goals"? For example:

>Implement advertising campaign to develop awareness can be an important part of any business plan. However, it is a process, not a goal. The goal is the result you are expecting the advertising campaign to produce. As a business person, the ultimate result you are probably looking for are more sales or more clients. The process you are using to accomplish this objective is to implement an advertising. Does this make sense?

It might seem like splitting hairs, but it is an important distinction. If your goal is the process (advertising) it can limit your creativity or your ability to see alternative ways to reach your ultimate objective (increasing sales).

For example: A business sets a goal to "implement an advertising campaign". Half-way through the year they aren't seeing the increase in business they had expected so they would likely review their campaign , make adjustments they thought necessary, and keep going. That may or may not be the best thing, but how will they know? They didn't consider any alternative to advertising, since advertising was their goal.

A friend of mine, Shirley Millett, is a licensed medical esthetician and the owner of Skin Essentials, a skin care clinic on Forest Avenue in Portland. She does advertising when she's running a special on a treatment or promoting another time-based "event".

To generally increase the client-base, advertising can be expensive for a small business. So something else Shirley does to grow her business is to join forces with another small business owner and "co-promote". A friend of Shirley's owns a financial services business. As a customer appreciation effort, her friend sent out cards thanking clients for their business. Included in that card was a $25 off coupon for a service at Skin Essentials.

What could be better than that? Shirley's services are promoted to a whole new group of potential clients; her friend was able to give his clients something of real value as a thank you; and the clients are happy because Shirley's services are top notch. Win-win-win.

Would "co-promotion" have been considered if the goal was "implement an advertising campaign"? Maybe - but probably not.

It's the RESULT that is going to grow your business, so keep your focus on the result. Don't get tangled up in the process.

And Remember.... Be BOLD. It all starts with a Vision.

ONLY THREE SPOTS are left for the next Promotion Action.Next Thursday, June 29, Bold Vision Consulting will begin offering “Promotion Action - Attract More Clients than You Can Handle by Becoming Recognized as an Expert in Your Field” exclusively for Professionals whose business IS their expertise. Service Professionals interested in more information check out www.PromotionAction.com. This program will be available via teleclass in August. Send an email to info@boldvisionconsulting.com if you would like to be kept updated on this program.

An Ocular Forum introductory meeting is being scheduled for early August. If you are interested in learning more about how you can leverage the experience and success of others and fast forward your business growth, plan on coming to this informative meeting, talk to other Ocular Forum participants to learn about the program and hear their stories of success.

A Bold Business Intensive workshop is being scheduled for late July or August. For more information on BOLD Business, go to www.boldvisionconsulting.com

Lesson Learned: For those of you who notice that I’m a week off schedule getting this new article posted, forgive the delay. For those of you who did not notice, I’m going to work harder… so next time I'm late, (however, I’m going to do my best so that there isn’t a next time) you’ll notice.

Referencing my last article, "Are You an Expert", let’s continue the discussion. What can you do so prospective more clients seek YOU out, virtually eliminating the time you have to spend cold calling.

Remember in the last article, I asked you to name a home improvement specialist … Bob Villa? Why did his name come to mind? Because you’ve read articles they’ve written, you’ve seen them speaking about their subject, you’ve read articles written by others about them … You recognize them as an expert in their field.

If you want to raise yourself above the crowd of competitors and be recognized as an expert at what you do so clients seek you out, try implementing a solid self-promotion effort. There are a number of things you can do, but to get started, build a solid promotion “foundation”. As you get this underway and working you can then build from there. To build a good foundation to your promotion plan you will want to:

1. Get Published – Whether for a magazine, newspaper trade journal or your BLOG, writing articles is one of the first and most important steps to positioning yourself as an expert. I write a bi-weekly (most months!) BLOG article here, for MaineToday.com. I'll also be "officially" launching a Bold Business BLOG on my own website next month. I am surprised at the feedback I’ve received from the articles I’ve posted. Not only do local Maine people contact me but I’ve received emails from as far away as Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia.

2. Get on the Speaking Circuit – Unlike articles, which can feel somewhat removed, speaking gets you up close and personal with prospective clients. Here I am talking to you all and most of you are even awake!

You can be perceived as an expert by simply standing at the front of the room. You're there, they're not. Speaking engagements also give direct feedback and recognition. If your talk is good, your credibility is established instantly; the impression you make speaking is immediate and powerful.

3. Dynamic Networking – notice it isn’t just ‘networking’. Most people think of networking as attending a Chamber After Hours, having a glass of wine chatting with a couple of people and going home – period, the end. Networking isn’t a party, it’s a strategy to meet and get to know people, develop trusting relationships and make connections as often as you can for others. It’s about farming, not hunting. You attend networking events to plant seeds for future harvests, not hunt down and bag a client.

4. Stay in Touch / Follow Up – After you invest the valuable time and effort in the above, you meet people, develop contacts, gather intelligence about potential projects or clients …then what? You would be surprised how few of you actually follow up and take the next step. It’s important to stay in contact with the people that don’t need your service right now. Send them a “nice to meet you”, “saw this article” note, etc. BTW – how many hand written notes have you received lately? You would remember receiving a hand written note, wouldn’t you? You’d remember who sent it, wouldn’t you? Alrighty then. There you go.

These are four basic components to a solid self-promotion plan. Other promotional activities to consider include:

• Engaging PR and the Media
• Leveraging your web presence for more than an online brochure i.e.
--o E-zine (sign up for mine on my website)
--o BLOG (here and on my site is coming soon.)
--o PodCast (still working on this for launch in the 4th quarter)
• Seminar and Workshops
--o Teleclass (Promotion Action from the comfort of your own phone - via teleconference in August)
• Traditional Advertising and the Professional -There IS a role.

It’s not enough if you ARE an expert. You have to be RECOGNIZED as an expert. As the last article noted, you can keep on doing what you’re doing, wait and hope it happens -OR- you can take ACTION and Make It Happen!

Happy Promoting! And remember …Be BOLD. It’s about success and making it happen – and it all starts with a Bold Vision.

All of the topics covered in this article, and more, will be addressed in Bold Vision Consulting's Promotion Action program. On June 29 (DATE FIRM) Bold Vision Consulting will begin offering the 1st of a 2-Series program “Promotion Action - Attract More Clients than You Can Handle by Becoming Recognized as an Expert in Your Field” exclusively for Professionals whose business IS their expertise. Service Professionals interested in more information check out www.PromotionAction.com. This program will be available via teleclass in August. Send an email to info@boldvisionconsulting.com if you would like to be kept updated on this program.

An Ocular Forum introductory meeting is being scheduled for early August. If you are interested in learning more about how you can leverage the experience and success of others and fast forward your business growth, plan on coming to this informative meeting, talk to other Ocular Forum participants to learn about the program and hear their stories of success.

A Bold Business Intensive workshop is being scheduled for late July or August. For more information on BOLD Business, go to www.boldvisionconsulting.com

So many of us struggle to keep the phone ringing and the money coming in. We network, network, network. We give out our business cards, our brochures and we mail out postcards and flyers and we even (gasp!) resort to cold calling when we must.

Let’s face it; there an abundance of us competing for the same clients. We self-employed pay a cost for our freedom of “being our own boss” which can be inconsistent workflow, unpredictable cash flow and long and stressful work hours.

For others it's a different story. Clients stand in line, wait days-weeks-or even months or longer, to do business with these “lucky” professionals. Not only are their clients willing to wait and do business on their terms, clients are also willing to pay top dollar fees.

So, what’s the DEAL?
Why would one professional be busy and in high demand, receive top dollar for their services while others struggle month after month? Because professional #1 is recognized by the marketplace as an expert in their field; the others are not.

Try this exercise –Who do you think of – the first name that pops into your head when I ask you to name a….

Home Improvement Expert

Bob Villa ? Funny, he’s been off the TV for years and years – yet he’s the name most people still mention.

How about a ….

Sex Expert

Dr. Ruth, right?

And why do we think of these people? Because you’ve seen or heard them in public, on TV on the radio talking about their subject; you’ve read articles they’ve written, you’ve heard stories and read articles about them that other, 3rd parties have written … You recognize them as an expert in their field.

Expert is defined as “Someone with a high degree of skill or knowledge of a certain subject.” The definition is not someone that knows more than anyone else, ever-ever-ever, of a certain subject.

Are you someone who has a high degree of skill or knowledge about your my field or some specific area of your field? If you answer “No.” you will want to look into getting some more education and/or training. If you answered, “Yes.” then you’re an expert. You just need to be recognized as such.

It is important to recognize the fact that the world of business is “expert-driven”. It takes discipline and dedication to make the investment in your success. It takes perseverance to maintain a focus on your ultimate goal and not be sidetracked by short term obstacles or impatience.

So how does one become recognized as an expert?
1. The old fashioned way – over a long period of time. A bevy of happy clients who talk to their friends and family and spread the word you can grow your reputation organically. It will take a good deal of time but if you’re consistent with good service and have happy clients, this will help establish your reputation as an expert.

OR

2. You can document and implement a multi-level plan of self promotion, your objective being raising your target market’s awareness of your expertise, as opposed to directly promoting the actual service you provide. It’s a subtle difference but significant. This is especially productive for a profession that would prefer or legally cannot directly advertise, such as doctors and lawyers.

There are a number of promotional activities to focus on and, depending on your area of expertise, your target market, your personal preferences, etc. you’ll include a number of different activities in your plan. Next week I’ll go into a little detail on 4 of the basics that should be in everyone’s promotion plan.

If you would like an advance copy just send me an email. I’m putting the finishing touches on it and soon it will be on my website.

Happy Promoting! And remember …Be BOLD. It’s about success and making it happen – and it all starts with a Bold Vision.

On June 29 (DATE FIRM) Bold Vision Consulting will begin offering the 1st of a 2-Series program “Promotion Action Plan - Attract More Clients than You Can Handle With Less Effort by Becoming Recognized as an Expert in Your Field” exclusively for Professionals whose business is their expertise. Independent Service Professionals interested in more information please email info@boldvisionconsulting.com.

Bold Vision Business Intensive program will be launched in July or August. The Business Intensive program is a series of 8 90-minute classes. Two programs will be launched; one that will meet in person (South Portland, ME) and one that meets via teleconference. For more information send an email to info@boldvisionconsulting.com.