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January 1, 2019

Marketing & Sales for ‘Old’ Business Owners, Part 4

“I don’t have the time!”

After “I don’t have the money!”, the second most common excuse I hear from ‘oldsters’ like me for not engaging in any real marketing & sales efforts is “I don’t have the time!”.

To that, I have two responses:

#1. Bullsh**! The reason you don’t “have the time” is because you’re not “making the time”… and the reason you’re not “making the time” is because it’s not a “priority” for you.

It’s that simple.

Let’s say you really believe you’re too busy to add anything else to your plate. OK, but what if P&G or Amazon calls you tomorrow with a new project. Are you gonna say, “Thanks, but no thanks – we’re too busy!” Of course not. A new client – especially one with that high a profile – becomes a priority and you find a way to get it done… regardless of how busy you [think you] are.

And it should be no different with marketing & sales. They have to be as high a priority for you as current project work, paying the rent, sending out invoices or taking on those new clients.

#2. Being successful at marketing & sales is not about big, time-consuming campaigns (though there’s nothing wrong with those)… it’s about spending a little time, every day, working on growing your business. It’s about being persistent and consistent.

To help you get started down this path, here are 8 recurring marketing & sales activities that don’t require a lot of time… but that will pay dividends if you stick with them:

  • Post on social media every day… on your LinkedIn profile(s), on LinkedIn groups and on Twitter (Facebook, too, if you have a company page). Rule of thumb: Only 20% of your posts should link to content that’s yours; much more than that and it comes across as too self-serving/too salesy.
  • Blog once a week. Shoot for 500+ words for each post. Blogging is an easy way to build awareness, help your SEO results and establish a reputation as a Subject Matter Expert.
  • Make one sales call every day. Respond to an inquiry, follow-up with someone you met at a conference or reach out to a former client or prospect to rekindle a relationship.
  • Attend one networking event each quarter… whether it’s an event in your industry, an event in a vertical industry you serve or even a local chapter meeting of a national association; and make sure your elevator pitch is on point.
  • Spend 15-20 minutes each week connecting with others on LinkedIn and Twitter. The more connections/followers you have, the more people will see your social posts, the more awareness you’ll build and the more influence you can have.
  • Send out a monthly enewsletter. What’s in it? Simple… links back to your recent blog posts or your latest lean gen magnet.
  • Sign up for Google Alerts… and read your feeds every morning. They’re an easy, fast and free way to stay on top of industry trends, new technologies, enhancements in methodologies, etc.
  • Once each quarter, visit the website of your top 5 competitors. See if they’ve added any new key personnel or services/product lines… or if they’re targeting any new market segments. You don’t want to be surprised in a bidding situation.

No, you don’t have to do all of these things… though, I’d like to think that some of you will! But pick a few and work on them during your first 15-20 minutes at the office every morning over your first cup of coffee. Over time… that kind of daily commitment will really add up.

By the way, after considering the ideas above, if you still claim that you don’t have the time… then hire us! We’ll take care of it for you. 😉


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