Don’t be lazy—pick up the phone

I know it’s tempting, but don’t do it.

Electronic communication makes it so easy to do business without ever talking to your client, but don’t get swept up in the virtuality of it all. There are times when you must have a real-time, live exchange with another person. And one of those times is before you quote a price. Read the rest of this entry »

If you hate the idea of cold calling but are going to hunker down and do it anyway because you know it’s a good way to reach your best prospects, here are the 3 things you need to have ready before you pick up the phone: Read the rest of this entry »

Clear short spurts of time everyday for marketing

There’s no “good” time to do marketing. So if you’re really busy and you’re waiting for a slow period, you can stop waiting right now. By the time things get slow, it will be too late: that’s the essence of feast or famine.

The cruel truth is that fitting in marketing when you’re busy is essential because it’s not something you do only when you’re slow. You will eventually have to figure out how to fit it into a very busy life, so why not start when it’s busy?

This is an issue I’ve been addressing with many Marketing Mentor clients recently, so here are a few of the solutions we’ve come up with: Read the rest of this entry »

“2 is the new 1.” What I mean is that because we get so much email and voice mail, I’ve noticed that even my good friends and clients often don’t respond unless I ping them a second time. That’s how they know I really want to talk to them.

Just one more reason not to be discouraged by a bit of silence from clients. It simply means that you have to shift your expectations to the right a bit. When it comes to prospects who don’t know you well, don’t even expect a response to your first outreach. Plan your strategy to include a second outreach a day or two later. And if by chance someone does respond to your first effort, imagine your delight!

Read Ilise’s Previous Post | Read Ilise’s Next post

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From the NoD Sponsor:

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is an accredited online graphic and web design school offering design career preparation including Web Design Certificates, Graphic Design Certificates, Multimedia Arts Certificates.

When calling prospects you must be prepared to address the 2 most common responses you will hear:

1. “We’re not in the market for that right now.”
This means the obstacle is timing. All you need to find out is when they will be in the market, then be sure to reach out during (or before) that window of time.

Here’s what to say: “I’d be happy to send you some information and then stay in touch until you are ready. May I do that?”

2. “We already have a vendor for these services.”
Yes, but are they happy with their current vendor? Your prospect may be staying with the current resource because it’s too much effort to find someone else. Or they may need a back up resource at the drop of a hat. If you’re waiting in the wings, you’ll be well positioned to fill the need.

Here’s what to say: “Well, just in case things change, do you mind if I send you some information and then stay in touch?”

Wondering whether you should use a script for your calls? (The answer may surprise you.)

Read Ilise’s previous post

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From the NoD Sponsor:

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is an accredited online graphic and web design school offering design career preparation including Web Design Certificates, Graphic Design Certificates, Multimedia Arts Certificates.

You hate cold calling, I know. That’s fine. But it’s still one of the most effective marketing tools for getting exactly the kind of work and the caliber of clients that you want – rather than being forced to take whatever comes along. That’s why the most successful design firms bite the bullet and do it. And that’s why you should too.

One of the reasons you may hate it is because you have unrealistic expectations when you’re reaching out to new prospects. You may wish people would say, “I’m so glad you called. I have a very creative project with a generous budget that would be perfect for you.” That rarely happens, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re likely to get discouraged.

What can (and does) happen, if you’ve targeted your market correctly, is that the people you call will be mildly interested in what you have to offer. That’s a good thing. That’s what you want.

Here’s what I consider a positive response: “Yes, we work with design firms like yours but we don’t have any need right now.”
If you say “thanks anyway” and hang up, you’ve missed the opportunity to plant a seed.

What also happens a lot is that you get their voice mail.
If you’re wondering if you should you leave a message, find out here:
http://www.marketingmixblog.com/blog/2007/03/should_you_leav.html

Read Ilise’s next post

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From the NoD Sponsor:

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is an accredited online graphic and web design school offering design career preparation including Web Design Certificates, Graphic Design Certificates, Multimedia Arts Certificates.

That’s the question du jour these days.

The answer: it depends.

If you don’t yet have a web site, a blog can serve as a Phase 1 web site. (Indeed, some designers even use a blog as their one-and-only web site.) A blog literally takes 10 minutes to create and you don’t need any technical expertise. However, you have less freedom with the layout due to the limitations of most blog publishing software, especially the free ones (like blogger.com).

If you already have a web site and are trying to decide between an email newsletter and a blog, note the main difference: a blog is a “pull” (i.e. readers have to find it and go there) while an email marketing message or newsletter is a “push” (i.e. you send or push it to those you want to keep in touch with). Actually, these two tools can work beautifully together. You can drive traffic to your blog by including links to it in your email messages.

Here are a couple of designer blogs I like:

www.communicatrix.com/

www.swiss-miss.com

More than a traditional web site, a blog has the potential to convey your design sensibility and who you are as a person. Swiss Miss, Tina Roth Eisenberg’s, advice: “Keep it real. Don’t blog just to simply promote your services, or even worse, to cash in on advertising money. Readers will sense it right away if you sell out. Be passionate about your blog. Be consistent. Kept it fresh.”

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From the NoD Sponsor:

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is an accredited online graphic and web design school offering design career preparation including Web Design Certificates, Graphic Design Certificates, Multimedia Arts Certificates.

The beauty of being a designer is that, because every company needs to market itself one way or another, almost every company is a prospect. Sometimes, all you have to do is tell someone what you do and they say, “I know someone who needs a web site (or a brochure or a fill-in-the-blank).” In fact, once you open your eyes to all the sources of work, your challenge will be choosing which ones to focus on. But choose you must, because if you don’t, you won’t know how to focus your marketing efforts. You won’t know who to reach out to or which events to attend. And you won’t be able to say, “I specialize in X,” which is one of the best ways to stand out from the competition and command higher fees.

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From the NoD Sponsor:

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is an accredited online graphic and web design school offering design career preparation including Web Design Certificates, Graphic Design Certificates, Multimedia Arts Certificates.

One of the things they don’t teach in design school is how to promote your services. (That’s why I have been teaching it for the past 20 years, through my business, Marketing Mentor.)

Whether you plan to get a job or start (or already own) a design firm, it is essential that you know the basics of self promotion. If you don’t, you’ll be at the mercy of whatever measly jobs come along.

I know. You don’t like self-promotion. Many designers don’t. For some,
it’s because their mother taught them not to brag. Others claim to be
uncomfortable talking about themselves. Some just wish their work would
speak for itself – but of course it doesn’t.

Here’s the type of thing you need to know: Read the rest of this entry »