What does it take to build a really successful business? Aside from being great at what you do – whether that’s coaching, consulting or training – you also need to get really good at marketing. You need to understand it – what works and what doesn’t. You need to develop a desire to spend time on marketing your business. You need to take steps towards becoming a Marketing Expert.

What does it take to become a Marketing Expert? Three things. An understanding of the importance of strategy, which I wrote about in the January issue of my newsletter, Scribbles. A knowledge of the tactics that will work for you, at the current stage of your business, which is what I discussed here in February.

What’s next? Read on to find out!

Once you’ve started getting to grips with the importance of having a marketing strategy and you’ve begun to figure out which marketing tactics you need, the next step is to keep going. You have to build up momentum. Marketing is not a quick overnight fix. There’s no silver bullet or magic wand. Ad hoc marketing simply does not work and if you think you can do a little bit of marketing now and then, when you’re not too busy, your business will probably fail.

Feast or Famine?

Last November after a pretty tough year, I decided to take my foot of the gas with my marketing. My financial year ended on 31st July and I had made it to 95% of my turnover target. Not bad for a year in which I’d not been able to do any of the ‘in the room’ networking or ‘on the stage’ speaking that a) I love doing and b) which brings me business. I’d been forced to do it all by Zoom and adapt to a new way of working. It had worked, because networking and speaking online allowed me to travel around the country with no effort or expense and to meet people who I wouldn’t normally be lucky enough to meet.

I had almost hit my target, but I was exhausted. There were issues in my personal life that were causing me a bit of stress too, so come the autumn I decided I could relax a little when it came to marketing my business. Looking back, I can’t believe I actually let myself get away with doing what I never allow my clients to do. I did something that I rant on about a lot in Scribbles and my blogs. I reduced the amount of marketing I was doing. Fewer online networking events; virtually no speaking events for 3-4 months. Fewer Marketing Mondays (the free events I usually run twice a month.) I kept up with Scribbles and the occasional blog, but overall, my marketing really slowed down.

The result? When I finally dragged myself out of the ‘I don’t want to do any marketing’ stupor towards the end of January, I was horrified to see that my turnover for that month was a lot lower than it should have been. February was looking pretty poor too and I only had one person booked on March’s Clients4Coaches course – I needed another three coaches, and quickly.

Building Momentum

Why am I sharing this sorry tale of woe with you? To show you the importance of building up momentum in your marketing and of not relying on ad hoc marketing. When I finally got back into the saddle of marketing my business in February, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I know that 50% of my current clients have come to me after hearing me speak at events. 23% were referred to me and 18% met me at a networking event. So that’s what I focused on – speaking at events, asking for referrals and going networking. In just one week I took on four new clients – two who joined the Clients4Coaches course and two who signed up to my KickStart Programme.

Finding these lovely new clients was helped by the fact that I already have a base level of marketing momentum. Usually I make sure that I speak in public once a month, attend 2-3 networking events a month, give and ask for one LinkedIn recommendation every month, publish Scribbles on the third Wednesday and post at least one blog during the month. There is absolutely nothing ad hoc about that. Even after a few months of not doing proper marketing, I made sure I went back to doing what I know works.

I could have built a new list of potential clients and sent them an email, telling them how great I am. I could have spent time on Facebook groups looking for prospects. I could have created a new ‘lead magnet’ on my website. I didn’t. I did what works for promoting my business – and indeed, any coaching, consulting or training business. I went back to the regular, sustained, ongoing, certainly not ad hoc marketing that is tried and tested.

So the next time you’re tempted to ease off a little – think carefully. We do all need to take breaks, but make sure that at least some part of your marketing keeps ticking over (or find someone who can help you out while you have some recovery time.) Don’t disappear altogether, or your business and reputation will do the same.