Does the following give a pretty good picture of your current marketing activity?You have a website but you’re not really satisfied with it. You go to networking events once in awhile. If someone asks you to give a talk, you’re happy to do it. You post on Facebook and/or LinkedIn semi-regularly. When you find the time, you send an article to those on your relatively small email list. You occasionally set up meetings with colleagues to explore opportunities.Now there’s nothing wrong with any of those marketing activities. And usually, they will result in landing some new clients.But this is not the approach that works to get a steady, predictable stream of new clients.Please don’t tune me out here, thinking, “Well, I really can’t do more than this. I’m already stretched thin. If you give me too much to do I’ll get overwhelmed.”I agree. It’s not that you need to do more marketing, it’s that you need to shift your marketing paradigm from one of “Randomness” to one that is “Focused.”Random marketing is just that; it’s all over the place. You do a little bit here and a little bit there on an inconsistent basis. You are trying to keep your face, name, and message in front of your prospective clients but the results are unpredictable.The Random marketing paradigm is not very effective because it doesn’t gain a lot of momentum. You don’t do enough of one marketing activity to grab the attention of your prospective clients and move them to take action.The Focused Marketing Paradigm is very different. It’s based on repeatedly communicating very directly to your target market with a very definite end in mind. It gets the attention of your prospective clients and they ultimately take action.The Focused Marketing Paradigm has Five PillarsUnderstand and implement these five pillars and I promise you’ll see a shift in your marketing results.Pillar One: Focused GoalsA Random goal is saying something like, “I’d like to attract a few more clients to my business.” Not very compelling is it?A Focused goal is much more specific. “My goal is to land 3 new clients in the high-tech plastics business in the Houston area with an average project size of $30,000 each by the end of the year.”The more detail, depth, and specificity about the goal, the better. You’ve really thought through what you want to achieve and also have confidence that you could deliver if you did reach your goal. It’s so real to you that you can taste it.What is the Focused Goal for your marketing?Pillar Two: Focused Program or Service Random programs or services are generalized consulting, coaching or training programs. “I offer management consulting and training to corporations.” Kind of vague, right? But this is what I hear all the time.A Focused Program or Service is more tangible. “I offer the high-tech plastics industry Management Acceleration Programs for emerging leaders in the industry.”In my business, I’ve always offered programs: The Marketing Mastery Program, the Marketing Action Group, and the More Clients Club. And each program has very specific parameters, deliverables, and objectives. It sure makes intangible services easier to market and sell.What is the Focused Program or Service you’re offering?Pillar Three: Focused Target MarketIn the above example, the target was the “high-tech plastics industry.” But it’s more common to hear things like, “I work with large companies who want to increase productivity.” This is too general and it makes it hard for clients to know if you understand them and can help them.A Focused target market is where you are absolutely clear what kinds of people or companies can most benefit from your expertise. And then you articulate that clearly.I worked with a financial planning company last year that targeted middle class families in the Buffalo New York area. Guess who they attracted to their practice? When people read about who they worked with on their website, they said, “That’s Us!” and called them.Who exactly is your Focused Target Market?Pillar Four: Focused Message and Value PropositionA Random message or value proposition tends to be too general and can be hard to pin down. It avoids making a promise that is meaningful to the prospective client.Messages such as, “We offer the best service in the industry,” or “Smart insights into great management,” are meaningless to your prospective clients. The value is not immediately obvious.A Focused message or value proposition zeros in on exactly what your clients get and what it means to them. I admit that this can be the marketing pillar that is hardest to pin down. Ultimately you have to test a number of different things.For the re-launch of the More Clients Club, my current value proposition is: “Everything Self-Employed Professionals Need in One Place to Attract More Clients.” And now, of course, I’m bending over backward to deliver on that promise.And a marketing message or value proposition is much more than a sound bite. Your message must permeate every aspect of your marketing, from your website to the emails you send out. Your prospects need to be constantly reminded of the value you offer.What is your Focused Message or Value Proposition?Pillar Five: Focused Marketing StrategyA Random marketing strategy is much like the collection of marketing activities I outlined at the top of the article. You’re just all over the place, throwing something at the wall, hoping it will stick, with no organized system or plan.A Focused marketing strategy is more like a putting on a theatrical production. You have the script, the actors, rehearsals, and opening night, all executed on a strict timeline.Two examples:For my Marketing Mastery Program, I held a series of introductory teleconferences, invited those interested to apply for the program, interviewed each applicant, and then converted 50% into participants. Over a 6-week period, I filled my business for a full year – four years in a row.A career coach in one of my programs recently filled her practice in three months with a focused campaign of personalized emails designed to get appointments with her ideal clients. Then she converted a large percentage into paying clients.That’s the power of a focused marketing strategy.You need to identify the right marketing strategy for your business, but even more important is the way you organize and implement the strategy.Developing a focused strategy is the most complex and challenging of the Five Pillars. You can’t just put together something haphazardly and hope you get the equivalent of a professional Shakespearian production.What is your Focused Marketing Strategy?If you work to build a focused plan with these five solid pillars, your marketing will work better and faster, attracting more of your ideal clients, usually at a higher rate.I recommend you work on one pillar at a time. Write them out and fine-tune them until you feel confident and excited about them. Yes, you will need to do some research and study to make sure your plan is viable. But this is certainly better than spinning your wheels with a random strategy that is going nowhere.Cheers, Robert
Statistics Programming – Easing the Pain
Different sets of software are being developed everyday just to ease man with some of his technical works such as in the field of business. These programs are specially designed to make high speed calculations and analysis of the data and come up with a soft copy of information output that can be used instantaneously after the software processes it. Statistics is one of the most complicated clerical works of anyone who is studying or working in the field of economics, politics and even social matters. Statistics is deemed to be of importance because it gives a type of descriptive conclusion or interpretation that can be very precise depending upon the quality of data that has been gathered and the competence that is given to organize, interpret and represent that data. But even with the level of competence that a person has with regards to his statistical skills, there is still a probability that a miscalculation might be made and alter the holistic outcome of the statistics.
However, because of the rapid advancements of technology and the evolution of the functions that can be performed by the humble computer software developers has come up with a certain software program that can make ease any statistician of all their statistical tasks. The development of a program that is able to perform the task of organizing and interpreting statistical data was q revolutionary breakthrough when it comes to statistical analysis help. Statistics programming is defined as the systematic calculation of all the numerical data that has been downloaded into the system wherein it is organized basing upon the categories. These categories are classified upon the nature of the data that has been downloaded. After the process of organizing the data, it will be then interpreted numerically. This function of statistical programming helps to lessen the burden of work and also to maximize the output of a statistician.
Statistical program is composed of sets of languages. There are a total of 17 categories in a statistical program and these are the following;
• Analytica, ADMB
• Gretl, GAUSS
• Mathematica
• OxMetrics
• Quantum (Programming Language)
• Programming Language, SPSS, Symbolic Data Analysis, Sysquake, SAS (software and language), Speakeasy(Computation), SHAZAM (Software)
• World Programming System
• XLispStat
Each of these categories of Statistics Programs has their own unique sets of functions. Each one of it is capable of performing specific functions about statistics. The MATRIX LAB is one of the statistics programs that are widely used today. It is a program that is provided by a certain company that is said to be fully capable of solving ad coming up with solutions with regards to any mathematical or numerical problems that are fed into it. The MATLAB assignment helps not only statistics but also other aspects that majorly require the use of mathematical equations and solving. Because of these software programs, statisticians are given more time to pay attention to other details of the data and leave the organization and the interpretation of it to the statistics software.
How To Find A Business for Sale
Are you looking for a business for sale? If so, then you have probably heard all sorts of outrageous claims on-line. Claims such as: “make money without lifting a finger,” “no investment required,” and “make money while you sleep.” While it is true that some businesses can practically run by themselves, this is only achieved after a lot of time and effort has been put into developing a solid base for the company. Do not be fooled by the snake oil salesman that claim that you can have a successful business without putting any time, effort, and money into it. The good news is, though there are many scams and get rich quick schemes out there, there are also many legitimate businesses for sale. The great thing about having so many companies and individuals that have a business for sale, is that you have many choices and options. On the other side of the coin there is a seemingly insurmountable amount of research to get through in order to make the right decision. I can’t tell you exactly which company is right for you because of the simple fact that everyone is different, and what works for me might not work for you. I can however, give you some good insights into what to look for when looking at a business for sale.One more great thing about having so many different businesses for sale out there is that you no longer have to write a business plan, rent a building, find something to sell, and hope that you can gain a client base before you run out of money. While a brick and mortar business is still an incredibly viable option, it is also not the only option for someone who wants to work for themselves. I am referring, of course, to the realm of multi level marketing, and network marketing. These business plans have not only opened up business ownership to ordinary people, but they have made it possible for a person, with no real business knowledge or experience, to take the reigns of their own business and make their own future.So, the number one thing I run into when talking to perspective clients about a business for sale is that many people have been burned by various other “opportunities” and thus they have a bitter taste in their mouths about jumping into something new. So how can you tell between a scam and the real deal? I have set some common sense steps to analysing a new prospective company.1. Make sure that you have what it takes to run your own business, everyone has fantasies of telling their boss to take a hike, but the reality is that running your own business requires a large amount of time management skill, as well as a will to succeed and a work ethic to back it up.2. Money, every business costs money to get started, even if you are promoting affiliate links, unless you are a marketing prodigy you will more than likely be buying some sort of training material to figure out what you are doing. In my personal opinion, a good target number to look for when looking at a business for sale, is 500 dollars or less to get started.3. Product, if a company sells a product nobody wants to buy then how will you sell it? I know this sounds simple and shouldn’t even be mentioned because it is so basic, but it amazes me how many companies ask you to sell something that would be nearly impossible to move. The best kind of company to get involved with is one that either has a corner on a market, or is more advanced than the competition. Again, I know this sounds like it should be the first thing you think of, but it is easy to get caught up in the sales hype of a well crafted landing page.4. Compensation plan, how does the company reimburse its affiliates or representatives? there are many types of compensation plans, as well as many other people who are more qualified to talk about them, so I won’t go in-depth on this.5. Team, what kind of teamwork is present in the company? A good business for sale will stress to its reps just how important teamwork is, to put it simply, a network marketing company will either live or die by how well it fosters a support system within its team. This means that there should be an efficient way for them to train you, preferably a website that has training calls and videos for you to go through rather than sitting on the phone for hours listening to training.6. Public Opinion, how well is the company doing at maintaining its public relations? What is the first thing people do when they hear about something new that they are curious about? Most people these days Google it, that is why, if you’re trying to sell something to someone and they Google it to find reviews, if all they see is negative then it will be very hard to sell regardless of whether or not the product is incredible. With information so easy to come by on the internet these days a company has to spend a lot of time and effort in order to maintain their image or else they might as well pack up their stuff and close their doors. There are two ways I check this, one is to Google it, the second, is to check the company out at bbb.com. The Better Business Bureau is a great place to find information on a business for sale.7. How does the company operate? Many Network marketing companies today focus mainly on internet sales, they utilize social networking heavily for their sales, while others focus more on person to person sales. It is very important that you decide which one you are more comfortable with and make sure that is what the company you are looking at utilizes. If you are computer illiterate and don’t get along with technology at all then person to person might be best for you. I would strongly recommend that anyone that wants to get into network marketing goes with a company that is fully web integrated, believe it or not, there are a lot of companies that still prohibit or make it very difficult to market on-line. This is very important, if you get into a company and get trained in it only to realize that they only allow you to market in certain ways, it can be very hard to be successful.These are just some pointers to help separate the bad from the good, but at the end of the day it all boils down to you. Are you the kind of person who can take charge, schedule, plan, execute that plan, call leads, and most importantly, close a sale? This is the most important part of the whole process, because at the end of the day, your success relies about 75 percent on you and 25 percent on the company you represent.