Published:

02/14/2013 07:47pm

How to Market Your Services and Maintain a Consistent Income

With the myriad of options available to market your small business, it's quite easy to become overwhelmed in trying to figure out where you should focus your attention. Let me help you simplify the process.

First, consider, who is an ideal client for YOUR business. This is critical, because you cannot be all things to all people. (I know you think everyone and anyone needs your service. But that is simply NOT true. The quicker you accept that, the more successful your business will be).

Determining who your ideal client is begins with choosing a target market. Then you can identify who within that market will get the best, long lasting results in working with you. Your ideal client is the ONE person who is truly losing sleep at night because they are struggling with the exact problem you solve. They value your expertise, are ready to invest in the solutions you offer, roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Focusing your marketing efforts on this person does not at all mean that you can't work with other types of people or that you say no to opportunities that come along. You are guaranteed to attract folks who don't fit your ideal client.

The point of creating this profile is simply to FOCUS your marketing efforts. You don't market for the sake of doing so. You market consistently to create awareness around the solutions you offer and to generate leads. You have a limited amount of time, money and energy to spend on marketing. So you need to spend it on the strategies that are going to get real results.

So what target market will you choose? Make it a group of people you have solid expertise in helping, that you can offer clear solutions to and who you know are already looking for what you have to share. (Remember it's just for a specified time, say 3-6 months while you work towards a specific goal). Don't over think this. There is no right or wrong answer. Just pick one and commit to sticking with it!

Now that you know who your target market is, get crystal clear on who your ideal client is.

• Is it a man or a woman? (We can only be one or the other).

• How old are they? (We're only one age at a time).

• What does their lifestyle look like?

• What specific challenges are they facing?

• What specific solutions are they looking for?

The answers to these questions will tell you exactly how and where to market your services to maintain a consistent income.

You see, a single, professional man, aged 35, college educated, who works at a prestigious firm, is fun, outgoing, ambitious, loves his job and loves to spend time with his friends is going to show up in specific places. He's going to attend certain events to expand his professional network. He's going to be interested in specific social events to meet that special someone. He will contribute to certain causes he cares about. He will read particular blogs and be active on certain social networks. He has specific goals in mind both personally and professionally, and likely has the disposable income to invest in obtaining the resources he needs to achieve his goals.

Do you see how the clarity of who this particular individual is tells you exactly how to market to him?

You know what his lifestyle looks like, so you can acknowledge that in the content you write. You can show up at those professional networking events where he will be present. You can write for publications he reads. You can tell others in your network you are looking to work with folks like him and what specific phrases or challenges to listen for in their conversations.

In order to keep your income consistent, you will need a consistent stream of leads. To maintain a consistent stream of leads, you need to market consistently to create awareness for what you offer. To get the best results with your marketing you know to focus on a particular target market and ideal client so you can speak to their needs. Avoid the ups and downs of feast or famine by allowing marketing specificity to provide you with predictable income.

Known as "The Smart Simpl