Sales is not a dirty word
December 5, 2011 by Barbara · 4 Comments
‘Sales’ is not usually the first word chosen by professionals to describe how they acquire new clients. They prefer ‘marketing’ or ‘business development.’
For example, a professional colleague said to me recently, “Everyone else is out there marketing so hard, it is essential to be out there too.” Her firm recently hired a new associate who has energized their team because he “feels responsible to actually market,” as my friend put it.
This anecdote speaks to one of the dilemmas of operating a professional services business: to do what you are good at and love to do, you need work; work comes from clients; clients come from a regular, ongoing system of practices called marketing, sales, and business development, often interchangeably.
Dear reader, are you thinking, “Duh!” to yourself? I know it is obvious, but many professionals resist doing the sales and marketing needed to have thriving businesses. Read more
What Jetexas taught me about patience & persistence
June 28, 2011 by Barbara · 2 Comments
We have an elderly visitor at our house this week. His name is Jetexas. He is an elegant, sweet-tempered black Labrador retriever. He is bright-eyed and glad to be alive, even though his body doesn’t work as well as it used to, especially his hindquarters.
He spends most of his time sleeping, but when it’s time to get up for a meal or a trip outside, he needs help, and getting his balance those first few steps takes time.
Today as I helped him get up and guided him gently towards the outdoors, I had to wait several times for him to come along with me. Yes, I can carry the 65-pound dog, but forcing him doesn’t help him or me. So I wait, guide, wait, call him, wait, help him balance, and wait some more. Patience with persistent guidance gets him safely and happily down the steps to the lawn and back up again. Read more
I’m not sure I should tell you this
February 28, 2011 by Barbara · 6 Comments
I struggle with my own marketing. I agonize over finding the right words for my own marketing message. All the objectivity and inspiration that I love bringing to my clients . . . POOF! Suddenly my head is going in circles.
Finally I realized that I need to get OUT of my head to make progress. And I need another human being to interact with who can hold an objective, outside perspective.
Why is this so important? There are a few reasons.
Now more than ever we are required to be crystal clear in our marketing communications, and that all boils down to our core message: the bedrock of how you promote your business. Read more
Why I want you to love planning
February 22, 2011 by Barbara · 4 Comments
I love to plan. It’s not just that I like some control and predictability. There is such satisfaction in gathering up the pieces in my mind and putting them on paper in some meaningful relation to one another. I see connections. I get more ideas. It’s fun!
I know that we are not all wired this way. I have no illusions that my plan will happen by the ‘script,’ but experience has convinced me that any planning makes my clients (and me) better prepared when life happens. And I don’t have to tell you that life typically doesn’t ask us how we’d like it delivered. It simply arrives. Read more
Living & breathing your plan
February 16, 2011 by Barbara · 12 Comments
“If you don’t set goals, you can’t regret not reaching them.” Yogi Berra
Some of us would rather plan than do. Others hate to plan, and just want to be out in the world doing Stuff. Many of us fall in the middle, loving some parts of planning and doing, and avoiding others.
There is a lot of evidence that planning our business and marketing is a good idea. Sound like bad-tasting medicine? It doesn’t have to be. Planning has us take an overview, which helps us see patterns or trends, and connect the dots in new ways. A plan gives us a way to be consistent about activities that are essential for a sustainable, profitable business. Planning can be creative and fun — and it can really pay off. Read more
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As a 25-year veteran of marketing professional services, Barbara Breckenfeld is a strategist and a storyteller. She helps helps businesses grow as a consultant, marketing coach, and seminar leader.
