Technology Marketing Minute

The Gross Misconception Computer Consultants Have About Marketing and Attracting New Clients
That Costs Them BIG

By Robin Robins, President, Technology Marketing Toolkit, Inc.
www.technologymarketingtoolkit.com

The other day on a group conference call, one of my clients told me they had been doing “my style” of marketing and getting “disappointing” results. When I asked what “disappointing” was, he said, “We have mailed out two series of your 3-step letter campaigns and have only gotten between a 1% and 3% response rate.”

Sheesh…where do I start?

First off, he had only been marketing his business for 3 months. “My style” or not, 3 months is hardly a drop in the marketing bucket. That’s akin to skipping lunch one day and expecting to lose 5 inches off your waistline. Is it enough time to make significant progress? Yes. And had he been proactively marketing to this list over time, building his reputation and relationship with them, AND had an incredible, irresistible, and exciting offer to make, he would have gotten even better results. However, he had NEVER done any type of marketing to position himself and build a reputation for his company. This was a dead, cold start. Plus, he didn’t even know where the list of names came from that he had been mailing, or how tightly qualified it was.

This is the biggest misconception about marketing that computer consulting firms have: Expecting too much too soon.

I’m amazed at the number of people who think they ought to be able to mail a letter or two and get such a huge stampede of new business that it will only take one or two mailings a year to buy a yacht and retire forever.

Of course, I have plenty of clients who have had dramatic results in a very short period of time. BUT, that is not the norm. Building a reputation for your company and securing a position in the marketplace take a lot of time and repetition. This client IS doing the right thing; my only fear is that he gives up too soon thinking he’s not making progress, which he certainly IS.

Second, a 1% to 3% response rate from cold prospects who have no earthly idea who you are in a high transaction service business is not only perfectly acceptable, it’s downright generous. The average client in a computer consulting business could easily be worth $5,000 to $15,000 a year NOT counting referrals. And THAT is only if you do an okay job at servicing them. Mail 700 prospects with a 1% response rate and you get 7 new prospects. If you’re terrible at closing and only get 3 to buy, that’s $15,000 to $45,000 in NEW business from one mailing! Just try to get that type of return from any other investment you are making right now.

Another important lesson here is that the ONLY way to get good at marketing and developing campaigns that actually DO provide an above-average response and return is to do a lot of bad marketing. No one gets behind the wheel of a car the first time in their life and drives like Mario Andretti. If you want to get to the point where client attraction and marketing becomes easy and effortless, you have to constantly work at it; not just when you find the time or get so desperate for sales that you’re paying for groceries on credit cards.

Don’t fall into the trap of giving up when things don’t go perfect, or underestimating the number of campaigns and communications it will take to build your reputation in the marketplace. If you are going to do it, do it right.

Want To Know The Exact Marketing Strategies That Work Best For Attracting Profitable New Clients?

Then it’s critical for you to join me at an upcoming Client Attraction and Marketing Blueprint Seminar.

You’ll learn:

How other SMB consultants are doubling the number of qualified leads and new clients they have using an “auto-pilot” client attraction marketing system that doesn’t require a sales team or large marketing budget to work.

Click here to register now
How to avoid wasting thousands of dollars and your precious time on marketing campaigns that don’t work. I’ll reveal the exact marketing media that has been proven time and time again to work best when marketing IT services.
How to position yourself as the most “in demand” consultant in your area with the highest fees and still get more business than cheaper competitors.
The 3 critical characteristics you must develop to unlock a flood of new sales and business opportunities; these have nothing to do with your marketing, the type of clients you serve, the way you price your services, or your competition.

Click here to register now
Auto-pilot marketing systems that will cut the time and effort of selling in half while virtually eliminating cheap clients. This is price-shopper pest control for your business!
How to get every ad, sales letter, brochure marketing campaign, website - and even your business card - to generate two to three times as many leads and sales as it currently is.
What type of marketing media is hands down the BEST for promoting your computer consulting services, and which ones will waste your time, drain your bank account, and leave you disappointed and frustrated.

This seminar is unconditionally guaranteed to give you specific, usable marketing strategies you can implement into your business and see results in your bank account within 6 weeks or less.

You will see actual campaigns and strategies that other small computer consultants used to double or triple their annual revenue, launch a profitable managed services practice, and transform the way they do business.

Click here to register now

Seating is limited! The last 2 events SOLD OUT. If you want to make sure you don’t miss out, click here now to register.