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Articles by C.J. Hayden

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By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Managing the Time You Haven't Got

Do the words "time management" rub you the wrong way? For many busy professionals, the real problem seems to be that there isn’t any time left to manage. You can sometimes get better at managing your time by prioritizing all your tasks and scheduling carefully. But when you're already using all the time you have efficiently and there's still not enough, there are four strategies you can try. 1. Make more time. The fastest way to make time can be to buy it. You may think you don't have enough money to pay for help, but think about what your time is worth.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

2,338 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

New Year's Revolution

No, that's not a typo in the title. Resolutions are easy; most of us make them at least once a year. A revolution, on the other hand, is something you may not have made since you started your business. Starting a business is actually quite revolutionary. When you began yours, there were probably many details of your life that changed. Some of those changes were intentional, others accidental; some you liked, some you didn't. Other changes you always meant to make just never happened. Is your business everything you meant it to be? Is it giving you all that you wanted?

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,748 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Networking on the Net

Networking is one of the most effective ways to find clients for any consulting or professional services business. But if you limit your networking to only what you can do in person, you'll be missing out on a huge number of possibilities. Networking is more than entering a room full of people and exchanging business cards. It's creating a pool of contacts with whom you can exchange clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,655 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published3 topics

Making Time for Marketing

"I don't have time to market." It's a common complaint from self-employed professionals. When you are the only one who can serve the clients, manage the business, and perform all the sales and marketing functions, time becomes the most precious commodity you have. How can you find time for marketing with so many other important priorities? There are many time management techniques at your disposal, of course. You can defer tasks or delegate them, chunk down projects to smaller steps, and set aside time on your calendar for making calls, writing letters, or updating marketing materials.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing Business Networking Time Management

1,653 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Being Unique is a Good Thing... Isn't It?

New entrepreneurs frequently hear the advice to "be unique" in their marketing. The basic idea is a valuable one -- to get attention in a crowded marketplace, you must stand out in some way. Distinguishing your product or service from the competition can make your marketing more effective. Crafting a novel marketing message can attract the notice of more potential customers. There's no question that an element of uniqueness in your marketing can make your business more memorable, competitive, and special to your target audience. These are all reasons why being different can be good.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,625 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Where the Clients Are

A friend of mine is an IT consultant. He's been an independent contractor for the 20-plus years I have known him, and gets all his consulting contracts through agencies. Even when he works a year or two for the same client, the agency takes 15-20% of what the client is paying for his services. I once asked him why he didn't find his own clients, and he said he didn't know where to look. I was puzzled by this answer. After more than 20 years in the business, you would think he knew who his clients were. But then I listened more closely.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,622 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

What's Your Business Model?

If you have enough clients to keep you busy, you must be making a good living, right? Well, not necessarily. Some of the busiest professionals around aren't earning enough to pay their bills. On the other hand, there are some consultants, coaches and other service providers who have plenty of time on their hands but also earn quite a bit of money. The difference between the income levels of these two groups isn't just because one group is better at marketing than the other.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,613 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Five Myths of Internet Marketing for Independent Professionals

There's more marketing hype published on the Internet in one day than P.T. Barnum generated in his lifetime. Like a worm swallowing its tail, the Internet marketing beast feeds mostly on itself. The vast majority of what appears on the Internet about marketing is designed to help you market products and services sold and delivered exclusively on the Internet. So what does that mean for the independent professional whose web presence is primarily aimed at selling his or her own personal services?

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,602 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Lack of Business Isn't Always the Problem

When you're just starting out in business, it's a safe bet that you need more clients. But what if you have been up and running for a while, and you're still not making as much money as you would like? You may be in the habit of thinking that attracting new clients is the answer, but this isn't always the case. There are many reasons why a professional services business might not be earning enough, but they typically fall into four categories: not enough revenue, not enough profit, not enough customers, or not enough time.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,598 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

To Attract Attention, You Have to Show Off

Recently, a client of mine complained, "I'm really good at what I do. I shouldn't have to market myself." In fact, he is quite good at his profession, but the problem is that not enough prospective clients know about him. Like many professionals, he is reluctant to talk about his accomplishments. "It feels like bragging," he says. "Doesn't it make me seem unprofessional?" If thoughts like these often cross your mind, ask yourself this -- who are the biggest names in your profession? In your line of work, who might be considered unquestioned experts, those with maximum credibility?

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,588 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Breaking the Voice Mail Barrier

Even if you never place a cold call, you still have to reach people by phone. That customer who was so interested last month never called you back, and now you must call her. You call once, twice, three times, but you can't get her in person. How can you manage to close a sale if all you ever get is voice mail? Doing business in the age of voice mail can be extremely frustrating. While it is true that some people leave their voice mail on all the time, you can sometimes get through by calling off hours. Try calling before 8:30 or after 5:30.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,569 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published3 topics

Have You Created an Impossible Business?

It's easy to think that any business can be successful if you work hard enough, but there are many situations where this just isn't so. Consultants, coaches, and other service professionals often start a business believing that all they need to do is charge a "reasonable" fee and sell "enough" of their time. But unless you do the math to prove or disprove your assumptions, you may be creating a business that can never succeed.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing Business Start-up Home Business

1,561 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published3 topics

What if No One Signs Up?

It's the nightmare of every professional who offers group programs. You design a powerful workshop, schedule a date, broadcast your marketing message… and no one registers. Then what? Let's assume you have the basics down. You've chosen a compelling topic, identified a likely audience, and clearly described the benefits of participating in your program. Even the price is right. You've already sent information about your program to a list of strong prospects. What else can you do?rn -Preventive Measures- First, let's back up a step.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing Home Business Internet Marketing

1,547 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

From Prospect to Client in Thirty Seconds

The process of converting a prospect to a client can seem like it takes forever. You meet a prospective client, follow up with him or her over time, and hopefully have a chance to make a sales presentation or schedule an initial consultation at no charge. Then you follow up some more, trying to close the sale. Months can pass, or even years, between your first encounter and getting the prospect to sign on the bottom line. How do you keep following up for all that time without being a pest? Is asking prospects over and over, "Are you ready to buy yet?" the best way to go about it?

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,525 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Can't You See I'm Working?

For many working parents, telecommuting or a home business may seem like the answer to your prayers. You want to have more time with your kids and greater flexibility, so you take the leap, install a second phone line, and set up a computer in the dining room. But the first thing you may discover is that working from home includes many unexpected distractions. Children, your spouse, neighbors, and the family dog come and go.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,523 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

What You Are Marketing Is Yourself

"Call us today and change your life," proclaimed the hot pink flyer on the bulletin board. It was signed "Sunrise Hypnotherapy" with a phone number and a blind email address. No practitioner's name appeared anywhere on the flyer. Posted near it were numerous other leaflets, advertising everything from life coaching to bookkeeping. Fully two-thirds of the flyers I spotted were similarly anonymous. Some displayed a business name; others simply described the service, e.g.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,515 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published3 topics

What's Your Marketing Attitude?

Entrepreneurs pay a lot of attention to the mechanics of marketing. They take workshops, read books, and hire consultants to find out how to do the best job they possibly can. With my own clients, I often discover that their knowledge of marketing techniques is quite good already. What they might lack is the right kind of marketing attitude. Do any of the attitudes described below sound familiar? If so, you may be sabotaging your own marketing efforts. Read on for some possible solutions. 1.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing Marketing Strategy Sales Training

1,491 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Will Seminars Get You Clients?

I often suggest public speaking as a powerful way to show prospective clients what you can do. Many professionals and consultants have built successful practices by giving free presentations to associations, businesses, and educational institutions. But what about producing your own seminar, where you arrange the logistics and invite the guests? Does this work as a strategy for landing clients? Offering a seminar can be an effective means to become more visible to your target market.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,459 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published3 topics

Is Procrastination Holding You Back?

When you look at your marketing to-do list, do many of the items on it look all too familiar? Have entries like "call Donna Sanchez" and "follow up with Floyd Corp." been copied from a previous week? Putting off unappealing tasks may be human nature, but for an entrepreneur, procrastination can be deadly. Delays in contacting a prospect can lose the business to the competition. Failing to get the word out about an upcoming event may forfeit dozens of opportunities. Wasted marketing time can never be recovered.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing Sales Training Time Management

1,408 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Web Technology in Marketing: Friend or Foe?

Every independent professional should have a website, an ezine, and an email marketing strategy, right? If you're not taking maximum advantage of web technology to market your professional services, you are behind the times, and missing out on huge opportunities. At least that's what most marketing experts would have you believe. But how valid is this advice? And is it for everyone? Before email was widely available, marketing newsletters were printed on paper and sent by mail. There's no question that e-mail is a more economical solution for sending a newsletter.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,401 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Marketing or Selling -- Which Is More Important?

A question I often get from clients and students goes something like this: "I've been collecting marketing ideas... and I have a drawer full! I also have a stack of promising leads I've accumulated. And I know it's important to stay visible, so I do a lot of networking, but then I just end up with more names in the stack. How do I prioritize all this?" If you've ever wondered something similar, you may have lost sight of a very important truth -- the way to win the marketing game is not to collect the most leads; it's to make the most sales.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,375 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

What Do Your Clients Need?

"Every person who has ever started a business, I imagine, thought he had a good idea. It's the smart person, and the rare person, who tries to find out the most important thing: do other people think it's a good idea?" Those words of wisdom come from Bernard Kamoroff, author of "Small-Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Small Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes and Stay Out of Trouble!" Whether you look at your ideas about what your business provides, or about how to market your business, Kamoroff is right.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,373 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Turning Your Services into a Product

One of the biggest challenges in selling professional services is that what you are offering is intangible. Your product can't be seen, touched, or tasted. Until your prospective clients experience what you do, they have no way of knowing if it will turn out, whether they will like it, and how well it will work in their situation. To make a buying decision, the client must first trust that your work will produce the result that they need. The most common way to package professional services is by the hour or day.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,344 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

Changing Your Position When There's Competition

Are you finding many of your best prospects already working with competitors? When you pursue a new opportunity, is someone else capturing the prize? Maybe it's time to re-evaluate your positioning. Your market position is the place you occupy in the mind of your prospective clients. It's how they think of you as compared to your competitors. Adjectives like established or cutting-edge; high-quality or inexpensive; convenient or full-service are all relative terms.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,304 views

By C.J. HaydenRecently published1 topic

You, Too, Can Be a Salesperson

I am not a sales and marketing guru. I've written two books on marketing and taught thousands of people how to sell themselves, but really, I don't know more about sales and marketing than most of you. What I know how to do is talk to people, all kinds of people -- restaurant owners and waiters, CEO's and receptionists, entrepreneurs and kindergarten teachers. I don't try to sell these people anything; we just have a conversation. But sales happen as a result. In my book "Get Clients Now!" I define marketing as telling people what you do over and over.

Primary topic: Small Business Marketing

Small Business Marketing

1,280 views

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