Marketing: How Much Should You Spend on Marketing?

What's the age old question that's on everyone's mind these days? No, it's not "When will the recession end?"

Everyone wants to know "How much should you spend on marketing to get new clients?"

Let's face it; if you are not spending time and money on marketing, it's unlikely that you'll be growing your business in this economy.

I don't know about you, but I just doubled my willingness to step outside my comfort zone and then I doubled my marketing budget.

I am doing more advertising in print publications and online article banks because I'm looking to bring in new clients. I'm getting more leads, more sign ups for my newsletter, and more phone calls from advisors interested in hiring me. I'm also picking up the phone more frequently and calling my prospecting list. And guess what? ALL THIS STUFF WORKS!!!

Successful entrepreneurs don't wait around for clients to come to them. They develop a "Prospect Pipeline" based on three to five marketing activities designed to get their message in front of their ideal clients.

So, how much should you spend on marketing?

Answer: The average that you should spend on marketing across most industries is from five to twenty percent of revenue.

You should spend more if you want to be more successful. If you are not spending this much right now and you want to increase your revenue in the next six months, then you need to create a new marketing plan NOW! Marketing is an investment in your company's success. Those who are scared to spend the money are the ones who don't grow.

Now is the time to double your level of willingness to be successful, and to spend more on marketing so that you will be a market leader as we come out of this recession.

Suzanne Muusers
Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Financial Advisors

How Do You Measure Your Marketing?

You have 5 new clients this month and you're ecstatic and pleased as punch. You've been doing all sorts of marketing but who knows where the heck these new clients came from?

Maybe it's from your expensive advertisement in that monthly magazine? Could it be from your email newsletter that was passed around by one of your clients? Or, it might be from that talk you gave a few months back.

You should be measuring your marketing so that you know where you get the most bang for your buck.

How do you measure your marketing?

Here's how:

1. Start asking your new clients where they found out about you. Run a sales report either annually or semi annually and figure out where your income came from.

2. Create an Excel spreadsheet. One sheet for each year.

3. On the horizontal axis, create a column each of the following:

Name of Marketing Activity
Cost Annually
Annual Revenue from the Activity
Return on Investment (revenue divided by cost)
What you like or get out of the activity other than revenue
What you dislike about the activity
Time commitment ranked from 1-10
Future potential from 1-10

Percentage of your total income from this marketing activity

4. On the vertical axis, create a line for each marketing activity such as:

Specific networking groups
Advertising
Referrals
Blog
Internet
Email Newsletter
Article Writing
Public Speaking
Video Marketing

5. Analyze where your revenue came from last year

Are there any surprises?

Are you really getting a return on investment where you thought you would?

What are the most expensive marketing activities?

Where could you double your efforts to double your revenue?

Which one marketing activity is responsible for your source of biggest revenue

Don't just blindly throw money at your marketing. You need to know what works and where you should do more. You should also consider those activities that are more fun or rewarding than others.

For example, although it's costly and time consuming to belong to my local Financial Planning Association, the benefits I get are huge. I get to listen to speakers who address my target clients' biggest issues. And I'm right there talking to my Ideal Clients – financial advisors - a very worthwhile investment indeed. If you're not measuring your marketing, start today. You'll be glad you did.

If you'd like a sample excel spreadsheet like the one explained above, please submit a comment about how you currently measure your marketing and I will email you the spreadsheet.

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Financial Advisors

http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz/

Video Marketing Workshop by Joey Sampaga

In a previous post I interviewed Joey Sampaga about using video marketing to grow your business. Joey has increased his mailing list from 300 - 2700 by using this very cool marketing tool in creative ways. If you are in the Scottsdale Arizona area, I highly recommend that you take his workshop.

When: July 8th from 10am to 12 noon.

Location: Scottsdale Resort & Athletic Club8235 East Indian Bend RoadScottdale, AZ 85250

You will learn:
*Create Effective Videos
*Why Video Marketing is the Wave of the Future
*How to Stand out from the Crowd & Be an Innovator
*Why Video is More Effective than Newsletters

More info: http://www.joeysworkshop.com

Financial Advisor Marketing E-Course

I've just spent the last eight months writing a Marketing E-Course for Financial Advisors and now I'm done! The website went live yesterday and I even made a sale already.

Celebrations are in order!!

I've been coaching advisors since 2004, so I've learned about their challenges, problems, and solutions to those problems. Many advisors are lone rangers out there running a practice all by themselves. They tend to be a secretive lot, not wanting to share what works with one another. So what happens is that they don't really know how to run a practice like a business. Many don't get the mentoring they need to be really efficient, strategic, and effective with their marketing.

So that's why I created the marketing course. I wanted to deliver a course that would show advisors step by step how to create a profitable practice that runs like a business should. I think the biggest challenge I had during the last eight months was finding the time to research and write all the lessons (there are ten in all). But now it's done and I've already got passive revenue streaming in.

** What problems are you solving for your clients?
** Why do they come to you?
** What can you create that would help make their lives easier?
** Could this be a product you could sell?

This is what I call BIG PICTURE GOALS. We are oftentimes so immersed in our business that we forget to look at the future. If you can create products that solve your client's problems, you can create a passive revenue stream AND become an expert at the same time.

I ask you to think about the future, not just the present. Take action and create some big picture goals.

Suzanne Muusers
Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Financial Advisors
http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz/

Marketing: How Adaptable are you in Today's Marketplace?

How are you adapting to the marketplace? A few days ago I heard an interesting story on NPR about how businesses are reinventing their products and services to appeal to today's consumer. A maker of expensive cigars has come out with "Nubs" – short cigars at a lower price point. Perfume makers are offering perfume in 1/3 oz size. Upscale restaurants are expanding their appetizer menus.

So what are you doing to adapt?

I KNOW all of you need to work on the BIGGER PICTURE strategies to move your business forward. So, work ON your business and move forward. See this article on my website about adapting to Business Success – Do you have what it takes?

Suzanne Muusers

http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz

Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Independent Financial Advisors

Marketing is an Investment in Your Company's Future

I had to turn away a prospect today.

He found me on the internet, called me, and said "I need a new marketing plan – one that gets results right away. I don't want to sit around and wait for clients anymore. I want them to hire me now."

Well. Marketing is not a miracle.

It takes time to get results. You can't create a new business development plan and then expect it to produce instant results. It just doesn't work that way. If I could promise instant results, I'd be a multi millionaire sitting on the beach in Thailand, sipping a mojito while being waited on hand and foot.

The best marketing plans are devised based on the problem your target client seeks to solve. Goals are created, strategies formulated, and marketing activities acted upon. Plan on giving your marketing tactics six to twelve months to produce real results. Create a spreadsheet that tracks your results.

Marketing is an investment in your company's future. Let that investment have time to produce a return.

Need help? Try my business and marketing system: http://www.twopageminibusinessplan.com

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Independent Financial Advisors

Prosperous Business: Using Video Marketing to Grow Your Business

The following is an interview with Joey Sampaga and Linda Hall, partners in First Priority Financial, a Mortgage Brokerage located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Joey and Linda have managed to build a highly successful mortgage business in a challenging market by partnering and using Video Marketing to stand out from the crowd. See a sample of their video marketing below.

Tell us about your business
First Priority Financial is a Mortgage Brokerage. We mainly focus on Residential Home Loans (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo, 203K, etc.). We do purchase and refinance transactions.

How are you handling the current economic environment?
We have truly been blessed during these economic times. Our business has be extremely busy. One thing we don’t do is listen to negative media. In fact, we are always surrounding ourselves with other motivated and successful people to keep the enthusiasm and the positive energy flowing.

What makes you different and able to do well in the face of negativity all around us?
One thing that really sets us apart is the “Giving Without Expectations” type mentality. We go the extra mile to provide value, education and enrichment to our clients and to our referral partners. We look forward to finding and using the latest technology to help our clients and referral partners get to the next level. One of the technologies we use is Video “VIRAL” Marketing. I feel that one of the most important things we do is we stick to the basics… building our relationships with our Clients and Referral Partners by telephone, hand written notes and the latest communication technologies. Of course, nothing can beat the “Personal Touches.”

Tell us about the marketing tactics that are working for you in spite of this economy:
As mentioned previously, what is working for us is:
1. Phone Calls
2. Hand Written Notes
3. Face-to-Face meetings
4. Video “VIRAL” Marketing (this brands you as a true professional, people will like and trust you… if done right).
I know I listed four things, however, I would classify them under the “Personal Touch” category.

What advice do you have for those starting a business right now?
Stick to the basics. Build relationships with your clients and referral partners. Be personal and genuinely care about them. I always say that people love to do business with people they like. Make your phone calls, then write a personal note, then setup a face-to-face meeting. Create Video “VIRAL” Marketing videos to keep your face in front of them.


Here's a sample of Joey's Video "Kick Your Own Butt 101" with Dawn McAuley:
Please click the Play button to view

You can subscribe to Kick Your Own Butt 101 here

What's Twitter Good For??

How about Media exposure?

I used to live in Hong Kong – so whenever there's news regarding the island nation, I am very interested.

On Friday I wrote a post on Twitter about the MetroPark Hotel in Hong Kong and how guests can't leave the hotel due to Swine Flu – guests are effectively quarantined inside the hotel. Within an hour I was contacted by the BBC asking if I would be willing to be interviewed about my experience at the hotel.

They thought I was actually there and I could have been. It seems that the media is searching Twitter for certain keywords and if you have a relevant post you may be contacted.

Think about how you could use this strategy in your business. What are you doing that's relevant to news of the day?


Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Independent Financial Advisors

Scottsdale, Arizona

http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz/

Be Better at Networking and Banish Fear

Today I'd like to talk about FEAR. There's so much of it out there now. Fear of the economy. Fear of Swine Flu. And most importantly, Fear of Success. It's amazing how fear can hold us back from getting what we SAY we want.

Fear is like your best friend. The one who made fun of you behind your back in grade school, when you did nothing about it. You were afraid of confronting fear then, and you might be afraid now. That which we fear the most can hurt us the most.

The fear of success is very real. I see it daily. Sometimes I even see it in my bathroom mirror.

* Sometimes we fear success because we know we have work to do that may force us out of our comfort zone. That's scary. I don't want to do it.
* Sometimes we fear success because we may actually have to live up to who we said we would be. You mean I have to perform now? What if I'm not smart enough?
* But most of the time we fear success because we are lazy. We want success to come easily. We want the shortcuts. We want someone to hand us the key.

Real success comes with real effort. Do the work, earn the reward!!!

What are you NOT doing that could take your business to the next level? What are you afraid of? This coming week, I want you to get out of your own way. One way to do this is to do more networking and get comfortable making new business contacts.

Read this great article about Four Ways to Be a Better Networker. After all, you can't grow your business if you don't get out of the office.


Suzanne Muusers
Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Independent Financial Advisors

http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz/

Note to Media – Please Give Us Positive News

I started yelling at the radio this morning while fixing my coffee.

The announcer on KJZZ, a Phoenix area NPR station, was talking about conditions in the Phoenix market and said "as the recession deepens…" and it just irked me. I expect higher standard of news from public radio and public TV, not some pessimistic drivel.

I know that pessimistic news sells, but the public is tired of constant negativity. Give us some good stuff please! Instead of stories about people who are down and out, give us a story about people who are taking matters into their own hands and pulling themselves up and out of being laid off, out of losing their homes.

Instead of stories about how foreclosures are affecting families, how about a story about families who are now buying their first home.

Instead of stories about people laid off, how about stories of people who started their own business after being laid off.

Lately there are more positive indicators that need attention. Two months ago I went to a Happy Hour at Rock Bottom with 3 friends. The place was practically deserted on a Friday. Last week I went again with my husband and it was packed. The market is slowly moving up again, interest rates are low, and consumers are heading back to the stores, albeit slowly.

What we don't need right now is any extra adjectives added to the word "recession." The recession is NOT deepening.

Give us some positive news!

Suzanne Muusers
Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Independent Financial Advisors
http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz

Daily Success Ritual - Do You Have One?

Do you plan your day or does your day plan you?

Some of the most successful people I know are well organized, utilize time efficiently, and seem to get it all done. The one thing they have in common is a daily success ritual. They may not call it that (unless they've worked with me), but that's what it is. They have created a schedule for themselves and they rarely deviate from it.

One of the first things I like to do when working with a new client is to set up a Daily Success Ritual that works for the client; one that allows them to work productively.

No daily ritual is complete without goals, so write out your goals on two index cards. Place one card next to your bed and read it before you go to sleep at night. Place the second card in your office drawer where you are likely to see it and read it before you begin your workday.

What's an example of a Daily Success Ritual?
Exercise
Visualize your ideal life
Review goals
Prepare for work (eat well, take vitamins)
Make client calls and appointments (set up coffees, ask for new business)
Follow up with prospects (set up coffees)
Follow up with paperwork, staff
Plan two networking events this week
Plan the next workday

You should have a mix of days in the office and days out of the office, so include the entire week in your planning. Some days will be more effective if you spend the whole day out of the office. After all, if you are not out meeting new people you won't be bringing in new business. If you're not bringing in new business, you are not growing. If you're not growing you'll have less likelihood of achieving your goals and living your ideal life.

If you don't have a daily success ritual, think about creating one!

Suzanne Muusers

Business Coach for Entrepreneurs and Independent Financial Advisors

http://www.prosperitycoaching.biz

Are you getting ready?

Here we are still plodding along in an economy that doesn't know what to do. In a poll conducted last January by Financial Advisor magazine, 75% of advisors though the market would go to 10,000 and only 25% thought it would go to 6,000.

Who knew it would go below 7000?? Since turning back from crazy unprecedented lows, positive news is starting to trickle in affecting the market in positive ways. Could it be that we are already experiencing the come back? Judging by historical trends, most recessions last 18 months or less and the recovery begins when we least expect it. Plus, we don't know we are in a recovery until we are out of it!!!

** So, what are you doing to get ready??
** What new marketing strategies are you working on that will set you apart from the competiton?
** How will you hit the ground running during this turnaround?

One way to hit the ground running is to read an article I wrote this month about Effortless Marketing and how to draw business to you using the internet. We all know that the world is changing. Traditional print advertising, newspapers, and the yellow pages are going the way of the dinosaur. Make sure you don't get left behind by reading the article and implementing this strategy to get new clients via the World Wide Web.

On a personal note, I have been busy creating a 10-week Marketing E-Course for financial advisor that will be available on my website for purchase in the next few weeks. An E-Course is just like a class you would take in person only it is administered via the internet. Once purchased, the student receives an emailed lesson via an autoresponder on a weekly basis. The student has one week to complete the lesson before the next lesson is received in his/her in box. Stay tuned for more!