MARKETING - YOU
a series of articles by ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.

Welcome to a new column intended to directly address issues of concern to you. We will try to answer questions you pose in future issues. Marketing yourself is marketing an intangible service which is quite different from selling a tangible, testable product. Understanding why commonly used sales techniques will not work effectively for the professional person is the key to finding better methods. Switch gears with me and think of yourself as a potential customer of consulting services. Come on an imaginary trip to an exotic far off land. Let's suppose we are walking down the street together in a city we are visiting as tourists. A slick and glib kid starts following us, imploring us to look at his selection of goods for sale. Because he's young, and therefore still cute in spite of his sleazy style, we stop and let him open his baskets for our inspection. Among his wares are some inexpensive trinkets, postcard collections, expensively priced watches of unknown origin, and computers which cannot be tested because there is no electricity on the street. What do you suppose we'd be comfortable buying - even after he'd use all his best "close" techniques? The trinkets or postcards, of course. If we were high-risk takers and didn't mind the potential loss of money, we might - just might - buy one of his watches. But we wouldn't take the risk of giving a stranger money for a computer whose quality we had no way of testing. Now suppose this young man told us that his aunt was a consultant who could jump-start our fledging company into the big time and all we had to do was plunk down an initial $75,000.00 and watch her do her magic. I can hear your laughter from here. If you are making cold-calls, or having someone do it for you, aren't you akin to that consultant? What if your telemarketing techniques sound slick, manipulative or bullying? Will these techniques get you the first appointment you need to prove your potential worth to this prospect? I kink not! Imagine instead that as we lunched with colleagues we knew and respected, this same woman's name was brought into the conversation. We were told she was a highly respected and experienced expert who had previously worked with them helping them achieve unusually successful results. We'd jump at the chance of meeting her wouldn't we? That's word of mouth marketing. It's the best way to market yourself or your professional services. Your reputation, and other clients' willingness to provide testimonials for you are what enable you to reduce the risk for the potential new client. Since decision makers have a much more difficult time evaluating individuals than they do products, you want to do what you can to reduce the risk which helps the ultimate selection of you as the person for the project. In the example of the tourists, the risk of buying a trinket was only the potential loss of a dollar or two, whereas the risk of hiring an unknown consultant was not only the $75,000. she would cost, but all the potential damage she could do, which could eventually amount to millions of dollars, loss of our reputation and even the loss of our business together. In the next article of this series, Dr. Diamond will provide a series of steps you can use to mitigate the risk for your prospects.

MARKETING - YOU by ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.

In this series of articles, I want to explore some of the difficulties facing the woman working from her home, or just starting her business on a shoestring. Sometimes, we tend to have too much overlap between home and business. Many of the concerns I've heard from other women are caused by this crossing of boundaries. Here's some of the phone issues they commented about and my suggestions to you as to how you can overcome the problems they indicate.

Concern: Not returning phone calls - or not returning them in a timely manner. Suggested Solutions: Sometimes you just don't have the time to return phone calls, no matter how much you promise yourself you will. If you know you won't be able to call within the next few days, it's OK to leave a voice mail message stating that you will be unavailable and will return calls on a specific date in the future. Then, do so. It is also OK to return calls during off hours (but not too early or late in the day) to let a caller know that you have received their message and give them an idea when you will be available to call and talk to them at greater length. This way the caller knows that you have received their message and are not just ignoring them, forgetting them, or blowing them off. You might also schedule a few minutes in the morning, another in the afternoon, and then the third in the evening before dinner, to return all phone calls.

Concern: Having a spouse, child, or any other person that is not directly related to you business answer the business phone and then take a casual message, if they take one at all, which you don't receive. It makes you look less than professional. It gives the impression you are only playing at your business and your family members aren't respecting what you are doing. Suggested Solutions: Be sure to use a dedicated line for business. If you can't answer it yourself, DO NOT let your family members answer it for you, unless they can do so in a professional and informed manner. Use an answering machine, voice mail, or answering service for your business line. The first two are really very in-expensive and can be very helpful to your maintaining a professional image. Personally, I prefer a machine, which sits at my desk. When I am working with a deadline, I can screen calls, taking the urgent ones when they come in and returning the less urgent calls after I've met my deadline, while I'm taking a break from my writing, or during the specific times that I have set aside during the day to return phone calls.

Concern: Having an overly personal and friendly message on the answering machine or voice mail. Someone recently commented to me about the woman who included a long detailed message about her grand-daughter's developmental exploits in the outgoing message on her business machine. Suggested Solutions: Business and personal are really different and although we, as women, really strive for balance; there needs to be boundaries and separation. Don't tell family stories on your business outgoing phone message. Keep it brief, courteous and if necessary, informative. As proud as you may be about the brilliance of your children or grand-children, you shouldn't be telling the world on your business line.

Concern: Sounding like a call girl instead of a mature business person. Suggested Solutions: Overly friendly breathy calls telling me how important my call is to you, only makes me cringe. You don't even know it's me, so how can you determine in advance that my call is important to you? Being warm and professional doesn't mean overly breathy and sexy. Do some of these fit you? If so, remember, the solutions are easy. Try them. They work! Tell us your business concerns when dealing with other business women along with some solutions and I'll write about them in future articles.

MARKETING - YOU by ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.

Perhaps one of the most difficult things to do is invest in yourself and in the tools you really need to create your correct image and market your business. It's especially hard when you are first starting out and money is tight. The problem is you are creating an image whether you like it or not. If you don't invest in your marketing tools, the image you are creating is that you aren't worth very much. At the very least you need a look, a logo, a consistent color and style. The elements you select will reflect you, and your services or business. Take care to pick them wisely and well. You will probably be using them for years to come. Mine, now ready to be re-done, lasted me twenty years. I strongly advise getting the help of a professional graphic designer (not an engineer who knows a basic graphic program) to design your logo for you. The basic materials you need: * Your logo - The type of business or service you offer should be the most important consideration in determining the look of your logo. While some businesses can be "whimsical" and others "soft", many need to be "corporate" in look. Think not only about yourself, but about your desired customer base. All your materials should contain your logo. * Your business card - With your logo, name, phone number, fax number, address, and some brief and clean statement about what you do. The color should coordinate with all your other materials. Business cards today can also include your email address and web site address. * Letterhead and matching envelopes - These too should have your name, address, phone number, and logo, tastefully laid out on the page. Please pick a good quality paper, in a color pleasing to the eye - and consistent with your logo. * Brochure and flyers - Although these will vary and you will have many of them over the next few years, the design should be compatible with your letterhead and other materials. You can create some nice brochures and flyers yourself, if you have a computer with the right programs, or you can get some relatively inexpensive graphic help at some of the better copier stores. However, to repeat myself again, you will be much better off getting the help of your graphic designer. * Invoices and statements - You probably could get away with using your letterheads for this, but considering the volume you will be doing, that might be too expensive. You can have matching invoices, statements and the envelopes for them in a slightly less expensive paper than your letterhead, but coordinated with it. * Checks - These, like your invoices, can be inexpensively done to coordinate with the rest of your materials. Packaging yourself properly is very important - as important as dressing properly for a business meeting. As someone else said: "You never have a second chance to make a good first impression."

MARKETING - YOU by ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.

Sometimes we need to back off and define our terms. Consultants like me often talk about marketing, public relations, advertising, etc., without realizing that new business owners are often times confused about the meaning of these terms. In my book series, "The Business of the Profession", I discuss these terms in great detail. Because of the necessity for brevity in this article, I can only give you the basic ideas here. Marketing is the very broadest of the terms and includes strategic planning, identifying your market segment, learning what techniques to use to attract that segment, developing sales strategies and techniques, and working with others to develop materials, such as those needed for advertising and sales promotions. In other words, it has come to mean all the thinking, planning, organizing, and implementing to get "the word out" about your product or service. Promotional materials could include your brochures, flyers, data sheets, and/or anything else you have that talks about you, your service and your product. They could also include reprints of the articles you’ve written as well as those written about you. Many business owners find it valuable to create promotions monthly or quarterly. They are a good way of reminding your customers and potential customers about your service or product. Some businesses lend themselves to promotional materials such as pens with your company name on them, tee shirts and your logo, and other gift items. Others need to appear more professional and don’t offer gift give-aways. Advertising is something you do to directly promote your business or service. You can advertise in written or verbal media. Written advertising includes both classified and display ads. A display ad is usually much better designed, more expensive, and it will probably actually be read. Classified ads are those you place in specific columns in your local newspaper or magazines. They are lots of words, often abbreviated, in tight space. They are much less expensive than display ads. Most of us really need to use display ad, which are designed professionally, and placed in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers read by our target audiences. Public Relations is the most intangible and probably the most valuable of all the tools you develop. It is as the words imply, about the relationships you have with the public. It is someone writing about your good deeds, such as the community service projects you are noted for, being interviewed as an expert on a particular subject, being known for the help you give to others. It is the image of you expressed indirectly, as opposed to the advertising you do to promote yourself directly. Networking is a form of both advertising and public relations. When you network you are exposing yourself to the public, which includes colleagues, peers, competitors, and possible customers. How you present yourself determines how others perceive your product or service. It doesn’t matter if you think the two are unrelated. They are distinctly linked in the eyes of the viewers. Most businesses, whether product or service, need to develop name recognition, and identity (a trademark or logo), and a good public image. The closer your name is to "a household word" the more likely it is that people will remember you and call you when next they need a product or service similar to the ones you offer. You need frequent and repeated exposure to get known in this manner. Your potential customer is only partially paying attention to what she or he reads, or hears. Experts say it takes three times before advertising impinges on the eye/ear of the receiver. Others say it takes nine times before a positive response is received. In all cases, it takes repetition, repetition, repetition – well done.

MARKETING YOU by ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D.

Why don't we succeed in doing what we've always dreamed of doing professionally? Some say it's "Fear of Success". While I agree it's partially about fear, I don't agree that it has to do with fear of success. I'm about to list the issues presented to me recently by a group of my clients who are each women with a professional practice. These women have much in common with each other - even though the work they do is vastly different. They stop themselves with what I believe to be self-induced obstacles They Say My Translation I'm afraid to try because I never did it before. I need to be perfect and won't try anything I don't already know I'll "look good" doing. Women don't behave so aggressively or singularly. There were no successful professional or business role-models in my world growing up. Everything I do is equally important including lunch with friends, tennis, vacuuming, and even taking out the garbage. I've never thought about the importance to me or my goals of the things I do, or don't do. Thus, I never set and keep priorities, but am impacted by the most recent suggestion. I didn't have time. I had to do the things I do every day. One client in particular had been planning to take her brochure to Kinko's and couldn't find the time in three weeks. She was exhausted by the grueling daytime job she was trying to leave. I'm going to move in three months, so I don't want to invest any money now. In the software development world they talk about "freezing the features". In other words, there is a time when you go ahead with what you have at that moment. Those who wait until everything is finished - never finish. I may design a new logo, and don't want to invest any money until I decide. See freeze the features I don't want to spend the money, maybe my friends will refer to me. I'm not important enough to invest money in my own professional goals. Ever notice that when men go into business, they go and get a business loan to start them properly? In my work, I help my women clients move past these barriers to their own success. Marketing YOU means taking yourself seriously - as a business needing business and marketing development. It means looking at the lack of role-models, the old traditions that keep women stifled, and the examples from successful entrepreneurs so that you, too, can become as successful as you dream of being. Remember: President Franklin D. Roosevelt said: We have nothing to fear but fear itself. Before him, Julius Caesar is credited with having said (or was it Shakespeare, while he was in love?) It seems to me cowards die many times before their death, but brave men (and women) taste of death but once.