I’ve written about planning your marketing efforts several times here on BoDo, but now is the time of year when it bears another mention. Without a plan, your marketing … and your business in general … just “happens” to you. That’s a bad idea. With the new year looming, now is the perfect time to put together your goals for 2008 and your strategies to make those goals a reality.

Your plan doesn’t need to be a lengthy tome that rivals War & Peace. It simply needs to be a written set of goals along with the steps needed to reach them.

So, where do you start? A bit of soul searching is likely in order. What do you want to do? What’s your passion? Are you happy with the direction your business has been taking? Or, is a change in order? The thing is, unless you’re doing something you enjoy and can make a decent living doing it, there isn’t much point. As someone once said, “Find something you love doing and you’ll never work another day in your life.”

Goals are what you’re trying to accomplish. The kicker is that they should be realistic and have a timeline attached. If your goals are out there in the Stratosphere, odds are you’ll lose interest or spend way too much time trying to reach the unattainable. The same thing goes for a timeline. Without one, you’ll likely put things off and/or never know if you’re making any progress.

Once you have a goal - let’s say you want to increase billings by 25% - give yourself a reasonable amount of time to reach it. Maybe June 30, 2008 works. With goal in hand, or rather, on paper, break it down into the steps you need to take to reach it. This does a couple of things. First, it organizes your efforts. Things become clear. Each of these steps is something of a “mini-goal.” So, as you get things done, you’ll feel like you’re making progress and that typically encourages one to keep at it.

If you’re trying to increase your billings by 25%, what would you need to do? Maybe it means identifying and reaching a new niche market. Perhaps it means adding new services. Let’s use the former and break it down.

Goal:
Increase billings 25% by June 30, 2006

Action Plans:
Identify a niche that’s under served, yet offers enough prospects to be profitable
Conduct web searches
Check directories at library
Develop a list of 300 qualified prospects

Create initial mailing to generate name awareness
Design piece by January 15, 2008
Get printing and mailing costs
Print piece
Prepare labels
Label, stamp & mail in lots of 25 each week beginning February 1, 2008

Follow up phone calls
5 calls per day to 25 weekly recipients asking for an appointment
Target one appointment per week

Initial meetings
Research prospect, market and potential needs
Gather background info at meeting to further qualify prospect
Ask if I can prepare a proposal
Use tip-sheet as leave behind

Create proposals

Make presentations

Ask for the sale

You may find yourself doing additional tasks, but this should give you the general idea.

What you’ve done here is set up your marketing efforts for several months. And, it’s manageable. You’ll have some time invested in developing your list, but after that, things start to become automatic. You know each week, for 12 weeks, you’ve got to mail your intro piece. Then, the following week all you need to do is make five phone calls each day. Piece of cake.

Plus, each time you drop your stuff into the mailbox, you’ll get those nifty warm fuzzy feelings because you’re doing something to help reach your goals. The phone calls might be a bit tough at first, but hang in there. I guarantee after the first week or so, they’ll be old hat.

Add into the mix some networking events, writing some how-tos and tip sheets, news releases and other marketing and public relations activities and next thing you know, that 25% increase is getting pretty attainable.

Find some handy place to post your goals and action plans. Maybe the refrigerator door, or the bathroom mirror. Find some place where they’ll haunt you.

I use my contact manager/calendar to alert me with what needs to be done and when. Once you start getting busy, it’s easy to put this stuff off. After a bit, you get out of the habit and Mr. Feast or Famine can quickly come a callin.’

And there you have it. Taking a little time now to make your plans and then working those plans in a consistent manner will help ensure 2008 will be the year of you.

Until the next
Marketing Minute
all the best,
nt

Okay…I’m bad. I know it. It’s been a month since my last post, and I’m sorry! However, my delay has been for good reason. And, as it’s been nearly three months since first getting “Down and Dirty” and putting my 3-month plan down on virtual paper, I thought it only fair to give you an update.

So let’s start with the bad news first. For starters, while I have written most of my book proposal (and by most, I mean I have an outline done), I have yet to type it up and send it off. But in all honesty, that has been put on the back burner. Second, and this is a big one, I have not yet finished my website. Ugh…I know, I know. That should have been priority number one…but hey, have YOU finished yours? Seriously, though, my problem is that once I get going, it’s hard for me to stop and switch gears, so I put it off until I know I’ll have a good chunk of time to devote to it. Obviously I have yet to find that chunk…

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time for the good news: what I HAVE been doing, and why I’m so excited about it all.

First off, I did manage to get my press release about the launch of this column written and submitted to Create Magazine by their deadline. And even better, I just found out that it got a mention in the Scoop section of the Sept/Oct 2007 Northeast edition. And BoDo got a plug in there, too!

Second…no, I didn’t finish my site (specifically the portfolio section), but I did figure out how to customize a WordPress theme to match my site. So I’ll be launching my official business blog soon.

I’ve been pretty good about connecting with prospective and former clients, which hasn’t brought much in the form of new business yet, but I think that’s not unusual. These things take time.

Speaking of taking time, the monthly networking group I run is finally starting to pay off! After 15 months, I’m starting to get business and referrals from the members in my group. Of course, now that I know more people, I’m also able to give business and referrals, so maybe that has something to do with it, too…

What else…I’ve gotten a few big projects lately that I’m really excited about, and a few proposal requests – also for big projects. And I’ve finally determined my geographic target area, and have been developing a plan to market to that area.

Also, I’ve been meeting my goal of sending out one press release per month, most recently for winning two 2007 American Graphic Design Awards – yup, I can finally cross “Win a Design Award” off my to-do list!

And finally, after much thought, I’ve decided to go back to school to finish my degree. I received my letter of acceptance into the degree program at the beginning of the month.

So see? I’ve been a busy little bee…and everything that I have accomplished gets me one step closer to my goal: moving my office ‘Out of the Bedroom!’

Okay…Maybe I haven’t stuck strictly to my original goal (or guideline) plan, but by giving myself those guidelines, I’ve been able to accomplish other things…like determining my geographic target area, and getting more referrals through my networking group. Now it’s time to revisit my plan, and figure out what my priorities will be for the next three months..until something unexpected comes along and changes the course.

Now if only I could finish that darn website…

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics

Have you ever had one of those days where you were super busy, doing a bunch of little things, but by the end of the day you felt like you hadn’t accomplished anything? A day where the pile of work on your desk didn’t get any smaller… and nothing really got crossed off your to-do list?

Well, I had that day last week.

When I first woke up, I assumed I had plenty of time to get everything done. Sure, throughout the day I had small interruptions, like a sink full of dirty dishes, breakfast/lunch/snack for my son, and plenty of potty breaks (oh, the joy of working from home while potty training!). And of course, because I had so much to do, the kiddo decided to not take his nap.

So… in between food and potty training, I managed to get some little things knocked out. I returned some important client emails, and sent out some follow-up emails to a few people I met at an event earlier in the week. I organized the details for my next networking group event, and sent out an announcement email to my member list, as well as to those who’d requested the information. I finished a client project (a day ahead of schedule, I might add!), invoiced the client, and even made a pact with a friend to finish our websites (by 8/1!). Then before I knew it, it was time to wrap everything up for the day, and go make dinner.

Looking back over it all, it seems like I DID get a lot done… but the only thing I was able to cross off my list was the client project. So how is it that I got a lot done, but managed to accomplish very little?

And then I had an epiphany… an “Aha!” moment, if you will.

All those “little things” – emailing clients, organizing my monthly networking group, following up with new contacts, invoicing, etc. – those are all things integral to the daily running and marketing of my business. The problem is, that while I continue to do those things every day, I haven’t been accounting for them in my to-do list. Heck, I didn’t even account for writing this article! And yet these tasks are just as important as the bigger items on my list.

So between this, and realizing that my to-do list is merely a set of guidelines, I’ve come to a new conclusion. Yes, it’s true, I don’t have the best time management skills… yet. But I’m getting better. And I’m going to go over my upcoming weekly to-do list, and see where I need to start fitting in the “little things.”

Yeah, maybe this all seems like a no-brainer, but honestly, I’ve never sat down and thought about it. Those things just get done, and then at the end of the day, I look at my list and wonder, “What did I do all day?“. Well, now I will wonder no more. Because now I know that in order to stay on track, it really is all about the little things.

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics

Well, I’m back. The good news is that being terrified apparently didn’t scare me off. Bad news is I’m still terrified. Possibly even more so now. But hey, what’s a little fear amongst friends, acquaintances and a cyber-sphere of complete strangers, right?

Speaking of fear, it has become blatantly obvious to me that this – the idea of setting goals and making, or rather committing to, plans in order to reach them – is a major roadblock for me.

Case in point: what you’re reading right now…NOT my original post! This is, in fact, my third attempt at writing this bad boy. A good (and honest!) friend read my second version, only to come back to me, saying, “I get the feeling you are dancing around your subject, not taking the plunge.”

Wow. Talk about being called out! And of course, she’s right. Maybe it’s my lack of confidence, or my fear of failure. Whatever IT is, it’s making it hard for me to take that plunge.

So…what do I do? I know what I would tell someone else in my shoes: Get the bleep over it! Yet, I can’t do it myself. Funny how emotions aren’t controlled by logic. Darn them!

Okay. So how about I try to approach this logically? (And please, no comments from the peanut gallery – I’m trying here!)

Logically, I know what I want: to rebuild my business, to reclaim some of my former success, and to move my office Out of the Bedroom (and preferably into a full-on, separate, out-of-the-house-and-in-an-office-building office.) Also logically, I know I need a plan in order to reach that goal…because seriously, my current “no plan” plan just is not working.

So even though, officially, I’m still “dancing” (as my friend so aptly put it), I’m getting tired, and the next song is kinda lame. Enough with the excuses – let’s do this.

Okay…In order to reach my goals, I need to bring in more business and more money. To do that, I need to market myself more, and market myself better.

Sure, I’ve been given a ton of advice and have a list of things to do a mile long, but I’ve always managed to find a way to put it off. You know, one of those “I can never find the time…” situations. Hey, you try “finding” the time when you’re being pulled in a million different directions by family demands, household obligations, clients, everyday errands, laundry piles that never seem to shrink, and a sink that is perpetually filled with dirty dishes!

And yes, I know I need to MAKE the time. But…Oh. I did say no more excuses, didn’t I? Well, fine then. Here’s my three-month plan:

• Spend one hour each day working on marketing my business (begin immediately)
• Finish and submit book proposal (by 7/6)
• Write a press release regarding this column for Create Magazine’s Fall issue (due 7/13)
• Finish bulk of website update (due 8/1)
• Begin focusing marketing efforts on my niche areas (beginning 8/1)
• Begin putting together a prospect list (beginning 8/1)
• Connect with one prospect per week – either through email, snail mail or in-person (beginning 8/1)
• Join my local Chamber of Commerce (by 9/1)
• Develop e-newsletter (by 9/1)
• Develop and write out my official “process” and put together marketing packets (by 10/1)
• Write one press release per month
• Continue with monthly networking group, and add one more networking event per month
• Win a Design award (I’ve entered several recently, now I’m just waiting)

I know there’s more to do, but this list is slightly overwhelming as it is…I don’t want to blow a gasket before I’ve even started, ya know?

There you have it, folks. The “down and dirty” version of my immediate plan of attack for reaching goal Numero Uno: moving Out of the Bedroom.

And, with that, the real work begins…

Join me next time, as I continue my journey Out of the Bedroom,
Tamar Wallace | Principal, TAMAR Graphics