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I have so much to do…that I can't get anything done!
I have to confess; I have a dilemma.
I have so much to do that I feel like can't get anything
done…sound familiar? And one of the most important tasks I keep putting
off is marketing.
Now if this sounds a little crazy coming from a marketing
professional, you're right, it is. I know that smart companies never stop
marketing. I know that a rebounding job market is the absolute most critical
time for aggressive marketing. But what can you do when there's no free
time?
1. Stop making excuses.
There's never free time. If you let being busy get in
the way of consistent marketing, it won't be long till you're no longer
busy.
2. Make a commitment to marketing.
- Book an appointment with yourself to do marketing. Set
aside a half-hour a day or a couple of hours a week specifically for
marketing activities.
- Limit your e-mail time to a couple hours (or less) per
day and turn off the phone while you're doing project work. You'll save
an hour or two each day…time you can then use for marketing.
- Set specific goals for your marketing activities and
assign ownership of these goals to someone in your organization.
3. Leverage your time.
- Make marketing part of everyone's job - give them a script
to make calls, a box of greeting cards to send, an article to mail,
or anything else they can share with clients, candidates and friends.
- Get a temp! Bring in your own admin support to free you
for a few hours of marketing. (Hey, you could even use this idea as
a promotion to your clients!)
- Hire an intern. They can be great for conducting surveys,
compiling prospect lists and researching the competition.
- Ask service people to send follow-up e-mails to warm
prospects. Ask them to do a little brainstorming as to how, specifically,
your firm could help each prospect and then send a brief e-mail to introduce
themselves and share the ideas they developed.
- Focus your marketing more tightly.
In a down market you have to broaden your reach to bring in business.
In a growing market, you can invest your limited time on a more targeted
prospect pool.
- Formalize intelligence collection
procedures in your candidate screening process. Use your interviewing
time to gather leads on business opportunities and ask for more candidates
referrals.
4. Use tactics that are easy to implement.
- Postcards - an easy way to keep in touch that can be
very inexpensive and when used REGULARLY can make a big impression.
(FYI, we're currently sending bi-weekly postcards to about 2,000 people.
While the first three cards produced zero results, the fourth and fifth
have created a steady stream of new prospects).
- Have a lunch time letter writing campaign. Write a simple
personal letter to clients and prospects to share useful information
or just your perspective on the local job market. Bring your whole team
together for a lunch-time folding and stuffing party.
- Use "Success Cards." Design a template for
a Success Story postcard. Then, each time you have a success story you
can share, have the cards printed with your new story and mail them
to your prospect list. I know a search firm that does this after every
placement, and they get tons of business from people who think "you
must be really good with all these successes."
- Transform your company newsletter into a shorter format.
Mail less content more often.
- E-mail. While unsolicited commercial e-mail is a really
bad idea, permission-based e-mail is an ideal way to nurture relationships
with clients and warm leads. Use e-mail to share news, useful ideas,
tips and tools that help make your clients' lives easier.
5. Get help!
- Call a marketing specialist who can provide you with
the support (and maybe even the discipline) you need to get a consistent
marketing plan implemented (yes, this is the sales pitch part of this
article J).
- Join The Idea Exchange at the new haleymarketing.com.
Here you can ask questions of your peers and get input on marketing,
sales, recruiting and other challenges from a panel of industry experts…all
for free!
Haley Marketing Group
Stand out. Stay
top-of-mind Sell more.
Tired of fighting the daily battles to sell your services?
Tired of dealing with the margin pressures? Tired of being treated like
a commodity?
Call
Haley Marketing, the staffing specialists.
Over the past eight years we've helped hundreds of staffing
companies to stand out from the competition, capture the attention of
higher level decision makers, teach people about the strategic value of
staffing, and nurture relationships with clients, prospects and candidates.
We offer a wide-range of services to fit the needs (and
budgets) of all kinds of staffing companies. From direct mail and e-mail
campaigns, to web sites and custom marketing strategies, we can provide
the support you need…at a price you can afford.
Haley
Marketing Group
1-888-696-2900
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