Fall is here and it’s getting to be that time of year when we start thinking about finishing the year strong and start making plans for next year. I’d like to spend the next few posts discussing how you can get your marketing system into shape to help you meet your personal and professional goals.
One of the first things I would suggest is to start building (or strengthening) the habit of living by a marketing calendar.
The key to marketing your professional service firm isn’t finding the “next big thing”; it’s doing a few things very well and doing them consistently.
A great way to build consistency is to set regular appointments with yourself to work on your marketing system. I’ve said it before but I think it’s worth repeating – you must treat these appointments as if they are appointments with your most important customer. That means no interruptions, no checking email, etc.
Many people have success thinking about their calendar in two different time frames. They set a theme for a particular month – such as website month or newsletter month.
Then, they have weekly appointments during which they work on the activities needed to complete that month’s theme. Here is a link to a previous post where I gave an example of a Marketing Calendar for a Professional Service Firm.
So here is my challenge to you. Set aside 90 minutes every week from now until the end of the year. Use that time to work on some small part of your marketing system. Use your first session to mark your calendar, think about where you want your business to be in 1 year, and write down some measurable marketing goals to work on. Build the habit of using your marketing calendar and I’m certain you will see results.
