What kind of return on investment are you getting from the effort you’ve put into marketing your service?

Sometimes the day-to-day frustrations of building a business can take the joy out of something you once felt passionate about.

Frustration at lack of sufficient return (in the form of new business) relative to investment (of time and money away from developing your expertise) is a frequent challenge for nontraditional professional service providers. Most Quantum Growth clients are masters of their craft: coaches, consultants, trainers, facilitators, designers, holistic practitioners and other professional services whose business may not quite fit into the usual categories. Because of this, client education is an integral part of their business.

Paradoxically, the more innovative their service is, the more the need for a lengthy explanation of that service detracts from the ability to communicate effectively with prospects.  So marketing or other business building efforts didn’t always pan out.

While our clientele own very diverse businesses, they have one thing in common: they are determined to grow their business substantially (exponentially even) and they believe they can do that; they know there is a way to satisfy their professional needs, have a great life AND make a contribution.

What service marketing challenges do you face?

Check and see if any of the challenges described in following scenarios sound familiar to you.

• Your services are unique, unconventional or require explanation, so “traditional” product or commodity marketing strategies don’t work very well. You quietly lose the full attention of prospects when you try to briefly explain what you do.  People who should be connecting with you are still unclear about your service after you answer the “what do you do?” question. Sometimes you feel frustrated about not getting the results or new leads that you feel you should be getting at organized networking events.
• You are ready to stop having a hobby and start having a business.
• You are really, really good at your area of expertise. Established clients go out of their way to work with you, but new clients mysteriously don’t. Something seems to be blocking your efforts to find new clients, and the right kind of prospects don’t seem to find you. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, and others in your field may seek out your opinions, but the same expertise you used to get so good at what you do is apparently not the same expertise that will consistently attract new business.
• You are a small training company, school, or group of service providers who are exceptional at what you do, but have become discouraged in your attempts to move your business to the next level. Perhaps your market has changed, or perhaps your previous marketing strategies have gone stale and are no longer effective. Perhaps they were never designed for growth in the first place. Maybe marketing has become the duty everyone tries to avoid because, truth be told, nobody really knows what to do, except what has been done before, that’s just not working.
• You may be new at it, but you are committed to your field of expertise, and you find the idea of learning how to market and grow your business overwhelming. You’d really prefer to be spending your precious time working with clients, learning about your field, and honing your skills. But to get clients, you need step outside of your field and learn to market your business. You are looking for ways to run your business without losing your focus.
• You have successfully grown your business in the past, but every time you get close or pass a goal, you sabotage yourself. You are certainly not doing it intentionally, but things just start going wrong and suddenly you are back where you started.  You just don’t know how to get everything working for you at the same time.
• You have gotten your practice to a reasonably successful level, you work a system and have done well with it; but you are ready for more. The things you have been doing work, but they are not going to take you to the next level. You may need a new business model and you need to work on this with someone that knows what they are doing so you don’t “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”  You are ready to step up and discover more effective ways to market without sacrificing your integrity.
• There’s so much to learn or do that you end up doing nothing. If you do something it feels puny and ineffective so you’d rather not try much anymore.  It’s just not worth the effort.
• You are noticing people who are younger, less intelligent, less gifted…basically annoying…are getting more business, maybe even utilizing your methods and definitely becoming better known and its all happening just because they are “good at marketing” and you are not. Or so you tell yourself.  The frustration has mounted to the point where you are ready to move.

What characteristics lead to success in service marketing?

Clients who get the most from Quantum Growth business and personal development training, coaching and consulting typically have the following traits in common. If you see yourself below, then we can most likely help you grow your business.

• Commitment: You are as committed to your own success as you are to your clients’ success. While we know a lot about marketing and the organizational ups and downs of growth, at the end of the day it is you who has to actually make the decisions and take the actions.  What this means is you are willing to spend at least several hours each week on your business and you are willing to put yourself out there in new and potentially scary ways.
• Personal Growth: You are willing to acknowledge when your typical thought patterns are blocking business growth. Having your own business is an experience uniquely designed to stir up and make visible any garbage you are carrying.  If a pattern or limitation is recognized, you are willing to do the deeper work to make the shift that allows growth.  This may mean you are willing to endure the discomfort of change.  This definitely means you are willing to appreciate ALL parts of yourself, without exception.
• Creativity: Building a business is one of the most intensely creative acts.  You are ready to act, to put your creations out into the world.
• Integrity: You maintain high standards and believe that your service actually delivers promised results and is beneficial.  You are providing a service to make a contribution to the greater good (whatever that means to you).
• Client focus: You want the best results for your clients on multiple levels, even though it may mean changing something about what you are doing if it is not working.
• Excellence: You are passionate about continuous learning in your field. You are always developing yourself as a resource for your clients and your colleagues.
• Calculated risk-taker: When you become convinced that a course of action will help you get to your goal, you are willing to invest the resources of time, effort, and money.
• Coachable: You are willing to ask for help when you don’t know something, or feel stuck in a limiting pattern. You realize no one can know everything, and are willing to try out new ideas and behaviors in order to grow your business.

Next Step:

Now that you know the kind of clients we work with, the issues we help them resolve, and what characterizes our most successful clients, learn more About Quantum Growth.