The Magical Marketing Starting Strategy

By Adam Bricker

As a marketing professional, I still contend that compiling a marketing strategy is the most brutal uphill battle business owners face. Most major organizations hire professional help in this area… and private practice attorneys should also.

But you must start somewhere, so here is a proven foundational strategy. Write a testimonial.

Yes, you write the most glorious, comprehensive testimonial about your practice, how you serve, and the results you deliver.

Make it up, get creative, and have a great time writing down the exact experience your client is engaged in.

Be a raving fan!

If your creativity expands and you end up with two or three testimonials, even better. Now, you have the content for your marketing message.

Step two is reworking this content into advertising, promotion, social media, and any other form of marketing your ideal client engages in, whether it’s print, digital, video, or signage.

Essential Magical Ingredient: Benefits.

Ensure the benefits of hiring your company are the focus of your message.

The number one mistake entrepreneurs make in marketing their business is making Features the focus.

Do Not Make That Mistake.

This is why you wrote the testimonial: to discover the Benefits received from the Features.

The Magical difference is Benefits answer the question: “What does it do for me?”

This is really, really easy… “What does it do for me?” If your marketing does not answer that question, it is off the mark.

It makes your life easier, it brings happiness, it saves you time, it makes you feel better, it improves your performance… these are benefit statements.

The saying goes, “Features Tell While Benefits Sell.”

Life-enhancing benefits trigger emotions that elicit buying decisions from consumers. To go from prospect to client, customer or patient, the person needs to take action. Marketing the benefits is the vehicle to create the stimulus needed.

Get people calling you because they want to receive the benefits you are providing to your happiest clients, it’s a rewarding experience.

Adam Bricker is a Marketing Strategist and Television Producer.
He specializes in bringing innovative products and services to market.

Focused mainly in the pickleball industry at the moment, Bricker’s business foundation includes, automotive, medical, sports and personal services industries.

Top 6 Business Lessons You Don’t Want to Learn the Hard Way

by Mike O’Neill

Sadly, most of the knowledge we gain in the business world comes from lessons we learn the hard way. If you know a few lessons before making the mistakes, you gain an advantage and lose the struggles of getting things wrong. 

You can’t learn everything all at once. Just like your business ebbs and flows, so do the choices you have to make. So we can’t give you all the lessons, but we can give you some to help you along your way. 

The business world is tough enough. Don’t make these mistakes, which could cost you more than just your time. We don’t want this to happen to you. The fewer errors, the less time and money are lost to you. 

Every business owner will have their trials and tribulations, but here are six business lessons you don’t want to learn the hard way. We’ll save you the headache.

6 Top Business Lessons

Lesson #1.
You Can’t Do Everything On Your own

Try as you might; you simply cannot do everything alone. Building a team in your business is critical to its success. One person can devote only so many hours to the company. When you reach that limit, it is dependent on all of your other obligations. 

If you’re young and don’t have much social life, you might be able to sustain the ‘do everything’ mode for a year or two. If you have obligations, a family, or anything that would pull you away from work, your dedication to work will eventually hurt those relationships. 

Build a team that can handle the business - even when you’re not around. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks. Cross-train team members so everyone is prepared in case anyone on the team has to be out.

Lesson #2.
Even if You Think Your Product/Service is Perfect, Your Clients Won’t Always Think So

Take the time to listen to your customers’ feedback, not just hear it. Sometimes, your opinion may not be the best one. It can be a little biased—as it should be! What business owners wouldn’t love their own product/service?

You won’t know if you have the best product/service until you test it, release it, and listen to feedback. Continue this process as many times as necessary to make your product/service the best of the best. 

Put your heart into it, or don’t do it at all. The easy way never leads to success or perfect products/services. It takes your heart, hard work, and dedication. Work until your clients think your offerings are perfect.

Lesson #3.
Pick One Thing and Do It Well

Business owners tend to try to be everything to everyone. But it’s hard to be a one-stop shop. Instead, specialize, and you can charge more for what you provide, whether it’s products or services. 

Always add customer service to it no matter which thing you pick to do well. The only way to get customers and clients to care about you and your products or services is to care about them first. A little kindness will go a long way in the business world.

Lesson #4.
Get Paid Before Handing Projects Over

If you provide a service to your clients, get paid before handing over your project. Once you’ve turned over that project, you won’t have any bargaining power when collecting your payment. 

A little pro tip - if you’re a graphic designer, watermark projects and host websites on a private domain until the bill is paid. And always have contracts in place - for any business.

Lesson #5.
You Cannot Afford to Undercharge

We get it. You want to undercharge to build a portfolio, gain reviews, gather testimonials, or provide services.

As a business owner, you must consider paying your own employment taxes—social security, Medicare, federal tax, and state tax. 

Instead, compete on expertise and quality in your niche instead of price. When you try to compete just on price alone, the price-shopping customers will leave you for the company that undercuts you. 

Think about this: to double your net worth, double your self-worth. And then charge extra.

Lesson #6.
Build for Your Market

Don’t scale and build your business for yourself—build it for your market. Build to answer the demand. Opportunities will come to you—that's what you use to build your business. Build around what you know well.

And remember, without risk, you’ll never fail, but you’ll never win. The real failure is never to try. 

Mike O'Neill is a Leadership Coach and founder of Bench-Builders. He is passionate about developing leaders that people follow not because they have to but because they want to. He aims to help you transform your leadership and drive significant results for your company. 

Make It Easy to Say “Yes!”

by Nancy Zare, Ph.D.

In the last two weeks, three prospects told me, “I feel like I already know you.”

Two of these people are now my clients.

It was easy for them to say, “Yes!” 

Why? Because I shared my podcast series, Client Builderz.

Why does audio or video content work so well?

Seeing and hearing you builds trust and fosters a sense of connection that text alone cannot achieve. 

While digital content enables a wider reach and is efficient and cost-effective, it can also be impersonal, add to the “noise,” and even be misinterpreted.

Are you curious about what I shared? 

Client Builderz is packed with information about using LinkedIn to generate warm leads and turn them into clients.

Enjoy Listening or Watching It Now.

Attorneys hire me to grow their client base because they shun exaggerated marketing claims and sleazy sales tactics. I show them how to generate warm leads and turn them into clients.