Simple Marketing Tips to Do in 5 Minutes a Day

All the professionals I work with are eager to find a simple way to add new clients. Most are already busy and tell me they have to struggle to find blocks of free time to “do marketing”.

Of course some marketing does take large blocks of time but I am here to tell you that not all marketing is time consuming.

Sad to say that often business owners who believe that marketing requires an open block of time just don’t ever get around to doing their marketing at all even though they know they should.

If you would like to avoid the guilt that comes with “shoulding”, here are several quick and easy ways to market your business without ever setting aside a block of time.

The key is to keep your intension of wanting to “do marketing” in the top of your mind. Then look for opportunities during the day to follow one or two of these marketing tips.

First are you talking with a new client? Ask the client how s/he found you. Perhaps a friend referred him/her. Then underscore that you build your business on referrals. Tell the client that you are confident he/she will be as happy as Ms. X was with your services and you hope s/he will refer others to you too.

The referral gives you another marketing opportunity. Send the referrer a note thanking him or her for the referral. Have a standard note that you write for this and it too can be done in less than 5 minutes. The note is another way to stay top of mind with the referrer.

Even if the client found you on the web or in the yellow pages you can tell them the reason for the question is that often you get clients through referrals and you want to be sure to acknowledge the referrer. This gives you an opportunity to say that you hope they will feel comfortable referring others to you.

Make it a game to see how many times a day you can seamlessly add a request for a referral to your conversation! Whether it is another professional or a current client, look for an appropriate time in the conversation to make this request. You want the request to be natural not pushy.

Slip in a success story or respond to a compliment with, “If you ever come across someone with a similar issue, I would value a referral from you.”

Finally use email or LinkedIn to connect to a former client, a school classmate or professor or a business acquaintance. A short email lets them know you were thinking of them and is a great way to get them to think about you!

Over the years that you have been in business I am sure you have done some or all of these. The point is to do them consistently week after week. By staying connected to your network and asking for referrals your practice will grow effortlessly!