2. When you meet people, use time to gather information from them, including: • Primary concerns about their business • Problems they want solved • Unmet business needs. • Areas where solutions you provide overlap with their needs • Their contact information

3. Continue to expand your network. Whenever you make a contact, ask for referrals to other prospects.

4. Once you have this information, enter it into your database or contact manager. - Build Relationships 1. People have short memories. Follow-up after your initial contact and then stay in touch with your network on a regular basis. If you let more than a month go by without making contact they’ll forget that you exist and that you are best person to solve their financial, legal, human resource, design, or other problems.

You’ll want to make personal contact with some people on your prospect list, but in most cases, a letter, newsletter or ezine will do job. Use merge function in your software to personalize your mailings.

2. Demonstrate value of your expertise or products by sending prospects and clients an idea or suggestion they can use right away. You could present this in an article you’ve written, or one you’ve read. Your contact will then associate you with problems you solve. - Pull information from prospects and clients to grow your network, stay in touch and regularly demonstrate value of your products and services.

Networking should be one of core marketing tactics of most independent professionals and small business owners. Use client-centered networking to lessen your reliance on costly and time consuming cold calling elemarketing and advertising. Over time, this business building strategy will reward you with a steady stream of new clients.

SYSTEMS Establish systems to support your marketing plan. Setting up systems to market your business costs little and make an unmanageable task a clerical function you or your assistant can do. You’ll need to set a schedule for marketing activities, define responsibilities and use your computer to automate tasks.

The most important systems to develop and implement are a way to collect leads and stay in touch with prospects and clients. You’ll need a centralized database and a schedule for staying in touch with prospects and clients in order to do this.

Automate functions where possible so you can focus your time on delivering products and services. There is simple and easy to use software that can help you manage contacts, add prospects to your database and send out broadcast emails to people who are interested in getting your ideas. Once you’ve put these marketing systems in place, you can focus on handling growing number of inquires you will receive.

TOOLS The tools you need to market your business will vary depending on your target market and products and services you offer. The basics include:

1. Marketing materials, finished copy you use on everything from your business card, to your brochures, or online.

2. Questions, questions you use when people call about your services, or when you meet with clients, or to find out what information they want so you can write perfect proposal.

3. Communication tools, such as a phone, email and website.

Take a look at your marketing and determine if you have Knowledge, Skills, Systems and Tools to attract a steady stream of new clients. Identify gaps and fill them. You may need to invest a few dollars to make many, but with frugal marketing strategies you can limit marketing expenditures and maximize profits.

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