“I sell houses fast”

And you can give them some details to demonstrate how you sell houses faster than anyone else in town (such as statistics and testimonials).

Another example:

If you are a chiropractor and your strength is that you help get rid of back pain AND you help your patients prevent it from coming back, then your target market might be people with chronic back pain who want it to stop - forever. Your message might be:

“We get rid of back pain now and prevent it from coming back later.”

Your message derives directly from your strengths and your target market. The three work together naturally and simply.

You can have more than one message. Each marketing focus (based on a product or service, a target market and a strength) should have its own message.

Tip: to start, just work on one message. Then as you develop a system that works, add others to your new marketing system. Don’t overwhelm yourself right away by trying to do too much.

4. Deliver your message as often as your budget allows.

Now you have to find and purchase appropriate delivery vehicles (or media) for your marketing messages.

This is easy. There are three things to remember as you plan how to deliver your message:

1.Set a budget for project. 2.Get most exposure possible for that budget. 3.Focus your exposure on your target group.

Unless your budget is unlimited, you need to choose delivery vehicles that focus your message.

For example, if you have a retail store and you know 90% of your customers live within 2 miles of your store, then you might focus your message delivery on people who live within 2 miles of your store. This gives you ability to repeat your message to them multiple times so power of repetition starts to work for you.

There are many ways to deliver your message: advertising, direct mail, networking, phone calls or personal visits. Some less direct ways might be to teach classes or offer seminars on topics that relate to your product or service. Other ways might be to sponsor local events or offer informational sessions about what you do.

Try to achieve a balanced mix of media when delivering your message. This increases awareness of your business and multiplies impact of your message.

6. Don't sell yourself. It's okay to tell people what you do. Give your “30 second commercial" but stop after that. You're there to gather information and to meet people, not to sell.

7. People love people who are interested in them. Ask questions, listen and engage people. This is fastest way to develop rapport with someone. It's also best way to determine quickly if they're someone you should be doing business with.

8. Have fun, relax and enjoy yourself. People like being around people who are relaxed and having fun.

9. Don't corner people and don't get cornered. Manage your time and conversation so you can meet enough people to justify your time spent networking.

10. Offer referrals. The best way to begin a relationship is by giving someone something - like a referral. It doesn't cost you anything. If they're kind of person you want to do business with, they'll reciprocate and a valuable, long-tem business relationship could develop.

Networking is a time-honored way of developing business relationships. It can be done in networking groups or clubs. It can be done through Chambers of Commerce. It can be done anywhere you meet people. If you are active in your community or industry, you can easily network. Some people "network" while shopping for groceries! It all depends on your attitude and your focus. The more people you meet who might need your product or service, more potential customers you can have. It's up to you.