Challenge all of your current marketing materials. Remember, it's intended audience that counts. What's in it for them? Why should they care?

Listen, if your marketing is consistently generating all high-quality leads you can handle, then don't change a thing. But if you haven't quite figured out how to generate a constant supply of leads for your service business, then you owe it to yourself to challenge your current marketing tools by putting them to "So What?" test.

Try these ideas:

* Challenge all of your marketing tools that aren't contributing to consistently generate leads for your service business - even ones that have worked in past. Could you improve message and get a higher return? Put it to "So What?" test.

* Try X's and O's test (especially with last letter you wrote). Mark an X every time your marketing piece mentions your name, company name, or words "I" or "me". Mark and O every time it mentions prospects name, company name, or word "you" or "your". If X's out number O's, rewrite it before using it again.

* Try gathering up a group of people you can trust to give you very honest feedback. You're not just looking for proof readers, but individuals who will give you honest feedback on whether your materials pass "So What?" test.

* Be prepared for some negative feedback, but more importantly, be prepared to do something about it.

* Don't just accept opinions, but try to get down to realistic response. For example: "I think this part is too wordy and detailed." (opinion) versus "I got pretty lost and confused with level of detail in this part." (response)

* Remember that it is intended audience that counts. If it's not clear who message is intended for when it's received, then how can it pass "So What?" test.

(c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing

4. Say How You Solved a Problem or Served a Client. Reinforce your first 10 second sentence with a second sentence that shows how you solved a problem or overcame a particular issue or challenge. “I help mid-sized accounting firms plan big conferences on a small budget. I just recently lined up free live entertainment for a firm that hosted 500 people in town last week.”

5. Tell Them Why You Are Unique. What makes you stand out from crowd? Maybe it’s a unique model or approach for better results, focus on a specific niche, a guarantee, or extras that others don’t provide. There are many ways to define your uniqueness that will help gain attention and make you memorable.

Make your introduction an attention getter. Start with first 10 seconds. You can always build from there once it starts getting attention. Actually write it down and practice out loud several times until you can just say it naturally.

(c) - Kevin Dervin, KPD Marketing