WHY ENTREPRENEURS FAIL

As a coach, I talk to entrepreneurs all time. They're sharp, they have great products and services, and they all make same mistake - a mistake with two faces.

It's marketing. They either (1) don't understand they aren't a lawyer/coach herapist/small business owner, they're an entrepreneur; or (2) they think they're a marketing person as well as a lawyer/coach herapist/ small business owner and are trying to do something they don't have experience, expertise or time for.

THE PRICE FOR THIS FALLACY IS HIGH

I would estimate that at least 75% of coaches fail because they don't know how to market their practices. I don't know national figures, but lawyers and other professionals are dropping like flies in my town, as are maid services, restaurants, errand services, small book stores, and like.

As an entrepreneur, you're up against big marketing campaigns from big, long-established companies who offer similar services.

PIE IN THE SKY

It's a common misconception that you get your degree or training, you hang up your shingle, and clients come, but "build it and they will come" is a sad, pie-in-the-sky fantasy.

As a minister said, who hired me to market his church, "They didn't cover this stuff in Divinity School."

Why don't they come? Because there are thousands of other people out there doing what you do, and offering what you offer, and nobody knows about you!

Nobody knows how and why you're different. You aren't branded.

Marketing is hard work that requires a professional. You know this about your own field - it takes an innate talent, an instinct to do something well. Good marketing consultants have right-on instincts from years of trial and error, observation and analysis. You haven't!

"THE LAWYER WHO HAS HIMSELF FOR A CLIENT ... ... has a fool for a client."

Marketing appears to be subjective, but subjective marketing is deadly. It takes a practiced, external, objective eye.

You're not objective about your spouse or your kids, and you're not objective about your other baby - your business or practice.

JUST WHAT IS MARKETING?

Marketing is a broad concept that encompasses advertising, public relations, and a lot of other things. Well, let's take a look at someone who markets small and home-based entrepreneurs, Sharron Senter. She's known for her free weekly marketing tips and has published several marketing reports, including "20 Excuses to Send a News Brief."

Sharron (www.sharronsenter.com) has an impressive corporate background in marketing, and will do following things for you:

Many companies, however, do not have a large enough budget to hire an advertising agency. If you belong to one of these small budget businesses, do not despair. With some creativity and persistence, you can develop your own tag line.

** First, decide what you want to communicate with your tag line.

* If you have a positioning statement and/or unique selling proposition, write them down. Your tag line should reinforce them.

* Ask yourself these questions.

- Who are your customers? - What benefits do you give your customers? - What feelings do you want to evoke in your customers? - What action are you trying to generate from your customers? - How are you different from your competition?

Try to get one or more of these across in your tag.

** Second, prepare to brainstorm.

* Gather tag lines from other companies and brands. Look in other categories besides your own and try to find tag lines from both large and small companies.

As you find tag lines, write them on index cards or individual slips of paper. You will be mixing and matching them and pairing them with unrelated items as you brainstorm.

Pay attention to words used, how they are put together, and which of above questions they address. By doing this, you are more likely to come up with a unique angle for your own tag line.

NOTE: You are looking at others' tag lines only to spark ideas. Do not plagiarize. You must come up with your own, original tag line.

To find tag lines, look around. You may find them anywhere there are advertisements, packaging, or logos. Look in cupboards, around desks, in magazines, on TV/radio commercials, in print advertisements, and on Web sites.

To get you started, here are some tag lines I found in only a few minutes: