Recently I talked with a professional who is thinking of leaving her corporate job and going out on her own. As this was an introductory conversation to see if she and I might work together as coach and client, we quickly covered some of the basics: Did she have an idea of what her business would be? Who would she target as a client? How would she find those clients? We went on like that for an hour; it was a delightful conversation, with her sharing her vision and us looking at ways to create that for her. Read more

Marketing is the first thing to go when you get busy or distracted. Though you may have spent a lot of time developing the processes behind the service you offer, you may have neglected to put the same level of effort into developing your marketing processes. Read more

Like many capable business owners and professionals, you may be great at what you do and not so great at –- nor thrilled about –- marketing your services. It seems we sometimes spend more time marketing than actually conducting business. Read more

Do you sometimes have trouble knowing when it’s quitting time? Do you fall into the “I’ll just do one more thing” trap? Or do you tend to think that if you spend a little more time or give it one more pass, the final outcome will be better? Read more

At a recent presentation, we were asked, “You say that talking about personal topics while networking is good, but if I’m at a business event, isn’t that inappropriate? Won’t the other person be offended?” Read more

The best way to go about choosing your market niche depends a lot on the products and services you are selling. For self-employed professionals who market their own services, the formula for a solid niche is: target market + specialty + desire + affinity. Read more

LinkedIn is the largest professional social networking site online with over 74 million users in the U.S. and over 200 million users worldwide as of January 2013. Using LinkedIn as a networking tool can help expand your network of contacts, clients, leads, and referral partners. And just like networking in person, when networking on LinkedIn, first impressions count. Read more

A helpful tool for presenting your services to prospective clients is a repertoire of success stories about the results your clients get from your work. Here’s a template and example for composing some success stories of your own. Read more

“Relationship marketing.” “Word-of-mouth advertising.” “The future of marketing is one-to-one.” “People like to do business with people they know, like, and trust.” You’ve heard these adages many times before. But what does it really mean to build relationships with people in order to sell something? Read more

Most website owners fall into one of two categories: they are spending a fortune on banner ads, bulk email, listings in classified directories, and pay-per-click advertising, or their sites are languishing with only a few hits per day. But you can change all that, and you don’t have to spend a fortune. Here are three ways to get started today: Read more