Whoever said, “If you build it, they will come” was not referring to your LinkedIn profile! On LinkedIn, once you’ve built a completely optimized profile it’s time to go connect with people. Why? Because your connections are your network and your network is what makes LinkedIn work for you. Read more

Q. I’m recently seeing an increase in email inquiries about my services. That’s good news, but most of these don’t seem to turn into clients. What’s the most effective way to follow up on email queries?

A. In my experience, a significant number of email inquiries are from window shoppers, tire kickers, and looky-loos. What I’ve found is that those that turn into business are the queries from people who tell me they were referred by someone I know, heard me speak, read my book/an article, subscribed to my newsletter, etc. Read more

Hardly a week goes by without someone asking me to help them compose a winning sales letter to market their professional services. “What is the magic formula,” they ask, “for writing a letter that results in clients?” Unfortunately, there isn’t one. And a whole lot of folks are wasting precious marketing time trying to create the perfect letter to jumpstart their marketing. Read more

One of the biggest complaints I hear today is that entrepreneurs aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. Many business owners looking to land more lucrative clients and contracts struggle to distinguish themselves in an authentic and profitable way. Recently, I’ve honed in on what it takes to turn what I call “The Scorching Hot Sweet Spot™” in your business into cold, hard cash! Read more

“Will this marketing approach be worth my while?” It’s a question independent professionals often ask. But there’s a related question that, unfortunately, they ask much less often: “How much will it cost compared to what it brings in?” Surprisingly few professionals know the answer to this crucial question, and many admit it had simply never occurred to them. Read more

This is not your typical fishing story. This is about fishing for a whale, and not the kind that lives in the sea. A whale is the kind of client that can make a significant positive impact on your bottom line. There are three strategies that can hook you a whale: Read more

You’ve heard it many times before: you need to sell benefits to your clients, not features. Whether you are writing copy, talking about what you do, or engaged in a sales presentation, it’s the benefits and results of the service you provide that you should emphasize, rather than its features or how it works. But it’s not always easy to get this right. 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

You can learn a lot about marketing by listening to the radio. And you can learn even more by noticing when you’re not listening. A clear signal and music or talk you like to hear will keep you tuned in to a particular station. But too much static, too many ads, or programming not to your taste will overwhelm the signal, and all you’ll hear is noise. Read more