I had a Client ask me this week what my Top 10 marketing tips are.

I've never put together such a list because it would depend on the industry, on where the business was in its life cycle, the marketing budget, the expertise of the person owning the business, the goals of the business owner, and many more subjective variables.

Nonetheless, I took it upon myself to sit down to see if I could come up with a general Top 10 that might fit any business, and here they are, in no particular order:

1. Market yourself, in good times and bad, but especially in bad times. This means that you have to properly capitalize your company because some of the worst times that a company will go through are those first few days, weeks, months, and possibly years in business. If you want to be in it for the long term, you have to be able to survive the short term.
2. Do whatever works, as long as it is legal and meets your own moral and ethical standards. Some people don't want to be pushy like a used car salesman, but if it works, why not? Some people don't want to be the low-cost leader like Wal-Mart, but if it works, why not?
3. Create your unique selling point that will help you develop your niche market. This means that you might actually have to think about what you want to accomplish with your business, other than make money, of course.
4. Create two commercials, a presentation, and an infomercial. Your two commercials will be 30-second and 60-second commercials. Your presentation will be five minutes, and your infomercial will be 30-minutes. This allows you to meet the needs of any person or group asking "What do you do?"
5. Track everything you do. Everything! This means that you might need to either learn how to use Excel or hire someone who does. Perhaps you have a child who knows Excel or has the innate child computer ability to pick it up very quickly. For my Clients who are Realtors, I advise them to track everything about their open houses -- holiday weekend, weather, time, traffic, television competition, outdoor competition, etc. I do that because I want them to be in it for the long term, so next year when they are considering an open house to compete against the Chargers, or Padres, or the Over the Line tournament, or whatever, they'll have a good sense of whether it is worthwhile or not. After four or five years, you'll have a great indication of what works and what doesn't work, regardless of what you're doing.
6. Be persistent and consistent. This is probably the most difficult thing for people to do, especially those who are self-employed because one of the reasons why they chose to become self-employed was because they got tired of the same old, same old in the office every day. It's that same old, same old that made the office and the business work efficiently, and it's the same with your business. Whatever you choose to do, do it persistently and consistently.
7. Never assume you are the best. Prove it to each and every Client. This comes right back to being persistent and consistent. If you prove it each and every time, it will become a habit.
8. People prefer buying from people, not automatons or businesses. This means that you need to work on your speech and actions so that you can converse appropriately with prospective Clients. One of the reasons why I have such a wide variety of interests is because I want to be able to talk about anything with anyone. I don't have to be an expert; I just have to know what's going on in the world around me. That world is my world.
9. Listen to your Clients. Ask them about their needs, wants, and goals. And then listen! Once they are finished talking and you are finished listening, you can explain how you can help them obtain those needs, wants, and goals.
10. Find your Power Partners. That is, surround yourself with people who can help you. Your Power Partners probably have the same target audience as you do -- for Realtors, that would be people buying a home. Power Partners, then, would include roofing contractors, heating and cooling professionals, electricians, plumbers, door and window installers, painters, etc. To find your Power Partners, all you have to do is decide whom you would call to work on your own house. Would you decide based on price? Proximity? Time frame? How big the Yellow Page ad is? Referrals from friends? Your Power Partners know as much about your business as you do about theirs, and reciprocal referrals are plentiful.

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