Author: C.J. Hayden
Publisher: American Management Association
Year Published: 1999
Rating: 
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The average consumer is exposed to over 4000 marketing messages each day. With so much clutter out there, how in the world can you reach those who are most likely to buy your services? For professionals and consultants who have hit a road block with their marketing efforts, coach C.J. Hayden has created a 28 day marketing program to help you Get Clients Now.
According to Hayden, there are three barriers to marketing success:
- You can’t decide where to begin
- You aren’t sure how to put the pieces together
- You can’t stay motivated
Her 28 day program is designed to help you overcome those obstacles by taking you step by step through the marketing process.
The book is laid out in three parts. In part 1, Hayden talks about what types of marketing activities work for services and how to set goals.
Part 2 explains how to get started with her system along with a handy ‘Action Worksheet’ that keeps you focused on the tasks you’ve committed to doing. One great thing about this section is that Hayden addresses emotional components like your mood – some days, you just don’t feel as chipper and productive as other days – so not only do you keep track of your marketing goals, but you also keep track of your mood and how motivated you are each day. To close the section, she breaks out her 28 day program into specific tasks for each day. These consist of a morning review, how to analyze your daily scores which you keep track of on another nifty worksheet, and a motivational ‘thought for the day.’
Part 3 focuses on the ‘recipes’ (as she calls them) for implementing your marketing plan. Here, she focuses on 6 main types of strategies: direct contact and follow up (basically calling people), networking and referral building, public speaking, writing and publicity, promotional events, and advertising (which includes anything from placing ads to creating brochures).
So, where do you start? According to Hayden, the Universal Marketing Cycle consists of four separate stages:
1) Filling the pipeline – finding prospects and generating leads
2) Following up – nurturing the leads you have
3) Getting presentations – asking for and getting that initial meeting
4) Closing sales – overcoming objections and closing the deal
To make sure she doesn’t overwhelm readers, the early chapters focus on figuring out which stage you feel stuck in with your marketing efforts. That’s the place to start. From there, you set goals and assess what’s been stopping you from moving ahead. Finally, you’re ready to get started.
Once you’ve picked a stage to focus on, the rest is simply a matter of picking tactics and following through. Part 3 of the book is devoted solely to which tactics work best for each stage of the marketing cycle.
The book is easy to follow and gets you up and running quickly with a marketing system tailored to your business. Each section provides a wealth of information, questions, suggestions, and exercises to motivate you to start marketing your firm. The included worksheets are great for documenting your progress and there are numerous quotes from successful business consultants that provide real world tips.
The main drawback to the book is that the section on marketing tactics is not all that comprehensive. In all fairness, this is a book about creating a marketing program, so that’s probably beyond the scope of the book. For instance, she devotes about 10 pages to closing sales. If you’ve ever browsed your local bookstore or Amazon.com, you’ll see countless books on how to sell that don’t involve scripted sales presentations. There’s a good chance that you’ll end up needing to read outside material or get outside help if you are serious about executing your plan.
My other main concern is that she emphasizes calling and networking over a more educational based way of promoting your services. I’ve found that for services businesses, it’s much easier to get people to call you when you offer something valuable for free or at least, at a low cost. I think that if you’re looking to ‘fill your pipeline,’ you’ll want to focus on speaking, writing, or networking rather than cold calling.
Despite these minor issues, this is a great book for anyone who needs a push to get started with their marketing plan. I think it’s especially good for people who are having problems with following up and getting the initial presentations, though it does give you a big picture overview of how to prospect and fill your pipeline. Sadly, Hayden doesn’t provide a list of references for more information in the back, so you’re pretty much on your own if you need more help.
Regardless, I’d recommend the book to anyone who feels overwhelmed with marketing and needs a place to get started. The book is packed with practical tips and exercises that can jump start any professional service’s marketing plan.
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