As a blogger on marketing for services businesses, I feel that one of my duties is to introduce my readers to other people who can help them.  A bit like when someone tells you about a new band or movie, I think that there’s some value in introducing my readers to fresh ideas from others.

I’m a big fan of Robert Middleton at Action Plan Marketing.  There aren’t a lot of people who blog about selling services but Robert produces some great articles and materials.  I’ve had some clients use his tools before and I’ve been very happy with the results.

I plan to feature a number of his articles here.  Here’s one from June 2008 that introduces one of his key concepts called Marketing Ball.

So…..introducing Robert Middleton.

Playing the Game

As I lead my Fast Track Workshops around the country, work with my Marketing Coaches and interact with business owners in general, I pay a lot of attention to how well (or how poorly) people are following my Seven Principles of Marketing.

The Seven Principles are:

1. Marketing Ball – The Game of Marketing
2. Marketing Mindset – The Inner Game of Marketing
3. Marketing Syntax – The Language of Marketing
4. Marketing Message – Getting Attention and Interest
5. Marketing Currency – Written Marketing Materials
6. Marketing Strategies – The How-to of Marketing
7. Marketing Structure – Marketing Action Plans

Where do you think you’re the strongest? The weakest?

All of these principles are important, and if you are weak in one or more of them, you’re going to have problems attracting clients consistently. But for me, one stands out as the most important, yet least understood and practiced.

And that’s “The Game of Marketing.”

To most people, this is the least interesting as it’s very process-oriented.We’re more interested in strategies – the marketing how-to’s and techniques that actually do the job of attracting new clients (from speaking to blogging).

But if you don’t know how to play the game, all those great strategies won’t get you very far.

Let’s look at the Marketing Ball analogy.

Take a rookie baseball player who has great talents and abilities in the four major activities of baseball: throwing, catching, hitting and running. He’s the best there is in all four areas — a potential champion.

But imagine that this baseball player doesn’t yet know the rules of the game. What will happen when he gets out onto the field? He’ll throw, catch, hit and run. But it will become painfully clear to his teammates that he’s not really playing baseball (and not helping them win the game).

He’ll need some remedial training in the rules of baseball.

The whole aim of the game of baseball is to score runs. Throwing, catching, hitting and running are are only means to that end.

As I was writing this, I got a testimonialfrom Mim Grace who just attended my Cincinnati Fast Track Workshop. She said:

“I have given dozens and dozens and dozens of talks about EFT and TAT and have never gotten a client. Last Friday night I gave a talk to 15 cancer survivors following your guidelines and got two long term clients! I look forward to more successes! Thanks!”

What was the difference? After all, she’d already given a lot of talks before. But they didn’t result in any clients. Then she learned how to play the marketing ball game. She took the steps to move the prospects around the bases.

Think of all the marketing activities you’ve tried but haven’t gotten very good results with. In the marketing game there are six distinct marketing steps, from your initial connection with a prospect, to an appointment where the selling process starts.

How many of these are you using?

1. Affiliation – Marketing to those you have a connection with
2. Attention – Using a marketing message that generates interest
3. Familiarity – Becoming a known and trusted entity
4. Information – Providing the materials to educate your prospects
5. Experience – Giving your prospects a taste of your work
6. Follow-up – Being proactive in making sales appointments

Chances are, you’re using only one or two of these. And if you skip steps, you get struck out. Here are some losing plays you may be familiar with:

• Trying to get attention before you have affiliation. Also known as cold calls. Typically results in a high rejection rate.
• Getting attention and trying to jump right away to follow-up. The prospect feels pressure and does not reciprocate.
• Developing familiarity with a group of prospects (say, in an organization), and then not providing detailed information on your services.
• Providing information and even an experience of what you do (say a presentation), and then failing to follow-up.

Those are four ways of striking out at Marketing Ball. What I want everyone to get is that marketing isn’t the problem. It’s how you’re playing the game. Your effectiveness as a marketer starts with mastering the rules and then applying the best strategies.

It goes without saying that the Fast Track Workshops are a great place to learn the rules of the game and how to play in a way that attracts more clients.

Allan here again….I hope you enjoyed this article.  If you like what Robert has to say, have a look at his web site at actionplanmarketing.com and make sure you sign up for his free newsletter and subscribe to his blog.  And while you’re subscribing to his blog, don’t forget to subscribe to mine as well!

Let me know what you think about this article and how you can apply it to your business.  Please leave a comment below.