Workload Based Marketing

I’ve been working through the book,“Get Clients Now,” as part of my never ending quest to attract and develop new clients. In the book, the author suggests you choose ten activities you can complete on a daily or weekly basis over a period of twenty-eight days. As I was discussing with my wife some of the activities I was considering (blogging, answering StackOverflow questions, attending networking events, reaching out to contacts, etc.), she stated rather bluntly, “You’re setting yourself up for failure.”

It sounds harsh, but it was really what I needed to hear. My wife worked in sales for a number of years and she recognized immediately the effort required to complete all the activities I had on my list. More importantly, she understands me and the effect it would have on me.

You see, as of this writing I am finishing up two projects and I’m gearing up to start three new ones - one which includes an unfamiliar technology. My wife knows that if I meet all my clients’ needs AND attempt to meet all ten of my marketing goals, something will have to give; probably a lot of somethings. And because I’m highly goal oriented, she knows I would beat myself up for not meeting all my expectations, and waste a lot of energy and time trying to figure out why I couldn’t get it all done.

My wife’s years of sales experience helped her recognize the obvious: I was trying to do too much. Part of what kept me from recognizing the same was my own inexperience with the demands of marketing, the rest was me blindly following recipes out of a book.

But from her insight and fresh perspective, I’ve come up with a new marketing strategy for myself which I’ve dubbed…

Workload Based Marketing

It’s not rocket science, and it’s certainly not an earth-shattering discovery, but it was eye-opening for me and where I was at. It starts with these three rules:

1. Focus on Current Clients First

Here’s the deal, you already have actual clients. Marketing represents clients you might get, and who might have money. If you have to choose between marketing and investing in relationships with your current clients, choose the latter; it’s the only decision guaranteed to pay dividends every time.

2. No Marketing Effort is Too Small

Like I said, clients always come first, but I also know none of us are heads-down 24/7. There’s always time in a week for at least something. Maybe it’s making a couple phone calls one day, eating lunch with a contact another day, or just getting a paragraph or two on that next blog post.

The point is to keep up the momentum. Momentum from small efforts can lead to big opportunities.

3. Waiting is Stupid

In “Get Clients Now”, the author instructs you to start your system on a Saturday. I had planned on starting mine on the first Saturday of the new year, after the holidays were over.

My wife asked, “Why do you want to wait to find clients?”

Ummmm….

The Plan(s)

With those rules in mind, let’s look at the plan itself.

Based on the name alone, you should already get the basic idea of “Workload Based Marketing”: if you have a lot of work on your plate, don’t push yourself to market so much; if your workload is light, increase your marketing efforts accordingly.

More than that, though, and before you start anything, devise plans for yourself which you can execute according to the intensity of your workload. To keep it simple, create three plans: one for when your workload is light; one for when it’s moderate, and then one for those times when you’re swamped. For example, I’ve created plans for myself based on possible workload, each with a variety of activities suggested from “Get Clients Now” or from my own marketing preferences.

Having these plans established ahead of time allows you to “just go on autopilot” rather than burning a lot of cycles trying to figure out what to do. You won’t need to waste time thinking about things, you’ll just be able to go. Organizing your plans around a weekly schedule is probably the simplest solution.

“Get Clients Now” is a great book, and every freelancer should read it at least once and consider the author’s suggestions. In it, she gives some great advice for getting started, setting goals, and strategies for the different stages of the marketing cycle. But remember also, no system is perfect. Adjust whatever system you settle on to match your own needs, and prepare your plans ahead of time so that when storms hit, you can be ready with something to do, rather than wasting precious time and energy.

One last thought, review your plans in light of the end goal: right clients, right projects, and right price. Make certain your strategies and tactics are aimed at the right audience. Use your time wisely on existing clients first, and then pick the plan matching your workload to find the prospects who fit the profile you desire.