onestepfurther.co.uk - Quickstart - Are You Out of Touch?



	Quickstart - Are You Out of Touch? (Please add bev@onestepfurther.co.uk to your address book so your issue of *Quickstart* reaches you each week. *Quickstart* *Grow a Profitable Consultancy and Still Have Time for a Life* In this issue Note from Beverley - Coming Up Upcoming Events - Network 15 March, Workshop 26 April One Step Further - Are You Out of Touch? Personal Reflections - Make Them Eager To Come Back Note from Beverley This week read on to learn about 2 great events for you to attend both supporting continued growth for your business, another guest article to help with your marketing and a personal reflections piece that is a fantastic example of customer service, "the little things that count" and word of mouth marketing. Have a good week Beverley bev@onestepfurther.co.uk +44 (0) 1344 625713 www.onestepfurther.co.uk Author of Take Control of Your Time: 7 Straight Shooter Strategies for Success Upcoming Events LAST CHANCE TO BOOK FOR BUSINESS UNUSUAL * Are you serious about growing your business? * Are you serious about sharing information and experiences? * Are your serious about wanting to connect with potential clients, supplier and partners? Then take action now and reserve your place at Business Unusual Date: 15 March Time: 6.30pm welcome reception 7pm start Venue: Heckfield Place near Reading (J11 M4) and Hook (J5 M3) Investment: £27+vat (50% of the profits go to a charitable cause) Here are some of the highlights for your evening * 6.30pm - Welcome reception with delicious canapes and mulled wine and informal networking * Presenting on Paper: How to get what you want from written communication, by Jonathan Posner * 4's Company - an interactive problem solving session and an opportunity for you to get and give instant support and help * Break and structured networking - fun, focus and fact finding! * Attract Your Ideal Clients - 6 Attraction Principles To Draw Clients You Want, by Beverley Hamilton 25% of places have already been reserved - so don't delay book today - reservations close 8 March. To find out more, register and reserve your place go to Business Unusual Business as usual is NOT what we're about MORE THAN A PULSE AND A CHEQUEBOOK - 1 DAY WORKSHOP * Do you struggle with peaks and troughs of business? * Are you frustrated by the lack of return for your sales and marketing efforts? * Do you worry how to get in front of the right type of clients and get them to buy? These are common challenges faced by many consultants and business owners alike. So I've decided to run a 1 day workshop, which will shed light on how you can overcome some of these challenges. Date: 26 April Time: 0900-1630 Venue: Heckfield Place, Near Reading Investment: £147+vat To register your interest all you have to do is 1. to:bev@onestepfurther.co.uk " target="">Send me an email with "A Pulse And A Chequebook Are Not Enough" in the subject line, as an indication you would like to reserve a place (no obligation or payment required at this stage) 2. Answer these 2 questions a. What would having more clarity mean to the success of your business and the quality of your life? b. What is the most important action you would like to take on April 27 - the day after the workshop? So go ahead and put April 26 in your calendar and send me that email. (I'd love to run this event in the North of UK too, so let me know if you're interested, where would be a good location and I'll see what I can arrange for May) One Step Further I'm delighted to welcome our second guest writer, Chantal Cornelius of Appletree. I will be featuring 3 short articles by Chantal; over the coming weeks on How Do You Keep in Touch with all the People Who Matter? As well as Appletree - a marketing services company, Chantal also runs JAC (Just Add Content), which enables people to keep in touch with the people that matter to them, through newsletters. PLANNING TO PUBLISH? Publishing a newsletter is one of the most effective ways of keeping in touch with your clients and prospects, to help you build strong relationships that will build a strong business. However, just writing a newsletter and sending it to everyone you know won't get you the results you need. Like any promotion you do, you need to do some planning first. Have an Objective Why are you publishing a newsletter? What are its aims? An objective will guide everything you do, from writing each issue, to promoting it and attracting more subscribers, since your objective will allow you to explain why people should read your newsletter. Set Your Schedule... You need to decide on your publication schedule early in the planning process, because the frequency dictates the amount of material you can include in each issue. Look at how much time you can spend on your newsletter and base your schedule around this. Don't set yourself a target you can't reach or a schedule that you cannot maintain, as you will just let your readers down, if you miss an issue or are late. As a minimum, you should publish your newsletter monthly. ...and Stick to It When you publish a newsletter, you make a promise to your readers to provide them with information on a regular basis. They are busy people and receiving your newsletter will interrupt them. If you can make your interruption predictable and expected, they are more likely to read it. Keeping to a schedule means that your readers will recognise your newsletter when it arrives and even anticipate it beforehand. Structure and Format What are you going to include in each issue? How many sections will it have? Mapping out the structure will help your readers get to know their way around your newsletter and will make the writing easier for you. Sections you can use in your newsletter might include a personal message, 'How to' articles, practical hints and tips, case studies, quotes and special offers. The Results Melanie Greene from Grovelands spent three months planning her newsletter, setting herself a clear objective of keeping in touch with her clients. When she published her first issue, she received a call from a client she'd not spoken to for six months, who asked her to run a new training course. Sign up to Melanie's newsletter at www.grovelands.org.uk. Summary As with any form of marketing, planning is essential before you start producing a newsletter. If you don't plan how to send it and what to send, you may start with plenty of enthusiasm, writing weekly issues full of information, only to find that you can't keep it up or that no one is reading what you're writing. Spend some time planning first, to save plenty of time later. In part 2 Chantal will look at What To Write Personal Reflections About 2 weeks ago, I was taken out to lunch as a thank you. A few months ago I promoted and recommended the newsletter and marketing services of Chantal Cornelius of Appletree. A *Quickstart* reader clicked through to check out Appletree and subsequently signed up to Scribbles, Chantal's newsletter. As a result of the information and resources Chantal shared over time, my *Quickstart* reader signed up to work with Chantal for marketing support. Another example of the power and value of * Word of mouth * Referral and recommendation * Networking (That's how I first met Chantal) * Sharing your brand of knowledge through various channels. Anyway, back to lunch. Chantal and I had agreed to meet at The French Horn in Sonning Berkshire. I arrived early and as I entered the building, I was greeted with "Good afternoon madam. Are you joining us for lunch today? And may I take your coat?" I said I was having lunch and as I was early could I sit by the fire and order a coffee while I waited. "Certainly". Within a nanosecond a waiter came over and took my order and within another nanosecond the coffee arrived and was poured for me. I was then given a plate of olives to nibble on - very nice! About 20 minutes later Chantal arrived and we discovered that we were not in the venue she had intended (Name mix up). We were debating what to do when another waiter came over, asked Chantal if she wanted a drink and gave us lunch menus to peruse and a lovely tray of canapes. We decided not to eat and I asked for my bill for the coffee. I explained I had made a mistake regarding the venue and we were not going to have lunch on this occasion. I was then stunned by the response. "That's perfectly OK madam. We hope you'll visit us for lunch in the future and you can pay for your coffee then" Marketing at its most subtle best. Why? Over 430 people will read this story. I will tell many others of my experience and you may too. All this means The French Horn in Sonning, Berkshire gets noticed, mentioned, promoted and praised exponentially and I for one will definitely book for lunch in the near future. One simple act of service is very powerful. Rgds Bev bev@onestepfurther.co.uk +44 (0) 1344 625713 PAY IT FORWARD & Tell a Friend Who do you know that's left the corporate world and set up business as a consultant? Have you received *Quickstart* from a colleague and would like to receive future issues? We grow by recommendation so why not invite others to join the *Quickstart* community so they can subscribe immediately and get their free ecourse Discover the 5 Most Incorrect Assumption that Independent Business Consultants Make. Go to www.OneStepFurther.co.uk Thank you.





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