Listen to an audio message from Dale...
 

Welcome Readers,

Another month in 2007 has come and gone. Are you having fun in your business or is it “serious business” for you? I want to encourage you to not take yourself so seriously. Have fun with your business. Do something crazy [within limitations].

I have been contemplating this “fun thing” for a while. Why am I always so serious? It boggles me that I have been a stick in the mud and people come to expect a very serious nature from me. I am not like that at all. Or am I?

Anyway, I do not want to be a mud sticker anymore. I am breaking the mold of pure professionalism. It is going to go the way of the Dodo Bird. I wanted to add some fun to the recording above, so I figured, why not? It is my business after all. If people hate it, I’ll get un-subscribers. If they love it, they’ll tell others about it.

The truth is I like being fun. So, I’ll be fun. I’ll save the seriousness for my articles. :o)

REMINDER:
Bi-Weekly Newsletter Announcement

We are making changes to Inside VA Training. Starting in January 2008, instead of a single brouadcast message, you will be receiving two (2) broadcasts from us each month. One message will be just like this one. An article, Welcome Message, Announcements and a few other items.

The other message will be an Inspirational Quote, Quip or Profound Statement. You will receive these message on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, alternatively. We do not plan to bombard you with a littany of messages. We only want to give you a little something extra. Why? Because we like you.

If you do not want to get either of these messages, you may still unsubscribe by following the links at the bottom of this message or any of the messages you receive from us. Additionally, if you would like to share this message with someone that you feel may find the information important, by all means share the message with them or send them to VATraining.com to sign up for Inside VA Training.

Featured Resource

Seth Godin’s Purple Cow is a great resource for understanding key elements of business. “How to Stand Out” and “Unique Marketing” are two things that Seth brings to light in this fascinating book. You can investigate for yourself what is your purple cow and why it is [so] important to your success as a business owner.

Do not dismiss Seth’s humor in his writing. He has a good grasp of what he is doing and good reason to keep you interested in what he is writing about. After all, he is not selling books for profit, well… ok maybe he is, but you can tell that he cares for your success. Read on and join the ranks of other VAs who are moving and shaking!

- Dale Noles, Head Coach

Determining Your Target Market: A Heartbeat and a Checkbook?

by: Dale Noles

PART 2: October, 2007 Issue

Get to know the details about what your ideal client is like; what magazines do they read, how many employees do they have, where do they vacation, what services do they use, how much money do they spend annually on their marketing, what kind of clients do they have. Getting a clear picture of your ideal client will make marketing to them that much easier. You can really “get” your target market and believe me, they will notice. John C. Maxwell said this, and it fits perfectly in hitting the message on the head, “People do not care how much you know -- until they know how much you care.”

Build It Right

Similarly, when you design your business to be positioned in a market that uses services that you offer, you are essentially encouraging them to switch to your brand of coffee, which is easier than selling your brand of coffee to tea lovers who have never heard of coffee, including your brand. This, in a sense, is easier to do than most budding business owners think. One of the easiest ways to encourage a switch to your brand is to get inside the head of your target market. Think about what it is that they need and plan your business around filling that need.

In essence it only makes sense to market your services to businesses or individuals who need or want your services. If you identify the market that needs what you have, it makes it easier to market to that area only. You can brand your business to appeal to that market. What does branding mean to your business? Branding means using the right colors, logo, images, text, marketing material, office forms, uniforms, etc. that are attractive to who you are looking to attract. All aspects of your business need to be geared toward an image or a feel that draws your market to you.

Write all of your marketing materials (on-line and off-line) around the idea of providing the solutions that your targeted market needs to make their business better, by providing them the time to do something that they desire or by increasing their ability to bring in more customers or clients into their business thereby increasing their profits, which is typically the best selling point to most business owners.

It’s All About the Position

What position? The position of being an expert. If you provide quality information and or quality service to your target market a strange thing begins to happen. An unexpected but pleasant surprise awaits those who are diligently serving their clients above and beyond the call of duty. This surprise is called passive marketing. This is where enough people are talking about you behind your back, but in a good way.

When the market that you have been working so hard to get in front of is satisfied with what you do and start experiencing the value in what your business has to offer, they will share their “trade secrets” with their network (or social capital – but that is another topic). This means that you may get clients from other markets that you have not even marketed to. Does this mean that just because you do not market to them you cannot work with them? No. This is a byproduct of effective marketing and strategic positioning. You may have heard it referred to as Word of Mouth Marketing. It is golden and well worth the effort that you put into marketing your business.

Assignment:

List your five talents.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

List five things that you love to do.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What types of Industries would need the services that you can provide?

What industries are you familiar with?

List as many of the qualifying demographics of the industry you have identified.

What are the defining characteristics that would draw a targeted market to you and what solutions can your business create for that market?

Disclaimer:

VA Training welcomes articles and suggestions from our readers. If you have information that you feel will be a benefit to our readers, drop us an email. We cannot guarantee that all submissions will be accepted for print. VA Training will notify you via email if and when your article will appear.
 

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