Are you the kind of person who markets your business day in, day out, in a consistent manner? Or do you only start marketing your products or services when business is slow?

If you want to have a steady flow of people or businesses to sell to, you must market your business every single day.

At my last networking meeting someone mentioned that they had so much new business they didn’t need to market anymore. This is a BIG mistake that too many small business owners and sales professionals make. They falsely believe that they only need to market when business is slow.

You shouldn’t wait until business is slow to start marketing because marketing is a process much like farming; it takes time to yield results. Often you won’t see maximum results of your marketing activities for several months.

In most cases business comes in cycles. You maybe really busy now, but it’s almost guaranteed that you will have a slow down. Think of it this way. If you knew there was a drought coming, would you wait until you got thirsty before you started digging your well?
 
Consistently marketing your products or services is your number one job. You have to be discipline enough to conduct your marketing no matter how busy you get. World renowned management consultant Edward Demming stated, “businesses have two main functions, to market and to innovate”. Demming played a major role in rebuilding the Japanese economy after World War II.

So how do you make sure your marketing is consistent? One strategy is to automate your marketing programs or systems as much as you can. There is a lot of cost effective technology on the market that you can use to automate your marketing activities. Tools like auto responders, newsletter software, contact management software to name a few. How about a monthly or quarterly postcard mailing campaign?

If you are one of those people who don’t market your business consistently or only start marketing when sales are slow, it’s time to sit down and list the three major reasons why you aren’t marketing consistently. May be you don’t have the marketing skills and you need to outsource some of your marketing. Partnering with a marketing expert like me would be a great benefit to you. (shameless plug)

I understand that we all get swamped with servicing our customers and just doing the daily tasks of operating our businesses. But you have to keep the big picture of your business in mind and remember that without consistent marketing you will have inconsistent sales. So dig your well early and dig it deep.

Your comments and questions are always welcomed.