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Full Practice Ezine Issue 2 | Friday, February 16, 2001 | www.fullpractice.com | Published by ezineville.com | Edited by Thomas J. Leonard The Question... >>>>>>>>>>>> Are you using both push AND pull marketing strategies? <<<<<<<<<<<< In my 18 years of coaching professionals (ugh, don't you cringe when someone tries to impress you with their longevity? sorry.) in the area of practice development, I've come to believe that there are two basic ways to fill a professional practice. First is the traditional marketing approach where you push your message out to the public and to your ideal client types. This approach can work extremely well and is what I call the push method of marketing). The second approach to marketing is what I call the pull method. That's where the phone rings because of the stuff you're doing OUTSIDE of traditional marketing. There are literally hundreds of pull marketing strategies. Over the life of this ezine (most likely 10-20 years), I'll be featuring many solid examples of both push and pull marketing strategies. Today's issue of Full Practice is an example from the pull side of marketing. Again, pull marketing strategies are the many things that a professional does with their current clients, the public, their professional network and themselves as a human being which sets into motion something that I call Attraction. The basic idea of attraction is that clients are drawn to you vs you having to hook them in. Getting an out-of-the-blue referral is one example of Attraction. Why Attraction matters... Not everyone is built to be a marketing dynamo in the traditional sense (outgoing, press-the-flesh, comfortable with pushing for the sale). And I am here to tell you that even the most timid, shy, somewhat-socially-inept and terrified-of-selling professional can build a full practice of ideal clients by mastering these 28 Principles of Attraction (which in turn, give you internal confidence, grace and style). How can I claim this? Because I am the poster child for the timid, fearful and awkward professional. In fact, I HAD to come up with a way to market my professional services that was CONTRARY to the way that those of you who are able to easily market themselves find so effective. Again, I was so fearful of rejection that I knew I had to find SOME way of making that phone ring with individuals who were close-to-ready to hire me, based on what they had heard. (I couldn't even make warm calls, much less cold calls.) The result of this trial and error process (which took 10 years) is the 28 Principles of Attraction, first released in 1997. It is a pleasure to share these with you, adapted to fit for the specific needs of professionals working to fill their practices. Note: These principles are fully described in a book I wrote that was poorly titled as The Portable Coach (Scribner, the publisher, didn't have the cajones to call the book what it was -- which is a primer on Attraction). I have developed several versions of the 28 Principles of Attraction to fit different markets and needs. If you want to read the original set, click here.) I have included just the first 7 of the 28 principles of Attraction. If you like these and would like me to include the other 21 in future issues of the Full Practice ezine, please email me at thomas@thomasleonard.com with the word Attraction in the subject line. Based on this response, I'll know how useful you find these in your practice-building. First 7 of the 28 Principles of Attraction (Full Practice version) --by Thomas J. Leonard, Editor, Full Practice Ezine (To subscribe, email subscribefp@coachville.com or visit http://www.fullpractice.com. Copyright 2001 by Thomas J. Leonard. You may freely distribute this piece, with attribution/contact info. 1. Become incredibly selfish. Make the decision to only provide services to the types of clients that you most enjoy working with. You are not in business to serve the public. You are in business to serve your ideal clientele. And with a strong enough marketing and referral engine you will have an ample pool of potential clients from which to select. And as you strengthen your pull of Attraction, you will attract the higher-quality, better-matched client, given the natural filtering and screening affect of Attraction. 2. Unhook yourself from the future. Focus on perfecting how you deliver current services instead of being seduced and distracted by practice-filling goals. A full practice is more of a by-product of Attraction than a goal of Attraction. If you're to bound to a future, you may well miss the opportunities that present themselves in the present. Plan for the future, but don't get wedded to it or defined by it. 3. Overrespond to every event. Your BEST opportunities for new business are surrounding you -- current clients, friends, colleagues, professional networks. Stop chasing new business and start over-responding to exactly what your current network is bringing to you. Overresponding keeps you in the here and now with your clients and events, and given attraction only occurs in the present, it's the most advantageous place to be. 4. Build a super-reserve in every area. The rule of thumb in professional services is to have your net income be double what you and your business requires financially. Double. Without this level of reserve, you will experience significant (although often unfelt) stress, and you won't have the time, resources or money to make the most of new opportunities as they present themselves. Super-Reserves also provide confidence and choice. And choice significantly increases your Attraction Quotient. 5. Add value just for the joy of it. If you had 'more time' and could afford to offer 3 service improvements or add-ons to clients that you would ENJOY providing, what would they be? (Hint: You do have enough time and you can afford to do this. The key is to get juiced by doing stuff for your clients that makes you feel good and which may or may not mean increasing billable hours.) The more you add value for the joy of it instead of the money of it, the more attractive you will become to a higher quality of client. And to yourself. 6. Affect others profoundly. Ask the question you really want to ask your client, yet are hesitant to do so because it's 'too personal' or seems to be outside of what they hired you to do. Truth results in profundity. Profundity powerfully affects people. And when people are affected profoundly, they become your fan, not just a customer. The more you touch others, the more attractive you'll become. 7. Market your talents shamelessly. When you are crystal clear on exactly what you deliver to clients and what they are getting from you, any hesitation to marketing yourself and your services disappears. It's the 'not knowing' that holds most professional back. For more on this topic, view Issue 1 of the Full Practice ezine right here. When you tell the truth (meaning that you can perfectly articulate what you provide/deliver) attraction occurs. It's that simple. Have a great week. Please note our Sponsor of the Week, as described below: Dave Buck conducts the TeleClass Leader Training. Best, Thomas  Next Week: How to turn what you know into an ebook that provides a lifetime source of passive revenue. My colleague Dean Jackson has written a primer on this process. The book he co-wrote, packaged and marketed -- called Stop Your Divorce -- brings in $200,000 in ebook sales per year. 85% of which is pure profit. Dean has mastered the crafting and e-marketing process for ebooks. Next week's issue is must reading for every professional curious about generating passive revenue from the knowledge and wisdom they already have.
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