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Why Don't They Have More Clients
A Seven Part Series
By Adam
Radzik
Marketing Consultant
As many of you know, I have spent more than 30 years training professionals on how to market and sell their services. Managing partners, executive committee members and rainmakers are mystified why it is that a good number of their partners originate very little business. They say to me, “Adam, we need you to be a sales coach to George. We have tried to help him become a better marketer, but we have been unsuccessful. Maybe you can get through to him.”
 As with any problem, the remedy begins with a correct diagnosis of the problem. Most of the time there are various obstacles to overcome, and in this series I will outline several though certainly not all of them.
If one compares and contrasts the behaviors of successful marketers with those of unsuccessful marketers, one quickly observes that the successful marketers devote a significant amount of time to marketing and the unsuccessful marketers devote very little if any time to it.
The activity of marketing tends to consume a significant amount of time. There are dinners, lunches, breakfasts, telephone calls, speech giving, article writing, recreational activities and trade organization involvement. Successful marketers invest hours every week in seeing others and in being seen.
The non-marketers are simply not devoting enough time, enough hours, to marketing activity. “Adam, I know you are right. I have good intentions about marketing but something else always seems to come up.” This excuse does not take anybody off the hook and after a while starts to sound like the elementary school student who tells the teacher that he did his homework but his dog ate it.
Speaking frankly, a lot of professionals have spouses who become very annoyed and critical if their partners spend significant time marketing and away from their families. Sometimes these professionals say, “Adam, can you explain to my spouse why I have to do this ?” And I do.
A paucity of time spent on marketing will ensure that there will be few or no originations, and the first question to be asked is, “How much time did you spend marketing this week? What about last week? How about last month?”
The non-marketers also have the wrong impression about how much time and effort has to be invested in order to yield results. So they go to one meeting with a contact and think that this should produce a result. “Adam, I met the guy. I explained what I do and nothing happened as a result. I didn’t get any business. This marketing stuff doesn’t really work.” Research shows that it requires 15-17 interactions before a professional will refer his/her client to someone. Why is that? Because there is much information to be found out. Do you know your stuff ? Are your rates reasonable ? Will you be able to get along with my client ? Do you sell the job and then send in your associate to do the actual work? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered before a referral results.
Believing that one or two interactions will do the trick is like thinking that preparing a seven- course meal should take no longer than 10 minutes to prepare.
So how much time should you spend marketing? Begin with 5% and work your way up to 20%. Top marketers in the country who make millions every year spend close to 50%. “So much time?” partners ask. I say, “Uh-huh.”
Conflict Resolution: Is the Fight Worth It?
 Something we need to keep in mind is that anybody who is involved in conflict will pay a hefty price for it.
The price might be physical, such as elevated blood pressure, headache, insomnia, loss of appetite, neck pain, stomach pain, and various other aches and pains. The price might be emotional - such as a foul mood, irritation, nervousness or stress - ruining recreational activities and spilling over into personal and work relationships. No matter how we slice it, conflict is not fun.
And it doesn’t matter if we are right or if we are wrong, conflict will upset us.
And it doesn’t matter if we create the crisis or are the victim of it, both parties will experience angst. Read Full Article.
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Adam was a New York Post columnist; received 15,000 letters; and wrote the best-selling “Answers for Managers,” which was translated into German, Spanish and Hungarian.
