9 Marketing Principles to Live or Die By

In this week's podcast you're gonna get more quality information than most people receive in 12 week programmes!

You'll discover...

• The 9 marketing principles that will take your HR Consultancy to the magic £60K mark.
• 24 marketing tactics you can implement in under an hour.
• The one constant reaction you should prepare for from your market as a HR Consultant (HINT - you probably already experience this every day)
• The ridiculously tiny % of people who are ready to buy from you RIGHT NOW - and what to do about the vast majority who aren't.
• Why you should treat ALL your clients like Brad Pitt.
• What NEVER to worry about despite hearing about it repeatedly from friends, family and LinkedIn.
• PLUS, how to destroy feast or famine forever by following the example of McDonald's.

So tune in and get all this and more.

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When you’re ready, here are 3 ways to start building your market-leading HR Consultancy.

1 - Take this free quiz to understand why you aren't getting the leads and clients you need.

2 - Get a copy of my book, “How to Land Your Dream Client” - to discover how to get control of your HR Consultancy.

3 - Become my next Case Study Client - Work with me 1 on 1 to earn £70K and above.

Transcript

00:00 If you're finding marketing and sales a bit more challenging than you expected, you're not alone. Stepping into the world of self-employment is tough, and that's especially true when you're focused on HR and not marketing.
00:12 But here's the thing, when you go self-employed, you now work in marketing. You have to do your own marketing. No one is going to do it for you.
00:20 No one is coming to save you. So in today's podcast, we're going to dive deep into nine marketing principles that are key for your business's growth.
00:28 They're often overlooked, but they are key for business growth. So whether you're aiming for that £60,000 income mark while enjoying a four-day work week, or you simply want to get more consistent, with your marketing results, so you can step away from that feast or famine cycle, then today's show is
00:46 for you. So grab a pen and paper, because this episode could be about to change everything.
00:52 This is the marketing made easy for HR consultants podcast, a show to help independent HR consultants get a pipeline of perfect fit, high pain clients without expensive at this.
01:05 Time consuming social mediativities or energy. I'm your host, Nick Poninski or for a pousalanger dream find a book which explains everything you need to know to get every sale and client you ever want.
01:20 And if that sounds interesting, make sure to grab your coffee from the influencer. That being said, let's get into today's show.
01:29 Hello there, and welcome back to another episode of Marketing Made Easy for HR Consultants with me, Nick Poninski. As a quick update, I'm currently still working my way through with a couple of clients on building out their pipelines to destroy their feed store farming cycle.
01:44 And I'm also working my way through the book, Launch, by Jeff Walker, which has given me some fascinating insights. About how to get my services front and center of everyone's consciousness, so I can help as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.
01:59 In other news, the podcast episode with Ruth, where I coached her through her marketing difficulties, has already become the second most popular podcast episode I've ever done.
02:09 So make. Sure to check it out if you haven't already, it was two episodes ago, and if you want the opportunity to appear as on the podcast as a guest and get coached through whatever difficulty is plaguing your HR consultancy right now, then make sure to grab a copy of my book and you'll be entered into
02:25 a free prize show where you might get chosen to join me for an episode Finally, make sure to join the Facebook group by visiting my website and clicking the link, because we've got some fascinating stuff going on there, including some other fascinating competitions.
02:39 But anyway, enough about all that, let's get on to today's episode, which originally started out as a session for my clients, but I've decided to share it with you all because of the reaction that it provokes in people.
02:50 They were astounded by what I shared, so I figured I'd share it with more people, as it's only fair, right?
02:56 So let's get to it.
02:58 So the first principle that I want to share with you probably isn't going to come as much of a surprise.
03:03 It is about the fact that you need to choose a target market. This is key for marketing. So tell me if you've heard this one before.
03:11 I swear I've gone on about it often enough, but let me tell you one more time, an SME is not a target market.
03:18 There are millions of SMEs in the UK. They serve all kinds of different industries. They have all kinds of different HR needs.
03:25 Equally, do you share a message with them that makes them sit up, take notice, and say, yeah, that's the HR consultancy.
03:33 For me, sending them a leaflet through the post which says HR consultant for hire and then listing out all the services, that's not going to cut it.
03:41 They just won't care. because there's so many SMEs in the UK, I mean, you can't, you won't, and you don't want to serve them all.
03:50 So stop saying that you do. Choose a certain element of these SMEs. Choose hairdressers, choose mechanics, choose healthcare providers. I don't care, but choose somebody and turn up for them and serve them.
04:03 Pick that target market and then maybe even niche down further into that target market. So instead of saying SMEs, try saying SME healthcare providers.
04:13 And maybe even go a little bit further and say SME healthcare providers for retirees. Whoever it is that you want to work with, whoever it is that you can serve, whoever it is that's willing to pay your fees for you, and whoever it is that's going to give you a great pleasure in working with them, be
04:30 the go-to person in that niche. Turn your website into a hub for them, a home for them. Turn your website into somewhere that is a source of, you know, font of knowledge for them, where they know that they can get all the answers to their problems, and they can refer you nice and easily, and you can 
04:47 charge even higher prices, because you are the go-to person for that niche. Anyway, I've gone on long enough about choosing a target market, but it is step one for marketing, so yes, I'm sure you've heard this one before, so I'll stop going on about it.
05:05 Marketing principle number two. This one is probably going to be a new one for you. It may be something that you've realized without actually realizing it.
05:13 But, here it is. Nobody cares about your business like you do. So, you know, that's a harsh reality of going into business for yourself, that even though you spend all that time, money and effort building up your experience, You know, that's the harsh reality.
05:25 And I think, you know, it's the same for other companies.
05:48 When they send you stuff, how much do you actually pay attention to? How much do you just look at and then casually ignore and just throw it away without even thinking about it?
05:58 So, yeah, nobody cares about your business like you do. Whatever you do, whatever you create, whatever you share. Nobody cares about it.
06:06 So, LinkedIn posts, LinkedIn articles, direct mail. People automatically ignore this stuff because they are busy in their own world. They have their own problems to deal with, so don't expect them to engage with anything you do.
06:20 The simplest way for me to get the point across is they're the hero in their world. Just like you're the hero in your world.
06:27 So, what's the solution? Well, it means you have to work bloody hard for every sale and claim you ever get.
06:35 No one is gonna, you know, none of this is gonna come easy to you. No one is gonna come to save You need to save you.
06:43 You need to work hard. You need to get your offers, to be perfect, to cut through the noise. yeah, hire me.
06:51 The first of going into business for yourself. You're an expert, you know what you do, you love what you do, but nobody else cares.
06:59 You've got to make them care. You've got to turn up, you've got to get your message in front of them, and you've got to get them to sit up and take notice.
07:06 Then, and only then, will they care about your business like you do.
07:10 Marketing principle number three. Only two to three percent of people are buyers right now. Now, I don't know if you've been along to one of my webinars and you've seen it, but I share a slide that talks about the buyer's pyramid.
07:24 And what it is, is basically it's a triangle and it is split up into five segments. Along the bottom you've got thirty percent.
07:31 They're not interested in anything you do. They're not interested in you. So, these people, they know they're not interested. They look at HR and they say, I don't need HR.
07:41 I'm not interested. Or, I don't like Stephanie. I'm not going to work with her. So, thirty percent of the market are automatically ruling you or ruling themselves out.
07:49 There's nothing wrong with that. It's human nature. I'm sure you do it exactly the same when you come across some sort of restaurant or shop or other service providers.
07:59 You look at what they do and you instantly dismiss it. No idea why, but you just don't. Sometimes you can justify it, but a lot of the time you have no idea why you say you don't want it.
08:08 But you just don't. Then you've got the next two segments. You've got another 30% saying that they don't think that they're interested.
08:16 So, yeah, they're automatically ruling themselves out because they don't think that they're interested. They could be persuaded into becoming a customer of yours, but they don't think that they're interested.
08:28 Another 30% they're not thinking about it. They are probably aware that they have HR issues in their business, but they're not thinking about it.
08:37 The pain of, the pain of the situation is not enough to force them to take any action. So, they're just, they're just ignoring it right now.
08:46 Then you've got the final 10%. So, 60%. 5 to 7% are open to, yeah, they're open to getting some HR work.
08:54 So, they're thinking along themselves, okay, well, you know, it could, could, could be useful. And if you get into a conversation with them, put yourself front and centre, that could evolve into a profitable conversation.
09:06 And then you've got the final 2 to 3%. And they are buying right now. They are ready to buy. whatever is going on inside their business, they are saying, I've got HR problems, it's time for me to take some action.
09:20 So, whether or not that's a disciplinary, whether or not that's culture, whether or not that's a, a leaving situation, doesn't matter.
09:27 They're ready They are in the market right there and then, and if your message gets in front of them, they'll be like, okay, let's talk.
09:34 other than the fact that only two to three percent of people who are buyers right now, some other takeaways for you, even though you can help everyone because you're an expert HR consultant, most people just aren't ready to buy.
09:46 So, I took you through that quite quickly, but the bottom 30 percent, then the next two 30 percent, that's 90 percent, 90 percent of the market, they're just not ready to buy.
09:57 So, yeah, as I was saying, people are really only buy things when the pain that they're in is either brought to light or it becomes too much for them to handle.
10:06 So, they are aware of the situation. The situation is front and center for them. They need a solution. Another takeaway for you, you know, alongside the fact that only two to three percent of people who are buyers right now, well, you can't or won't ever work with everyone.
10:22 So, let me tie this back to having a target market. with everyone. or ever will or won't ever work with everyone.
10:29 So, just focus on those who love what you do and how you do it. As I say, those 30 percent at the bottom of the buyer's pyramid, they're never going to buy from you.
10:36 It doesn't matter what you say or do. It doesn't matter how cheap you drop your prices. It's irrelevant. What you need to do, my friend, is focus on that top 10 percent and then get the other 60 percent, try and get them on your mailing list.
10:50 of mailing lists, that is principle number four. Email marketing is the key to having a successful HR consultancy. So marketing, that's about repeatedly, regularly, and consistently turning up for your audience.
11:05 So when people see you repeatedly, regularly, and consistently, consistently, when they hear from you, they're going to move down that know, like, trust funnel.
11:15 They're going to know you, they're going to like you, and they're going to start to trust you. And email is the easiest way of doing this.
11:21 Email is the easiest way of turning up regularly, repeatedly, and consistently, consistently for your audience. And it's the easiest way of building trust.
11:30 Think of it like advertising on TV, right? McDonald's, etc. They stay top of mind by using the medium of television.
11:38 Well, you can't use television, you haven't got the budget. But what you can do is you can use email. You can turn up regularly and stay top of mind for your audience.
11:50 and very cost-effectively. So you can turn up in their inbox once a week or whatever it is that you choose.
11:56 And then nurture a relationship with your prospects. Send them valuable information. them information. Interesting information. may even want to send them personal information.
12:07 Whatever it is that you're doing. With your email marketing, as I say, turn up, you know, once a week at least.
12:14 And then you're going to be top of mind. When they're in that 2-3% of buying, you're going to be top of mind.
12:20 They're going to be saying, yeah, let's have a conversation. I can't tell you the amount of times that's happened where I've sent out an email.
12:27 Either, how's business going right now? And then just left it on a Sunday afternoon, or when I've sent out one of my stories and someone's come back to me.
12:35 Someone will inevitably come back and say, hey, tell me more about this. Equally, when you've got an email marketing list, is a way for you to destroy feast or famine cycle forever.
12:49 the reason why all the businesses out there, they all want your email contact details. Everybody. Think about it right now.
12:57 Every time you've seen any advert on Facebook or Instagram or whatever it is, they want your contact details. They want to be able to contact you repeatedly and regularly.
13:06 Oh, you've got to be doing the same thing, my friend. Whether or not you're doing adverts or not is up to you.
13:11 Personally, I would suggest not running adverts until you know that whatever funnel it is that you've built actually delivers results.
13:18 But either way, you need an email list. the easiest and quickest way. And most cost-effective way to repeatedly, regularly and consistently turn up for your audience.
13:30 principle number five. Treat your clients like royalty. As I said earlier, it's going to be very difficult to get clients.
13:39 No one is listening to you. So when you get a client, treat them like royalty. I think it's all very well.
13:45 It's easy, you know, to onboard a client and then move on to, oh, let's go and secure the next client.
13:50 We've all done it, you know, we've onboarded them, we've kind of delivered the work or, you know, we kind of take things for granted a little bit.
13:57 But here's the thing. A client can become the best piece of marketing you ever have. They can recommend you to more potential clients.
14:06 I'm telling you, the marketing most effective marketing in the world is one friend turning to another and saying, Hey, you can trust Stephanie.
14:15 She knows what she's talking about. That is the best piece of marketing there ever is. And equally, as I say, when you get a client, when you, when you, when they become the best piece of marketing you ever have, they can turn into a raving fan.
14:28 They can rave. They rave about you all over social media. Oh my God, I had the best treatment ever from Stephanie.
14:33 She solved all my problems. They can also leave you positive testimonials, which means that you can then secure more clients, you know, just by them seeing these positive testimonials.
14:44 We love reviews. You know, how many of us, you know, would we, these days, would we book a lot of hotels on booking.com, which has the best hotel reviews?
14:52 Or, you know, we look at the reviews on Amazon. What do other people think about X, Y, Z? It's really important to us, you know?
14:58 And, and, and there's no surprise because we like to be able to predict future behavior by analyzing past behavior. And that's what testimonials are all about.
15:08 I hope you had a great experience. Therefore, you will potentially, probably also have a great, excellent experience. But, it is your responsibility to ensure that these things happen.
15:20 It's your responsibility to ensure that you get these positive testimonials and that you get raving fans. Because, yeah, you have to, you have to treat your clients like they're royalty.
15:29 Me, I call it the Brad Pitt Treatment. You've got to give your audience, your clients, the Brad Pitt Treatment. So, let me bring that one to life.
15:39 If Brad Pitt turned up and said to you, hey, Stephanie, I want some HR consulting services, you would roll out the red carpet for Brad Pitt, wouldn't you?
15:48 You wouldn't be You need make sure that he had the best experience of his life, but you need to make sure that everybody that you come across in USAFE also has the Brad Pitt treatment.
15:58 Then, when the time is right, you need to prompt them for testimonials and referrals. won't do this off their own back, so you do need to ask for Unfortunately, you might feel a little bit sticky doing that, but there's not a lot I can do about that for you.
16:14 they can get you more clients, more leads, but you must ask for it. yeah, treat your clients like royalty. Give them the Brad Pitt treatment.
16:25 over-deliver. When you get a client, make sure they love everything that you do for them.
16:32 Marketing principle number six. Your website is your home base. I've talked about this one before, so I'm not going to labour the point too much.
16:40 But this is your home. This is where you convert strangers into leads and clients. And importantly, you own it. Unlike social media.
16:49 So, social media. LinkedIn, you know, whoever the CEO of LinkedIn is, I don't know who it is, could click their fingers and remove you from LinkedIn and it could destroy your business if you haven't got, you know, an email list or you haven't got a website.
17:04 So, yeah, your website, your email list, they're essential stuff. Importantly, your website is that allows you to determine what information you share and in what order.
17:15 You are in control of the experience that you give to any visitors who click onto your website. They can either go, wow, this person, this is a great website, I'm getting good feelings from them, I need to work with them.
17:28 Or they can click onto your website and go, yeesh, not sure about this one. talked about this before, so I'm not going to labour the point, but there is a website checklist on my website.
17:39 I've talked about it before on the website podcast. But yeah, go and visit my website, you'll see a website checklist.
17:45 Fill it in, it'll take you about less than five minutes and you'll have an understanding of how good your website is.
17:52 So, yeah, go and fill in that checklist. Make sure your website isn't destroying your credibility without you even being aware of it.
18:00 essential stuff. You cannot afford to be messing this up. I promise you, it's one thing that you can control very easily.
18:07 So, yeah, as I say, go and get the checklist from my website. Fill it in. Takes less than five minutes and you'll know how good it go to your website is or isn't.
18:18 Okay, marketing principle number seven. People have money. Whatever the economic climate, whatever the news, people have money. And if they don't necessarily have it, then they can find it.
18:30 They can take out loans, they can take out credit cards. They may necessarily want to. They may not necessarily want to do that for whatever it is that you're offering.
18:38 That remains to be seen. But people can do it if they want to. So, what I want you to think about to bring this to life for you is, imagine if somebody broke their phone, or they had car issues, or their boiler broke, right?
18:51 They would find money for a replacement. Now, obviously, your services, they mightn't be life or death, like, you know, a boiler or, you know, like a car replacement.
19:01 But, at times, your services might be. Your services, HR, you're going to keep people out of employment tribunals. So, they are essential stuff.
19:11 People will be able to find the money if they want to. If they want to, if they have to, if they need to.
19:16 So, don't be stuck thinking to yourself, oh, I can't make sales, the economy is in the toilet. There is always money.
19:22 People can find money. if they want something bad enough, they will find money. That being said, if there isn't money, then we've got bigger problems than making sales.
19:34 We've got bigger problems than HR consultancy, and marketing, and whatever else. If for some reason the economy dies tomorrow, and nobody has any money, then we've got bigger problems.
19:44 So, yeah, take it from me, whatever the economic climate, whatever's happening in the news, people have money. Unless, of course, you've chosen the wrong target audience.
19:54 In which case, well, they might not have money. They might not value what it is that you do. In which case, then, yeah, you need to go find a new target market.
20:03 Speaking of which, if you want to understand what you need to do to choose the right target market, then listen to last week's podcast.
20:10 The podcast episode where I go through the five key questions to answer before you look at what target markets are safe.
20:18 Marketing principle number eight. Repeat customers are more likely than new customers. So, getting the first sale from someone, that is the hardest sale you will ever make.
20:31 first time when someone puts their hand in their pocket, pulls out their wallet, and gives over their hard-earned cash to you, that is the hardest sale you will ever make.
20:39 Think of it like all the times you've walked past restaurants and never tried them, but then you've found one that you like and you go there repeatedly.
20:47 I think we all do it, definitely on holiday, you know, where we go into, ,a new place, we have no idea what we're doing, maybe we've checked the reviews online, and we've seen which one is, ah, well-recommended, but either way, it doesn't matter, once we walk into a restaurant and we have a great experience
21:03 , we will go back there repeatedly. And, yeah, we even do this back at home as well, you know, we all have favourite restaurants, so I want you to think about that.
21:10 For your HR consultancy services, when someone tries you out, when someone has a great experience from you, they're more likely to return, they're more likely to, yeah, become a repeat customer.
21:22 So, repeat customers, they are more likely than new customers. So, as I say, once they've worked with you once, they're more likely to come back for more as long as things pan out well.
21:35 it's easier to sell to a client again than it is to a new client, so what I want you to think of in terms of that is that you can think of new offers for your existing audience.
21:44 So, if you go in and solve all their HR problems, what else can you do for them? What else can you sell to them?
21:52 How else can you serve them? in their interests, it's in your interests, it's in the interests of their employees. yeah, stamp that in your brain.
22:01 Repeat customers are more likely than new customers. Look after them. Look after your clients. They will look after you.
22:08 And the final marketing principle, marketing principle number nine, find time for marketing every day. So if you're not in the middle of a marketing campaign, then make sure that you're still marketing, doesn't matter.
22:20 Market your business. Marketing your business does not need to take hours of your day. In fact, it can be done in less than an hour a day.
22:28 It takes minutes to send a LinkedIn message. It takes minutes to send a cold email. And it takes less than half an hour to ask ChatGPT to create an email for your list and then for you to tweak it.
22:38 Et cetera, et cetera. Your marketing can be done in less than an hour every day. So find time in your diary every day to do at least of marketing.
22:48 stick to it like glue. If you want some help in hands, if you're not in the middle of a marketing campaign, then here are 24 things that I will suggest to you you can do in less than an hour.
23:00 you could add 10 people who are in your target audience to your LinkedIn. You could record a video for your LinkedIn or, you know, whatever social media it is that you turn up on.
23:09 You could ask for a LinkedIn recommendation from a past client who's been delighted with your services. You could give a LinkedIn recommendation to someone.
23:17 You could ask a past client for a referral. You could write an SEO-optimized blog for your website. You could jump into a relevant Facebook group and respond to 10 questions and then DM anybody who responds to you.
23:30 You could write and schedule an email for your list. You could pitch yourself to a podcast. You could as a guest.
23:36 First things first though, make sure it's clear how you will add value to their audience. I can't tell you how many times people have messaged me and said, oh, can I be on your podcast?
23:45 Well, yeah, but what do you want to talk about? How is it going to help my audience? How is it going to help me?
23:49 How is it going to help you? You know, what is the win-win that we're all looking for? So, if you are going to pitch yourself for a podcast, make sure it's clear how everyone will gain value from it.
24:01 The next opportunity, DM ten people on LinkedIn who are in your target audience. Go LinkedIn Live about a topic that you care about.
24:09 Search Eventbrite for paid networking events to attend. And when I say paid, it's not the reason that I say paid is because when, when a marketing event is paid, people have skin in the game.
24:19 People are more interested in the outcome. more interested in making partnerships and getting clients and perhaps getting their problems solved as well.
24:30 A free event was just kind of a mixer. No one's particularly focused on. About anything. So yeah, if you want my advice, go for a paid event.
24:39 13, pitch yourself to speak at a local networking group. Uh, leave 10 positive and engaging comments on LinkedIn posts for people in your target audience.
24:49 Enter yourself as a candidate in a business award ceremony. Start a conversation. Competition on LinkedIn. Cold call 5 people in your target audience.
24:58 Donate a prize in your business's name to a local fundraiser. Send a video to 10 people in your audience on LinkedIn.
25:06 Leave a video comment on someone's LinkedIn post. Create a LinkedIn poll. Promote another business owner with a LinkedIn post. Send another business owner or a client a gift or a letter in the mail.
25:18 And finally, arrange for some new photos or some new pictures for your LinkedIn pics. And that's as simple as getting someone to come over with their, you know, their mobile phone.
25:28 there you go. 24 ways that you could do some marketing. Marketing every day in under an hour.
25:34 there we have it, folks. Nine marketing principles to live and die by, and 24 marketing activities you can do in under an hour to avoid feast or famine.
25:43 In essence, more marketing knowledge in half an hour than most people get in 12-week programs. But now it's up to you to put this into action.
25:51 Schedule an hour in your day. And do your marketing activities, whether it's starting a mailing list, deciding on a target audience, or simply DMing your target audience on LinkedIn.
26:01 Whatever it is, it's time to take action. Just be prepared to be ignored because most people just aren't ready to buy from you, right?
26:09 And if you want some help with anything we've talked about today, then reach out to me on LinkedIn. And tell me what you're struggling with.
26:15 Perhaps I can offer some bespoke advice to get you from A to B, or even up to that mighty 60k mark on a four-day work week.
26:23 Either way, whatever you choose to do, get marketing. Because without marketing, there's no sales. And without sales, there's no business.
26:30 So get marketing.
26:33 Hey there, and thanks for listening to the Marketing Made Easy for HR Consultants podcast. If you've enjoyed the show, then please consider taking a moment to help us grow by sharing the episode with a friend or colleague.
26:47 Leave it a positive review on Podchaser.com and make sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of the upcoming episodes.
26:55 I've been your host, Nick Poninski, and if you have any questions or want to know more about today's topic, then reach out to me on LinkedIn.
27:03 I'd be delighted to hear from you. See you next time.