Then what I hear so often is, "We're not marketing people. We're [fill in the blank]." You see a lot of small business owners have a bit of an aversion to marketing.

* They don't like being rejected.
* It takes too much time.
* They don't know where to start.
* Or, they don't know wha

If you're like many of the small business owners or independent professionals I meet, then running and marketing your business can be like riding on a roller coaster. I'm picturing a roller coaster that mostly goes up and down as opposed to one that flips you upside-down or sends you around backwards. I guess you might call it more of an old-fashion roller coaster.

Does this sound like your business at all?

When business is good, we really don't have a lot of time for marketing. After all, we have to service the clients we have in hand. If we can just get the ball rolling then things should pick up because our satisfied clients will give us referrals.

This might even work for a while. But then when business slows down, what do you do?

Well it's time to start marketing. We need to get some more business in the door, so what should we do? Should we send out some direct mail, advertise in the newspaper, get out and network more?

Someone once described it to me as more of a 'desperate searching' than 'marketing' when things get like this.

And for many, that's so true because the marketing efforts they crank up are totally unplanned and reactive to the current business slow down. The marketing doesn't work very well because you're needy and the harder you try to get, the more you actually push away potential new clients.

Then what I hear so often is, "We're not marketing people. We're [fill in the blank]." You see a lot of small business owners have a bit of an aversion to marketing.

* They don't like being rejected.
* It takes too much time.
* They don't know where to start.
* Or, they don't know what

Does this sound like your business at all?

When business is good, we really don't have a lot of time for marketing. After all, we have to service the clients we have in hand. If we can just get the ball rolling then things should pick up because our satisfied clients will give us referrals.

This might even work for a while. But then when business slows down, what do you do?

Well it's time to start marketing. We need to get some more business in the door, so what should we do? Should we send out some direct mail, advertise in the newspaper, get out and network more?

Someone once described it to me as more of a 'desperate searching' than 'marketing' when things get like this.

And for many, that's so true because the marketing efforts they crank up are totally unplanned and reactive to the current business slow down. The marketing doesn't work very well because you're needy and the harder you try to get, the more you actually push away potential new clients.

Then what I hear so often is, "We're not marketing people. We're [fill in the blank]." You see a lot of small business owners have a bit of an aversion to marketing.

* They don't like being rejected.
* It takes too much time.
* They don't know where to start.
* Or, they don't know wha

This might even work for a while. But then when business slows down, what do you do?

Well it's time to start marketing. We need to get some more business in the door, so what should we do? Should we send out some direct mail, advertise in the newspaper, get out and network more?

Someone once described it to me as more of a 'desperate searching' than 'marketing' when things get like this.

And for many, that's so true because the marketing efforts they crank up are totally unplanned and reactive to the current business slow down. The marketing doesn't work very well because you're needy and the harder you try to get, the more you actually push away potential new clients.

Then what I hear so often is, "We're not marketing people. We're [fill in the blank]." You see a lot of small business owners have a bit of an aversion to marketing.

* They don't like being rejected.
* It takes too much time.
* They don't know where to start.
* Or, they don't know wha

Someone once described it to me as more of a 'desperate searching' than 'marketing' when things get like this.

And for many, that's so true because the marketing efforts they crank up are totally unplanned and reactive to the current business slow down. The marketing doesn't work very well because you're needy and the harder you try to get, the more you actually push away potential new clients.

Then what I hear so often is, "We're not marketing people. We're [fill in the blank]." You see a lot of small business owners have a bit of an aversion to marketing.

* They don't like being rejected.
* It takes too much time.
* They don't know where to start.
* Or, they don't know wha

Then what I hear so often is, "We're not marketing people. We're [fill in the blank]." You see a lot of small business owners have a bit of an aversion to marketing.

* They don't like being rejected.
* It takes too much time.
* They don't know where to start.
* Or, they don't know what to do.

I'm sure some of these statements sound familiar to you. Over the years I've come across lots and lots of business owners and independent professionals, and I hear these sentiments again and again.

Now some business owners are not this way. They're not afraid to get out there and spread the word on their business and tell others about themselves. Unfortunately, they tend to use more of a scatter gun approach and the results are often the same - up and down.

So up and down you go - riding the marketing roller coaster. Never really sure how high the next peak is or how low and wide the next valley is. And you're certainly not prepared for the turns or loop-to-loops along the way. Oh that's right; I said this was an old fashion roller coaster. No loop-to-loops on this ride. Anyway, you get the picture.

Are You Ready To Get Off The Marketing Roller Coaster?

You can start by creating a marketing plan. I ask small business owners all the time what kinds of things they're doing from a marketing perspective to grow their business. I get some of the answers you might expect such as networking, creating a brochure, sending out a direct mail postcard, etc.

But then when I ask those same business owners if they have a marketing plan, they usually fall silent. Let me try to be clear about this... Without some kind of a marketing plan you have very little chance of actually achieving rea