KALÖN WOMEN: Smart Women Have a Marketing Mantra

Guest Columnist: Joy Chudacoff



I recently attended a conference for women business owners and ran into a woman I had not seen for some time. She looked a little unhappy when I approached her. I asked her if everything was going well and she shared with me that she had just lost a big client. In fact, this big client was more than 50% of her business. Wow! I’d be upset too. She was in the process of figuring out what to do next to rebuild her business back to a successful place. As we talked, I started thinking about the “golden” rule in business for Smart Women: Always have a marketing “mantra.”

Marketing “mantra?” What the heck is that? Let me share a quick scenario that will bring it home for you. You know that the only way to grow your business is to get your message about what you do out to your ideal clients-- right? The “message” is the “mantra” that you want to communicate over and over again about the benefits your product or service provides to the customer. You may do this in several ways (I highly recommend more than one!). You can have a website, use social media, attend conferences, speaking, etc. Once your “mantra” reaches your idea client (and if your “mantra” is effective), you will then be rewarded with new business. What’s the first thing you typically stop doing when you get a few great clients and get involved with providing great service? You stop your marketing “mantra.”

I’ve seen this so many times and I’ve been guilty of allowing this to happen in my own business. You get so excited about the new clients and doing the work that you love with them, you forget all about keeping the marketing “mantra” going to attract new ideal clients. This common mistake will prevent your business from going to the next level of success.

I invite you to set up a system in your business to have a continuous, regularly scheduled marketing “mantra.” The key is to create a plan and make it happen. This is where having a team of support for help and delegation is essential. I will share with you that when I got clear and focused on this part of my business, real growth began to happen. I set up a system that allowed me to communicate with my ideal client and provide excellent service to my existing clients at the same time.

Here are a few tips and solutions to help you get your marketing “mantra” up and running smoothly:

1. Reach Out and Touch Consistently – It’s important to reach out to your ideal client on a regular basis with information that they need and will enjoy receiving. Decide how often you’d like to “touch” your ideal client with your “mantra.” I recommend weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Any of these will work, so choose what works best for you and do it consistently.

2. Focus your “Mantra” – This is where it’s really key to know who your ideal client is. Focus your message and your useful information in a way that solves problems for your client. Show how you can add value through your knowledge and expertise.

3. Get some help – Don’t try to do this alone! It’s nearly impossible to work with your clients effectively and have a consistent flow of communication if you are attempting to do this all by yourself. There are plenty of skilled people who would love to help you get your “mantra” out to the right people.

Having a consistent, clear, regularly scheduled marketing “mantra” can make the difference between having a business that is doing well with a few clients and one that is super successful serving scores of clients effectively. I know which one I want. How about you?

Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.


Copyright 2010 Joy Chudacoff

Joy Chudacoff, ICF, PCC, is the founder of Smart Women Smart Solutions™, a Professional Certified Coach to 1000’s of women, Motivational Speaker, and Entrepreneur. She publishes a weekly buzz generating ezine, Reflections On Life and Business for Women Entrepreneurs. If you’re ready take your coaching business to the next level, get your FREE Tips, FREE Report, FREE MP3 and be the first to hear about my exciting new program for coaches and consultants at www.SmartWomenSmartSolutionsCoaching.com.

ABOUT KALÖN WOMEN: The mission of Kalön Women is to provide answers and raise awareness of issues and causes that affect women 40+, so that they will be stronger from knowledge gained, and the generation of women who follow in their path will hopefully find it less rocky. The articles, stories, poetry and other written expressions in Kalön Women are created by real women 40+. Written to inspire, help and perhaps provide a few laughs to all “women of a certain age”.

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KALÖN WOMEN: Smart Women Have a Marketing Mantra

DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA: Opening New Opportunities Through Networking

Doing Business in China with Dan Paulson

Ni Hao! My name is Dan Paulson and I am the CEO of InVision Business Development. Over the past five years, my organization has assisted companies to reach their full potential by developing their strategy and their people.

A few short weeks ago, I was asked to contribute to The National Networker. I have known Adam for a number of years and watched the fledgling site grow from a small start-up with a few thousand followers to where it is today. I am excited to be part of this opportunity and happily will share any knowledge I have to help others.

The question is always where to begin. So today I chose to start at the beginning of why I am here. Because if it wasn’t for a turn of events over a year ago I might not be writing for TNNW.

I love what I do. It’s a great honor to help others clarify their vision of the future, plan a roadmap to get there and achieve higher levels of success. Since I started this business, it has been my dream to expand InVision to an international company.

In 2009, I did just that with the help of some talented professionals. Last year I opened an office in Tianjin, China. No matter how small your business is, never doubt what is possible.

Why China? Well, some see it as the next frontier. It is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and may soon have the largest economy in the world. There is also little that western culture understands about China.

Though we seek to accomplish many of the same things, we go about it in different ways. Not knowing, or understanding your relationships in Chinese business can be costly.

My goal is simple: to help businesses save time, money and reduce any grief when trying to build business in China.

How I got to this point is an interesting story. In 2008 I was researching ways to expand my business. There were a number of different alternatives and the most interesting one was international expansion. If you are a business owner, you understand the importance of finding ways to differentiate yourself. You also know that it’s nicer to be in an environment where the competition is limited and the opportunities are wide open.

As I began to narrow my research, China came up as an interesting option. For years, companies have been expanding to this nation with the promise of low cost labor. While plenty of businesses still seek out China for sourcing product, others are taking notice of the opportunities that exist IN China. This is what I saw. It is a large population and many young, educated people who are willing to work hard and want some of the comforts that generations before them could not have. These professionals are very brand focused and wish to embrace western culture.

As I expanded my research into the possibility, I wanted to connect with people who had worked in China. LinkedIn provided many great opportunities to connect and start building relationships. One connection changed my life and the direction of my business forever.

Ruth Lycke, CEO for China Connection Global Healthcare, showed up in one of the many searches I did. Her story was an interesting one. As a stroke survivor, she was the first person to seek treatment in China. The impressive results she achieved, and her passion for helping others led to the launch of China Connection. I was amazed by her story and sent a message to her asking to connect. To my surprise, I received a fast reply.

After a few phone discussions, we decided we should meet. I think she wanted to meet me in person and check my sanity. After she figured out I wasn’t completely crazy, we mutually agreed to see if we could take what I was doing for companies here, and expand it to companies over there. Since then I have been privileged to meet many people from all over the world. It has expanded my knowledge and has given me great resources with which I can grow my business.

If there is one message I have besides an introduction, it is this: If you wish to grow, you need to do more than just survive. And if you are willing to expand what you think is possible, there will be someone along the way that can help get you there. We are all connected. The more we share within our networks and seek to help others, the more people will be willing to help us.

In the coming months I will discuss building relationships in China. I’ll cover everything from social media to finance, from history to travel and what you need to do to increase your network to succeed in China. My future articles will hopefully give you some insight into this culture. In many ways we want the same things, but how we go about it may be all together different. I plan to share my own experiences, plus those of my colleagues to give you an understanding from both sides.

In China, business is about relationships or Guanxi. How you build these relationships will be your keys to success if you want to do business in China. It can also save you many problems in the future.

Today we start building our Guanxi here. I look forward to connecting with many of you and again appreciate the opportunity The National Networker and Adam have given me. Until next month, Zai Jian!


For more information, please visit Dan's TNNW Bio.

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The National Networker Companies

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DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA: Opening New Opportunities Through Networking

THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 1

The Cold, Hard Truth with Gabriel Siegel

An old friend asked me for help. His business this past year barely made it. He lost several major clients and was having a hard time finding new ones. Sound familiar? It should. Every entrepreneur must ultimately confront the demon; how do I grow my business?


My friend attends at least two weekly networking sessions. He leaves with a handful of business cards, but little else. He tried direct mail; frightfully expensive and too scattershot. He tried newspaper advertising; no luck. Social networking may be great for dating and renewing friendships but not for converting prospects into clients.


COLD CALLING has long been the most effective tool for prospecting. Yet, lately it has become a dirty word. We’ve allowed ourselves to become seduced by the belief of “easy prospecting” by deluding ourselves into thinking that technology will allow us to reach a wide audience. That may be true. However, are we really reaching QUALITY and QUALIFIED prospects? Every successful financial planner, insurance salesperson, software developer, carpet and upholstery cleaner, you name it, understands the value of, and the need for making those cold calls, and, will devote a part of their day in pursuit of new clients. Anyone who has successfully built a service business will tell you that the key to their success has been a well-thought-out cold calling strategy!


You may well be saying that you don’t sell any of these services. Nonsense, you’re still selling an intangible. That cold call will put you face-to-face with a prospective client sooner than networking, passing out business cards, or even creating a great website.


I hope I’ve given you some “food for thought.” In future articles, we will discuss effective cold calling strategies with the ultimate goal of creating a “Prospecting Roundtable” where we can get together and help plan effective cold calling campaigns.


Let me know your thoughts.

Gabriel Siegel



For more information, please visit Gabriel's TNNW Bio.

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The National Networker Companies

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THE COLD, HARD TRUTH: Prospecting 101, Part 1