Some people believe that just by being in business they will get clients or customer. They ascribe to the theory that "if they build it they will come." It rarely happens that way. If you don't let people know about your business, not only do you lose but so do they. Every business owner and solo professional needs to understand the importance of marketing.

My town had an election for town meeting representatives in April. I live in a bedroom community and the local paper had recently reported that there were not enough town meeting candidates for the required number to get elected. The town was even considering reducing that number of town meeting members because so few seemed interested.

Shortly before the election I got a flyer under my door requesting a write in vote. The woman was clear about why she wanted to be elected. She stated her qualifications and she also explained how to write in her name since her name was not on the ballot.

I admired her courage, recognized her name and did in fact vote for her. Turnout was light as you might expect and she got 15 votes but she was elected.

In discussing this with my neighbor who was the one who put the flyer under my door, he told me that at the last minute her husband decided to run. Since he didn't "campaign" he was not elected. My comment to my neighbor was "I wish I had known I would have voted for him."

What a disservice people do when they have something to offer that others would benefit from but they don't let others know about it!

Do you understand the importance of marketing? Is your marketing like the woman or the man in this story? Both were well qualified for the position they were seeking. One kept it a secret and one introduced herself and made a request for a vote. Are you letting people know about your practice or keeping it a secret?

Many shy away from marketing because they think they are being pushy or that they seem desperate. In fact they are being more like the man in my story. Think of marketing as a way to alert those people who really need your services about what you have to offer.

How did my neighbor get involved in this marketing effort? He happened to be having coffee at a local coffee shop when he saw a friend having coffee with her friend. His friend's friend was the candidate. The candidate asked my neighbor to support her and he offered to help by canvassing his neighborhood. She gave him some flyers.

Marketing can be that simple. Notice what happened here. It is all about relationships. My neighbor met the candidate through a friend. I knew the woman from other organizations. You'd be surprised at how many people you know and your marketing action can start with them.

Of course your friends may not be in your target market but they may know someone who is in your target market or someone who could be a referral source for you. It is said that everyone knows about 250 people and each of them knows 250 etc.

Marketing can be as simple as tapping into your social network and asking people to help you. The importance of marketing to any business venture cannot be underestimated.

Take Action

1. Who are your 250? Have you told them what you are doing? Start with those you feel most comfortable with first and begin calling them.

2. Use your elevator speech when contacting them. http://www.asparker.com/rts0507.html

3. Practice giving examples of how you have used your strengths in job situations. Sometimes just saying something out loud can get you beyond the discomfort. Practice with someone listening to you after you've done it alone for a while.

4. Try creating your own network at LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com Anyone who does this can add me to their network.