June is “Entrepreneurs Do It Yourself Marketing Month!”

Sales. 

Marketing.  

These are usually two words that send notaries running for cover! At the very least it prompts them to tell me during my one-on-one coaching calls, “I’m an introvert, so I’m scared to death to promote my business.”  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that!

In an effort to support national “Entrepreneurs Do It Yourself Marketing,” month in June, I wanted to share the framework I used to build my business. I speak to very few notaries who actually enjoy the process of building their know, like and trust factor in their communities, but the truth is you’re the only one who is going to do that!  

Unless you hire someone, of course.  

Let’s look at that scenario for a moment. Pretend, if you will, that you’re an “introvert” who is too shy to attend networking meetings, do any direct marketing or make phone calls to local businesses. You’re convinced that you just want to be a notary, not a salesperson.  Besides, no one wants to feel like a used car salesman!  What if you started calling around to find someone to do it for you? I mean, let’s be honest; I say it all the time, “hire your weaknesses.”  

In fact, I tried to hire someone to do my marketing for me.  I was feeling very overwhelmed with all the tasks I needed to complete in a day, so I sat down one afternoon to give thought to what I could hire out.  I picked up the phone and started calling marketing firms in my hometown of Dallas.  I talked to the big marketing firms, the mid-size ones and a guy who handles it all himself.  In the end, the cheapest quote I got for a monthly fee was $5,000!  

$5,000??  

And that didn’t include any social media posts beyond Facebook.  I was floored!  The bigger firm wanted $10,500 a month which was the discount for a year-long contract. Both were a “bit” out of my budget!

So, next time you’re telling yourself you “can’t” lead the sales and marketing efforts of your small business, just remember you can hire someone to do it for you!  It’ll just cost you a pretty penny….

OR you can take the more economical route and do it yourself.

And as it turns out, I happen to have a whole framework that will help you market your business around town.  I call it The 5 Point Marketing System and it’s available to Marketing4Notaries.com members and Notary Business Builders, too.  This program isn’t revolutionary or mind-blowing, but it is ridiculously effective.  I took the steps I used to increase my business revenue by 75% and put it on a website to share with notaries around the country. And it’s been hugely successful!  So many people have told me how much they appreciate having a step-by-step system to help them be the “go-to” notary in their community.

The simple, but time-honored steps are:

1. PopIns! This is when you visit businesses and introduce yourself and your business

2. Follow up:  The truth is, lots of people will work up the courage to PopIn, but then they drop the ball and forget to follow up!  In my opinion, it’s the most important step in the 5 Point System.

3. Monthly Shout Outs:  You followed up, now you need to stay in touch once a month with value-added information.

4. Social Media:  Yes, it’s a pain in the a$$, but it’s also free advertising. If you use social media anyway, you should absolutely leverage its power to promote your business and grow relationships.

5. Networking:  Perhaps the most powerful step in the system, networking with the right groups will speed-up the growth of your “know, like and trust” factor and expand your referral network.

When I write these steps down, they seem so clear and easy to understand.  Upon execution, I know it requires additional information, training and support.  Especially if you’ve never PoppedIn before or been to a networking meeting. That’s why I go beyond the basic steps and really dig deep discussing the fear and resistance we all experience when it comes to building our businesses.  With the proper coaching that comes along with membership for each program, you can begin to do the internal work it takes to be a marketing pro!  

If you’re a Marketing4Notaries member or Notary Business Builder, I’d love to see your comments below about The 5 Point Marketing System and how it’s helped your business! Who knows…you might even see your review on my social media accounts!  

P.S. If you’d like to see a comparison between memberships at Marketing4Notaries.com and Notary Business Builder, click here!