How To Not Get Ripped Off By Finding The Right Marketing Consultant For Your Business Success

By, Retired Private Investigator &

Marketing Specialist-Bruce Brown

So you are finally going to go into business, are already in business and doing OK, or in business and losing money, market share, and/or profits every month. Maybe you feel it is time for improvement…that you deserve more?

Most Small & Medium Sized Business Owners Would Rather Go Out of Business Than Get Help Yes it's true. There are studies that show many business owners think that they can do it all themselves. Start a business, run and manage the business successfully. Do all of the marketing and sales (these are not the same), advertising, promotion, get publicity, build their own website, write the content for the website, do the right kind of mail promotions or flyer creation and distribution, and all of the rest. Really?

How are you going to find time to learn all that you need to learn to do all of this and still have time to run you business profitably. Direct response copywriting, Search Engine Optimization, design your own website, create quality sales-letters and emails…and…and…and… Well the usual answer is…you can't. Even if you are willing to spend 60, 70, 80, 90 hours a week in your business you still won't have enough time to both run your business and market it successfully too. Sorry but it is just too many "hats" to wear, whether your business is online or off-line and brick and mortar.

What Sam Walton Founder of Walmart Understood & You Need To Know Too Before Sam Walton died his company had the reputation of being a fair employer and was also known as treating customers with respect. Once Walton died corporate policies were put into place that led to Academy Award nominated films such as: "Walmart-The High Cost of Low Prices," which tell a different story now. But let us return to the "good" days of Walmart for a moment. So as reported by one of my favorite success gurus Greg Greenway, in the late 1970's and 1980's over a small space of time Walmart went from 40 stores to over 1,000 stores. It was extremely rapid growth and made Walmart one of the most successful companies in the world also making Sam Walton very rich.

So what did Sam Walton consider the key to this super success? Hiring Consultants.

Yes, in the late 1970's Sam Walton hired outside consultants to review and look into virtually every aspect of his business to see what he could improve. He paid them millions and millions of dollars followed many of their suggestions and in less than a decade, yes just ten years, they helped make him a multi-billionaire. And Walmart the largest employer in the world. What President Woodrow Wilson Said

I have found over the years that if you want to succeed more easily you want to study the stories of what steps that worked (and didn't work) that propelled others towards success. So one of President Wilson's famous quotations was, "I not only use all the brains that I have but all that I can borrow…"

So you may be starting to understand that you can't do it all on your own at all to help your business succeed (or perhaps even save your business from bankruptcy) even if you are willing to work over 100 hours per week.

How To Choose The Best Business Consulting Specialist For You...And Your Business Over the years I have met a number of people who had hired a so-called "marketing consultant," who took their money and did little or nothing for their business. So how do you protect yourself from having this happen to you?

1. Understand local is not always the best. These days the telephone, texting, email and the internet, Skype, and other communication methods allow you to hire the best marketing consultant for your needs. But also save money by not hiring someone who expects you to pay for their expensive offices and huge well paid staffs. Often the best you can hire will have "team" of professionals who help them on a free-lance basis, thus potentially saving you hundreds it not thousands of dollars.

2. Look for testimonials from happy clients. And if you have an online business look for someone with experience in that area and if your business is a traditional brick and mortar look for someone who has done that sort of marketing. But be smart. Any good marketing specialist can help any type of business. The principles are the same whether you have a used car lot, an online clothing business, or run a professional business such as a dentist, doctor, or chiropractor, for example. A skilled marketing specialist can help virtually any business.

3. Look for failures. If you are considering any marketing specialist if they do not admit their personal (or even client) failures run the other way as fast as possible. They are either lying and/or they do not have the experience to help protect you from making major money losing mistakes. Failure is often the best teacher and you want someone who has experienced both success and failure.

4. Sales is not marketing. But correctly implemented marketing can result in increased sales and profits for your business. If you do not understand this you will fail.

5. Once you have retained the services of your chosen consultant let them do their job and don't try to micro-manage them. If you knew what to do yourself (all by yourself) you would not have needed them. Trust them until they prove otherwise. Try their recommendations or their suggestions before you start micro-managing them.

Especially those ideas that cost you little if any money to test and implement. Such as setting up a workable customer referral system, simple sales training for your staff, bundling of services or products to increase cash-flow and lots more.

How Do You Find A Qualified Marketing Specialist To Hire?

1. You can ask around and talk to others you know in business and see whom they have had success with.

2. You can do a web-search and when you find someone interesting review their website and if you like what you see contact them to talk more about your business.

3. Look for an expert who shows knowledge and has the experience to potentially grow your business within your budget.

4. Be willing to invest in your business success. For instance I always tell my marketing clients that I promise to be their "…favorite tax write off…" Look for someone who looks like they can give you five or ten times in increased profits beyond what you invest in your marketing consultants fees. Look for someone who will help you to create systems and methods that can work month after month to continue to bring in more profits and increases your bottom line. As opposed to someone who is going to give you a "one shot deal" that might only work one time.

So hopefully you have a better idea of a very important component that can mean the difference between success, and failure of your business whether you are just starting a new business, want to grow an existing business, and/or want to save a business that is very possibly going under even moving towards bankruptcy.

And be smarter than the business owner who would rather "go out of business" than hire a consultant. Remember the properly chosen marketing specialist will "cost you nothing" since what you pay in fees should return to you many times beyond what you invest in fees.

Created on August 07, 2014