I'm regularly asked to speak to people, that have either just started a business or have been going for some time. So many of these people are absolutely brilliant at working "in their business" but not so good at working "on their business" In other words; they're good at making the product or providing the service but they're not so good at finding new customers and generating more sales.

Like them, you may not be too keen on making cold calls and selling your product or service but you DO need new customers and lots of them. You might be thinking - "I have customers and as long as I keep them happy things will be okay." However, I hate to tell you - but no matter how good your product or your service is, you will lose customers. They'll either leave the area; they'll die, they'll go out of business themselves or just decide to deal with somebody else. So you need to find new customers just to stand still.

However that's not why you're reading this - you don't want to just stand still you want to find lots and lots of customers. To do that - you've got to get in the right mindset; you've got to think like a successful - "Marketeer."

You need to think about #1 -Your Target Market; who do you want to do business with and what is the best way to make contact with them. Think about your existing customers and think about how and why they do business with you. #2 What Problems do your customers have; what challenges do they face that could be solved by your product or service? #3 What Solutions do you offer; how will your customers benefit from dealing with you? #4 How can you Prove what you do; what evidence, references testimonials can you produce to influence a prospective customer. #5 What is it that you do that's Different; what is your unique selling point that differentiates you from other businesses.

Every day you need to allocate time to marketing your product or service. DO NOT fall into the trap of saying - "I'll do it tomorrow, I'm too busy today." Overall, you need to spend about 20% of your time on marketing. There are many failed businesses that had a fantastic product or service. However the majority fail because they didn't spend enough time marketing. That is not going to happen to you because you are "The One Marketeer."