Roller Coaster Income Syndrome

 
From: Kelly O’Neil
Date: Tue, May 3, 2011 at 7:15 PM
Subject: Are You Suffering From Roller Coaster Income Syndrome?
To: Joseph Peck

3 Simple Steps to Cure Roller Coaster Income Syndrome

by Kelly K. O’Neil

Tell me if this cycle sounds familiar. You need new clients. So you create an elaborate marketing plan, spend a ton of time launching it and then celebrate wildly when you get them. But now, you have to deliver the work (whether it be coaching or consulting or some other service). Now you are so busy that you don’t have time to market anymore. So you stop and focus all of your attention on your clients. The money’s flowing and you get complacent. However, eventually you finish up your projects or clients naturally cycle out and then…drum roll please… there’s no business again and your income is plummeting.

If you are familiar with this then you are officially suffering from roller coaster income syndrome. But the good news is, there is a prescription to avoid this money and energy draining cycle… consistency. You need to create an ongoing marketing engine that runs whether you’re busy or whether you’re bored! Here is a simple step-by-step system to cure your ailment:

Step 1: Create a Plan

Preparing a marketing plan is your first step. You’ll need to conduct some market research to determine who your ideal client is, what their needs are, how you can meet their needs, where you can find them, how you will reach them, and the daily activities you need to do to keep your pipeline full. Some of these activities may include networking, speaking, teleclasses, and social media markeitng. All of these are active forms of marketing that take your time, unless you can delegate some of the activities or automate them.

Step 2: Implement the Plan CONSISTENTLY

Consistency is key in marketing. It does no good to have a plan that sits on a your desk cluttering it up. Consistent promotion keeps your service or product in the minds of your prospects and customer and helps stimulate demand. Never let a day pass without engaging in at least one marketing activity. No piece of information (invoices, thank you cards, emails, mail, etc) should ever go out without your company contact information on it. Every communication outside your company is an opportunity for you to promote yourself!

In planning your marketing and promotional strategies, use this formula for the 3 Cs of Marketing Success:

Consistency (communicate regularly with your customers and prospects)
Clarity (deliver clear benefit driven messages to those customers)
Collaboration (work with marketing experts or a coach, a mastermind team, and form joint venture partnerships to expedite growth)

Step 3: Measure Your Results and Make Adjustments

Without measurement, you cannot effectively manage. It is the difference between operating strategically and just doing “stuff”. Which one do you think yield better results? Set specific marketing goals every year; and then review and adjust the goals on a quarterly basis. Each month review your plan against the results you are getting. It does take time when you start a new marketing program to see consistent results, but if you have been going to the same networking meeting for 2 years with no leads…then stop!

If you can master these three items, you will be heads and shoulder above a majority of your competition. Jay Conrad Levinson once told me, “It is unfortunate but true that bad marketing done consistently is better than good marketing done inconsistently.” Create consistency in your marketing program and not only will you stop riding the roller coaster income syndrome, you’ll be assured a much greater level of success.

Join the conversation below. What are your thoughts about Roller Coaster Income Syndrome?