Good day to all.

Basically i am operating a new business that does IT Sales and Service in Brisbane Queensland. I am at a loose end as to how to market my business though. The previous two brochure/flyer i have created didnt work a marketing consultant(who said he could help me at out for $100/hour, and suggest a few 2-3 hours tratagy meetings) told me they were no good they wouldnt get any business after i had already distrbuted them. I also am having a lot of trouble putting into words that would encourage a new client to come and order there IT needs from me.

I pretty much have zero budget to pay marketing consultants or copywriters or such so i have had to be struggeling through doing it myself. I would be very grateful if someone may be able to help me out with some ideas at marketing this or where i might be able to find some sample letters or copy that i could adjust to my needs.

My Business.

What my business offers is IT Sales and Service, we are a complete one stop shop effectivly offering any and all needs that a bussiness could need in relation to technology. We also offers services to install/configure/maintain all of a companies technology resources, and Asset Management(by default for all equipment we supply and for a small fee for pre exsisting equipment). We also have a partnership with a Retail POS supplier which means we can do complete retail set-ups as well.

I would really hope somone may be able to help me out and would be grateful for anyone that can. I really need to get some effective marketing happening as my only client that purchases on a regualr basis may not be purchasing as regular for a few months and i need to build some more business.

Again thanks for any help you can offer it is greatly appreciated.

Marketing with zero dollars is very hard. It sounds like you have a client that is regularly needing your services, at least for now. I would suggest dedicating a percentage of your net profits toward marketing. I usually suggest 20-30%. Consider marketing to be an investment that should bring in a return at least 2x the investment.

I would suggest you pick up a copy of "Guerrilla Marketing" by Jay Conrad Levinson. Price: US$15.

Now lets start with defining your main goals. You actually have two main goals at this point:

1. To Attract Quality Prospects (aka folks interested in your services)

2. To turn these prospects into clients.

The next step is to define your target market(s). That is, identify who is most likely to buy your products & services.

Next, distill your offering so it is simple and clear on what you do and how you help your clients.

Remember this. People don't buy drills. They buy holes. The president of Black & Decker said that in his book I think.

People don't want to buy IT services. They don't want to buy life insurance or movie tickets or drills. They want the benefits that come from buying insurance or movie tickets or the drill. They want to feel like their family will be taken care of if something happens to them. They want a sci-fi/romantic/dramatic experience. They want a hole.

What about your IT services? What do your clients get when they use your products or services? What kind of pains are you alleviating? What kind of fears are you addressing? What kind of desires are you fulfilling?

So to recap, by this point you should have a brief description of who is most likely to buy your services and ideas on what are their pains, fears & desires that you can help address.

Our first goal is to attract quality prospects -

The first thing that has to happen for you to attract more prospects is to be front of more prospects. This can mean classifieds in the newspaper, business magazines, attending a networking event, a tradeshow or calling your prospects. You can also setup alliances with local businesses, banks, etc to send you folks who might need your services. Dont pick a method.

Pick 7 different methods which you will use to get infront of your target market. And only focus on your target market. Getting in front of folks who are not most likely to buy your products and services will do you little or no good.

Next construct a creative message that embodies how you address your clients pains, fears and desires. When talking to a potential clients, focus on the needs of the client and not what you do. Remember, no one, and I mean no one wants to buy IT services. They want the benefits. Focus on the benefits.

If you want me to continue, do what I have outlined here so far:
* define you target market
* list what benefits you offer to your clients
* select the 7 methods you will use to get in front of prospects
* write out a creative message that does what I said it should even if its not perfect.

Post your answers here in this forum and I'll come back and finish off how you can use this to attract more prospects and turn them into highly-profitable long-term clients.

Thank-you for that great post, i will be getting into working on that today.

The only question i have at this point is do you happen to have the ISBN number for "Guerrilla Marketing" as i have just looked at amazon and found no less then about 5 that i carnt tell which one you mean.

Thanks again for the advice i will be working out the answers to those points very soon.

You got some great advice here.

Also don't forget there are monthly meetings in town all the time where you can NETWORK and market your services! I know many people do that a lot and they get plenty of business and then repeat business by attending those events, meetings. I, myself landed several clients by attending just two business meetings one from Chamber of Commerce and another one from IT semi-annual conference here in my town. Try to do the same. Get your business cards and go to one of those meetings. Some may not require to pay to attend others may require $10 or $15, but it's worth the investment.

Also try to find local listings of IT service providers and get listed there. Also, you might consider getting listed in the yellow pages under IT services or under Internet section or Web developers whatever it is that you do (hosting, web development, design etc)...

It's very hard to advertise without a marketing dollars. I think it's nearly impossible. Many businesses don't have marketing dollars to spend on business at the beginning. That's why I took a typing job and other freelance jobs doing design for ad agencies and sold them all rights to design so I can make enough money to invest into my business for printing slick business cards, placing a few ads, joining some organizations and it's slowly but surely is paying off!

I have spent a good day working over the advice you have given me and have come up with some answers to the points you suggested.

1. Target Market - My target market is Retail outlets needing a Point of Sales solution with more flexibility then a cash register can provide.

2. Benifits to the customer
Friendly On-Time Service 24 hours a day
High Quality products that wont break down
Three Year On-Site Warranty for all hardware products
Same Day Delivery of all consumables
Better Reporting by sales person, product or user defined reports

3. 7 meathods to get in front of clients.

News Paper Classifieds
Direct Mail out to clients with-in Target Market
Advertising of relevant products in industry journals
Vicit local businesses within target market and offer relevant consumables at first time purchase discounts
Join local chamber of commerce and attend regualry as well as attending other networking events.
Follow up calls to any direct advertising or contacts that didnt purchase when i visited there business
Cold calls to other businesses that may be interested in services
Website with a lot of details about the company and the products and services offered which will be promoted heavily within other marketing material.

Sorry this is 8 but that carnt hurt i guess.

4. Creative message -
Update your Cash Register by using the Latest version of MYOB Retail Manager, to integrate your point of sales, and accounting tasks into one task, with easier reporting and better integration into your way of doing business. Using the latest computer and point of sales equipment to customize the set up for your needs. Including 3 year on-site warranty for all hardware components, friendly installation at a time convenient for your business to minimize downtime.

I look forward to hearing more, i am still trying to refine some of this a bit but i managed to get it all together for now.

Thanks for the help again

Joel, you've been given some excellent advice already. I agree that you really should find a way to generate cash to spend on marketing. However, if I were truly broke, here's what I'd do. I'd make a very simple flyer or brochure and print a bunch of copies cheaply at an office supply store. Then I would start visiting businesses in person, in office parks or high-rise office buildings. I would simply introduce myself to the receptionist, and ask if the IT person was in and ask if I could speak to him/her. Chances are you're not going to get past the gatekeeper, but perhaps you can get a name. Make a note of the relevant person's name. If you do get past the gatekeeper and actually get to meet the person you're targeting, just introduce yourself briefly, state what you do, and ask if you can leave a flyer with him/her in case they ever need your services. Visit again a few weeks later if you're in the neighborhood. This is really hard work, day in and day out, but sales experts say that if you do this six hours a day for a couple months, soon you'll have business rolling in.