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Home » Marketing Articles » The 6 Ps Of Personal Marketing

The 6 P's of Personal Marketing

Unless you're using every advantage of Personal Marketing , you're not achieving all of the potential success that is sitting there waiting for you to grab. Personal Marketing means that you're providing the right impression of your small business, right down to the smallest detail. If you want to be more successful in all your various endeavors- and especially in the case of a small business- you need to know the six "P's" of personal marketing. These are a set of concepts developed by business and entrepreneurship experts that give you the key to unlocking your potential.

PERSONA

Who are you? What is your small business all about? What kind of customer service do you provide? What are your business values? What are you proud of ? What makes you different from the competition ? These are questions potential customers and clients must answer for themselves in a short period of time. How they answer them depends not just on what you say or what kind of persona you have managed to convey to them. Your policies, atmosphere, customer service, integrity, and overall quality are all factors that you can usually control. Your business "personality" has to shine through , so don't waste time wondering if they'll like you. Simply be yourself and they will.

POSITIONING

Everyone knows you have to be at the right place at the right time and know the right people-right? While this is true to some extent, more important to realize is that you can put your business in the right place when the time is right and get to know all the right people. Positioning is how you do it- and this simply means you want to make sure you're always in the best position possible.

PACKAGING

Just like you make decisions about the products you buy based on their packaging, so do prospective customers and clients. They make a decision about your business as a whole by the atmosphere you put forward, the quality the packaging of your specific products implies, and the additional support, guarantees , and other peripheries that you offer. When it comes to personal marketing, packaging is a behind-the-scenes kind of preparation that's only really obvious if you don't do it, or if you don't do it right. If you've ever wondered how someone gets to be "the whole package" it's because they put the time and forethought into all the little things that many others overlook. Just a little attention to your own packaging can help you market yourself much more effectively.

PRESENTATION

Just as important as making sure you're "the whole package" is paying close attention to every aspect of your presentation. Again, this is a lot of little things that can add up to a big impression-and you always want to make a good one. It's an unfortunate reality in today's world that appearances do matter, and they play a large role in how prospective and current customers see you. Those who market themselves effectively know that how you present yourself is of the utmost importance, and it goes beyond just having a fancy exterior. Providing quality service, standing behind your products and services, presenting effective follow-up, and maintaining an overall professional and polite impression are all crucial elements of your presentation.

PROMOTION

Perhaps the most important element of personal marketing is promotion- shameless self-promotion. You know your business, including its strengths, what makes it stand above the rest, what makes it a good "deal" and what qualities you possess: it's absolutely crucial you convey this to potential customers.

PASSION

Last but certainly not least in the concepts that make up personal marketing is passion-for what you're doing, for who you are, and where you're going. Customers are looking to know you-so don't waste time trying to be something you're not. Instead, let your passion- your enthusiasm and energy for the job you're doing and the things you love-shine through and you're sure to meet with the kind of success you've always dreamed of.

Remember, the key to effective personal marketing is confidence. Don't be afraid to let others know what makes you great, and why you're the best choice there is.

©2005 Robert Moment

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

What You Must Account For When Writing Emotional B2B Sales Copy

Emotions. We all have them. And as marketers we're all taught that you have to appeal to your prospect's emotions in order to get your most-wanted response. When you're selling B2C products like health supplements and consumer newsletters, this is absolutely the true. But in the B2B world, it's not quite so simple. Here's why...

B2B Buyers Have Conflicting Emotions

True, the B2B buyer has emotions just like the average consumer. Only when you get her over the edge from "I need it" to "I want it" will she make a buying decision.

However, she is sitll an employee of her company. She must take into account her company's needs when making a decision to purchase your B2B product or service. And her company's needs don't always jibe with her own. Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

Let's say Sarah is a software development manager with a medium-sized consulting firm. The programmers that report to Sarah make changes to the underlying software architecture without informing their supervisors. This causes broken builds and missed deadlines. Sarah's boss has told her she needs to buy a change management system for her company.

Sarah knows she these probelms have to stop and a change management system will help. She has investigated her options and is leaning toward the market leader in the change management space. It's got all the features her company needs and long track record of past success stories.

There's just one problem...

You Cannot Neglect a Business Buyer's Personal Needs

While this solution is very feature-rich, it requires about 3-4 hours a day for maintenance and administration. Sarah knows her company cannot afford to hire a full time change management person, so the administrative burden will undoubtedly fall on her.

Sarah just had a baby earlier this year and already doesn't get to see much of her family. Her job is too demanding and overtime-intensive. This causes her to seek other options that might not require such an extra duty, but she just doesn't see any other products that meet her company's change management needs.

Are you beginning to see why the B2B sale becomes so complex?

Selling to a prospect's emotions is very important. But B2B sales prospects have two sets of buying needs that don't always dovetail with one another. You must address both if you are to maximize your chances to sell big-ticket B2B products and services.

That's why it's important that you hire a B2B copywriter to understand this dichotomy and can address both sets of needs. Business, as well as personal. Very few copywriters can do both in the same promotion with an equal degree of skill. So when you find one who can, hang on to him: he's worth his weight in gold.

We'll talk more about meeting the B2B buyer's business needs while addressing his personal concerns and emotions in a future post, so keep your feedreader pointed right here at ericlynchcopywriter.com.