Building Your Market Presence, Brick by Brick by Brick

Key Concept ~ Getting your value proposition into the market is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  Creating a mindful communication strategy is just the start.  Sticking with it, and executing with authentic intention and persistence can create a groundswell of visibility in a relatively short period of time.

As we turn the bend into the last quarter of 2011, we find the strategic planning season once again falling upon us like the colorful leaves of autumn.  It is a time of retrospection and reflection of what strategies are working well and those that may be best left behind.  Let’s face it, as intrinsically motivated entrepreneurs that are continuously looking forward, we often don’t take the time to fully appreciate what we’ve accomplished in the recent past and how these accomplishments are building our visibility and momentum going forward.

We at Performance Transformation, LLC™ began the year with the publication of my book, “The Transformational Entrepreneur ~ Engaging the Mind, Heart & Spirit For Breakthrough Business Success”.  This was no small feat, representing the culmination of more than two decades of real-world experience that took nearly three years to write and publish.  One must take into account, even the most highly publicized and promoted book can take upwards of nine months to gain traction in the book market.  And that’s what we’re starting to see.  Approximately six months after publication, we’re beginning to see how the cornerstone of our communications strategy is resonating strongly with its intended audience.  Entrepreneurs are embracing the book’s lessons and experiencing how, when these lessons are applied, their own success is accelerating at an unprecedented rate!

Here’s a synopsis of what we’ve experienced in just the past six months as a result of executing on our communications strategy:

We presented at the annual American Society for Training and Development Conference in May.

We’ve conducted nine interviews on both local and syndicated radio programs around the nation.  We’re about to schedule an additional eleven in the coming months.

Our value proposition has appeared in Forbes, on MSNBC, on The Investor Business Daily’s site, and on NewsBlaze.com, venues that have approximately 40 million views per month!  Our work has also been picked up by literally dozens of other local, business oriented websites around the country and the world.

Our articles are being published by larger and larger internet venues, most recently on AOL Jobs, which has nearly 4 million views per month.

“The Transformational Entrepreneur” is beginning to receive unsolicited book reviews, and positive ones at that (you should know, traditional publishers pay book reviewers and book reviewing companies to hawk their titles…it is a subtle manipulation of public opinion to drive book sales…most reviews are not independent, they’re paid for)!  The book reviews are beginning to be picked up by other sites as well.

In just a little over six months, our blog postings, press releases (which we employ judiciously), and published articles have enjoyed tens of thousands of unique views.  The top three sources of our traffic are Linkedin, The Wall Street Journal Online, and Google.  And we don’t even invest in Google Adwords or pay to be on any “lead development sites”!  Our search engine optimization is organic, based upon our cumulative activity on the web.

In just the past three months, we’ve been on the road a solid two months, conducting our workshops and programs in Florida, Colorado, Montana, and Hawaii.  We’re also forging partnerships with additional organizations in Florida, Missouri, Illinois, and New England for next year. 

My point is, you can do this too!  And for a lot less money than you may think.  The world is changing in unprecedented ways and your communications strategy must reflect this new environment.  The key is to hone your value proposition and execute from a position of discipline and structure while still being nimble in your thinking.  You’re welcome to drop us a line and we’d be happy to explore how our approach can help accelerate your market presence and resulting market traction as well.

© 2011, Terry Murray.