Clients tell us that the hardest part of marketing and business development is breaking the stop…start…stop….start cycle.  Just like the clutch on a car that refuses to engage, your firm’s marketing efforts can occasionally be jammed up too.

So how do you keep your marketing efforts moving?

Get the right people on board. We used to think that if a professional didn’t have sales skills or a knack for marketing, it’s better to not get them involved.  Sure, every firm needs rainmakers but you also need someone to keep the umbrella open. These professionals are awesome at other tasks like researching a prospective client or reporting to the group about industry trends.

Commit. Commit. Commit. An easy way to do this is to set a weekly or monthly meeting time with your marketing committee.  Get it on the calendar.

Manage your efforts. You don’t need a fancy project management system to keep track of your marketing efforts. A simple spreadsheet works great.  Write down the major projects, initiatives, deadlines and who is responsible for executing the tasks. If you have an administrative person who is hyper organized, extend an invitation to join the team to take notes, etc.

Be realistic. Trying to do 10 things perfectly just isn’t realistic. Try for three instead. For example, rather than trying to organize a series of webinars for clients and prospects, try to do just two instead.  If you want to launch an industry niche team, don’t fret about having every piece locked down.  Start with simple steps like identifying current clients and experts in your firm.

You can break the stop…start…stop cycle with a little planning and commitment.