[I sent this as email to several friends and clients this morning. I guess this is the commercial version of what I’d said for non-profits last week when I suggested that the best way to raise money is not to ask. Contrarian advice for the best sales and marketing in an economic downturn, it applies in good times and in bad.]

I sent each of you this because we’ve talked recently about marketing yourself or your business. Most of you are thinking about blogging, or have a blog and other online marketing that you could get better results from.

Sales without selling? Selling by giving away? Here’s a good article I just read this morning after Jim twittered about it overnight. (He is a small business marketing expert based in the UK, so it wasn’t actually overnight for him.)

It doesn’t say anything new. Lots of people have tried to explain this. It says the same stuff I keep trying to tell folks about marketing online, only more clearly and without so much yelling:

http://jimsmarketingblog.com/2008/10/26/blog-marketing-newsletter-marketing/

“I have not used any form of paid marketing for my business for years.

That’s right – 100% of my non-referred business comes from either my newsletter, my website or this blog!

All I have to do is make sure I give away as much valuable marketing information as possible, to as many small businesses as possible. Then, when these small businesses want someone to help them market their products or services, they give me a call. When they want their blog or website transformed into a goldmine, they already know my work and that I get results – so they get in touch!“ [Emphasis his.]

Jim is selling (marketing advice) by giving away as much fantastic free marketing advice as possible. The advice he’s giving applies whatever your field, it will work for any kind of consultant, coach, trainer, health practitioner, lawyer, accountant, IT or other professional service. It really applies to any business.

Stop working on selling anyone. Look for ways to help them and provide a service.

Stop worrying that you’ll give away too much and your services won’t be needed because you’ve written it all down. You’re valuable as a person, and people will pay more for that value when you give of it freely.

Stop worrying that your competition will catch on to what you’re doing and somehow take advantage of you. Instead, you might just end up in public conversation online, come off looking good by making each other appear both smart and friendly, get more sales calls, learn from each other and succeed through those and other forms of coopetition.

Get online, give away as much as you can, and the sales will come to you on their own!

Cheers!
-Dale