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Here's the scenario. Business is a bit slow so Mort the Business Owner wakes up one morning and says to himself, "It's about time we got some new business." So when Mort arrives at the office he immediately puts in place his Marketing Strategy. Let's make some cold calls. Or write some letters. Or update the database. Or write an article.

The list goes on and on.

What Mort has done (which virtually all of us do at some point or another) is to confuse activities with strategy. But why is this a problem?

Well let's say that Mort sends out some letters. And maybe a few people respond. And maybe Mort actually calls one or two of them. But then he gets busy (or decides that following-up really isn't that much fun) and he lets the "leads" grow mold.

Now obviously that's a waste. But here's what's even more wasteful.

What do you think the reaction will be from those who responded the first time, when Mort decides to send them another letter during the next slow season?

Probably not much.

Getting people to "raise their hand" and self identify themselves as having interest in your services is a time tested method for effective business development. But whatever method you use to make people aware of who you are and what you do is simply . . . an activity. Sending letters. Making cold calls. Writing articles. Giving a speech. None of these are your marketing strategy. They're parts of your marketing strategy . . . they're activities.

A marketing strategy has three components to it. A method for making people aware of you. A method for capturing data about those people, and a method for staying in touch.

When you have those three components linked together then you have a marketing process. When they're not, then all you have is just have a bunch of activities.

And the results speak for themselves. (Hint: Want to learn the precise steps to get people to raise their hand? Click here)

Mistake 2: Measuring the effectiveness of your lead generation by the number of sales it brings in.

I have a client (who will remain nameless), who is usually a pretty smart guy. MBA from a good school. Decided to start his own business.

Started off pretty well. Had some good connections that brought in some immediate business. However it's now 17 months later and he's lapped the track of his existing contacts umpteen times and needs to develop some new relationships.

So I put in place for him three lead generation tools. They did what they're suppose to do.

And then he called me to complain.

"But Mark . . . No one hired me."

Calmly I asked him . . . Did he realistically think that someone was going to hire him for his highly valuable (and premium priced) services based on a letter or an ad?

For crying out loud.

As I say, he's a smart guy and he somewhat immediately got my point. But I mention this mistake because it's a common instance of holding lead-generation up against an unobtainable outcome.

To reiterate what I said in the previous section . . . a marketing system is comprised of three separate components. Not surprisingly, the first part, lead generation, is designed to . . . generate leads.

Sure you might get lucky (the proverbial water salesman stumbling across the farmer with his barn on fire) but from a practical perspective . . . no one is going to hire you based on your lead generation.

They're also probably not going to hire you based on your website.

Realistically, they are going to hire you as a result of the ongoing series of messages you send that build trust and credibility.

Remember, that when marketing high value business services the relationship needs to be in place first. If we are selling anything at the first stage of the process it's that I'm someone worthwhile getting to know.

If you are successful in making that first "sale", then you can proceed to the next level and work on a transaction that actually involves money.

Thus in the world of high-value services, business development is a seduction. Lots of little steps rather than one big EXPLOSION OF COMMUNICATION.

Measure lead generation by the quality and quantity of leads that it generates. Measure the effectiveness of your follow up activities by the number of leads that convert into clients.

(Want to learn more about how to develop curiosity and make people interested in what you offer? Go here.)

Building on what I just said . . . business development is all about creating a relationship. That means both parties get to participate in the dialogue.

Here's what I mean.

I was at my nephew-in-law's wedding this weekend. Met a bunch of people. They told me a lot about themselves. Couldn't remember anything they said and certainly wouldn't say I developed any new relationships. Why?

The conversations were all one sided. They talked and I listened (at least for a short while.) On and on they went. About themselves. About what they assumed I would be interested in. Never asked a single question.

Sound familiar?

It's the same thing with your prospects. Most follow up campaigns focus on giving information. That's fine but I think that it is also important to ask for input.

You'll notice that in my messages to you, sometimes I am sharing information, sometimes I'm asking for your input and other times my messages are promotional in nature.

That's by design.

I've found that by asking for input it helps me build a bond with my readers. For example, I'm interested in creating more products and resources. (If you haven't considered how to turn what you know into information products you are missing an HUGE opportunity. You really should talk with me about how to get started.) But I approach the development process from a win-win perspective. Sure I want to make money from my labors, but I also want it to be a product that focuses on addressing the most important issues you're facing.

And how am I am I going to find that out?

I ask.

And I think you should do the same thing. (Regardless of whether or not you offer products.) Otherwise it appears that you are the "Oracle Speaking From On-High". And that gets in the way of building relationships. Not to mention that after a short while, it gets boring.

Now I realize that this is often a leap of faith for many consultants since they have it hard-wired into their DNA that they always must be the experts. But I think that that asking your prospects questions and establishing a dialogue goes a long way towards building a relationship. If nothing else it's a powerful way to differentiate yourself and demonstrate that you care.

(What to say in your follow up communications is a challenge for most of us. You can learn what are the most effective methods for staying in touch with your prospects by going here.)

From a practical perspective business development requires an approach that is consistent. The challenge becomes how to organize and implement your marketing plan. Far too many businesses get caught up in the details of the plan . . . endlessly debating the relative merits of one approach vs. another. In short never implementing anything. And as a result, never achieving the results they want.

So how can businesses that have great desire for growth but face difficulties in implementing a system move from thinking-about-marketing to actually seeing results?

The key is to follow a plan. A step-by-step process that will make prospective clients curious to learn more about you and then moves them to take action. And you can learn the details . . . the paint-by-numbers approach in our comprehensive FREE report that you can get by clicking here