Score how well you’re doing with your marketing
This Marketing Scorecard is not designed to depress you, but it probably will. But take a chance. After all, your score may be astoundingly high and then you can celebrate!
But your score (and hence, your marketing), may totally suck. Don’t despair. It’s better to know where you need to improve than deny reality and be ridiculed by your peers behind your back.
Once you know, you can start working on those marketing areas that need shoring up or a major teardown and overhaul. Knock yourself out.
Score yourself from 0 to 5 for each statement below. Just put your score in the fields provided and the subtotals and total will fill in automatically. Score yourself based on the frequency you implement each of the items listed in the scorecard.
0 – Never
1 – Sporadically
2 – Inconsistently
3 – Occasionally
4 – Consistently
5 – Always
A Note about the ScoreCard. The areas on the ScoreCard are all action-oriented items. They are the things you need to be, do and have for powerful marketing. My experience has proven that improving any of these areas can have a major impact on your marketing effectiveness. The trick is knowing what to improve and how to improve it. And now you’ll know.
Marketing ScoreCard
Game of Marketing
Rules of the Game. I know the rules of marketing and how to play the game. I know the steps it takes to move a prospective client through the marketing game until they become a paying client.
Affiliation. I have developed affiliations with groups and organizations that either consist of, or can lead me to, my ideal clients.
Familiarity. I have developed relationships with those I’m affiliated with so that they know, like and trust me. I am able to conduct marketing conversations that move me closer to working with them.
Attention/Information. I know how to get the attention and interest of prospective clients through written materials that make them want to know more about my services and how I can help them.
Experience. I know what it takes to provide an experience of me and my services so that prospects are more prepared to explore working with me.
Subtotal – Marketing Game
A score below 15 in this area indicates that you are not skilled in the fundamentals of attracting clients. You are likely doing your marketing randomly, without a focused plan to “move your prospects around the bases.”
Marketing Mindset
Focused Goals. I know what I want and where I’m going in my business and with my marketing. I have a burning desire to reach these goals and a willingness to do what it takes to achieve them.
Written Plans. I have clearly written plans to achieve my goals. I know the activities and projects that I need to do to move steadily towards my aims. I have systems for monitoring and working with my plans.
Consistent Action. I take actions toward my goals every day. I know the action steps that are required to fulfill my plans and I use a focused weekly list and daily action list that I almost always complete.
Expansive Attitudes. I have the right attitude to run and grow my business. I look for opportunities, how to make a contribution, and how to have fun in my business and my marketing.
Getting Unstuck. When I get stuck, I know how to get unstuck. Neither external circumstances, challenges, nor limiting beliefs hold me back from moving forward every day in the direction of my goals.
Subtotal – Marketing Mindset
A score below 15 in this area indicates that you are drifting in your business. Your goals are not clear and compelling and/or you are not motivated to achieve them. You spend a lot of time spinning your wheels and complaining about challenges instead of making things happen.
Marketing Message
Target/Problem. I know who my clients are, where they are and what problems, issues, and challenges they are facing. I can express this concisely and simply, both verbally and in writing.
Ultimate Outcome. I have a clearly articulated “ultimate outcome” statement for my business that tells what my clients get when they use my services.
Value. I have outlined a number of specific client-centered benefits that my clients receive when they use my services and that answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Uniqueness. I have a Unique Competitive Advantage that explains why I am different than my competition and what that means to my clients.
Proof. I have a number of client success stories, both written and verbal, that I can employ to prove that I am able to deliver the outcomes and value that I promise.
Subtotal – Marketing Message
A score below 15 in this area indicates that you are not communicating clearly about your value. People are likely not showing interest in your services when you talk about what you do. If you ask your friends what you do, most of them won’t be able to communicate it clearly.
Marketing Materials
Website. I have a professionally designed, content-rich web site that provides detailed information on my services and includes plenty of valuable free information such as articles and reports.
Clients Issues. I have information on my web site that clearly outlines the problems, issues and challenges my clients are dealing with. It show that I understand who my clients are and what they want to accomplish.
Services / What You get. My services, what I do and how I do it, are clearly presented on my web site. It’s no mystery what my clients get, how I work or what my approach is to solving clients problems.
Pricing and Proposals. I have a well-defined pricing strategy and proposal outline that explains what outcomes and value my clients get from me, not just what I do for them.
Business Presentation. Everything about my business, including my personal presentation, marketing materials, etc. are presented in a way that truly represents who I am.
Subtotal – Marketing Materials
With a score below 15 in this area you may have gotten initial attention, but now interest is dropping off. People are not really clear about what you can do for them and why your services are a solution to their problems. There are more questions than answers.
Marketing Strategies and Plans
Relationship. Through all my promotional vehicles, people get a sense of who I am and what my services are really about. They want to know more.
Referrals Systems. I have several ways to actively generate referrals from existing clients. Referrals are one of my strongest sources of new clients.
Visibility Systems. I stay visible to my target market and expand my credibility through regular networking, a website, blog, and social media activity.
Expertise. I communicate my expertise to my target market through speaking to groups, leading teleclasses and/or webinars and writing/publishing articles.
Keep-In-Touch Systems. I send information to clients and prospects on a regular basis through a newsletter, eZine or other mailings.
Subtotal – Marketing Plans and Strategies
With a score below 15 in this area you simply don’t have enough visibility and credibility to make much of an impact. Essentially you are an unknown quantity and you haven’t built enough trust for people to respond to you.
Selling Process
Focus. Whenever I meet with someone to explore working with them, I am totally focused on what I can do for them – how I can help (as opposed to being focused on myself).
Needs. I am skilled at building rapport by learning the past and present situation of my prospects through a series of well-thought-out questions.
Objectives. I am skilled at motivating prospects to see a need for my services by discovering what future objectives are the most important to them.
Presentation. I have a well-structured and well-organized presentation about the services I offer designed to inform my prospects about exactly how I can solve their problems and meet their objectives.
Recommendation. I am successful at asking for the business. I know what to say and do to win a prospect’s commitment to my services.
Subtotal – Selling Process
With a score below 15 in this area you are having real problems converting prospects into clients (if you can get them into appointments in the first place). Too many prospects put off buying your services and follow-up doesn’t help much.
Scorecard Grand Total
Grand Total (out of a total possible 150)
How well did you do? Look below for what your score indicates about your marketing effectiveness.
About Your Score
Your score should indicate how successful you are overall in attracting ideal clients to your business. Your score will likely correspond to your ability to attract clients.
0 to 30 – You are attracting virtually no clients. Your marketing totally sucks.
31 to 60 – You have very few clients and no ideal clients. Also pretty sucky.
61 to 90 – It is still a struggle to attract your ideal clients. But less sucky.
91 to 120 – You are attracting some good clients more regularly. Fewer sucks.
121 to 150 – You are attracting all the ideal clients you can handle. Zero sucks.
If your score is high, awesome! If it sucks, well, you’re in good company. That’s why you’re here, right? Start reading the blog posts and other material on the site and start working to improve your score. It’s only the success of your business that’s at stake, after all.