Marketing program reviews?

[emsbronco]

I know this is subjective, but I am looking for feedback on marketing / coaching programs. There are several out there, MarketMeIT, Computer Service Profits, Robin Robins, George Sierchio, etc. Robin Robbins focuses on managed service providers rather than break/fix businesses, which is not the direction my business is going in right now. Since opening the storefront, I have seen a huge increase in residential services, so for the short term, I am leaning towards marketing in that direction, with small business as a secondary market.

I don't want this thread to go in the direction of "do it yourself". I have been doing it myself and I am tired of the inconsistent responses I have seen from advertising. So, I am toying with the idea of realigning my marketing dollars to invest in a program that may provide more consistent results.

To further clarify my goals, I want to Stabilize my cash flow (marketing towards residential and SOHO), once my cash flow is more stable I want to hire a tech, then readjust marketing to increase sales to the SOHO and SMB space.

So, I would like some thoughts on which marketing and/or coaching program is better and why...or at least some reviews of each program. They all have testimonials and such, but I would like to hear some candid comments outside of their marketing pieces.

 

[sedigital]

I used to work for a company the believed heavily in Robin Robins program, subscribed, and probably sunk close to $2000 into it. However, no one in the business had the initiative to run with it so it was a waste.

She does have some fantastic materials and offers great 1 on 1 assistance if you need. Her ideas also sound like they would work. I think there are three big things that she does that I could tell you for free.

1. Gain access by offering free stuff, be it free technical evaluations, get out of trouble free cards, etc. I think this is a great way to gain entry into customers offices.

2. Provide a 100% total satisfaction guarantee. Back up all of the work that you do.

3. Develop a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). What sets you apart from your customers? Define it, set goals, and hammer it home.

It's pretty much marketing 101.