What's the Missing Ingredient in Your Marketing?

"How can I improve my marketing?" a student recently asked me. "I've spent hours and hours trying to get clients, and none of my efforts seem to pay off."

I asked my student one simple question: "What would you say is the missing ingredient in your marketing?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"Well," he said, "I don't think I'm networking in the right places. I seem to meet a lot of other consultants and freelancers, but I'm not connecting with corporate decision makers. That's who I really need to be reaching. I'd better find some new groups to network with!"

My student had just solved one of his biggest marketing problems. But before he asked himself the right question, he didn't even know what that problem was.

In my book Get Clients Now! I suggest that marketing is a lot like cooking. You can't have a successful recipe if crucial ingredients are missing. But the way many entrepreneurs and independent professionals create their marketing recipes is like cooks who never taste what they make. Imagine what catastrophe would occur if you simply started adding more salt to your soup without ever tasting it.