Years ago when my business was only a few years old, I attended a dinner party with my then-husband. JZ introduced me to an attorney who was a good friend of his cousin.  When "Stuart" asked what I did, and I told him, he mentioned they were planning to put on a series of seminars on personal injury and negligence for the general public.

I asked how they were going to market their seminars.  "Well," he replied, "we're afraid of getting too many people; so we're not going to advertise in the dailies (there were two then), just the weeklies."  I looked at him and replied without hesitation, "If you're going to market in a half-a'd. manner, you're going to get a half-a'd. response."
 
Stuart looked me up and down for a moment, then asked what I charged.  When I told him, he requested that I call him the next day so we could set our first appointment.  That was the beginning of a long relationship.  Professionals had only been given the green light to market a few years prior, so we virtually "grew up" together; Stuart, in learning how to market his growing practice (already at seven partners) and I in helping professional practitioners navigate the murky marketing waters.  Over the years I lost count of how many times he so generously referred us.
 
Last week I heard a version of this rationalization for the umpteenth time.  "I heard what you just said in your terrific talk, but I can't afford to grow too big; I need to be able to spend a certain amount of time with each client."
 
This might sound admirable at first, but it's marketing logic gone wrong.  If you don't want to grow too big, you're simply setting yourself and your company up to get what you're asking for.
 
Here's why:  when one markets there's what I have named the "delay factor." That's the time between when you market and individuals/companies respond.  Over the years the delay factor has grown longer and longer. No surprise here.  The Internet, email, social media, cable TV, online media - all have contributed to our being on information overload.  Our best intentions often get lost through stress, being overwhelmed and good, old procrastination.
 
When this woman, whose business by the way is a primary target for decision procrastination, says she's afraid of getting too busy, she's not taking into account the delay factor.
 
Here's what I tell clients: market your heart out, keeping in mind your Marketing Plan's budgets of money, people and time. If your marketing concentrates on the face-to-face, voice-to-voice and educational strategies, you'll see success pretty quickly.  That should help you and your employees become pretty busy.
 
Busy enough, actually, that you'll soon be thinking of hiring another person.  Your cash flow will not quite sustain another employee at this time, however; so you set a pretty ambitious revenue goal to achieve for three consecutive months.
 
Now, here's the rub.  Don't wait until you've reached that revenue goal.  When you're clearly 80-85% there, that's the time to start your serious search for your next employee.
 
Business owners muck this personnel strategy up every time, by waiting until they're overly busy.  Then, in addition to servicing new clients/customers, they have to recruit, study resumes, interview, hire and train.  A high stress level encourages settling for people who simply aren't a fit, because you're too exhausted to continue your hiring process until you find the ideal person.
 
Once you see the positive direction in which you're headed, if you gamble a bit, your new employee will be well through the learning curve, as you actually hit that magical goal.
 
Yet there's another aspect to your growth mindset:  if you truly want to be only "so big," you'll still have to market continually at some level. Change is certain.  Clients or customers leave, move away (and then want only to work with a local firm), take longer and longer to make buying decisions, switch to your competitors, start to purchase online because they're certain they're saving money.  You get the picture.  There's nothing so constant as change, which means you have to keep acquiring more business to replace what you've lost.
 
If you're so afraid to market for fear you won't be able to handle the business, you won't be on anyone's radar screen; and your business will gradually decline.
 

I'm starting an online marketing community, as an offshoot of Adrienne Zoble Associates, Inc., called BroadsOnBusiness.com.   You may pay monthly at different, unbelievably inexpensive levels to determine how much marketing assistance you receive. 

Watch your inbox.  There will be five announcements a week apart.  The first 100 individuals/companies to sign on will become Charter Members and receive a 10% discount for the first three months!  Depending upon the program you select, you'll also receive additional one-on-one time with yours truly.

 

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