These five rules are effective to keep you focused on results, and to avoid wasting time on efforts that bring no return on your investment of time and effort.

For every project, marketing outreach, or other time-consuming effort on your business plate, no matter how small, make certain you stick to these basic rules.

1.  Define the result you want from this effort in a short phrase, and verify that this effort will meet the 5 rules.

•  I want this to bring me more prospects.
•  I want this to alert my referral network to send me more referrals.
•  I want to win this gig.

2.  Identify the audience (the specific target market), for example ~

• qualified prospect who has passed my screening criteria
• existing client ready to be upsold to more work
• your referral network

3. Speak only to the specified audience about the result you want.

• Do not address any audience other than the one you have targeted.
• Say one thing well to one audience.
• Brief is better.

4.  Craft a message that presents your value to that audience to gain the specified result.

• Do not confuse the outcome with any adjacent messages.
• See #3 above.

5.  Ask for the result.

• When you have crafted your single message, addressing your single target audience, and you have presented your value, ask for the result you want.  Be specific.  Make a direct request for the referral or the sale.

These 5 rules will save you much wasted effort, and focus your outreach, projects or prospecting in the most efficient manner.  Be sure you review the 5 rules you have created for each project while you are working on it, to be certain you have not moved off-message or off-target.

Good luck.