What if you could make a change in your business that greatly improved your ability to attract clients? During the last 15 years of consulting professionals, there are three common marketing mistakes that I frequently see and they are all tied to one major misunderstanding that many professionals have. I’ll explain.

The first big mistake is marketing using the “shotgun” approach instead of the “rifle” approach. In other words, many businesses aim for a mass of prospects and launch a mass marketing campaign.

Let me share an example. Assume you sell auto insurance for a living. You market to anyone in your community who has a car, which is about 100,000 people. How do you effectively market to 100,000 people? How much would it cost to send postcards to 100,000 people? Do you think there would be enough response to make it worthwhile? Having worked with advisors who tried this exact approach, I can tell you the answers are “You can’t” and “about $60,000″ and “No.”

People seldom respond when they see or hear something one time. Therefore, you would need to market to these individuals repeatedly. That would require a huge amount of time and money. Is there a better strategy? Absolutely.

Start by determining how many clients you would like to add in the next year (be realistic) and multiply that by 25. If your goal is to add five new clients every month, then that would be 60 for the year. Multiply that by 25 and you have 1500. That is the ideal target market size for you. Market to the same 1500 people effectively and repeatedly and you will convert 4-5% of them (60-75) during the next year. Use a rifle approach and “pick them off” one by one.

That leads right into the second marketing mistake often made. How do you determine which 1500 to market to? Do not be a Generalist that markets to anyone you could possibly do business with. Instead, be a Specialist to a smaller group.

I know of an auto insurance agent who specializes horse owners. Instead of trying to market to over 100,000 car owners in her city, she targets the 2,000 who own horses. Not only did this strategy make it easier for her to market, but she received numerous referrals because many of the horse owners knew each other. She never would have accomplished this if she had remained a Generalist.

This leads to the third marketing mistake. Many businesses spend a huge amount of time marketing to vary large target markets. Because these professionals are stretched thin on time, they do not spend enough time providing incredible service to their existing clients.

Many professionals spend 80% of their time marketing and only 20% servicing their existing customers. Instead, spend 80% of your time providing incredible service and only 20% of your time prospecting and marketing. Not only will this do wonders for your client retention, but it generates more repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals than spending the same time networking and prospecting.

Now for the big question. Why do professionals make these mistakes? Why do they have huge target markets, insist on being Generalists, and spend 80% of their time prospecting? Because of the big misunderstanding.

Most professionals have a Scarcity mentality instead of an Abundance mentality. Most professionals feel that there are not enough prospects. Because of this, they target markets that are much too large, they resist being Specialists (despite the fact that Specialists have an average income 4.3 times higher than Generalists), and they spend 80% of their time trying to find more prospects.

Now you know the answer…that’s the good news. The bad news is this…it’s easier said than done. Changing your perception to Abundance thinking is not an instantaneous act. It is a process that starts when you realize that there are more prospects than you could ever handle. Then, you identify a smaller group of prospects to target. The final step to achieving an Abundance Mentality comes when you are willing to “give away” a prospect because they are not your ideal client, even though you could work with them if you wanted. (See Attract Only Profitable Customers).

Change the way you think about Abundance and Scarcity. Change the way you think about target marketing and mass marketing. Change the way you think about prospecting versus servicing. If you do, it will automatically change the revenue of your business for the best.

Since the early 1990s, Steve Lawson has been training independent professionals to grow their business while spending little to no money. Steve is now the CEO of The Prospection Network. The Prospection Network is the unique, fun, and cost-effective way to grow your business. Generate a non-stop flow of prospects by surrounding yourself with a team of professionals trained to send you referrals. Improve your business strategy by having your own Advisory Board. Solve business challenges with a MasterMind Group. All for less than $1/day. Check out the free Business Optimization Calculator (under Tools) and learn more about us at http://www.ProspectionNetwork.com