Use SURVEYS To Find Out What Your Clients Want

March 21st, 2010

What does your market really want?

Answering this question is your primary marketing challenge. One of the most direct methods of finding the answer is by surveying your market.

Studying surveys and gathering concrete feedback about what potential clients want – and how you can provide it – is a tried-and-true method of focusing your marketing in the right direction.

Surveys are a valuable tool in analytical marketing. The most direct way of conducting a survey is to contact your list.

One way you can do this is by sending an email to everyone on your list. Ask their opinion about your product. Find out what your contacts’ biggest challenges, problems or complaints are, and address those issues when you present your offering.

Ask what they most want help with. The answer might not be what you expected – but that is the point of the survey. Listening to the feedback will keep you from developing a product that users don’t really want.

If you are targeting a small market, use a telephone survey. Call the people you want to speak with directly. Let them know that you are putting together a product to help people in their situation. Ask them about any suggestions or requirements they may have. Depending on the market you’re in, that may yield better results than a standard email survey.

If you anticipate more than 100 responses, consider using tools that can help you with your survey. Survey Monkey and AskDatabase.com will help you analyze responses by collecting and collating them in a simple database for your review.

When you prepare a survey, craft open-ended questions. You don’t want to lead people to answer in a certain way. Leave room for them to respond with more than a simple “yes” or “no” and with no preconceived ideas that might prevent them from answering honestly.

Ask effective questions that will tell you what challenges your clients are facing and what you can do to assist them in your area. Open-ended types of questions will generate more useful answers.

Once you have identified what your market needs, unhook yourself from any pre-determined decisions that you’ve already made about the product you will offer. Be open-minded and evaluate your research. This is how you will know for certain what your market really wants and be able to deliver them the right product.

You have the potential to create an amazing life for yourself and others by delivering the exact products and programmes your prospects need and want.  Find out exactly what will make your product red-hot and irresistible by simply asking the right questions.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Use SURVEYS To Find Out What Your Clients Want

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Posted in Business Networking, Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Niche Marketing, Strategies To Keep Good Customers | No Comments »

Your Million Dollar Idea Can Come True

March 18th, 2010

If you’ve got what you think is a million dollar idea, then that million dollars is already there waiting for you to receive it. If you have a need or a desire for a specific amount of money, that amount of money is already there for you.

Does that sound too good to be true?
Are you programmed to see the money and opportunity in front of you?
Do your beliefs allow you to perceive what is possible?

The universal law of polarity essentially states that everything in the universe, tangible and intangible, has an opposite side to it. So, it logically follows that if you have a need or a desire for a specific amount of money, that amount of money must already be there for you.

Once you have a profound understanding of the law of polarity, the door will crack open and allow you to accept a truth that was previously inconceivable to your mind. You will be able to see and achieve things that were once invisible and inconceivable to you.

You don’t have to think in terms of a million. Put whatever number on this that you want to put on it. But if you want it, that money is already there.

Your belief system may not be allowing you to accept this principle right now. If your initial reaction is skepticism and disbelief, that’s not unusual. Your beliefs control your perceptions. Once you alter those beliefs, you can take better control of your physical perceptions. Then you will see that the money is, indeed, already there.

Let’s use an everyday real-life situation as an example. You have a bill that needs to be paid, but not enough money in the bank. You need to find the money to cover the bill.

The first order of business is to be clear on what that amount of money actually is. There is generally a difference between what you need and what you think you need. Break down exactly what you need. This eliminates some of the fear of the unknown. Write down the exact amount of money that you need.

Then apply the law of polarity. The money must be there because you have a need for it. But, how is it going to get to you? Write down every idea you can come up with as to where this money could possibly be.

It could come from a bank loan. It could be from some business opportunity. The money could come from something that you’re going to sell. A friend or family member could loan it to you.

It really doesn’t matter where the money comes from. What does matter is that you write the ideas down and act on each and every one of them, all the way through to the end.

You will discover that the money is indeed there. Just be careful not to trip yourself up. You might consider applying for a bank loan and simultaneously think that you don’t have enough credit for the bank to give you a loan. You might be reluctant to ask a family member. In an instant you could literally talk yourself out of the universe bringing you that money.

Your mind can do powerful things that can work both for and against you. Use its powers to your advantage.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Your Million Dollar Idea Can Come True

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Posted in Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Law of Polarity, Marketing, Motivation | 1 Comment »

Improve Your Capacity To Receive

March 16th, 2010

How good are you at receiving? How much experience do you have with receiving money? Logic dictates that the more experiences you have, the better a receiver you will be.   Your current financial circumstances are merely a reflection of how much you’ve been allowing yourself to receive up until now. To increase your income by becomming a better receiver, you need to create continuous opportunities for people to give you money.   It’s up to you to create those opportunities.

One way to create those opportunities is to put structures in place that allow you to receive money 24/7.  Set systems in place that allow you to make money while you sleep.  For example, by offering products and programs on a web site, you are increasing your ability to receive.  You are giving your prospects and clients the means to give you money.

If you don’t have simple and continuous methods for people to give you money, your capacity to receive is only as big as a pinhole!   You need to turn your receiving pinhole into a wide open chasm and watch your income soar …

Here are a few things to consider:

•    Do you have an ecommerce website yet?

•    Are you in a position where someone can come to your website and find out about you?

•    Can a potential client book a session with you and pay for it on your website?

•    Can potential clients buy something on your website, right then and there?

•    Do you have a way for clients to automatically pay you for your product or service?

By implementing these elements in your business you will increase your capacity to receive, and in turn increase your income.

I’ve often talked about mindset and how it is so important to work on yourself from the inside – to analyze why you are limiting yourself and your capacity to receive.

Well, today I’m asking you to also work it on the outside? How about putting that external structure in place to be the metaphor for you becoming a better receiver?”

Think about how much you have been allowing yourself to receive, but don’t stop at the thinking. You need to act on it. Take the next step to implement the necessary structures in your business. Don’t just analyze.  Thinking and talking about receiving and how you can improve, won’t be as effective as doing something externally. You may hit obstacles along the way but with persistence, the right support, coaching and advice you will succeed!

Yes, work on the inside but also work on the outside.

Continue to step up through those obstacles until the elements for you to receive are in place. Get the advice and expertise you need to make it happen!

Improve Your Capacity To Receive

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Marketing, Motivation, Personal Productivity, Sales Motivation, Small Business Ideas, Success Secrets, Systems, Website sales | 4 Comments »

Authentic Selling Secrets

March 16th, 2010

How to be yourself, have fun and sell a ton on stages and teleseminars!


I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Lisa Sasevich, also known as the Queen of Sales Conversion.  She’s about to rock the “speak to sell” industry AGAIN with her BRAND NEW teleclass!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
9pm UK * 2pm Pac * 5 PM East

Lisa is going to reveal a BIG AH-HA she recently had about what she REALLY did to sell over 7-figures speaking last year (and it’s the OPPOSITE of what you’ve likely been taught!)

Here’s what you’re going to learn on this revealing free call:

• Discover the ONE THING Lisa did differently than everybody else that caused her to not only have a 7-figure year but ALSO enjoy the most amazing clients. (She did the opposite of what you’ve likely been taught to do when you speak-to-sell…and it worked!)

• EXACTLY what you need to have in place to putting together a life-altering talk that feels GREAT to share without giving away the store! (AND has your ideal clients WANTING to invest with you.)

• How to instantly create hunger and desire for your products and services without being “salesy”

• Lisa’s BIG secret to attracting 100% of EXACTLY the perfect clients and none of the, well, not-so-perfect ones

• A simple technique that Hollywood uses to capture attention and sell tickets all the time that will work for you too!

And much more….

Here’s the link to reserve your spot in this complimentary teleclass…

http://bit.ly/sellingsecrets

Best Wishes,

Bernadette Doyle
www.clientmagnets.com

Authentic Selling Secrets

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Posted in Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Presenting, Sales Motivation, Success Secrets, Teleseminars, teleclass | No Comments »

Create Your Winning Team

March 15th, 2010

When planning how you’re going to outsource, it’s helpful to draw an analogy from personal relationships. If you’ve got a life partner, it’s unlikely that that life partner meets all of your social needs.

Perhaps your partner doesn’t have the same interest in art that you do, or prefers to stay indoors while you go hiking. You probably still have friends that you go to the cinema with, or to art galleries or the museum. It’s almost like you build up a team of friends to fulfil the different needs of your life.

Just as we have different people in our life that resonate with different parts of us, it’s the same with business. It’s unrealistic to expect that just one person will be able to fix everything. You’re going to get frustrated because you’ll end up with a person who is good at some things but weak in other areas.

When I started my business, I had a list of tasks that either I didn’t want to do, or that were not cost-effective for me to do. But one of the things that I did wrong was to try to find one person who could take over all of the tasks. Instead, what I should have focused on was to build a team of people around me who could assist my business.

You need to remember that business is a team sport. You should think about the tasks you want to outsource, and match them to the right people. You need to build up a team of assistants to look after the many aspects of your business. This is what I call my “virtual team”.

Outsourcing to teams allows me to be more flexible. I used to outsource transcription of my teleseminars to an individual, but whenever she got a backlog of work or whenever she was on holiday, I had a delay in getting transcripts back. I like to get transcripts of teleseminars up ideally within a week of the teleseminar, so I decided that would work better if I could hand it over to a team of assistants, rather than one person.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t have one person with whom you work more than any other, or who helps run your team of virtual assistants. You just need to make sure that they don’t become indispensible for your business.

Right now, I have a team of virtual assistants around the world who work for me without me having to do it myself. The beauty of it is that even if my key person were to leave, I wouldn’t be left high and dry. We have a manual that I can hand over to the next person that explains how my business operates.

The other important message is not to think that a “virtual team” only applies to a small business. Eben Pagan runs workshops around building virtual teams, and has built a large business around the idea. The interesting thing is that while he has a virtual team of 80 people and his turnover is $20 million, he doesn’t have a company office. So he has the benefit of 80 people working for him, but his business doesn’t have the huge overhead that comes with providing office space for them all.

Your ultimate goal should be creating a team around you that would allow you to action today’s ideas tomorrow.

So create your team and start scoring some goals!

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Create Your Winning Team

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True Personal Value Increases True Market Value

March 11th, 2010

What’s the one thing that you excel in, but you never had to go to school for, attend a seminar for, or sweat your way through testing for?  Do you have a talent that you can’t remember learning, and that was never a struggle for you?  Something you would do for free, just because you enjoy being good at it?  That’s your true value.

Often, it’s easy to believe that if something is easy for you to do, then surely, no one else can benefit from it, or would want it.  We’ve been conditioned to believe that we can only use the things that we’ve worked for, or paid for, for profit.

What’s important to remember here is that what comes easily for you might be highly valuable to, and worthy of payment from, other people.

My friend Veronica is a good example.  Before I had assistants to help me with administrative tasks, my desk was a paperwork wasteland.  When Veronica called on me, early in my career, she found my desk buried beneath a clutter of papers.

Veronica tackled my messy office, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was transformed from a disaster zone to a well-organized, functioning space.  My wonderful friend had offered her true value, her talent, to me in a way that not only helped me, but left me awestruck with her ability.

Organization is not impossible for me, but it’s not easy, either.  Tears of gratitude filled my eyes when Veronica had finished with my office space.  The value that she presented me with was immeasurable.

As I explained earlier, sometimes it’s difficult for the giver of true value to understand the impact they can have.  Veronica seemed taken aback with my pouring out of emotion.  She looked at me, as if to say, “What’s the big deal?”  She had difficulty accepting my thanks.

You can help yourself to market your true value when you:

• Identify your inborn gifts and talents; the things that come easily to you.

• Combine those true values into a package that you can offer to the world – something unique that offers significant benefit.

• Identify a genuine need that can be fulfilled with your true value.

Now, this might seem like a speech you got back in grammar school or high school, but it’s still important to remember:  don’t choose paths because they’re “cool,” or because they’ve been successful for others.  You’ve got to stay true to you.

Don’t think that your abilities are insignificant just because they come easily to you.  In fact, your thinking should be moving in the opposite direction.  You were given your talents by God for a reason.  When you use them purely and fully, you automatically offer something that cannot be duplicated by another.

Because you are unlike any other person on Earth, your unique abilities can be combined to equal a unique contribution.  Everyone’s looking for the next big thing.  Seems to me that if you want to find something unique and valuable, you need only to look inside yourself.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter with invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease – register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

True Personal Value Increases True Market Value

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Motivation, Personal Productivity, Small Business Marketing, Success Secrets, Systems | 2 Comments »

It’s Time To Step Up!

March 10th, 2010

Do you ever get that “I’m almost there” feeling? You only have a couple of things left to figure out and then you can take that first step toward starting, growing or building your business.

It’s an exciting feeling, but almost isn’t quite good enough, is it? If you wait to figure out exactly how your business is all going to map out, if you’re waiting for that perfect time, if you’re waiting to have everything in place to take that next step – think again!  If you’re waiting you may never take that first step. While it’s certainly good to have a rough idea, the chances are your carefully laid plans are going to change. They will be influenced and shaped by a number of things.

Give yourself the confidence to just get started by knowing you’ve addressed the most important aspects crucial to the success of any business.

•  Make sure that you’re delivering something that the market really wants. No amount of promotion in the world can compensate for a dud product or idea that the market does not want. Focus on the product, service or program that’s guaranteed to succeed before you even think to start to promote it. If you’re almost ready to take that step, you should have already done this research and exploring to make sure that you’re delivering something that is sought after, wanted, and demanded in the marketplace.

•  Spend the budget you have wisely. You should not have to invest £5,000 in a product that’s sitting in your warehouse. You should not have to invest £5,000 in a website or in an ad in a newspaper or in a magazine to get going.   The best way to spend your budget wisely is to focus on a group of people who have a problem that you can solve, and then offer to solve that problem at a price. With the right training, mentoring and research you’ll learn to spend your budget with a marketplace that you’ve got an affinity with.

•  Knowing your market is another crucial component to your success. Who are your customers? You need to know who will be fueling your business.  Are they a group of people that you enjoy helping and enjoy spending time with? You’re going to be spending a lot of time with these people, so it makes sense to pick a group that you enjoy working with and you’ve got an affinity with.

•  Think like the unique, one-of-a-kind original you are. The world is crying out for your know-how. Your unique combination of expertise, experience and talents are badly needed and wanted by some group of people somewhere in the world.

•  Be what you say you are. Demonstrate credibility. Don’t set out to be a weight loss coach if you’re a stone overweight. Would you entrust your business to a financial adviser who has credit problems or a marketing coach or business growth coach who can’t market their own business? Of course not.  So be sure you’ve thoroughly explored your abilities, and even ask opinion from those who know you. Often people can see in you things that you can’t see in yourself.

•  Have your entry-level products or services ready to go. These are the things most demanded, most needed and easily recognized by the people that you’re targeting. They will help you to fulfill a promise and give customers a chance to sample you.

•  Plan out your premium product, program or service. This is the offering for those who want only the best; where money is no object.  Without it, you’re putting a cap on your income. People normally price at what they think other people are willing to pay, and then they figure out what they need to include in their package to justify that price. Think about planning your products as if money was no object. It’s so much more effective and it better serves your clients.

•  Promoting your offering involves knowing how much it is going to cost and how can you sell it. Know where the people are who are willing and able to pay for what you’re offering and know how you can reach them.

Take that first step toward building your business with complete confidence.  You already have what you need and now is the perfect time for you to take action.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

It’s Time To Step Up!

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Motivation, Personal Productivity | 3 Comments »

Being Superconductive

March 6th, 2010

Breakthrough!I was talking to a friend recently and she was describing how busy she was, and all the things she had coming up in her week. She was at capacity. As she rattled off the list of things she had to do, I started to get curious. She had important phone calls to make, errands to attend to, and a significant meeting. But all of the things she described to me amounted to about 4-6 hours worth of activity. And she had a whole week to get these things done.

Our conversation helped me realise how in my own life a few hours work can feel like a whole lot more. And how overwhelming this can be. Having reflected on this, I’ve come to the realisation that time is only one of the resources we use as we get things done. We contribute emotional and intellectual energy too.

For example, I experience this when I fly internationally to speak and attend live events. My speaking engagement may only be one hour long. I can fly in from Ireland the night before, and leave the same evening that the event takes place, so it only amounts to one night away from home. Time wise the cost is minimal. Yet emotionally and intellectually the cost is far greater. A short trip can feel like a major upheaval in my week. It’s only one hour of work, yet it can feel like two or three days.

In other words, we might tell ourselves that we are ‘too busy’ to do something, when a more accurate statement might be: ‘I don’t have the intellectual energy for that right now’ or ‘That tasks requires more emotional energy than I have available’. This also means that all the time management in the world won’t matter a jot if the resistance is emotional or intellectual.

Resistance stops the flow of energy. Resistance is the cause of stress. Resistance is like trying to drive with the brakes on. When you stop the flow of energy, you stop action – or you require tremendous amounts of energy to enable action.

You can push the gas pedal harder and harder, but as long as the brake is on it is difficult to move. And if you do move – and even if you make it to your goal – you have put great strain and stress on your engine. This often results in physical and mental breakdown.

Preparing for this newsletter is one of my favourite activities of the week. In this area, I am relatively resistance free (although I’ve also got plenty of areas where I’m not resistance free!) It typically takes me about 20 minutes to complete. (When I first started out it took me about an hour – but I have assistants helping me out now :-) . Even though the newsletter only takes about an hour to prepare, I’ve heard lots of people say that they couldn’t possibly commit to writing a newsletter because they haven’t got time.

I now realise that it’s got nothing to do with time. Maybe they have limiting beliefs about their writing ability, or they doubt their ability to commit their thoughts to paper week after week, or maybe they are nervous about being ‘out there’. Week after week they would have to push the gas pedal harder and crank themselves up to overcome this emotional resistance, just to complete a one hour activity. The one hour activity would probably take 6 hours. 5 hours building themselves up to it, and one to actually write. And that would put strain and stress on their ‘engine’. Sure they might have a newsletter, but at what cost? Me bleating on about the fact that it only takes an hour doesn’t help them at all. We need to uncover the emotional cost and address that.

Have you ever been baffled by a colleague who kept telling you they were ‘too busy’ to complete what looked to you to be a highly simple task? Have you ever been frustrated by a client who was stalling for no apparent reason? Have you ever beaten yourself up for failing to get started on a project, or complete one?

In each of these scenarios, the obstacle was never time – or lack of it. Which is why attempting to coerce, coax or cajole your colleague, your client or yourself into any of these activities just won’t work long term. The next time you hear someone (including yourself) say, ‘I haven’t got time’, try to appreciate that what is really being said is ‘I don’t have the intellectual energy for that right now’ or ‘That tasks requires more emotional energy than I have available’. That awareness will elicit a more compassionate response to yourself or the other person.

Superconductivity is a great metaphor when we come to consider resistance. Superconductivity is a scientific description for when an electrical current travels with the minimal amount of its power lost to energy-robbing resistance.

My personal experience, and that of my clients, has taught me that there are two sides to becoming a Client Magnet. The first part is about recognising, reclaiming and honouring our natural magnetism and having the courage to let it shine. The other side of this is identifying and eliminating those places where we are resisting success, ease, and abundance. In other words, we need to become super-conductors. Free of resistance, it is possible to attract great things with ease and effortlessness.

One way to do this is to increase our capacity for intellectual and emotional stress. Time and energy invested raising these thresholds may yield far greater returns than the energy currently being expended to push past them.

So how do we ‘raise our thresholds’? Well here’s a start. …

Something for you to think about this week:

• You know that stuff that you’re beating yourself up for not starting or not finishing? Trust yourself. Somewhere inside you knew that forcing yourself would put a strain on your engine greater than you could bear. You aren’t lazy or procrastinating, and this is NOT ’self-sabotage!’

• Identify areas in your life where you are most ‘resistance-free’. What do you love to do? What do you find easy to do?

• What are the main differences between the situations where you experience resistance, and those where you are ‘resistance-free’?

• Explore some of the different technologies which help you release resistance.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Being Superconductive

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Sales Motivation, Systems | 3 Comments »

Three Tips for Increasing Productivity

March 5th, 2010

If you’re serious about getting more things done, it’s time for a major mindshift. It’s time to stop being a “doer” and start being a “producer.”  Here are 3 tips to get you started on changing your mindset to accomplish more in your life.

1.  Change Your Mindset and View Yourself Differently
Before you can make a change in how you run your business, you must first see yourself differently. Rather than clinging to the idea that you have to do everything yourself, consider how Oprah Winfrey runs her show. Can you imagine Oprah sitting down and calling prospective guests to book them for future shows?

Of course not! She has producers to line up each show’s content. Those producers, in turn, break down what needs to be completed and assign it to other people. They understand that Oprah brings unique skills to the show and it would be a waste to have her booking talent. Surrounding herself with great teams of producers to get things done is one reason Oprah has become so successful.

2.  Visualize and Plan Your Team
Even before you hire some help, you need to visualize and plan your team.   Think about those big projects you don’t have time to start. Outline how you’d like them to be. Break down those projects into smaller bites and imagine what kind of person could take them over. Imagine how much more smoothly your business would run if you weren’t taking care of every detail.

That’s an important point to reach, you need to visualize and plan what you can delegate.   Let go of the idea you’re the only one who can do every little task. That change shifts you from being the doer to being the producer.

3. Start Delegating
Once you’ve visualized and planned your team, start making it your reality. Get serious about breaking down the work you’re doing now into individual tasks. Let go of the idea that you have to do it all. Choose a task that’s wasting your time, that you don’t enjoy doing and that someone else could do easily. Find a way you can afford to have someone else to do it.

Take another look at projects you’ve been putting off. Determine what’s keeping you from getting started. Decide which pieces someone else should be doing. Visualize the project from start to finish, the way a producer would do. And then find the help you need to get it done. That’s the only way your business, and your income, can expand to the next level.

Being in business for yourself can be overwhelming, especially when you’re stuck in “lone ranger” mode. Allow yourself to visualize what life would be like with a competent team helping to achieve your goals. Learn to look at your business the way a producer would, and you’ll finally experience the satisfaction of getting it all done.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Three Tips for Increasing Productivity

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Home Business, How To Make Money, Internet Business, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Success Secrets, Systems, outsourcing | 1 Comment »

Do You Need To Change Direction?

March 4th, 2010

You’ve worked hard to define yourself and your business. You have distinguished your area of expertise and identified your niche – and business is good.

But, somewhere along the line, as you work within your niche, serving those specific clients who are benefiting from your services and products, your business may start shifting in a slightly different direction. Keep a look out for this shift in direction.  It can be a very positive step – presenting more opportunities available than you’d realized.

If this starts to happen in your business, it maybe time to reposition yourself. If you’re noticing that your skills and expertise lend themselves beyond the niche you created, don’t be afraid to refocus your vision.

For example, a client of mine initially established herself as an expert in helping working moms and moms who wanted to start a business.

She noticed the same things coming up over and again in her target market – guilt, confidence, work-life balance. She did a lot of research and gathered a lot of information because she was coaching, mentoring, and advising her clients.

Although she was very successful and very satisfied with her business, she uncovered an opportunity for corporate work. Though she is still working within her area of expertise by offering workshops and services for working mothers, the corporate niche is totally different.

What she is selling to companies isn’t mom coaching. She’s selling them the end result of retaining working mothers. This is a really important distinction. She isn’t abandoning what she’s been doing with her coaching of moms, but the corporate client is really a new direction. In essence, she has two clients – the corporation who hires her and the end user, the moms that she’s already been working with in the other part of her business.

In this case, the opportunity to expand and work outside her niche led her to reposition herself to accommodate these additional opportunities.

In some cases, you might find that certain aspects of your niche aren’t working for you. This is another instance of the need to reposition your business in order to find a more suitable direction.

Another of my clients spent more than 18 months putting large tenders together to submit to government organizations, where a particularly strict type of bidding process is required by law. It’s very difficult to establish personal relationships that lead to a sale in that type of environment. Though he’s had some success in his business, he began weighing whether it was worth the enormous amount of effort he was putting in. All of the bidders are essentially on the same level, with no personal rapport with the potential client to help win the bid.  He was essentially operating in a buyer’s market. And that is not where you want to be. To attract clients, you need to turn that traditional sales dynamic on its head so that you’re operating in a seller’s market. You want to be the one with all of the advantage, and position yourself so that there is no competition. In his case, looking to private companies with whom he can establish relationships would put him in a better position.

Look for markets where it will be easier for you to build those personal relationships, and where you can position yourself as an expert.

Whether you have noticed the opportunity for additional business, or recognized the need to shift from your current niche, repositioning is an excellent way to expand your options.

You can still work within your area of expertise, but by repositioning yourself, those same skills could be very valuable on a larger scale.

Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Do You Need To Change Direction?

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Posted in Business Networking, Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Niche Marketing, Small Business Ideas, Success Secrets | 1 Comment »

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