Give your prospects enough compelling reasons to want to buy.

Your prospects should be jumping at your product, and if they are not, it’s time to do some serious “tweaking” to your current marketing efforts.

Step 1:  Give Your Prospects A Reason To Buy

Let me ask you — Are you motivating your prospects enough, or in the right manner so that they want to buy what you’re offering? If your prospects aren’t acting, perhaps you’re not giving them enough compelling reasons to do so.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself (and answer them honestly) to discover new ways to motivate your prospects …

•    “How can I present my product or service differently?”

•    “How can I ask my prospects, in a new way, to change the way they operate, to do things differently?”

•    “What alternate forms of motivation can I explore?”

•    “How can I communicate the rewards differently?”

•    “How can I more clearly communicate the high cost of doing things the old way to my prospects?”

•    In short, “What do I need to do differently?”

Step 2 :  Get Clear About The End Reward

For the benefit of yourself and your prospects, it can be helpful to paint a mental picture of the end reward.  Often, prospects cannot be motivated to purchase unless they can gain a solid grasp of how their lives will change once your product or service is integrated.

Step 3 :  Challenge Negativity, Focus on the Positive

Often, our human nature dictates that when we come upon an obstacle, or obstacles, we tend to fall into dialogue that sounds like, “It’s hard,” “This is difficult,” or, “It’s impossible.”

Many times, conversation among professionals can further negative attitudes about obstacles.  If you’re hearing things like, “No one’s moving right now,” “Nobody takes professionals like us seriously,” or “They don’t know what they’re missing,” you run the risk of being pulled into that mindset.  And from that mindset springs prospect inactivity.

This phenomenon has been referred to as the “conspiracy of mediocrity,” and there’s really no better way to describe it.  After all, what better way for your competition to pilfer success than to convince you that your own hopes of success are unlikely to be realized.

When you encounter these attitudes, it can be helpful to remove yourself from the pervading negativity, and to instead focus on how you can make your company the one that’s breaking through that negativity.

Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into the conspiracy.  In order to reap rewards for you (and your clients), it’s imperative that you begin to challenge common beliefs that pervade the air of your particular niche.  Determine for yourself whether a principle is true or false.

If you want to motivate your prospects to buy, you must relieve them from the burden of listening to the same old song.  You must play a new tune, change the key, or even invent a new type of music.  If you take the time to really listen to what they’re asking for, and answer those needs, it won’t be long before they’re back on their feet, feeling better, and jumping on your bandwagon (which is, by the way, quite handy at steering around those pesky obstacles).

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

In all, you tally that the total cost will come out to about $10,000:  a lot of money; a real leap of faith, you think.

Nevertheless, you reserve your spot, buy your plane ticket, and book your hotel.  Once you arrive in the booming metropolis that’s hosting this grand event, you have about ten bucks in your pocket – not even enough to score a cab ride to your hotel.  So, you end up on the bus, shoulder-to-shoulder with other down-trodden individuals, lamenting your choice and knowing that you’ll be taking full advantage of the buffet breakfasts at the hotel and the lunches at the training program (because there won’t be any money for nice dinners).

You’ve gotten yourself into a tough spot, right?  You’ve spent what’s practically your last dollar on something that may or may not work to boost your business.

But let’s consider the rest of the story:

The information that you gather in the three days you spend at the seminar enliven your spirits; you fly back home knowing exactly how you’ll tackle your next hurdle; you have a plan for boosting profits; the professional advice you’ve gotten is unlike anything you could have anticipated.  Specifically, you leave knowing exactly how to offer high-end coaching programs.  You’d wanted to tackle this for a long time, but hadn’t the knowledge or the confidence to do so.

One year after the workshop, following the launch of your new high-end coaching program, you tally your profits from the coaching portion of your business at over $300,000.  Suddenly, riding the bus, skipping dinner, and fretting over the “mistake” you’d made seem silly.  What’s $10,000 compared to $300,000?  A drop in the bucket, to say the least.

This specific scenario is only a hypothetical, but I have heard similar stories in real life.  Here’s what you can learn about investment versus cost:

Firstly, don’t think in terms of cost. As long as you can afford to lose the initial investment, and the investment is something that has the potential to boost your business, push the initial dollar amount out of your mind.

Secondly, concentrate on the investment’s potential. Sure, the cost might be significant, but what future earning potential will it uncover?  Do you anticipate a return on your money, and if you do, how many times over will you cover the initial cost?

Thirdly, and in summary, when you make an investment in YOU, the cash is never lost…it’s simply redirected. The money might have moved to a different sector of the economy, but it’s not gone.  You will always be able to identify what the money earned for you:  experience, hindsight, and knowledge with which to move forward to the next investment opportunity.

In order to grab and hold onto a millionaire mindset, you must open your mind to investment possibilities.  Next time you’re faced with a decision to invest, rather than saying “It’s too much,” consider asking yourself, “What’s it worth?”

If the answer outshines the question, then don’t hesitate to invest in your most valuable commodity:  YOURSELF!

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Overcome obstacles by turning them into 'reasons why.'

What is the difference between someone who is really successful and the place you find yourself in right now? Do you think they had fewer challenges or obstacles? Do you think they had special talents or skills? Do you think they had endless supplies of capital? Or did they simply approach obstacles with a completely different mindset?

Turn your Obstacles into Reasons Why

A good friend of mine by the name of Carrie Wilkerson has a saying that I love. Incidentally she is known as the Barefoot Executive. She says that you have to turn your obstacles into reasons why. So when you look at your business and the challenges that you are facing you have to turn them on their head. Instead of them being the reason that you back off, they need to be the reason why you move forward.

For example: I knew that at one point in my business I did not have the resources I needed to grow my business. That obstacle became the reason why I needed to fix it. I wanted to grow my business so it didn’t matter that I didn’t have the resources, because I wanted to, I needed to find a solution. As another example: Because I didn’t have enough money to hire an assistant or someone to help me in my business. That was exactly why I needed to overcome that obstacle.  It may sound crazy, but adjusting your mindset and approach to obstacles is one of the most empowering things that you can do for your business. It takes you from a place of looking at an obstacle in defeat to being determined to find a solution to overcoming it.

Tips to help you believe that all Obstacles are solvable

•    Recognize that you are a talented individual that has achieved amazing things in your business so far. Look back on your accomplishments. They can encourage you to keep pressing on towards your goals.

•    The mere fact that you are reading up on ways to overcoming obstacles and growing your business means that you are already taking a step in the right direction. It is something to be applauded.

•    Listen to that feeling inside that says you want to achieve more. That desire to want to play a bigger game and achieve a greater level of success is what will help drive you and find solutions.

•    Don’t stop. Don’t back down from a challenge or give up at an obstacle. Turn it around and make it your reason why you need to overcome it.

Sometimes many of the reasons people back down from a challenge is because of their personal fears or insecurities. You need to remember that obstacles seldom just go away, and problems don’t just solve themselves. All obstacles can be solvable if you keep working towards solving them. But you need to put in the effort. You may not have the solutions in a day or a week, but over time your concerted and dedicated efforts are sure to pay off.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

As the most important asset in your business, you should be investing more in yourself than in your car.

If you own a car you know that you need to regularly refuel it and check the oil. If you don’t you run the risk of running out of fuel in the middle of a journey or the engine could just seize up. Now a car is generally seen as a depreciating asset that loses its value over time. Yet still you know how to look after it. You invest money to keep it in good running order so that it will reliably get you from A to B. If you are an asset in your business, and the most important one at that, how much are you investing in you?

An Asset Worth Looking After

Well known motivational speaker and life coach, Jim Rohn, says that we should be investing as much in ourselves as we do in our cars. I tend to disagree with that a little. I think we should be investing more in ourselves than in our cars.

Whereas our cars are depreciating assets, I would like to think that you are an asset that accumulates value over time. Each day brings new experiences and the opportunity to increase your knowledge. So each day you have the potential to increase your personal value as an asset to your business. You are the first important element needed for the creation of your information empire. Isn’t that an asset worth looking after?

As a business owner it is easy to get caught up in the operations side of things. You spend time creating products or programs and thinking of new ways to attract more clients. Of course these are important aspects of running your business. But have you noticed how difficult it is to be creative when you are feeling tired and overworked? Rest and recovery is just as important as time spent on the job. As humans we need rest, we need to take some time out to give our bodies and minds an opportunity to recover. You will be far more productive when you have had a good night’s sleep, or when you’ve taken a quick nap. Your business will benefit as a result. It is important both to yourself and to your business that you treat yourself as an important asset that is worth looking after.

Here are some ways in which you can invest in yourself.  I have put these steps in place and my business and life have flourished as a result ….

Set boundaries and keep them. Put time boundaries in place so that you have set working hours. If you do have to work longer hours, make sure you still take short breaks.

Take time out. Consciously schedule in leisure time and spend that time doing something that is completely unrelated to work.

Don’t push yourself beyond your limit. Be aware of the work hours you are putting in. Don’t keep pushing yourself until you burn out. You are your business’ most important asset and therefore you must look after yourself.
Create a nurturing, sharing and caring environment.  Surround yourself with people that encourage and support you. Share your vision for your business with your family and get them onboard so that you have a solid support base.

Treat yourself to a mentor. Find a business coach or mentor that you can work with. Allow them to speak into your life so that you can grow with your business.

Continually invest in your business growth and development. Attend courses or workshops that inspire you and give you ideas on how to grow your business.

As a business owner your business is important to you so it’s tempting to pour all your energy into it. Remember though that you need to be renewing those energy sources if you want your business to grow. Take the time to invest in yourself and your business will benefit as a result.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. 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 up to you to fill in the blanks and overcome client objections.

Why are You Doing This?
If your family is anything like mine, you grew up with the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” In a desire to create a compelling sales letter, many people make their product or event sound too good to be true. This creates an immediate objection for many prospects. If your product or event sounds too good, your prospects may wonder why you’re offering it.

One great example of this that I’ve seen before is a colleague who was offering a real estate seminar about how he made so much money in real estate. His prospects wondered “if you’re making so much money in real estate, why tell me about it? Why not just keep your secret and carry on making money?” He had to overcome this objection in his sales letter. Be mindful of this if you’re offering something that sounds too good to be true.

Why are You Making it So Cheap/Expensive?
Price can trigger major objections. High prices create obvious objections, but low prices can also create objections. For example, if you set a high value to justify your price, and then offer your product or service significantly below your value comparison, your prospects may wonder why you’re offering it so cheap.

Alternately, if your audience thinks it can get something cheaper somewhere else, they may wonder why your product or event is so expensive. It’s your job to recognize what your prospects will think of your price, and overcome any potential objections.

Why Can’t I Get the Same Thing Elsewhere?
Even if you establish that your product or event is wonderful, your prospects may still wonder why they can’t get the same thing somewhere else. If you’re selling a product via mail order, for example, you’ll have to explain to your prospects why they shouldn’t just go pick up something similar at a local shop. The same thing goes for information products or events – you’ve got to differentiate why your product or event is unique.

Why You?
Finally, there’s the common objection about who you are, and why you’re qualified to sell this product or service. If you’re offering a new product or service, or you’re reaching out to prospects who aren’t familiar with your work, you’ve got to establish who you are and demonstrate your expertise. You have to prove that you’re the best person to trust about your product or event. This is particularly a concern if you operate in a competitive field.

Learning to Overcome Objections
Ultimately, your clients may have many different objections about a broad range of topics and concerns. If you want to create effective sales letters, you’ve got to anticipate and overcome these objections. Don’t try to ignore or sidestep potential objections. If you don’t answer these questions in your clients’ heads, you don’t give them a reason to buy your product.

Bernadette Doyle created Client Magnets to help self-employed people solve one of their biggest business problems: attract a steady stream of clients www.clientmagnets.com.

That quote, from one of my mentors, Yanik Silver, speaks volumes. There is so much opportunity to promote more business and further your relationship with a new client on your thank-you page.

That client has just indicated that they trust you by opting in to your offer. Signing up to your list is a sign that they want to hear more from you.   Don’t let them leave wanting; offer them even more before they click off your thank-you page.

When developing your thank you page, think about what you can do to increase your client’s involvement. Marketing research has shown that the more people are involved, the more likely they are to buy – again.

That’s one reason companies hand out scratch-off cards with prizes or discounts hidden beneath the ink. It’s called an involvement device. When someone physically has to do something, it increases their involvement, which increases response and increases conversion.

The content on your thank you page needs to be relevant to your target market. Think about what you want them to do next, where you want them redirected to, and if there’s an opportunity to make them another offer.

There are several key ways you can accomplish this.

•    Make another offer. While letting the client know you’re glad they signed up, also let them know about another offering. Make a special offer. Offer a special prize or a special bonus that new clients will receive, but only if they sign up there and then.   Remember to use language that encourages action.  For example, “This is the only time you will see this offer. It’s for new subscribers only and you won’t have access to it again.”

•    Ask for more information. Once a new prospect joins your list, ask them to describe their biggest problem. You can then direct them to other offers you may have to help with the problem, or develop that new offering if you don’t have one.

•     Create a “tell a friend” campaign. Invite people to tell three friends about your offering in exchange for a special bonus. “Congratulations. Your place on the call is reserved. But just before we continue I would like to offer you this free gift……..”

Everyone who opts in helps you spread the word to other people. This will make a massive difference to your opt-ins and really help to increase your list. You can automate this process using Viral Friend Generator software.

When saying “thank you”, the key is to include only one of these options on your page. Either attempt an additional sale by making another offer, ask new clients for more information, or create a tell-a-friend page.

Any one of these options added to your thank-you page will start increasing your sales immediately.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Have you ever felt like that?  If that sounds like you, then it’s time to STOP focusing on your income.  It’s time to start focusing on a long-term plan for success and diversification.  But how?  How do you free yourself from the day-to-day financial worry and really start to thrive?

The answer simply lies in starting your own high-end coaching program.   A high-end coaching programme (when designed and delivered the right way) will provide enough guaranteed revenue to enable you to stop worrying about money and be free to focus on your long-term success!

This is how the strategy works …

Sell Once a Year to Generate Guaranteed Revenue

• With your high-end coaching programme, if you market and sell the right way, you will only need to focus on the selling once and then you’re done for the year.

• Create a program with a limited number of spots, and you’ll only have to sell long enough to fill those spots and then you can focus on serving your clients and creating alternate revenue streams.

• Create a program with a fixed time limit, such as my annual programme, and you only have to sell those spots once per year. Then you’ve got the commitment for the income, and you’re free to focus on other areas of your business. No more worrying month-to-month whether you’ll have enough cash for next month; with a high-end coaching program, you can earn enough money to free yourself up for other pursuits.

Free Yourself Up to Look at the Big Picture

One of the biggest benefits for you and your business of creating a high-end coaching program is freeing yourself up to look at the big picture. If you’re like most people, you spend countless hours per week working on finding enough business, and the rest of your time goes to satisfying your existing clients. You never have time to think about the long-term plans for your business, or how to diversify your revenue streams.

Once you have the committed income of a high-end coaching program, you can stop spending so much of your time selling yourself and your services because you have a guaranteed revenue stream. Instead, you can focus on creating the other steps to achieve success in your business, and put together a long-term plan for your business!

In order to truly become successful in your own business, you’ve got to stop focusing on immediate income so you can begin to build a road map for long-term success.   Worrying about your day-to-day income is short-term thinking and can seriously hamper your long-term business success. When you start a high-end coaching program, you get financial commitments for a large portion of your revenue and begin looking at other ways to improve your business success.

So if you want to see an end to your day-to-day financial struggles and the beginning of long-term success, it’s time to start your high-end coaching programme!

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Though it might sound a bit cliché, everyone, even those of you who feel encumbered by a limited budget or a relatively small business volume, can do that.  Whether you’re sending out 10 pieces of mail per week, or 1,000 pieces, you can not only entice people to open your mail, but you can keep their attention with a creative, lumpy insert.

Maybe you have, at times, felt intimidated by the “big boys” – the companies who have thousands or millions of dollars to spend on direct mailing.  But, despite what you might have come to believe about these huge corporations, you actually have an advantage over them for creative direct mailing.  If you have an inventive idea for lumpy mail, you don’t have to sit in countless meetings with marketing committees, pitching your idea, enduring criticism, and perhaps, ultimately, having your idea shot down.  You are your final decision maker.

When you’re creative with your lump mail insert, you can spur your recipients to action.  Here are few examples to stimulate your imagination:

• If you’re intent on helping companies and individuals to find their own hidden treasures, you might consider including an old-fashioned scrolled treasure map with your promotional letter.

• If you consider a message to be of the utmost importance, you might want to stuff it into a bottle before mailing it.

• If you’re hoping to entice inactive customers to fall back in love with your company, you might insert a boomerang with a message like, “Boomerangs always come back, don’t they?”

• If your company has a mascot, you can have a lovable likeness of him or her reproduced as a lump.

• If your company helps people to find resources, for instance, you might want to include an ornamental needle-in-a-haystack.

• A complete comprehensive service might be accompanied by a small, silver platter and the statement, “I’ll give you everything you need for start-up on a silver platter.”

• Fortune cookies can be purchased, complete with customized messages inside, that deal specifically with your purpose or promotion.

If you’re stumped for lump ideas, there are resources that can help.  Two examples are www.LumpyMail.com and www.ImpactProductsMarketing.com.  There, you’ll find lots of creative ideas for lumps.  Maybe you want to announce a promotion, invite inactive customers back to the fold, broadcast an upcoming campaign, publicize a grand opening, or announce a new product or service.

Simply using bulk to create a piece of lumpy mail will, indeed, prompt people to open the envelope, but if you want to stay with them for longer than it takes to empty your promotional pen of ink, or to use that pad of custom sticky notes, you’ll want to put some innovative thought into your lumpy insert.

Make your mail memorable with creative lumps…because when your lump is specific to your purpose, and unlike any other lump, it deems you memorable, worthy of the call or the click, and the investment.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

Imagine that it’s a typical week for your website – the one that you have planned, designed, to which you have driven traffic, and through which you have made booking and registrations possible. Let’s assume that during a given week, 100 visitors cross into the realm of your site; 2 of them make the decision to purchase; however 98 of them leave without investing in your product.

What number captures your attention in the above example? Is it the 2 buyers? Will you wait for another 2 buyers next week? Will you count on luck, or “spray and pray” to deliver a sprinkling of voluntary customers next month, and next year?

Or, do you view the 98 departees as 98 new opportunities for sales?

In truth, your best profit potential lies in the 98 visitors who chose not to buy. If you plan well, after they leave, you will have 98 names and addresses that can lead to potential sales. All you need to do is have a plan for following them up. Just think – if you can get even 2 of those 98 to say “yes,” you have converted a larger percentage than you did with your sales page alone.

Here are some points to show why you should be following up:

• When you follow up with website visitors, you are targeting prospects who have already expressed an interest in your product. They clicked, which means, at the very least, that they are curious. For my regular readers, you know that this means you have gathered an audience of people with “raised hands.”

• Targeted follow-up correspondence answers questions that many of your visitors are not willing to ask (and many people have the same types of questions). Every time you answer a question, you take the opportunity to dispel an objection or a fear.

• Follow-up breeds interaction, which begs conversation. Think of your follow-up e-mails, postcards, and teleseminars as ice-breakers in a conversation that everyone wants to have, but no one knows how to broach.

• Marketing research doesn’t lie. It tells us that more follow-ups equal more conversions. Stay relevant in the minds of your prospects, and you’ll be the first person they turn to when a problem arises.

• Follow-up is a circular phenomenon. It gives you the information you need to devise better methods of follow-up. When questions are posed, and objections voiced, you are given valuable insight into the minds of prospective clients. With this information, you can plant more seeds and dispel more fears.

• Follow-up contact is an invaluable vehicle for conveying the idea of urgency. If a conference is set to take place 6 months from now, people will put off registration. But, if you can communicate a special offer through follow-up correspondence, you will light the fire to sign up. Often, discount deadlines and space limitations work well.

To increase conversions and increase your sales, it’s absolutely necessary you follow-up with all your prospects – even the prospects that don’t buy from you. You cannot follow up too often – you just need to vary your medium to keep your prospect engaged.

Don’t hesitate to use the invaluable follow-up for attracting and retaining clients. Leading prospects to your door is never enough – you must give them the incentives to revisit, and to invest.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com

If you’ve been getting “analysis paralysis”, scratching your head and trying to figure out what your direction is, just pick a purpose and start heading toward it. If you’re off course, the market will correct you.

If you’re not heading in the right direction, the market will quickly give you feedback that will help you adjust. Just don’t get overly concerned that what you decide today is going to be cast in stone.

Don’t worry about picking the wrong area or niche at first. Don’t worry if you find that you’re being called an expert on something that you don’t want to be known as the expert on.

Areas of expertise can change. But you can only change your direction if you have already set out in one to begin with.

Bob Burg is the author of a book called “Endless Referrals.” He is now positioned as a referral expert and an expert on helping people to generate referrals for business.

When he first started out, his niche was memory experts. He noticed that people who took his memory courses wanted to improve their memory to remember the names of people they’d met at networking meetings and events. They wanted to improve their memory to achieve better business results.

As he spotted that connection, he started to focus more on being the referral expert. No one accused him of being a fraud because he was now a referral expert instead of a memory expert. The market let him know in which direction to steer his business.

When you set course in your chosen direction, look for niches and markets where it’s going to be easier for you to establish personal relationships and position yourself as an expert.

If the niche you do choose turns out to be an enormous amount of effort, you have to weigh whether or not it’s worth your while to continue down that road or take a different road to get business.

When Dan Kennedy, the marketing expert, was invited to submit a proposal to give a speech in Switzerland, he opted out. While plenty of other people would jump at the opportunity, and spend a day putting together a proposal to bid, that is not the way he wants to go after business. Perhaps it didn’t seem worthwhile to spend the time writing the proposal. The point is that you have to make the determination of how you want to do business.

Your niche will evolve with your business. It’s an actual evolution that happens in most any business. Look at my own situation. I started out as specializing, by trial and error, as a cold calling expert. But I didn’t stop at that. Today, I’m teaching people how to find new business and triple their income! The way in which I’m helping people and the types of people I’m helping is completely different from what I started out with.

But it’s turned out for the best for everyone!

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up for her free weekly e-zine at http://www.clientmagnets.com