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

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

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

Instant Credibility, Contacts & Cash!

March 2nd, 2010

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

It’s my special one-time

“BONUS STEPPING UP! CALL”

Instant Credibility, Contacts & Cash!

Wednesday, 3rd March, 2010,

8:00pm UK Time (3pm EASTERN, 12 noon PACIFIC)

http://bit.ly/9vBVEn

This call is a special BONUS for my new Stepping UP! members.  Members, also get a ton of other benefits including …

Fast Start Webinar, where I walk you through my planning process for the year ahead (I don’t know anyone else who teaches this)

Portable digital player which has 20 masterclasses – so you get to immerse yourself in my best marketing strategies (and get the year off to a flying start)

Ticket to the 3 day live event worth £1500/$2400 – we’ll be doing these events in the USA as well as the UK/Ireland

Access to the Stepping UP! area of the forum which is exclusively for Stepping UP! members

Private strategy consultation

Not a member?  Then join the “Stepping UP!” programme today so you can take advantage of this call and all the other member goodies each and every month. http://www.clientmagnets.com/steppingup2010

I look forward to “meeting” you on our call.

Bernadette

Instant Credibility, Contacts & Cash!

The Power of Scheduling

February 24th, 2010

If you’re like many busy business owners, you likely have an outstanding project you’ve been wanting to complete.  But you just can’t find the time to finish it. Your calendar is packed and there’s no way to clear enough white space to complete the task from start to finish. There’s an easier way to complete a big project, and it doesn’t require going away on retreat.  Learn the power of scheduling to help you complete your big projects without feeling overwhelmed.

Focused Time is Powerful.  Learning to focus your attention on one thing is the key, but you must schedule in that focused time. It may seem contradictory to say you must schedule in time when you can’t clear your calendar. But scheduling becomes most powerful when you set aside regular blocks of time devoted to a single task.

Suppose you have a product in mind that will benefit your clients greatly. The problem is that you know it will take two solid weeks to create and package the product. None of us has that kind of time to devote to a single business activity.

Instead, schedule an hour each week to work on a key part of the process. Regularly scheduled time with a consultant to help clarify the project may be a good first step. Never underestimate the power of expert help to move things forward. But no matter what piece of the project you’re completing, dedicating focused, scheduled time to it is easier than clearing your entire schedule.

You may not have two weeks of uninterrupted time, but you do have an hour a week. Over time, those one hour blocks can add up to a completed product. The secret is not to get hung up on never having time for the whole project. Instead of giving up on completing the project, schedule it in blocks of time and get it done.

The power of scheduling doesn’t just apply to big projects. It can be helpful with every other aspect of your business. If your virtual assistant needs monthly input on your newsletter, have her add it to your schedule so it’s ready when she needs it. For tasks only you can do in your business, set up a system and a schedule so you’ll know when it needs to be done and when you’ll do it.

Capture your time in this way rather than scrambling to get it all done. You’ll soon see that it’s so much more effective. Focus completely on the task at hand until it’s time to do something else. Embrace this as a saner way to bring order to your days. No matter what it is you never seem to find the time to do, you can create the time by learning to schedule.

If you’re struggling to find the time to create products, meet with staff or finish large projects, try harnessing the power of scheduling to get it all done. Small blocks of time, regularly scheduled, and the added assistance of an expert when needed, will put you in control of your days and make you more productive than you ever dreamed.

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

The Power of Scheduling

SYSTEM Stands for Save Yourself Time Energy And Money

February 18th, 2010

“System Secrets” – How to run a million dollar business while working just 3 days per week

If there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all you want to do, you NEED systems that make things happen automatically. Over the past 12 months, we’ve been SERIOUSLY investing in systems and I want to introduce you to my ’systems’ guru – Beth Schneider. Beth has played a key part in enabling me to run a million dollar plus business while working just 3 days a week.

*MARKETING* MASTERMIND Call…
Tuesday, 23rd February, 2010,
8:00pm UK Time (3pm EASTERN, 12 noon PACIFIC)

If you want to discover one or two simple processes that put much of your repetitive work on auto-pilot and have your business running like a well oiled machine tune into this call.

This call is FREE for my hundreds of Marketing Mastermind and Stepping UP! members. They also get the CD and transcript of this call at no extra charge, plus a ton of other member benefits – such as access to our online members forum.

Not a member?  Then join the Marketing Mastermind Group today, so you can take advantage of this call and all the other member goodies each and every month.

I look forward to “meeting” you on our call.

——

Bernadette’s Marketing Mastermind is a special members’ group set up to provide ongoing information, support and motivation to people who want to attract more clients and build a successful business. Already over 450 members strong – and growing – we want YOU to join us and have more success, money and fun in your business. You can read about the Mastermind group here: http://clientmagnets.com/marketingmastermind

SYSTEM Stands for Save Yourself Time Energy And Money

Building A Sustainable Business

February 17th, 2010

Have you ever watched the television series, The Apprentice? In one episode, each team was asked to create a business from scratch.

The interesting thing is that neither of the businesses created were really sustainable. Why? Because each team set themselves up in a business that revolved around them selling time.

One team did face painting; the other set up a gardening business. After each team had done the task for a couple of days, they counted how much money they had made. The actual figures aren’t important, because the money didn’t really count for anything. Both teams had to use the bulk of their income to pay employees for the time they spent performing tasks. So, neither of those businesses turned out to be profitable.

When Sir Alan Sugar, the host of the show, didn’t haul them over the coals more for it, I realized how strong this whole concept of selling time is in society.

As a business owner, you don’t want to follow this type of thinking. Doing this will not help you to build a profitable, sustainable business.

The solution is to build an information empire. The whole point of an information empire is that you don’t want to be selling your time. You do want to repackage your know-how and your expertise into products and programs that don’t require all of your attention all of the time. You may have to spend some time delivering programs, but not the bulk of your time.

This is the way to build a sustainable business. Because the paradox of selling your time is that the more successful you are, the less time you have. And, while you can always find more clients, you cannot create more time, no matter how hard you try.

But, with an information empire, time is no longer an issue. It will become possible for you to create more money, regardless of how much time you have. You simply need to stop linking the money you make to the time and effort you put in to your business. Once you truly understand this, creating more money will become easier to do.

It can be difficult to accept this concept. You might be thinking, “I don’t know that you can always get money. Making money has not been that easy for me.”

But the truth is, there is always money flowing. Even in this current economy, with the credit crunch and the recession, money is still flowing. It’s just flowing in different places from where it was flowing previously. It is up to you to find the source of that stream and collect it.

The key is to carefully examine your business to find ways of serving many clients at one time, rather than serving each client individually. Once you develop the products and services that allow you to do this, your business will be fully sustainable, without you having to wish for more hours in the day.

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

Building A Sustainable Business

Time is Money…True or False?

February 13th, 2010

We’ve all heard the expression that “time is money”.  But let’s take a hard look at that saying.  Is it true?  Not always.  You can’t work 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.  You have weekends, holiday and sick days to contend with if you’re self-employed.  That time isn’t money for you, but it can be….

Since your time is finite you need to create alternatives to the normal business model of selling your time, particularly if you’re in the business of offering training services.  You need to have alternatives to this standard method of generating your income.  There are two solutions that are going to transform your business.  One can be used in the short term to generate cash flow; the other is a more long term solution.

Generating Cashflow Quickly
Say you have several proposals out to clients and you’re also waiting for payment for two workshops you’ve provided to corporate clients.  That isn’t paying the bills right now.  You need a quick fix to generate cash to shorten the time of your sales cycle, which is the time from your first contact to getting paid.

The quick fix for that particular problem could be to hold an open event.  The beauty of an open event is that you receive payment up front, as it’s standard to receive payments two weeks prior to the course date.  You have also set a finite time for the sales cycle.  Open seminars are generally set six to eight weeks out.  You set the date, book the meeting room and generate your marketing materials.  You’ve just taken matters into your own hands and solved two major issues that plague many small businesses, the issue of cash flow and the long sales cycle.

But this solution has another positive effect.  You’re gathering fees from more than one client for the same timeframe.  Since you can’t work more days than you have, you’ve just solved that problem as well.  It’s a win-win situation!

The Long Term Solution
Off the shelf products offer the long term solution to the “time is money’ conundrum.  I say longer term because they have creation and production time.  In fact, your short term solution of the open workshop can be the catalyst for your product.  In my case, I had someone come along to record one of my workshops.  I put the recording together with a manual and I had my first product.

Once you get your first product produced, you now have a way of generating income without you physically having to be there.  That’s a really nice feeling, particularly when you’ve been caught in the “time is money” challenge.

The bottom line is that the typical business model that’s based on you selling your time is not an ideal sales model for a small or solo business.  You need to put yourself on a path to beat the ‘time is money’ trap or you’re limiting yourself and your income.  Creating passive income streams, such as open events and off-the-shelf products, is just the solution for proving that this old adage isn’t always true.

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

Time is Money…True or False?

It’s my birthday – again!

February 8th, 2010

I’ve just finished a meeting with my team and Brandon, my customer service representative has informed me that many of you are ‘chomping at the bit’ to hear a replay of my ‘Virtual Birthday Party’ call I did last Saturday.

We know this call struck a chord with many of you who attended live. It got pretty ‘raw’ in places as I pulled back the curtain and revealed exactly how transformative the past 12 months have been for me.

Well the queen has two birthdays, so I can too! And the good news is we’re offering a one time replay of that call, this Tuesday 9 February.

Amazingly, many of the requests came from people who already attended the live call and simply want to hear it all over again. That’s what tells me this was a special call, because in all the years I’ve been offering teleseminars, I’ve never heard that request.

Here a just a few of the comments received:
‘I got off the phone feeling empowered for the first time in months.  So a HEARTY THANK YOU for all that you have been through, for sharing your story, for being a champion, and for giving me hope that I, too, will create a new reality for my life.  God bless you richly for your faith. You have truly inspired me today.’

‘Quick thanks for telling me about Bernadette and her Stepping Up programme. I participated in her teleseminar that she did this past Sat (on her birthday!) and a) felt a connection with her,  just like I did with you, b) was v. impressed by what she was offering and c) felt like she had read my mind (re: my goals for my business and myself) and was speaking directly to me!’

‘I want to congratulate for the call today , it was  – for me – 300% more valuable and the way you presented it gave me the confidence to be in the right place. I could relate to many things you said. And it is  – again — one of these amazing things of synchronicity that I came across your program ….’

Here’s where to register so you can get all the details of the call.
Click here for details and to register http://www.clientmagnets.com/steppingup/

This call was truly LIFE-CHANGING for those that heard it, so make sure you join us for the replay.

It’s my birthday – again!

NOW Is The Perfect Time To Build Your Business

February 7th, 2010

Have you heard the joke about the tourist who is driving around Ireland and stops to ask a farmer for directions? The farmer leans into the car and says, “Well, you know sir, I wouldn’t start from here.”

Like all good jokes, there’s an element of truth about human psychology in his answer. Most of us wish that we were starting from somewhere other than the place that we’re actually starting from.

When you think about starting your business, have you said any of these things?

If only I had more experience.
If only I was younger.
If only I got started earlier.
If only I had more money.
If only I was self-employed.
If only I had more time.
If only I wasn’t committed to this other project.

Always remember that where you’re starting from is a lot less important than the direction you’re heading.

Everyone who is running their own business had to start somewhere. And a lot of them started in much more challenging situations than yours. Whether you have situations, reasons or excuses, they all boil down to the same thing. They are stopping you from moving forward.

So, if you’re in a successful business, but tired of trading your time for money; if you’re pressed for time and want to break free of your existing revenue model; if you want to learn to earn revenue through products and passive streams – you’ve got to begin somewhere.

Stop finding reasons why right now is not a good time for you to start. Stop using your current circumstances as reasons to justify staying where you are. Right now is the perfect time to start to improve, grow and expand your business. Right now is the time to stop procrastinating and stop making excuses.

You can start your information empire from any point. Yes, where you start will influence the steps you take and the order in which you take them. But, the point is that you can start right now, from right where you are.

You may be familiar with Jim Edwards, an online information marketer. He sells e-books, among many additional things, in his information product funnel.

Jim started his information empire from probably the most challenging situation a person can be in. He was bankrupt, worked full-time, lived in a trailer, and had precious little free time to build his own business. But, he carved out time every day to come up with marketing ideas, write sales copy and work on the mechanical nuts and bolts of his business.

Because he couldn’t afford resources, he worked a lot of long hours by himself – 16-hour days or even longer.

You probably aren’t starting from a situation as dire as Jim’s. His is an extreme example that even when the situation is really tough and challenging, you can still take the steps and get started.

The only difference between you and someone who is running a successful information empire is that they decided to start, no matter what their circumstances were. You can learn from their examples.

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

NOW Is The Perfect Time To Build Your Business