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 | 1 Comment »

Declare Yourself the Expert

February 11th, 2010

Are you waiting for permission to be considered the expert in your field? Are you lingering at one level, waiting for someone’s approval to move on to that expert status?

Good things do not always come to those who wait. You need to stop waiting for permission and approval. No one is going to come along and deem you the expert or hand you an award. This is something that you must step up and claim.

Only when you have the guts to step up and claim it, will you be thinking and acting like a winner.

When I began my first business, at 26 years old, I had no track record. I had no past clients and no success stories to talk about. I had no marketing experience, and no budget.

I basically had every possible disadvantage.

The one thing I did have was alot of enthusiasm and a very positive mindset about what I was doing. I started positioning myself and calling myself an expert – long before anybody else came along and awarded me that title.

To think and act like a winner, you need to keep your focus on where you’re heading, not where you’re starting from.

Many people get crippled by this. Don’t be one of them. Don’t get caught up in this cycle of looking for some type of approval or permission that will suddenly make you step up and be the expert.

Once I chose to define myself as a cold-calling expert, I started acting like one and before too long, I did indeed become one. I was honest about it; not arrogant and thinking I knew it all. I brushed up my skills and learned the things I needed to in order to claim my expertise.

The same holds true for my friend, Carrie Wilkerson, who has an absolutely huge following on Twitter. A big part of how she gathered that following was that she just acted like the expert. Before long, people started treating her like the expert and inviting her to speak at events.

A lot of people call her “the overnight expert” because she went from zero to a million dollars in less than 12 months.

You have that ability too. The thing that you need, first and foremost, is a positive mindset. You need to be confident enough in your skills and your knowledge to step out in front and make yourself known.

You also need to be astute enough to research and master all of the things that your area of expertise requires. Make a list of exactly what an expert in your field needs to know in order to be considered “the expert.” You probably have all of those qualities and requirements already.  If you don’t, you will at least know what you need to do or improve upon to claim the role.

Once you know that you have what you need, you can begin to act the part of expert. Then you can pass on all of that expertise to your clients.

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

Declare Yourself the Expert

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Internet Business, Marketing, Motivation, Niche Marketing, Online Marketing, Personal Productivity, Success Secrets, Words Of Inspiration | 6 Comments »

Grow Beyond the Limit

December 20th, 2009

Question: What is your highest priced product or service?

Answer: It’s the ceiling on your income. Because whatever the actual price, that number is the most money even your best customer can spend with you.

Think about it. The amount of business that customers can do with you is limited by your highest priced product, service or program.

Stunning, isn’t it? Several years ago I realized that the way my business was set up, my best customer could only spend £400 with me. That sounds embarrassing now, because it was so simple and so obvious and yet I hadn’t seen it.

Maybe the most someone can spend with you is £100. Or maybe it’s £100,000. It doesn’t really make a difference. There’s still a limit.

And if you’re going to double, triple or quadruple your business, you have to push past that limit by raising the amount that people can spend with you. You’ve got to give your best customers more opportunities to give you money.

Typically that means creating higher priced products. But I don’t just mean adding on a zero to your price points, although that may help in some cases.

It’s time to begin creating real high-end solutions so people want to spend more with you. And so you can deliver a lot more value.

It is a different type of sell because you may be asking people to spend ten times more than they’ve ever spent with you before. But there is a way to do it that will bring tremendous growth to your business.

I know because I’ve done it. When I put together a high-priced coaching program, it increased my yearly sales by about 33%. I added over £100,000 to my business just by adding that program.

So maybe the only thing you need to do this year to skyrocket your income is to put together a high-priced program or develop a high-end service that your customers will want to buy.

Start thinking about it. Look at your highest priced product or service – really look, and see how you can take it to a new level. Make plans to create a really high-end product that your existing customers will pay for, and that will attract more new leads to your business.

And if you find that this is one area where you can definitely implement the changes that will help grow your business, stick with it. Concentrate on developing that new high-priced product. Make it your focal point, and watch your sales grow.

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

Grow Beyond the Limit

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Posted in Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Success Secrets | 2 Comments »

Using Online Groups to Build Your List

December 6th, 2009

An important goal in creating a solid business is to grow your “house list” of people you can contact many times successfully with your products. One interesting way to grow that house list is to research and interact with online groups that might be interested in your products. Here are some ideas for making online groups a part of your marketing strategy.

Step 1: Where Does Your Target Market Congregate?
Once you’ve narrowed down exactly who your target market is, what they like and how they live, it’s time to find out where they’re hanging out online. Chances are they’re already involved in an online discussion group or forum.

There are some great tools built into search engines that can help you locate those online groups. Google, for example, includes a “Groups” button on their home page you can click once you type in a search term. It will take you to the search results for forums built around that topic.

Filter through those groups to build a list of forums likely to appeal to your target audience. Once you have your list made, it’s time for some direct contact.

Step 2: Making Contact Productively
This is the time to employ productive marketing strategy without blatantly advertising your services. Your next step is to go onto these forums and read the questions being asked and the solutions being offered.

If you know your audience well, you’re already targeting a hungry crowd. These are the people hungry for the solutions you have to offer. So, if we agree that posting ads brashly on the forums will probably get you banned from them, how can you offer your solutions successfully?

One way is to offer useful information. Respond to questions with legitimate information that fills a need. This is your time to shine, to establish yourself as an expert in your field, someone worth listening to. If you’ve done your research well, the questions you answer will align themselves with the seminar, product or service you’re preparing to market.

By giving forum participants information they can use, you gain the right to mention, at the end of your posts, something else you can offer them free of charge.  For example – your free e-book, recording, or some other information of value to them.  When they raise their hands and ask for more, you can add them to your house list.

Being on these forums not only lets you add to your list, it also gives you valuable information about current topics, terminology and troubles your target market shares. What better market research than to be right in thick of the discussion as the tides change?

Step 3: Keep the Momentum Going
When forum members begin to respond to your offers to assist them, honor that trust by following up. Give them the information they request, and make sure they’re a part of your future marketing campaigns. You’ve established they’re a part of your target audience, and they obviously have needs you can serve. Staying in contact with them, by participating in forum discussions and through your own marketing, gives you a chance to be of greater service.

Online forums and discussion groups are a rich source of new prospects with a natural need for your products. Respect each forum’s rules and offer useful information that answers other participants’ questions. Over time, you’ll find your customer base growing and your knowledge of your target audience increasing, as well.

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

Using Online Groups to Build Your List

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Posted in Business Networking, Business Plans, Business Success, Forum, Marketing, Money Making Ideas, Online Marketing, Success Secrets | 2 Comments »

Commit To Your Goals And It Will Happen

November 30th, 2009

“The moment one definitely commits one’s self then providence moves too.” W. H. Murray

Which would you think is more likely to happen:
1. You think how nice it would be to relax on a white, sandy beach with a cold drink.  You dream of getting away, of finding that perfect beach.
2. You think of that perfect beach scene, you decide that you will spend a week in Fiji next winter.

Which of those two scenarios is more likely to come true?  Notice how the trip to Fiji gives you something concrete to work towards, and that will cause you to take steps toward making that goal a reality.  So it’s much more likely to happen than your ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ scenario.

The same can be said for setting the goal for your business.  When you have a tangible goal set, you’re more likely to achieve it.  Just saying my business is going to be successful versus my sales will exceed one million next year is just the same as dreaming versus setting a goal.

Now, do you need a complete business plan laid out in front of you when you’re setting your goal?  No!  In fact, is that what’s stopping you from setting a target?  Think of Fiji – you don’t know what flight you’re going to take yet.  But now that you’ve set a goal to get there, you can search for the best flight, then choose the hotel and take care of the specifics.

So, what I’m saying is – set a goal, not a ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ scenario.  Don’t let the fact that the whole scenario isn’t mapped out yet stop you.  The quote I offer in the start here is by a man named W.H. Murray, although it’s often attributed to Goethe, it goes like this:
“The moment one definitely commits oneself then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”

My goal for the past year was to reach one million in sales.  I didn’t know in detail how I was going to reach it when I set the goal.  In fact, my plan for how that was going to happen didn’t pan out, the path took a few twists and turns, but I still made my goal. So what you need to remember is that there is a perfect path for you from wherever you are right now to where you want to be.

Hopefully, at this point you’re not throwing up roadblocks to reaching your goal.  It’s so easy to do, yet so counterproductive.  Perhaps you’re thinking, “But I don’t have the resources, I don’t have the cash, I don’t have the child care in place”.

When you throw up those roadblocks, you’re talking yourself out of succeeding before you’ve even started.  So that leads me to my second favorite quote, one by Doreen Virtue:

“God doesn’t give us our dreams without the ability to make them happen.”

The truth is that what you see as your goal, it absolutely is possible for you.  But we don’t always see the opportunities because we’re so busy wishing our circumstances were different.  So, don’t find excuses – set your goal, where you are now is the perfect place for you to start for you.  Why?  Because your current circumstances offer the seeds of everything you need to achieve this goal.

So, when you make it to Fiji next winter, please send me a postcard!

Commit To Your Goals And It Will Happen

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Posted in Business & Money, Business Plans, Business Success, Cash Flow, Marketing, Personal Productivity, Success Secrets | 1 Comment »

Exactly Who Is Your Target Audience?

November 25th, 2009

Knowing, in general, who your target market is can be a lot like knowing, in theory, what it’s like to ride a roller coaster. You may have read a lot about that amusement ride but, until you’ve actually ridden one, your knowledge is incomplete. In the same way, until you have an in-depth understanding of your target audience, it’s impossible to know what they need and how to provide it.

This may seem very elementary to you, if you’ve been in business for awhile. But it’s really the most important step toward building a stronger business. If you aren’t sure who needs your products and how that audience lives, works and thinks, how is it possible to market to them effectively? The great thing is that, once you’ve learned those things, your marketing efforts are much more successful.

Think of it this way: once you’ve clearly identified the group of people most likely to need your products, your marketing changes from “How to reach lots of people” to “Will this help reach my target audience?” That sort of focusing in is so much more effective in the long run.

So, what are some questions to ask when defining your target audience? Here are the important ones:

• What age, gender and occupation are the people who need my services?
• What are their hobbies and interests?
• What’s their lifestyle—where do they go on holiday and what do they buy when they shop?
• Are they married or single? Do they have children?
• Where do they live, and what things do they like to have around them?
• What is most important to them?

These questions are obviously targeting individuals. If you usually work with businesses, consider these factors, as well:

• What industries are my target clients in?
• Where are those companies located geographically?
• How many employees do they have?
• What position in those companies do my targeted contacts hold?

As you can see, answering each of these questions gives you a more in-depth knowledge of your target audience. Not being able to answer them simply says that you need to focus more on who is most in need of your services.

The more specific your answers to these questions, the more targeted your marketing becomes. The opposite approach to building business is to attempt to please everyone. The danger to that approach is that when your marketing is generic, it may not capture anyone’s attention.

Having clarity about a target audience and focusing on what they need is the strongest possible foundation for your marketing. If you feel reluctance about narrowing down your audience, is it because you fear losing opportunities?

The opposite is actually true. Trusting that you’ve found your perfect audience allows you to relax and simply meet their needs. You don’t have to fret about competition, because you’re the perfect person to serve them.

Specialising your services to meet the needs of your target audience can be scary, if you don’t yet feel that trust. Here’s an example that might motivate you toward identifying your niche:

Suppose you offer telephone etiquette training. Your current marketing generically offers to train employees to sound more professional on the telephone. What if, rather than offering general telephone skills training, you narrowed your approach down to teaching sales people to cold call more effectively?

Do you see how that narrowed focus might make your services more interesting? Cold calling is something most salespeople resist. By teaching those same salespeople to make more appointments with fewer calls, you’re providing a valuable service to sales-based organizations. That automatically makes your marketing more effective. You begin to attract business naturally from the companies that most need that service.

There’s no need to worry that you’ll miss opportunities by specialising because you focus your marketing on people much more likely to respond. Trust that your business will grow as you define your audience and target your services to their needs.

Take the time to identify your target audience more clearly, if you’re struggling to build your business. Identify who that audience is and what it needs, and you’ll see much greater returns from your marketing dollars.

Exactly Who Is Your Target Audience?

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Posted in Advertising, Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Niche Marketing, Success Secrets | 4 Comments »

Overcoming the Bigger-is-Better Mindset

November 5th, 2009

So, you want the big corporate clients, but they don’t want you.  Or so you think.  Big corporations can be the ‘cash cows’ of our world.  Along with their big size, they have big training budgets and that’s what we like and what we need.  But since they’re big, aren’t they only looking for big companies to provide their training?  Not necessarily.  You need to convince them that small is good.  Turn it to your advantage.  Make it a negotiating factor.

Your first obstacle to overcome in getting large corporate clients is their preferred provider list.  If you’re not on it, you can’t provide services.  Or can you?

One of my longstanding clients is the department head of a multinational corporation with over 150,000 employees.  They have the dreaded preferred provider list.  He shared with me two important pieces of information.  First, there are many instances in which he can overturn the preferred provider listing when choosing external consultants.  Second, he prefers using smaller companies.

The reasons he gave me for preferring smaller organizations are ones that you can use to help sell yourself:
• Smaller organizations value your business more and will give you better service.
• Smaller organizations understand the client’s needs better.
• Smaller organizations can provide a more personalized service.

So, use your small size to your advantage.  Let that big corporate client know that even if you’re a ‘one man band’, that’s a good thing, as it allows you to better serve their needs.

Another important point to remember in overcoming the ‘bigger is better’ mindset is the basic business concept of supply and demand.  There are only so many clients looking for training services, therefore, your service is a commodity with limited demand.  Any trainer can provide a commodity, right?  Wrong!  You need to prove that your service is scarce and valuable, not a commodity.

How can you prove to a client that you have a valuable service?  You need to believe it yourself.  It’s an attitude that you need to carry with you at all times, it’s an attitude around which you need to structure your business and it’s an attitude that will set you up for success.

But, it’s not about overconfidence – it goes back to the basic concept of supply and demand.  As a one-person show, you have only so many hours in the day.  Your time, therefore, is valuable.  Your goal in selling yourself is to provide more demand for your limited supply of time.

You need to put yourself in the power position.  Put yourself in the position where you have more prospects than you can handle.  When you can look a potential client in the eye and say with all honesty “If you want to work with me next month, these are the two days that are available.  And you need to let me know by the end of the week whether you’re going to take these two days because I have two other clients that are interested”, you are creating a sense of urgency.  When you create that sense of urgency, you are putting yourself in the power position.

I’m not suggesting that you should pretend you have a full dance card when you don’t.  People can see right through that.  I’m saying that creating more demand for your limited supply of time is part of the cycle that will create the sense of urgency which in turn puts you in the power position.

Use your small size to your advantage. Overcome the “bigger is better” mindset and you will be able to get your client to overcome it as well.

Overcoming the Bigger-is-Better Mindset

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Closing The Sale, Marketing, Motivation, Personal Productivity, Sales Motivation, Success Secrets | 4 Comments »

Letting the Universe Provide

October 25th, 2009

‘I don’t want to force or manipulate anyone into becoming a client, so I am going to let my business grow organically by word of mouth.’

On the face of it, this statement looks like the words of a trusting, evolved soul, willing to ‘go with the flow’ and let the universe provide. Is this not the most ethical way of developing a business?

Yet in my experience, when I hear clients say this, more often than not it’s a cop out to avoid actively engaging in the process of marketing. If you have ever found yourself uttering, or even just thinking, anything like this, you need to get very honest with yourself, and determine whether this really is putting your trust in the universe or simply an excuse for remaining passive, and refusing to put yourself ‘out there’.

I am reminded of the joke about a man who suddenly found himself in the middle of a flood warning. His neighbours were hurriedly evacuating their homes and urged him to join them. He refused their offer of assistance, saying simply, ‘The Lord will provide’. As the water levels grew higher, he retreated to the upper floors of his home.

Soon enough a rescue boat came by. ‘Get in quick!’ called the rescuers. But the man refused, simply repeating, ‘The Lord will provide’. Soon enough the water levels were so high that the only safe place was the roof of his house. Suddenly a helicopter full of marines appeared. ‘Grab hold of the rope ladder!’ they called, but the man refused, saying ‘The Lord will provide’. Before too long, this man found himself in heaven face to face with God. ‘God! I put my faith in you and you let me down. Why didn’t you save me?’ he asked. To which God replied, ‘Well I sent your neighbours, I sent the rescue boat, I sent the marines….’

It’s all well and good saying that we will let the universe provide, but we need to be willing to act upon the opportunities that are being offered to us several times each and every day.

Time and time again I have discovered that people who claim that this is their preferred method of developing business are actually masking a deeper reluctance to market themselves, which can manifest as failing to respond to phone enquiries, avoiding following up leads or simply maximising opportunities that are presented to them on a plate.

Bob was a client of mine who wanted to grow his training business organically. He explained to me that he simply wanted to inform prospective clients of what he had to offer, and let them make up their own minds. On the surface this appeared a very ethical and respectful way of doing business, but I sensed Bob was avoiding something, so we delved deeper. Years previously he had worked in a ‘hard sell’ environment, where manipulative and coercive sales techniques were commonplace and actively encouraged. Whilst he was financially successful, Bob hated having to be dishonest with clients. Choosing integrity over money, Bob eventually resigned from his job vowing never to sacrifice his values in the pursuit of success.

Bob knew he had the ability to persuade and influence, yet his fear of pressurizing his prospective clients as he had in the past was holding him back. With my help, Bob came to recognize that his desire to ‘let the universe provide’ was simply a form of marketing reluctance masquerading as faith in the universe. With encouragement, he came to realize that he could market himself actively and ethically and did not have to choose between success and integrity.

Like Bob, you may have been reluctant to market yourself because ’selling’ and ‘ethically’ aren’t words you usually put in the same sentence. Perhaps you feel that if you became ‘too commercial’ you would somehow lose the heart and spirit of what you offer. Just about all of us have had the experience of being on the receiving end of pushy sales or advertising techniques and the last thing we want is for people to see us like that.

The trouble is, in our eagerness to avoid coming across as too ’salesy’, many of us go to the other extreme and find it difficult to describe the genuine value we bring. Or we avoid selling and marketing activity altogether, telling ourselves that we would prefer to have our business grow by word of mouth and recommendation, even if it takes years.

Yes it’s true that there is a lot of manipulative marketing in the world, but that doesn’t mean that you have to market yourself that way. You can market yourself with integrity. The fact that there is manipulative marketing out there at the moment is precisely the reason why more of us need to get into the marketplace and be examples of integrity. But avoiding the marketplace, or considering yourself superior to it, does nobody any favours.

To succeed as a client magnet you need faith backed up by inspired action. In my experience, as we take steps to bring our unique contribution to the marketplace, the universe WILL back us up in the form of co-incidence, luck, and perfect timing. It is exciting and delightful to start recognizing and responding to these small signs that surprise and encourage us along the way. But we need to take the action, and we need to be willing to get into the marketplace. You have a choice. You can sit at home and nurse your fears, or you can start taking small, simple steps. As Marianne Williamson says, ‘it’s easier to act our way into a new way of thinking, than it is to think our way into a new way of acting.’ Start now.

Letting the Universe Provide

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Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Marketing, Motivation, Personal Productivity | 6 Comments »

The Art of Getting Motivated

August 23rd, 2009

Imagine, what you could achieve if only you could ‘get motivated’. Imagine the goals you’d achieve, the empires you would build, the souls you would save, the money you’d make! If only… you could ‘get motivated’. Imagine I had a special magic potion called ‘motivation’ that you could take as required.

Well I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any such potion, but what I do have is a way of helping you to think differently about the things that you think you need to motivate yourself to do.

Perhaps you are thinking about a new project like setting up a new website, launching a new course, building your opt-in list, getting your first paying client, developing passive income streams, doubling your turnover. Notice that the success of your project is not dependent upon one single action, but a series of separate actions. Now these actions are probably a tangled mass of things that you have degrees of willingness towards and knowledge about. So at one extreme there are things that you know how to do and are willing to do and the other extreme things you don’t know how to do, and wouldn’t be willing to do even if you did know how to do them. Let me introduce you to…..

The Willingness/Know-How Quadrant

I know how to

do this and I’m

willing to do it

I know how to

do this, but I’m not

willing to do it

I don’t know

how to do this

yet, but I’m willing

to learn

I don’t know how to

do this, and I

wouldn’t be willing

to do it even if I did

Take your project and break it down into separate activities, and then start to map out where each activity falls within the above quadrant. Where each activity falls can be a clue to what you need to do next.

‘I don’t know how to do this yet, but I’m willing to learn it’

Back in 2001, having burned out from doing business by the old ’sacrifice your way’ to success approach, I had a vision for a new way of doing business. I wanted a virtual office. I wanted to be free to conduct my business from anywhere in the world. I didn’t want the geographic or financial obligation of a fixed office. I wanted a virtual team. I didn’t want to hire any more employees. I wanted time for my own personal development. I wanted a business that would give me both the money and time to pursue this. I wanted to be free to take an afternoon off and mooch around a bookshop when the urge struck me. I wanted to be creatively fulfilled. I wanted to exploit the technological advantages of the internet so I could ‘make money in my sleep.’

The only trouble was, I didn’t know how to make it happen. I had no idea where to start. But my vision is a reality today because I was willing to learn. I found role models. I read books. I attended courses and teleseminars. I tried things. I made mistakes. I took a few wrong turns. I kept going. I connected with the people who had the knowledge that I didn’t. There were times when making this vision reality was the most important thing in my life, there were times when it took a back seat to other priorities, but it always got just enough of my attention to bring it to life.

My point is this. We think that we have to ‘get motivated’ and then we will build empires, but in my experience, it’s the other way round. Experience the empire in your mind and heart first, and the motivation flows from that. You’ll find a way, and it will be your unique way, a way that is just perfect for you. But your vision will become real, and that’s guaranteed.

‘I know how to do this, but I’m not willing to do it’

Then delegate! Hire someone to take the burden off you and you’ll reap the rewards. There is no law to say that we need to do everything ourselves. In fact, there is a direct link between the growth of your business and your willingness to delegate. Dan Sullivan of The Strategic Coach has discovered that every time an entrepreneur successfully delegates a significant portion of existing ’stuff’, there is an accompanying dramatic increase in personal income.

A great resource for finding people who are qualified and competent to take on your ’stuff’ is www.elance.com

‘I know how to do this, and I am willing to do it’

The more you learn, the more experience you get, the more activities that fall into this part of the quadrant. So that makes everything ‘hunky-dory’ doesn’t it? Well, not quite. As more activities fall into this square, the more discerning you need to become about what you will and won’t do. For example, I know how to manage my diary, and I am willing to do it, but I recognise that it’s not the best use of my time, so it’s just one of the things that I delegate.

‘I don’t know how to do this, and I wouldn’t be willing to do it even if I did’

‘I love being a coach, but I hate finding clients’. ‘I love running change programs for organisations, but I hate selling in the projects’. For activities that fall into this quadrant, you either need to delegate or change your attitude.

People who say that they hate marketing and selling have usually had bad experiences in the past, and that’s why I am so passionate about sharing the Client Magnets approach. I know from experience that when you realise that selling and integrity don’t have to be two distinct realities and that you can create a successful marketing machine which is based on doing things that you love, things can change dramatically. I promise you aren’t going to have to spend all your time marketing and selling. I liken this marketing approach to creating a garden. In the early days there may be some labour-intensive activity with no apparent sign of reward, just like the digging and preparing the ground that happens with a garden. But before long the green shoots start to show and eventually you have a flourishing garden that you can enjoy. Yes there will be some tending, nurturing and weeding, but it will never be anything like the initial effort that you put in.

If you’re having a problem ‘getting motivated’ then use this quadrant to start idenitfying where the gaps are, and having identified the gaps change them.

Have a great week!

The Art of Getting Motivated

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Get Them To Buy NOW!

August 8th, 2009

To earn income quickly, learn to inject a sense of urgency into your offer. That one simple “tweak” can revive your cash flow and set the stage for new business. Let’s discuss how to persuade clients to act immediately when presented with your offer.

Establish Exclusivity
Most people like to have something not everyone else has; it’s human nature. Clients are no different, and you can use that fact to your benefit. When you make a sales offer, whether by email, in front of an audience or on your website, establish exclusivity by offering special pricing to a limited group.

Presenting your standard offer will persuade a certain group of people to buy. Convince someone who’s dragging his feet to act now by limiting special discounts to an exclusive group. For example, you can create a “Preferred Client Group” open to only twenty clients at a time. That group receives discounts on services not offered to other clients.

Let your list know only the first twenty people signing up for the featured service will receive those special privileges. One last tip: create a waiting list and update them when access to the group opens up again.

Reward Immediate Action
Another way to persuade clients to move quickly is to offer time-limited discounts. This strategy works especially well during speaking engagements. While making your offer from the stage, let your audience know you’re offering a special discount for that day only. Whether you’re offering packaged services or a whole catalog of products, you should never speak before a group without offering time-sensitive savings.

This only works if the discount is real, by the way. A good way to lose future business is to offer a “one day only” discount that lasts to eternity. Offer genuine savings on the day of your presentation, product launch or initial email message. You can offer some other sort of savings down the road, but reward immediate action with an exclusive discount.

Increase the Benefit
One more way to increase the sense of urgency in your clients’ minds is to tangibly increase what they receive by acting quickly. In other words, you can reward their prompt action by adding additional products or services to the offer.

An example of this is a massage therapist who offers an extra thirty minutes of services free to clients purchasing packaged sessions during the current month. She gains booked sessions paid in advance and the client gains free services.

As with time-sensitive savings, keep this offer exclusive. A genuinely special offer earns loyal clients who’ll purchase at full price the next time.

When you need to increase your cash flow quickly, injecting a sense of urgency into your offer is a smart approach. Allow your clients to be part of an exclusive group. Offer time-limited discounts, especially to live audiences.

Most important of all, be sure to deliver a tangible advantage to people willing to act promptly. Your clients will appreciate the added value and the instant income can’t help but benefit your business.

Get Them To Buy NOW!

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