“How to Beef Up Your Marketing So That You Can Attract Clients You Love, Who Are Willing To Pay Great Money For The Work.“

by Therese Skelly

Here’s a little secret…unfortunately there is no correlation between how good you are, and how much money you make. You can be the best kept secret in town if you don’t have the right marketing message. And I don’t want that for you, my pretties!!! If you’ve been reading my stuff for any length of time, one of the messages I preach is how to own your expertise and get out there so you can serve those you are supposed to serve….while getting paid well! That is a beautiful thing.

Recently I was asked by the Arizona Holistic Chamber of Commerce to speak about “How to Sell Without Feeling Salesy.” It was a big hit because so many people in the holistic professions are very heart centered and marketing and sales is not usually something they have loads of training in. And one of the first points I made was that we have to remember that we are in the business of MARKETING whatever business we are in.

But what if you don’t have a clue about where to start? Or worse yet, you have the fear deep down inside that your marketing ‘sucks’ because it just isn’t working? How about if I shine some light on that for you?

As a bonus to the attendees of the AZ Holistic Chamber, I did a follow up live “Marketing Makeover” in which I spent about 35 minutes with Pam Fox, of www.LipStory.com. I’ll share with you the audio so you can listen and learn, but these are some of the main points I covered with her that you can use also.

Tip #1 – Be sure your website ‘calls out’ to your market. You have 3-5 seconds when people land on your page for them to decide if they are in the right place. At the top, in bold letters, do something that says – “Attention: (insert target here)”

You can use their identifiers like “coaches, consultants, and speakers,” but it’s really much more powerful to use language that is connected to their pain. Even better would be – “Attention frustrated coaches, consultants and speakers who have so much to share, but are sick of not having the marketing in place to get your work in the world so that you can serve the people you want and earn the money you deserve!”

See how that speaks more to both their pain and desire? Play with that for your market and notice if you get more web traffic.

Tip #2 – Your web copy should be about the visitor and NOT about you! A huge mistake I see is when some well meaning web designer (or even inexperienced copywriter) says, “Let’s put your vision, mission and purpose on the home page.” Yikes!!! This is where I go a bit nutto with my clients and tell them to immediately get that off. The cold hard truth is that if a visitor lands on your page and it’s all about you, they’ll click away faster than you can say, “What the heck just happened?”

After you have called them out (tip #1) then you need to tell them that you understand their pain.

Fresh out of Life Coaching School, I realized that while I was pretty good at coaching, I had absolutely no idea how to market and get clients in the door. I found a coach who had probably one of the worst websites I’ve ever seen. It was busy, didn’t navigate well, had no flow, and was amazingly effective…because of one thing.

He had a drop down box which said – “Are you a coach who feels like this:”

• “I love what I do but hate to market”

• I have so many good ideas but don’t know where to start

• I get overwhelmed with creativity and don’t know how to make money

There were about eight more of these, and by the time I finished reading his really annoying site, I was convinced that this man understood my challenges and hired him on the spot! This essence is what you have to put in the first paragraph of your site so your visitors are instantly connecting to you and deciding that you have credibility.

Tip #3 – Make your site also about data collection. I’m just gonna step out and be bold here – if you aren’t capturing names/emails of the folks who visit you, why bother having a site in the first place? People search and find your site, but may not be in a place to buy right then. But if you have a wonderful item of value like a special report that you give in exchange for their email, you can then market to them and begin to create that relationship so that when they are ready, you’ll be top of mind.

Your website is a tool for marketing, and not just a pretty brochure! (And if you are stuck on this one, you may want to get a strategy session with me because we can come up with what you could offer and how it is done.)

Tip #4 – Be in regular contact with your database. Here too is a place where you may have to buck up and get out of your comfort zone. Many people send a monthly newsletter and feel like they are being a pest, so you’ll be stretched when I suggest that WEEKLY contact is the best. Is that little voice kicking off in your head now telling you how you’ll be annoying them, and oh no…what if they get mad or unsubscribe? I say, let ‘em leave you!

It’s like this…you want to be the first person your target list thinks of. Imagine that you used a plumber six months ago and you thought he was just the greatest thing since sliced bread. But you stuck his card in a junk drawer somewhere, so when your pipes backed up again, you grab the phone book or Google and find the closest plumber. But what if every month that plumber you liked sent you tips on how to keep your plumbing working well? What if you had just gotten a post card in the mail reminding you that you were in need of an annual inspection, or even if the plumber had his office assistant call and thank you for your business in the past? (Those were some offline marketing tips, Gang!) Who would you call? Exactly – the person that was top of mind, and in this case, the plumber who was rocking his marketing.

Tip #5 – Be BOLD!!! OK, gotta admit, this is one of my faves. In fact, I have created a whole new program around the acronym of B.O.L.D. which I’ll be rolling out soon. What do I mean by this? It’s about staying true to your gifts, your quirks, your brilliance, and your way of doing things. In my B.O.L.D. program I speak about Owning your vision, Owning your Expertise, and Owning your style. Too often we try to be like our mentors or try to spin a professional image that takes away the personality and “relate-ability” we have. Being bold means making strong claims, having the courage to back them up, and doing in a way that is unique to you, and one that your ideal market will resonate with.

Tip #6- Leverage your marketing. You’ll hear as I coach Pam in the audio below, that I turn her marketing activities around by going from working 1:1 to finding the gatekeepers for her market. Here’s how it works. Let’s say you market promotional products and you are trying to sell to realtors. The one-to-one model is that you go to a networking meeting, find a realtor, have a good connection, then have a coffee date later to talk about what they do and how your services could support them. The leveraged model looks like this – you partner with the associations that realtors belong to. You get to either sponsor an event, positioning you as the expert, or you could speak at the event, or do something else to be in front of their members. Do you see the time differences? Look for the gatekeepers. That means you’ll know who your market is, and where your service can solve their problem. (That’s a huge factor in opening up relationships.) Listen in on how I did it with Pam, and you can get some ideas for your business.

Now it’s your turn! Listen to the audio and send me the top three things you are going to differently to get your expertise in the world in a big way. Click here to listen now.

So let me out myself here…I am a Karaoke Queen. Yep. I got divorced a few years ago and starting singing. In fact, it’s been a huge metaphor for me about showing up and playing bigger and I’ve written a few articles relating to how karaoke can be transformative.

But I was recently thinking about the ‘vibe’ of the karaoke bar I go to and can see parallels with the business clients I work with, so if you’ll give me some artistic license…I’m going to tie together being in a karaoke club and running a business. (Yes, lots of license is needed here!)

Karaoke is colorful and exciting.

For those karaoke-virgins, here’s how it goes. One quarter of the room will be wonderful singers. The other quarter of the room will be mediocre to crappy singers, and the other half will be folks too scared to get up and sing. But because of the brave souls who do get up, everyone has fun.

Is your business vibrant and inviting? When someone ‘walks’ in to your website, are they the ones who know why they are there and are clear about their purpose? Or are they the lurkers…just tire kickers who want to see what you have to offer? If you want to be successful you have to be clear who your market is and then set up the ‘stage’ so that they can have easy access to you and what you provide. Look at your website, your marketing messages, and all the rest of your communications…does they invite folks to say ‘yes’ to you?

The karaoke host runs the show.

The place I attend has a woman – whom we’ll call “Nancy” as the hostess. She’s like a pit bull with pipes. It’s her room, and you follow her rules! Sure, she’ll support you as long as you are working within her system, but step out of line and you may get spanked (or at least given the evil eye!) LOL.

Are you running your business like a strong business owner/CEO? That means that you have policies in place that stick. Instead of tailoring payment and program offerings to each individual, you should have programs that people fit into and not the other way around. Too many exceptions, changes, and adjustments will make you and your team nuts! Create the systems, and then have the courage to stick with them. It will make you a better business owner and command more respect from your clients. Sometimes it takes the courage to tell a prospective client “no” because they aren’t the right fit, but in the long run it’s really good business practice to have things systematized. Remember, you are in business not only to serve your clients, but also to make your life easier. Do your policies and practices contribute to that?

The karaoke scene brings out all kinds of people.

Wow….that is an understatement. Just hanging out and seeing the variety in age, size, talent, and personality is half the fun. Here are a few of the ‘characters’ from my time in the karaoke bar – see which one you relate to:

Bob – he’s a crowd favorite. Probably because he’s at least 75 years old, sweet as pie and does about the best Frank Sinatra songs you have ever heard. But Bob doesn’t just sing. Bob emotes and expresses with his whole body. Bob is so passionate about being there that he truly lights up the room. People are drawn to Bob just because of his energy.

As a business owner, does your passion and expertise shine? Can people tell you love what you do? When people meet you do they instantly get that spark of greatness in you? Do you have the courage to stand up and say, “I did it my way?” (Pardon the bad Frank Sinatra pun there!) If not, what’s in your way? (If you have some fear or mindset blocks, you may want to schedule a session with me and we’ll blow that puppy out!)

Or maybe you are like this fellow:

Ron – this is the guy who shows up and sings the same song every week: an old Roy Orbison classic. The guy is good, but predictable. He’s actually technically a really good singer, but whenever he opens his mouth, it’s tempting to check out because it’s like a “been there, done that” experience.

Has your content become stale and predictable? If you keep rolling out the same tired stuff, soon your market will turn a deaf ear. Gotta spice it up! Ask what your market is interested in. Visit other blogs, social media sites, do a Google search, and discover new things to offer. Are you coming up with at least two or three new offerings a year? It doesn’t have to be overwhelming – a teleclass, workshop, new report, etc. Keep it simple, but keep it fresh.

Or, you might be like the girl of the group:

Tammy – At least that’s what I think her name is. Because truthfully, she’s a bit timid and so doesn’t have the big presence like the men have. Tammy shows up (at least partially anyway) to sing, but is so quiet that it’s hard to get a read on her. Maybe it’s because her voice isn’t that strong, but when Tammy gets up to sing, she barely has a voice that’s audible. I’d love to coach her to find her ‘inner rock star’ to get herself out in a bigger way. She’d sure enjoy it more.

Is your business invisible? I’ve seen that a lot with some of my clients who are either new in business or haven’t yet landed as strongly on their brand. They tend to operate to be ‘safe’ and don’t put themselves in front of their target markets very often. These are the folks who send out a newsletter only quarterly in fear of ‘pissing off’ their lists. That is one of the #1 biggest business killers. I’d rather have you lose a few people who would probably never buy from you anyway so you can be top of mind to your market. Your goal is to be the first person they think of when they have a problem, so figure out how do you find your ‘business rock star’ mode and MARKET, MARKET, MARKET!

What you really need to do is act like this guy:

Paul – he’s the one who will do Neil Diamond first, an opera piece, and then jump into some crazy Jimi Hendrix song. Is he good? Truthfully, he butchers a couple of notes here and there, but is fearless about trying new music. And he has fun, which is the most important part of the whole thing. Paul is also the one who talks to everyone, plays the drums, dances, and is really fully expressed when he’s out for the night.

How comfortable are you at taking risks? Are you stuck in the thinking that it has to be perfect before you can roll anything new out? Do you get trapped in analysis paralysis for months and months, afraid to make mistakes? Take it from Paul…because folks don’t remember your missteps. They remember you getting up and having a voice. So whatever you are working on, know that you can tweak it later. The goal is to get it out in the world so it can make you money and serve the folks you are supposed to serve.

Well, did I do it? Can you see the correlation between life in the karaoke bar, and life as a coach for small business owners? I see a lot of overlap. My hope is that asking these questions in a playful way got you thinking. Drop me a line and let me know which one of the characters you are!

And if you want to read my other articles about “karaoke lessons” click here.

Now I gotta go get ready for singing tomorrow night. I think I’ll try something new.

OK, here’s the deal…

You are going to spend at least one third to one half of YOUR LIFE working. So why not make it something that gives you joy?

Today’s article is about looking at your business not just as a ‘cash machine’ or a form of revenue generation, but more of something that becomes an extension of you…and your life’s mission. Deep stuff I know, but since we are gonna be putting in all those hours, at the end of the day, let’s find a way to make it matter.

Since this article is not your basic Marketing 101 type of article, I want to set up in the beginning who I’m writing to.

If you are the kind of business owner who understands that in some ways your business is like your ministry, I’m talking to you. If you feel called to fully express your gifts through your business, I’m talking to you. If it’s important to you to serve as many people as you can, I’m talking to you. And if you are passionate about leaving a legacy – then you are my people…So let’s get going…

Business as Your Ministry –

I’m not referencing here the traditional or religious sense of the word ministry. To me it means that you know that your soul’s purpose is being expressed through your business and the services that you provide. One of the definitions of ministry is “the act of serving.” You may be a coach or speaker or own a store. Your work can be done consciously or unconsciously. You can look for ways where you can show up more fully and be of greater service, or it can just be a way to collect a paycheck. You get to decide.

That’s the absolute first step. If you have the sense that your business is like your personal ministry, you stand in the knowing that you are here to serve and are committed to that. From that level of commitment and decision, everything else falls into place.

Fully Expressing Your Gifts –

We are here to make a difference in people’s lives. (OK, that may be my belief, but I like it and am keeping it!) Your business becomes effortless when you express your gifts in the world, instead of trying to be what other people want you to be. This is where fulfillment lives, where passion lives, and its cute little down the street neighbor, Fun, lives!

First you have to know what your gifts are. And a big hint…what you think is easy and comes naturally and likely gets overlooked as “Doesn’t everyone have that?” – That’s YOUR gift. Take an inventory of what you do easily that your clients are really blown away by. Notice your passion-meter. What gets you juiced to talk about or do? Show up more fully in your business and you’ll not only enjoy it more, but you’ll also attract the RIGHT kind of clients who will resonate with your unique energy, AND you’ll also make more money doing it.

Stuck on what your gifts are? Ask! Survey your clients or close friends/mastermind partners and ask what they see that you are gifted at. You will probably be surprised at what they see that you have overlooked. Next – assign a value to what they say that your gifts are. You have to really own how much impact you have, so discovering what your gifts are worth is a huge step in gaining entrepreneurial confidence! When you really get clear about how much value you bring, raising your rates and being paid what you are worth will be easy.

Leaving a Legacy –

What will your footprint be? When you are gone, how will you be remembered? By the lives you touched? For the contributions you made? From the children you so tenderly raised?

Is legacy something that you strive for, or a thing that just happens when you show up and do your work in the world?

It’s my belief that sometimes we get so bogged down with the daily ‘to-do’ list that it’s easy to forget that we are here to make a difference. What would change in your business if you regularly tapped into that place in you that could hold the longer vision of what’s possible.

This legacy stuff on one hand feels a bit big and scary. But on the other hand, it can be energizing when you tap into the knowledge that your ideas and contributions will outlive you. I remember years ago meeting a copywriter and her big dream was “to be an influence.” It hadn’t occurred to me at the time that my scope was any broader that the local folks I was working with, but her soul knew that her purpose here was to influence how people thought and to help them open up to new possibilities.

What will it be for you? It’s not something I want you to ‘work’ at or stress over, but do give it some thought. If you create that new product, can you see the ripple effect? Imagine that 100 people work with you, and that work effects 10 of their friends, and five more down the road, in their networks. Can you see the endless possibilities?

So my wish for you, my dear reader, is to really do some thinking about the meaning of your business and the difference you make in the world because of it. Own your vision in a big way! We need that from you.

I can see it now…..

A room full of grizzly looking, sleep deprived entrepreneurs sitting around wondering what happened to their dreams of success.

One by one they start to share their stories:

“Hi, I’m Amy.  I am an email addict.”  I sit down to work on the projects that would make me money, but every time that email alert pops in, I’m bouncing to check on who could have possibly contacted me.  So by the end of the day, I’m drained, overwhelmed, and have accomplished nothing!.”

Next is Dave, who has the tell tale dark circles under his eyes.  “Hi I’m Dave, and my life has become unmanageable as a result of the distraction of email.  My problem is that I can’t sleep until I know every email is done, sent, or responded to.  Its freaky…in fact, if I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, or can’t sleep, I will head straight to my computer to finish off the email that came in when I was away.  And can I share my biggest shame?  I secretly get a little bummed when it’s about one in the morning and I hit the send/receive button and nothing comes.  I’m a mess.”

But the saddest one of all is Ray, who sits in the corner, barely able to hold his head up.  “Hi, my story is sort of similar but it’s not just email that’s causing me to get off track and waste hours and hours and hours.  Mine is that damn Facebook and Twitter.  In the old days I’d give myself about thirty minutes to ’surf the web’ as we used to call it back then, but with the inventions like Tweetdeck, I’m screwed!  Now it takes all the energy I can muster to get anything done.  And you want to know the worst part of it?  As a coach, when I’m supposed to be listening to my clients on the phone, I secretly pop in and check on the tweets while I should be listening to them.  They are paying me good money, and I can’t even be present because I’m so addicted to distractions.  What they heck should I do?”

Now obviously this is a fictitious “12-Step meeting for email addicts” but many of you will read your own story in the three characters above.

The fist thing I want you to know is that you are probably (unfortunately) among the norm.  We love distractions!  Our cell phones have alarms, our Outlook tasks pop in to alert us, we get reminders of teleclasses, and all sorts of things that intrude on our space.  So what’s a ‘focus challenged’ entrepreneur to do about all this?  I have a few suggestions below.

1.  Turn off the email alert -yes….in Outlook you can stop the function that tells you every time an email pops in.  You may notice a huge void, but that’s the goal!

2.  Discover the cost of being interrupted constantly – I recently got ’spanked’ by my VA.  OK, not literally, but she scolded me because I haven’t yet contacted all the affiliates I need to promote my upcoming Happy in Business Mastermind program.  See I can tell myself the story that I’m so busy, but the reality is that the distraction of email/social media probably cost me at least a weeks worth of work in connecting with people that I need to.

3.  Schedule chunks of time for distractions – Give yourself certain hours where you’ll be on Facebook, certain times you’ll tweet, and certain times you will check your email.  It really is about discipline.   Have you planned your time?  Do you set up a schedule the night before of what needs to be accomplished, or do you just jump on the computer and just start responding to emails?  That is the kiss of death for any hope of productivity, so START NOW.  The deal is that you control your time, and not other people’s calls, requests, or emails.  Think like a singulary focused million dollar business owner.  Would they ‘twitter’ their time away?  Probably not.

4.  Purge, purge, purge -  Do you really need 67 ezine subscriptions?  Take one whole week and everything that you would be tempted to say, “I’ll get to this later” GET RID OF!!!! You can always re-subscribe, but the enormity of getting hundred and hundred of emails a day leads to overwhelm.  (Don’t want to hurt someones feelings by unsubscribing?  Here’s a trick – set up a message rule in Outlook to send their email directly to the delete folder.  That way you don’t have to see it, and they don’t have to know you left their list.)

5. Have an assistant handle your email -This is where I am.  And truthfully, I am FIGHTING this one!  Because I admit that I’m like a crazy email junkie- the more the better in my book.  But I know what it costs me in terms of productivity.  So next week my inbox will be managed by Renee, my ass-kicking VA.  Actually the email won’t even come in to my Inbox.  It may take a few weeks to sort out, but she’ll only send me the high priority items, and the rest will be handled.  Out of sight, out of mind is the key.  Why did I finally surrender here?  Because I know that I will be so much better of a business owner when I’m not distracted and hitting that send/receive button every five minutes.  I’ll be able to do my weekly newsletter, write more articles, and gosh…maybe even have a life.  What a beautiful thing!

Those are my five tips.  Shoot me an email and let me know if you have any other ideas.  (And yeah, I’ll tell Renee to deliver that one to me!)

Blessings,

Hey, while this article is written mainly for coaches, consultants, and service providers, there are some great ideas that all business owners can use!

Like many of us who began our careers at an agency or in the corporate world, there is a moment when the idea of being self employed pushes itself to the forefront of our awareness.  The Entrepreneurial Bug has hit!  Visions of more freedom, more fun, and more “flow” are the catalyst for us to make the leap from the world of being an employee, to the new venture known as self employed business owner.

But where do you begin?  And how can you grow your income?  Having helped many coaches over the years accelerate their success, I have found the following three things to be critical when you are thinking of going it on your own.

Marketing -

Who is your target market?  Eager coaches fresh out of school or new to the business often think they can help anyone.  There’s a joke in the coaching field that says, “My clients are anyone who can fog a mirror.”  OK, hopefully you aren’t that vague, but the trick to marketing is to get as specific as you possibly can about who you serve.  The reasons are that, a) you will be more easily able to identify and market to the this group, and b) people can clearly understand what you do and whom you serve, so they can refer business to you, and c) it will position you as an expert.  This is the key.  Being a specialist rather than a generalist is where you want to end up.  Think about physicians.  You’ll go to your family doc if you need antibiotics, but if you need brain surgery, who are you going to call?  That’s right….the well paid specialist!

Usually when people hear that they have to narrow their target, there is a negative, knee-jerk reaction.  It seems counter-intuitive that in order to grow my business, I have to limit what clients I see!  NO!  You can coach or serve different kinds of people, but if you try to water down your marketing message to appeal to three diverse groups, the marketing materials will not be very effective.  The secret is to pick one group and market to that population.

Here’s an example of how to walk through the narrowing process.  If I ask you what your target market is, you may say…..

“I work with people who are in transition.”

Better would be:  “I work with women who are in transition”

 Now you’ve cut your market in half, so it’s more identifiable but still too vague.

 ”I work with women executives who are looking to re-career.”

 Now we can identify what kind of women, and what their goal or problem is.  Let’s see if we can refine it even further.

 ”I work with frustrated female executives in the IT field who want to have the freedom to create their own businesses, and they need some help starting them.”

 Now we have even a better description of the target client, what they want, and what their problem is.

 An effective marketing message will have someone thinking to themselves, “I know someone I can refer,” or “Hey, she’s talking about me…..I need to call her.”

 Money -

How can you charge a reasonably high fee when you are just starting out?  So many coaches struggle with this emotionally charged issue.  Here is what I suggest as a way to ‘grow’ into your fee structure.

Get as much experience as you can.  I know I said in the above section that you should specialize, and getting more experience is the most important thing you can to towards having a good sense of who you are as a coach.  Specialization comes usually from starting out as a generalist.

Thomas Leonard, who many consider the father of coaching, used to say, “Just get out and coach 100 people.  It will all start to make sense then.” After this much experience,  you’ll begin to see the natural gifts you have, discern who you are most comfortable working with, and by then end, you will have concrete results you can speak about.  That’s the key!  People don’t buy coaching because it “takes them from where they are to where they want to be” or for any of the other cliché ways we speak about it.  People will hire you to help them solve their problems.

The question is how much is that worth to your clients?  Currently coaching fees range from $150/month to the coaches who are charging $24,000/year and even higher.  The market has a huge spread, so you get to decide what you want to earn.  You will need to look at 3 factors to determine this.

Who is your target market and what can they pay?

Again, I can’t stress enough the importance of defining clearly your target market, but beyond that, you have to ask yourself if your market can pay you the fees you will need which will allow you to earn the income you have envisioned for yourself.  Maybe you love to work with college students.  You might love their ‘out of the box’ way of thinking and be quite drawn to their youthful nature.  But…can some of these folks pay $400/mo for your coaching?  Maybe not?  I’m not saying that you have to work with people you aren’t comfortable with just for the income, but you have to factor in generally how much the market can afford.

How many clients will you need to generate your income?

Let’s say it’s your goal to earn $60,000 this year.  In order to do this, you will need to bring in $5,000/month.  If you have a $500/month coaching program, you can get that with only 10 clients.  But if your fee is $250/month, the number doubles, and you will be looking at 20 clients a month to reach your goals.

Another important way to market and create income is by having a ‘funnel’ approach to your services/prices.  The theory is that coaching and consulting is a relationship where people need a high degree of trust to enter into.  For example, if I am picking up a book at the bookstore for $19, I don’t need the same level of trust or connection with you as if I am going to spend $5,000 on your services!

The funnel allows people to enter and sample your services at a much lower price point.

The way to structure it would be to create multiple offerings like this:

• Newsletter – free
• Special report – $9
• E-book – $39
• 6 week teleclass – $99
• 3 month group coaching – $249
• Monthly private coaching – $500
• Two day live event – $997

This allows people to get a sense of you and your ideas, products, and work style before they plop down huge money to do so. In the case of your struggling college students, maybe the monthly coaching would be out of their reach, but the teleclass series could be perfect for them!

      Mindset -

Do I even deserve to earn (DRAW IN) this much money?  This is the biggest factor I see in breaking through financial barriers and hitting new levels of success for  yourself.   How is it that “The Donald” loses all of his money, and then comes back earning more than before?  Have you noticed that there seems to be an internal set point which determines how much income people will allow themselves to earn?  Mostly, people will bump into their ‘stuff.”  I’ll speak more about that in the next section, as it has everything to do with mindset.  But for now, think about this story:

“A woman was walking the streets of Paris when she spied the great artist Picasso sitting in a corner café.  Mustering up all her courage, the woman approached the master, saying, “Pardon me sir, but could you be so kind as to do a sketch of me?”   Feeling in a good mood, Picasso took his pencil out, and in two strokes created a ‘portrait’ of the woman and handed it to her.  Delighted, she asked, “Sir, what would this cost me to buy from you?”  To which he replied, “That will be Fifty Thousand Francs.”  Aghast, the woman stopped, stepped back and said, “But that only took you a minute!”  Picasso looked at her and slowly said, “No, Madam….that took me my whole life.”

Truthfully, hearing that story allowed me to begin to charge more what I am worth.  The point is that all your life experiences, all your wisdom, education, and innate gifts are a commodity!  When you get how much you have to offer, you can easily begin to see the value of the services you provide.  And, when you can state clearly in results oriented language how a client will be benefited from working with you, the money will flow.

But where most people get stuck is in moving beyond their comfort zone about money and their own issues with desirability.  Years ago I worked for a coaching company where we charged $525 a month for coaching.  Being a relatively new coach, it was really a stretch for me to be able to justify my ‘worth’ to a prospective client.  I had been quite successful in my previous career, and didn’t feel as masterful in the field of coaching yet, so I never sold many coaching packages, because there was a part of me that didn’t believe in my value and could not stand behind the price point.  About a year into working with this company, the CEO began talking about the idea of devising a $1,000 month coaching package.  Whew!  If I couldn’t resonate with the $500 plan, can you imagine the fear I experienced at having to justify the $1,000 price to prospective clients?  I knew there was no way I could sell that because even though everyone around me was telling me I was worth that rate, I didn’t believe it.

My solution?  I hired a coach who charged $1,000 a month and worked with him until I ‘got it’ related to my degree of competence. That was being in integrity for me.  I figured if I was willing to spend that much money on my professional development and growing my business, that there were other people out there willing to do the same.  While it was a costly lesson, it did the trick.

I also had to answer for myself when I would be worth charging and earning more income.  So many people have an undefined sense of “I’m not enough” that there’s always more to learn, more to get, and more to figure out.  Instead of looking at all we have, we focus on what we aren’t.  For me it entailed asking myself the question, “How will I know when I’m successful and can charge what I’m worth?”  After getting the answer to that, I could take action and have been now able to set my rates at a fair market value.

 So if you were to answer the question, “What will it take for you to deserve to earn ___ income a year,” what would the answer be?  Maybe you need to hear from clients how you have made a difference in their lives.  What’s it worth when you save a person six months of job hunting?  How can you quantify assisting someone in helping them grow a business with much more money than they had anticipated?  When you begin to factor in these tangibles and some intangibles, you can see what a powerful asset you have been in your client’s lives.

This is where polling your clients comes in.  You may have a sense of what they have gotten from you services, but really dig deep.  Ask how their lives have changed, what they were able to do differently, and if possible, monetize the answers.  When you get this information, you can move through any critical voices or ‘old tapes’ in your head about what you are worth.  I knew I was on the right track when a client of mine who we took from not even having a business idea, to two years later creating a business that brought in $200,000 said to me, “By working with you, I am five years ahead of any other business that started at the same time.” I now can boldly tell people that working with me will help accelerate their success!  But I never would have known that fact had I not taken the time to ask!

And finally…play up!  Meaning, surround yourself with people whose income is where you want to be. Do you desire to earn six figures?  Then begin to find those people in your network and learn from them.  You have probably heard the expression that your income will be the average of the five people you hang around with most often.  You don’t have to ‘fire’ friends and colleagues if they aren’t where you want to be financially, but begin to add some new success models for you to follow.  You and your clients will be richly rewarded by it.

Here’s to your success!

Marketing Mistakes #2 -Thinking You Have to Spend Tons of Money

If you have been following me awhile, you know I’m going to start with the thing between your ears!  Yep, your mindset.  If you feel confident in your products or service, then you have half the battle won.  So many times people don’t feel like they have enough, are enough, know enough, so the “I need better marketing materials” thought is usually a smoke screen to cover up these faulty beliefs.  Years ago, when I suffered from this very challenge, a wise coach told me, YOU ARE FULLY COOKED!  He meant that I had enough, right where I was, to start my business.  So my little pretties….if you have any trace of this going on, you gotta ‘flip the script’ as they say and just commit to taking the actions necessary to get out there.

But, what if it wasn’t as hard as you thought to get your name in front of the right prospects?  Read below to discover some marketing mistakes that you can correct instantly for better results.  Check yourself to see if you are making these mistakes -

I can’t move forward unless I have the perfect website -I can’t tell you how many times people have said that they can’t really get any clients until they have a killer website.  I knew of someone who spent $5,000 on a site, cards, brochures, and all the bells and whistles and had never got a client!  She loved the creative design process, but was stuck in fear about really getting out there to promote the work she did. The moula that she put into that puppy would have been much better spent had she pounded the pavement or used that three grand to invest in some marketing coaching!

If you do get a site, don’t do all the fancy stuff with moving parts   If you need a site, you can do it a couple of different way.  You can go to www.GoDaddy.com and get your domain name there, as well as their WebSite Tonight.  You can do your own 5 page site (using their templates) for about very cheap.

And maybe you don’t even need a site at all.  If you want something that is up in cyberland with your info, a website is good.  Want something you can change content regularly with ease?

TRY BLOGGING!  It looks just like a website, and you can add content to it daily.  You can do it yourself for free just by going to www.wordpress.com.  It’s super easy, but I do suggest that you get a blogging expert to help you customize it or add in the applications.  I use Dave Barnhart of www.BusinessBloggingPros.com.

But I need a high quality, fancy brochure -You are a small business owner!  Sure, in corporate America the big marketing campaign is a must, but if you are waiting to launch your product/service because you don’t have tons of $$ to spend, you are in for treat, dear reader!  Here are some ideas to get you started….

Get it out of your head that if you don’t have the 30 page brochure like BMW does, or the website that does everything except your laundry.

Need cards, flyers or brochures – Just google online printing and you’ll find a ton of resources.

Need graphic design?  Go to www.crowdspring.com.  It’s a very cool space where you name your price, post your project, and designers will bid on it.  You keep it if you like it, and get a chance to see everyone’s work.

Following up will cost me way too much . Many times business owners make the mistake of always trying to get new prospects in their funnel, but completely ignore the ones they have!  This is probably the biggest mistake and the easiest to correct.  In addition to the email/auto-responder campaign that you should have, there are a couple of other ways to stay ‘top of mind.’

Send out Cards.  This is the easiest way to market yourself by doing killer follow up.  For less than a buck you can go online, pick a card, type in the address you want it to go to, create whatever you want it to say, and hit the send button.  The part I love it that you can send one card, or create a campaign to send tons of cards…all in a few minutes.  The cards are real cards, not just the e-cards.  You can use my link to check it out at www.sendoutcards.com/5407.

Voice Broadcast – I love this one!  Having just lived through the elections in November, you probably notice that you were getting tons of calls from your candidates.  Heck, Bill Clinton even called me!  Oh, he called you too?  Does that mean I’m not special to our ex-prez?  What it means is that Bill and all the others got a list of phone numbers, had it loaded in, and recorded a message to be broadcast.  It’s so easy.  I use www.voiceshot.com and it cost twelve cents a call.  I have used it to announce upcoming events, or to thank folks for coming.  If you have something you are marketing, do consider doing a voice broadcast because it’s different from email, and people will remember it.

So what did we learn today, class?  That Bill Clinton didn’t make 2 million personal calls?  Yes, that and the fact that it’s much easier than you think to get out there and market your business!  Pick one or two of the suggestions and let me know how you are doing with them!

Stay in action, and focus on the good!

This isn’t kindergarten any more kids! Hoping you are now at the stage of business development where you must step us as an expert and really SHINE.

After coaching hundreds and hundreds of people, I have identified some of the stages that business owners move through. See if you can identify where you are…

1. “Let me at ‘em” stage. This is where you just start your business and are so eager for customers and clients. Here you find that what you do is schlep around giving folks samples and free sessions, trying to get buzz and some visibility built up. For some, this lasts a few months, but sometimes business owners get stuck here for years. Not good. The signs that you are in this stage are a lack of revenue, excitement when clients call, but not much luck converting them into paying clients. Oh, and you probably don’t really have a market plan or calendar operating in this stage either. Hopefully after awhile you move into stage two…

2. “Oh, crap….this isn’t working” stage. Sorry to be crude, but sometimes that’s how it feels. This is the stage of being a business owner where you realize that you trying to do everything is only leading to overwhelm and big time burn out. This is where you begin to realize that the only way to be happy and prosperous is to get a team of folks to help you. The goal – you do what you do best, and let others handle the tasks that you either can’t do, shouldn’t do, or someone can do better. So, my pretties….if you are doing your own books (unless you are a bookkeeper!) creating your own web pages, writing your own copy, and managing your own database – you are stuck in this stage and will reach a point where there just isn’t enough of you to go around. My suggestion – find small ways to outsource and delegate so you can do more things that bring in money. This is where the true entrepreneurial freedom begins to emerge….and then you get to the next stage.

3. “I wish I knew what I knew” stage...which can then go into the Sally Fields moment at the Academy Awards where she stood up and said, “You like me, you really, really like me!” Pardon the bad metaphor, but my point here is this is where the fame and glory and expert status resides. That and the chance to become much more financially profitable, reach more people, and make the business a leveraged one.

Let me elaborate.

After awhile of doing the work of gaining confidence in stage one, learning how to think like a business owner in stage two, the task of stage three is to become a content expert. That’s where the global nature of all of this comes into play. No longer do you need to serve one to one, but with our virtual world and online communities, you can serve many, many people. But they have to know you, and you have to step up and claim your expert status.

But how? I remember I used to know that I had sooooo much good stuff and wisdom inside, but had no idea how to get it out. The experience of wishing I “knew what I knew” really kicked in when I had my first expert interview, and after being asked about 15 questions by the interviewer, I went…”Dang, I know a lot!” Now, I’m spending much of my time ‘birthing’ the content I have and can see that this is the next step to more success.

My top three ways to “know what you know” and fully embrace being the expert that you are include the following –

1. Decide that you are an expert –Yes, it’s just that simple. So many of us wander around playing small that we miss the opportunity to really help the clients we should. Does your ego get a bit ‘wonky’ at the thought of calling yourself an expert? Let me ask you this….if your child had a life threatening brain tumor, wouldn’t you be VERY GLAD that the neurosurgeon doing the surgery knows what an expert he is! It’s not about ego as in “better than” but it’s about discovering your gifts, owning your gifts, and then sharing your gifts.

2. Have someone interview you- Unless you are a prolific writer and can do brain dumps, it’s far easier to grab a friend (or your coach) and have them ask you questions. Here’s how….I’d suggest that you use Audio Acrobat or recording software. Think of the top ten problems you solve for your clients. The interviewer can start asking you what you do, how you show up, and the results you get. You’ll be amazed at how the answers roll of your tongue. It’s also very affirming at the end when you hear yourself in the light of expert mode. Another idea – do a teleseminar. You can make this for free, record it, and then begin to share what you know.

3. Release your content- Are you tapped into the world of Social Media? If so, you can put your content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, YouTube, Twitter, and a host of other places. Think about this – you are now at the stage that in order to successfully market, you must create new content regularly. Add it into your marketing plan and make sure you schedule regular releases of your great ideas, insights, and ways to solve problems.

As I’ve been saying lately – the world needs what you have. Now is the time to get creative, play big, be bold and get your message out there! And as always, I’m here to support you.

Oh, I feel like one proud mama!  Why, because my friend and client Mary Pat Kavanagh just today is launching her Savvy Mompreneur Telesummit.  Designed for the busy moms who have to balance family life, and a bit of self care, all while striving to be great business women at the same time.  Click on the link after you read this because she has an extraordinary line up of mompreneurs (including me!) who will be sharing our secrets of success.

So why am I sitting here with my heart full as I watch Mary Pat ‘birth’ this dream of hers?  Why?  Because I got to ‘midwife’ it into existence you could say.

I remember the day so clearly, about four months ago when we were working on a strategy for which direction she’d take her business in.  As her coach, I saw her getting stuck.  See, she started out as a marketing strategist, is now known as the Queen of Social Media/Networking, and is very good at both of these things.  But her heart is all about connecting with Savvy Mompreneurs to give them the tools they need to really have success in both their businesses and in their homes.

The problem though is that like many of us, Mary Pat wasn’t owning it.  She had the same litany of thoughts many people get into when their soul’s direction takes them on a new path.  It sounded something like this:
“But everyone knows me for Social Media, what will they think if I go into another new direction?”
And this:  “Do you think there really is a need for this?  Can I really be a voice in this community and help lots of women?”

Being the good coach I am, I gave her a gentle ‘butt kicking’ to help her take ownership of this passion.  It’s so funny that we very often know exactly where we want to be and what our next steps are, but allow our ’stuff’ to get in the way.  On that call, on that day, four months ago – Mary Pat finally said YES.

Fast forward a few months, and the ‘baby’ has been birthed.  Mary Pat started asking for some experts to share their stories.  She thought she’d get 5 or 6, but was blown away when 22 mompreneur experts stepped up and practically begged her to be a part of the telesummit.

In fact, Kristi Frank of season #1 of the Apprentice (who is also one of the special guest experts) wrote Mary Pat this note:

By the way – the talk I’m presenting for the telesummit is on February 19 at 10am Pacific.  It’s called:

Saying Goodbye to the Super Woman Complex: Ways to Take Care of Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business Without Losing Your Mind.  I’d love to ‘hear’ you on the call.

To your success!

You get to be right.

My ten year old hates it when I tell him that!

It’s usually when he’s worried about a school report or something, but when he comes to me and begins to state how he’s probably going to fail…I tell him one thing:
You get to be right.

He’s heard me say the famous phrase, “If you think you can’t or think you can, you get to be right” so many times, that when we heard it quoted on TV recently, he lit up because it rang true for him. See, as a parent, the most important thing I can teach my boys is that they are in control of their lives by what they think and believe about their situations. And for you, my business owner friends….I wish the same level of empowerment and freedom.

As we move into the next year, during this most fertile time for setting our goals, remember these words:

You get to be right – all the time.

But what if you are ‘right’ about the wrong things?

What if you believe that clients won’t pay higher fees because of this economy?
You get to be right.

What if you fear that you won’t be able to fill your practice?
There too, you get to be right.

And what if deep down, there is a little part of you who doesn’t quite believe you can deliver what you say?
Unfortunately, you get to be right.

So I want you to be super vigilant about what you are thinking, believing, and mostly feeling, because…. (You already know what I’m gonna say)
You get to be right.

Here are a couple of things I am going to be right about this year –

• I easily attract amazing clients to my business that is ready to make massive action.
• Speaking opportunities come to me easily, and I’m able to share my empowering message with thousands
• My relationships are nourishing and I have a joyful, balanced, life.

What is it for you?

Why don’t you take some time to write out all the things you are committed to ‘being right’ about this year? Make sure you post it in the comments section so we can hold that space for you!

And stay tuned, because in March I’ll be rolling out a new program designed to give you lots of mindset tools…visit www.InnerGuruExperience.com

Have a happy and prosperous New Year! Thanks for letting me share part of your journey.

Blessings,
Therese Skelly
Coach/Marketing Strategist/Speaker
“Transforming Mindset and Marketing for the Enthusiastic Entrepreneur”
Phone: 602-369-0091
www.AcceleratingYourSuccess.com

I just got off the phone doing a ‘laser’ coaching session with someone who really inspired me.  She inspired me because in just 20 minutes, I was able to get her back on her right path which is always very cool in my book.

This is a gal who is working a full time job but yearns to be a life coach.  She has a passion, has great ideas, and wants to quit her job by December.  She came to the call asking for help with clarity because she was overwhelmed and seemed not to be able to get past obstacles in her life.

Her solution to her desire to become a life coach????  Join a network marketing company.  She began the call by telling me how important it was for her to be able to spend time with her kids, and that she worked full time, but she thought that doing network marketing would get her income.  (It sounded pretty crazy in my book!)

Here’s the deal….when I listen to folks in a coaching situation, I always listen for the passion – or the lack of it.  In her case, I said, “It seems like you are living in San Diego, wanting to go to Seattle, but you are traveling there via New York City.”  Catch the metaphor, gang?

The reason she was bumping into blocks and couldn’t move forward was because she wasn’t on her right path.  Not that determining one’s path is up to me, but particularly when working with moms who have only a few hours to build a business, I’m a bit militant about making sure their time is spent on high payoff activities.

Wanna know where she was stuck?  She didn’t think she was ‘enough’ to be a life coach. She had researched coaching schools, but discovered it would take six months to earn a certification.

So her plan was to jump into network marketing and HOPEFULLY, earn enough $$ to quit her day job. But I’ve coached enough people over the years that it takes a ton of time and commitment to earn $$ that way, and for this woman, it seemed like a really bad plan! (Note that I’m not trashing networking marketing because that can be a good strategy for some, but not in this case.)

This is where as a coach I have to really check in and see how bold I can be.  But what I know is that showing someone the truth, or helping them get back on track isn’t the same as being a dream stealer.

I took a deep breath and asked if she wanted my opinion.  “Yes.”  I asked if right now she had enough content in her coaching repertoire to help people.  “Yes.”  Did she have a group of folks she could help?  “Yes.”  And finally, would she be willing to take those six month and put together something (even if it’s free or low cost) just to start coaching?  “YES!”

She already has the passion, vision, ideas, creativity, determination, market, and time.  But she had convinced herself that without going to coaching school, she couldn’t do anything in the direction of her dreams. My plan with her was to roll something out to be able to test her theories, build her list, confidence, and actually earn some $$ doing it.  I really believe that in six months she could earn more doing what she loved than showing up half-way to try a network thing that she’d quit a short time later.  And….she can still go  to coaching school because its a great idea to get the foundational pieces, but my whole point to her that she was enough right now, with what she had, to get started.

Here’s the truth – there’s no way this woman would have been successful.  Or if she had gotten some income, she would not have been fulfilled.  Why?  Because she was creating a business that didn’t serve her life nor her values.  That’s the key.  So look now at your business.  Is it in alignment with what you love?  Do you have passion, or are you just chasing a buck?

So let me asked you my dear readers…what’s your excuse?  What are you waiting for?  What is the ‘if I only had this’ story that is holding you back?  My encouragement is for you to see what it is that you want to be doing and find some way….even if it’s small….to start doing that.  You may not be able to have the whole enchilada, but a few chips would be nice!

Remember – you are fully cooked.  Now get out there and BE!