08.18.10
Posted in Business at 8:07 am UTC by Michele PW
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There are few things more frustrating than being stuck at a plateau — whether it’s a losing-weight plateau, a business-growth plateau or any other plateaus.
So what do when you ARE stuck at a plateau, more specifically a business-growth one? Well the below 3 keys should put you on the right track to busting through.
1. Are you ready to grow? The first thing you need to look at is your mindset. A lot of times the reason why you’re stuck is because you’re just not ready to grow. It could be any number of things. You’re hiding out. You don’t want to be more successful than your spouse and/or parents. You’re afraid people won’t like you if you’re too successful. Only evil capitalist pigs are successful. You get the idea.
If you have a block like that standing in your way, it really doesn’t matter what you do or don’t do you’re not going to bust through your plateau.
So how do you know if you have a block? Well if you haven’t done any self growth work, I suspect you probably have a block or 2 lurking around. It’s nothing to feel ashamed about — it’s very common. In fact, I would venture to say every entrepreneur, even the most successful ones, encountered a block or 2 in their business growth. It’s just the successful ones had a way to get around it.
One place to start is by doing a little journaling. Take a piece a paper and draw a line down the middle so you have 2 columns. In one column, write down all the reasons why you want to break through this plateau and reach your goal. Then in the second column, write down all the reasons why you DON’T want to reach your goal. Yes, something will bubble to the surface if you don’t brush this off as being silly. And whatever bubbles to the surface will give you the next clue as to what you have to do to get rid of the obstacle.
The other thing you can do (which is my fave) is to hire a coach. Coaches are great for helping you get past your blocks. Therese Skelly (who is also my next guest on Ka-Ching Community Call) has a business breakthrough package that might be perfect for you — check it out here at http://www.happyinbusiness.com
2. Do you know what you need to do to grow? You can get past all the blocks you have, but if you have no idea what you need to be doing to be successful, then you’re not going to get very far.
Some of my most successful partnerships are with clients who have their mindset in order and they’re looking for copywriting and marketing expertise. When that happens, look out! Their businesses end up taking off in a really big way.
So how can you tell if you’re in this camp or if your mindset is blocking you? Well, I agree, it can be a little tough to do on your own — there are clues (which I can spot when I’m talking to people but it’s more difficult to explain). One clue is you’re ready to do what it takes to make your investment back. You might be really worried or scared about making this investment in yourself, but you feel confident you’re going to follow through and do what needs to be done. If you feel like you won’t do it, or it doesn’t matter what you do, you’re only going to get X people buying because that’s all you ever get, then you have a mindset block.
Another way to know is if you feel like you’re ready to step out in a big way and this is the next step.
3. You’re in that “uncomfortable” space right before you’re going to breakthrough your plateau and you just need to go a little further. What happens to water at 212 degrees F? It’s turning to steam. What happens at 211 degrees? It’s still liquid.
If you know you’re doing what you need to do to be successful and you haven’t broken through your business plateau yet, it could be you’re about to and you just have to keep doing what you’re doing. You’re at 211 degrees and you just need a little more umph to make it to 212. (This one is probably the most frustrating of all. I was here so I know what you’re going through. It’s like you’re at Mile 23 of a marathon — which is 26.2 miles — you’ve done all this work to get to mile 23, you just need to walk 3.2 more miles and it’s some of the hardest miles you’ll ever walk. But keep going, you really are almost there.)
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08.10.10
Posted in Business at 2:10 pm UTC by Michele PW
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If you’ve been on an airplane, you’ve probably heard the airline stewardess give you the little safety spiel. How you buckle your seatbelt. What to do in case of a water landing. And what happens if those little oxygen masks drop down.
What you’re supposed to do is put your mask on first then put the masks on your children. That order. You, then your kids.
Why? Because if you pass out while trying to help your kids, you’ll help no one, least of all yourself and your kids.
Which is the point of my article today. Are you putting your clients’ needs above your own?
Now good customer care does require us to go above and beyond the call of duty. And sometimes we do have to work late or on weekends to help a good client out. That’s not what this is about. What this is about is if you’re consistently doing everything for your clients and nothing for yourself.
Let me give you some examples –
1. You’re never not available. Clients or prospects can call you anytime of the day or night and you’ll answer.
2. You don’t take a vacation (a real vacation) again because you want your clients to be able to get in touch with whenever they want.
3. You don’t spend anytime growing your business — the only time you do any sort of marketing is when your business is down. Otherwise you put your client work first. (Note — this can extend to other business tasks as well, such as getting your invoices out or doing your filing.)
This last one probably doesn’t seem so bad. “But I’m working on my clients’ projects, I can’t possibly spend time on my business when they’re paying me to work on stuff for them.” While on one hand that sounds good, it really isn’t.
Think about it. If your business is a mess because you never spend anytime on it — you’re late collecting on your invoices because you don’t send out billing, you’re stressed about cash flow and where your next client is coming from, etc. how can you possibly be taking care of your clients at the highest level possible? Only when you have your own house in order can you fully take care of your clients’ needs. (In other words, you have your oxygen mask on instead of being on the brink of passing out.)
And it’s the same with the first two as well. You need to take care of yourself first, and the only way to take care of yourself it to give yourself a breather every now and then. You need some time off to take care of you — else what good will you be? Do you think your clients really want to be working with an exhausted, stressed out version of yourself or do they want to work with someone who is excited and passionate about what they’re doing, even if it means they can’t reach them 24/7 and have to give them some unplugged time every now and again?
Look if this is you, don’t feel bad. I made all these mistakes myself when I was first starting out as a freelance copywriter. But over the years I realized the better I took care of myself and my business, the better I took care of my clients. That sounds counterintuitive but it’s true. Because I take time off, I’m healthier and have more energy. Because I treat my business like I would my one of my clients, I feel like I’m in integrity with the marketing principles I teach, plus I can share with my students and my clients what is working RIGHT NOW. I teach real-world tactics because I’m right there in the trenches with them.
I invite all of you to take a look at your relationship with your clients. Is there something you’re doing for them you’re not doing for yourself? Do you think it may be time to change that?
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08.09.10
Posted in Business at 4:05 pm UTC by Michele PW
Growing a coaching biz isn’t easy. Especially in this “new” economy. But there is something you can do to make it a lot easier on yourself.
You can get yourself a coaching niche.
But not just any coaching niche. A coaching niche filled with your ideal clients who can’t wait to work with you and invest with you. And I know the perfect person to teach this to you — my good friend Rhonda Hess of Prosperous Coach. She has an Ideal Coaching Market workshop that will teach you how to:
- Finally land a niche that will work for you now and later.
- Discover what those people really want from you.
- Creating a powerful message and core offers that they will buy.
You won’t have to try to convince clients to hire you anymore. They will seek you out. Here’s the link to read more and check it out: http://bit.ly/cGj0sk
Hurry, it starts TOMORROW!
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07.25.10
Posted in info-products at 11:58 am UTC by Michele PW
There are few things in life as deflating as refund requests can be.
You’ve spent weeks or months (or years in some cases) creating a product. You work so hard to market it and get into your ideal clients’ hands. And they buy! It’s so exciting when you make sales.
And then you get a request for a refund. Argh!
Luckily I have good news. There are things you can do to reduce your refund rate. And many of them won’t cost you a dime. I’m going to walk you through these 7 simple steps, 3 last week and 4 this week.
Let’s get started.
1. Call them to thank them for their purchase. Yes, you read that right. Pick up the phone and give them a quick welcome call.
This can be a very powerful strategy for a number of reasons. First off, almost no one does it in the Internet world so you’re really going to stand out. Second, it’s another way to overdeliver value to your customers. Third, it’s a way to connect with them so they know they’re more to you then simply a sale.
I can hear all of you saying “I don’t have time.” That’s fine, have someone on your team do it. It doesn’t have to be a long call, just a quick phone call to welcome them into your community and to see if they have any questions or need anything from you. That 5 minutes can go a long way to really communicating a high level of customer care.
2. Set up a welcome auto-responder series. I’m currently working with a client to create a very integrated 30-day follow up email campaign. You don’t have to do something that elaborate, but even 5 or 7 follow up emails to help your customers get started with your product can go a long way. These emails can:
* Reassure them they made a good decision by purchasing your product
* Give them some additional tips for using the product
* Tease them about what’s in the product, to get them excited about diving in and getting started (remember, people who actually go through your product are far less likely to return it)
* Ask them for a testimonial or encourage them to refer a friend
* Upsell them to the next level
3. Add in live calls with you. There was a time where you could sell an information product and get top dollar for it and not include any interaction with you. Those days are gone. If you want to sell an information product with no calls or support from you, the price needs to be lower and be prepared for higher returns. But if you add in a couple of training and/or Q&A and live coaching calls, then you can raise the price plus it will reduce your refund rate.
People want accountability (and having those calls does add a level of accountability because they’ll need to go through the program to keep up with the calls) and they also want to interact with you. The more you can give people what they want, they more likely they’ll become loyal customers and raving fans.
4. Follow up with snail mail. I’ve found mailing people a postcard or a newsletter is a great way to build and deepen the relationship with my customers. Again, you’re reaching out to them outside the online world, sending something physical and doing this after the sale. So it’s a great way to stay connected with your clients. Of all the tips I gave, this one is the most costly, but over the long run, it can really pay off in a big way.
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07.16.10
Posted in info-products at 4:01 pm UTC by Michele PW
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There are few things in life as deflating as refund requests can be.
You’ve spent weeks or months (or years in some cases) creating a product. You work so hard to market it and get into your ideal clients’ hands. And they buy! It’s so exciting when you make sales.
And then you get a request for a refund. Argh!
Luckily I have good news. There are things you can do to reduce your refund rate. And many of them won’t cost you a dime. I’m going to walk you through these 6 simple steps, 3 this week about simple tweaks you can make to your product to make it more valuable and next week I’ll cover 4 easy follow-up strategies.
Let’s get started.
1. Put a Quick Start CD or report in the product. Information products can be overwhelming. You open up the product and you have all these CDs and DVDs transcripts and worksheets and you don’t know where to start. A Quick Start guide (either audio or written) can give people a place to begin and it can help them consume the material more easily.
If people are feeling overwhelmed, they may just decide they don’t have time to figure this out after all and pack it all up and return to you.
(And yes, you can still include this even if the product is all digital.)
2. Include a Welcome letter or extra gift (or both). Let’s go through the Welcome letter first. A Welcome letter should:
* Reassure them they made a good decision by purchasing your product
* Get them excited about digging in and using the product
Welcome letters can also give them additional information and resources, or it can double as your “Quick Start guide” and give them instructions on how they should get started. Either way, it should make them feel good about their investment. (This again can and should be included with digital products.)
Now let’s look at gifts. A gift can be small, just a little extra bonus. Maybe it’s a promotional item, such as a pen or a bookmark. Or it could be an extra bonus, maybe an additional unadvertised report. Whatever it is, it just adds to the value and helps make your ideal clients feel like you’re overdelivering on value.
3. Send them an extra, unadvertised bonus at a later time. With this one, instead of bundling the bonus in the product, save it and send it to them later. This accomplishes a couple of things — your ideal clients feel taken care of plus it gives you another opportunity to reach out and connect with them again. This is a good way to further build the relationship with your ideal clients so they don’t feel like they’re simply a “walking wallet.”
Next week I’ll cover the next 4 strategies so stay tuned.
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07.13.10
Posted in General at 9:58 am UTC by Michele PW
If you’ve been in business for awhile, I bet you’ve heard the “theory” that your prospects follow a straight line to becoming a client or customer. Therefore, the way to boost your profits is to create a straight path to take your leads from point A to point Z.
So what if I were to tell you that’s WRONG?
Look, I’m not saying it doesn’t happen like that. It does. But studies are NOW showing that your prospects are more likely to zigzag to purchase.
That means they are bouncing from one medium to another before making a purchasing decision. As a matter of fact, an iProspect study revealed that 67% of prospects only use search engines to find your products and services only AFTER they’ve been exposed to some offline marketing.
So what does that mean? It means if you’ve put all your efforts into online marketing, you’re leaving money on the table. (And probably lots of it.)
But is integrating your online marketing with offline marketing worth the effort? Can it actually boost your profits?
Absolutely. Positively.
In late 2009, a very prominent athletic footwear company launched a new product with an integrated approach that included social media, press releases, blog tours and point of purchase (POP) displays. The result: a 540% increase in revenue.
Yet, most companies– including entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants like you — fail to include at least one offline marketing tactic in their marketing campaigns.
That’s often because it CAN be a lot of work. Well, it CAN be — unless you have a system in place that allows you to repurpose the content you already have.
And that’s where my Complete Online/Offline Marketing System comes in.
The Complete Online/Offline Marketing System is NOT about you getting more information. This is a step-by-step, PROVEN marketing system you simply plug-and-play into your business in order to get more leads, prospects, customers, clients and sales.
You’ll learn how easy it is to get more visibility, credibility, website traffic and sales. And you’ll also see how you can effortlessly make a HUGE impact in the world by getting your brilliance and gifts out there in a big way.
Here’s the link to read more about it along with some success stories. (Note — the first live training/Q&A call is next week!):
http://www.ContentToProfit.com
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07.09.10
Posted in General at 7:04 am UTC by Michele PW
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You may have heard adding information products (or info-products) to your service business is a smart business decision. And indeed it is. There are many benefits to selling information products as part of your business.
However, there is a dirty little secret around selling info-products. The dreaded refunds.
You see, when what you’re mainly selling services, you rarely run into refund situations. You may run into other challenges with getting paid but not refunds.
But, unfortunately, the unpleasant reality is refunds and info-products go hand-in-hand. And when you’re first confronted with this, it can throw a lot of entrepreneurs for a loop. Even if you know intellectually you’ll get a refund here and there, emotionally it’s a much tougher pill to swallow. And what I’ve found ends up happening is people create “stories” around refunds that simply aren’t true.
So let’s take a moment and talk about refunds and bring this dirty little secret into the light.
First, let’s talk about what’s considered normal. A normal refund rate is 10%. And, in fact if you’re Dan Kennedy, you’ll go as far to say if you DON’T have a 10% refund rate you aren’t selling enough. (Isn’t that an interesting spin on refunds?)
If your refund rate is higher than that, you may have a positioning problem or you’re selling to the wrong ideal client or you need to implement some stick strategies. (Note I didn’t say your problem is the product is bad.)
So let’s assume your refund rate is at or below normal. Now let’s look at the top 4 reasons why people ask for refunds.
1. The product isn’t right for them. Read that again. The product isn’t right for them. NOT that the product is bad. This is where a lot of the “stories” come in — entrepreneurs spend so much time and energy creating an info-product and then when someone returns it, this sends them into a tailspin because they immediately come to conclusion that there’s a problem with the product. If this is something you’re concerned with, I can assure you that your product is fine. How can I know that? Because you ARE worried about it. People who create bad or low-quality products are not at all concerned about the quality.
So why isn’t the product right for them? Perhaps it’s too basic or too advanced for where they’re at right now. Perhaps they’re not your ideal client. Perhaps they read the sales letter wrong and thought something was or wasn’t included and so it didn’t fit their current needs. Whatever it is, it has little to do with you and everything to do with them.
2. They have second thoughts. Again, this has nothing to do with you. Perhaps they run into a cash flow problem. Perhaps their spouse gets angry with them. Whatever it is, they’ve decided the easiest way to fix the situation is to return your product.
3. Something unexpected comes up in their life or business. Things happen. People get into car accidents, spouses get laid off or family members get sick. Whatever it is, it derails them from their current business plans and they have to put things on hold or rethink what they’re doing.
4. They want to take advantage of you. This is a very, very small group but it bears talking about. The reality is there are unpleasant people out there who are looking for ways to get something for nothing. My advice is not to worry about them but know they exist.
So as you can see, it really isn’t about you. It’s about them. Refunds really are just the cost of doing business as an info-marketer and aren’t worth getting upset about.
On the other hand, there are definite things you can do to reduce your refund rate. Next week I’ll share those.
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07.01.10
Posted in General at 4:03 pm UTC by Michele PW
A few weeks ago I decided to go to the movies with a girlfriend. We chose Prince of Persia.
As it happened, it was opening weekend so I hadn’t seen the reviews. However, I was a little worried about seeing it. The previews made it look sort of muddled and I was a bit puzzled by the choice of Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead. (He never struck me as the action adventure type hero.) Worse yet, it was based on a game.
Yee gads. Why did I agree to see this movie again?
Needless to say I walked into that theater with VERY low expectations.
So imagine how happy I was when the movie DIDN’T suck. Yes I know, it got some bad reviews. But truly, if you’re looking for a light, mindless, action-packed summer flick, Prince of Persia delivers. (And I was also pleasantly surprised at Jake Gyllenhaal — talk about some nice eye candy.)
The interesting part about all of this is I think my impression of that movie is higher than it should be. Why? Because my expectations were so low and the movie beat them so significantly — thus my overall impression is that it’s a good movie.
Now, let’s take another movie where I went in with HIGH expectations and the movie DIDN’T deliver. Like The English Patient. Won an Academy Award. Everyone was buzzing about it. I found it slow and terribly depressing. I also didn’t quite get why the Kristin Scott Thomas’s character would have an affair with the terribly depressing Ralph Fiennes’s character when her husband seemed like such a charming fellow. (This was before I saw the Seinfeld episode where Elaine fell asleep during the movie and was ostracized about it. Happy to know Elaine and I have something in common.)
So my overall impression of The English Patient is that it wasn’t a very good movie at all. Despite winning an Oscar. Because it came in so much lower than my expectations.
(And if you take this one step further, it certainly seems like I’m saying The Prince of Persia is better than The English Patient. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t go there.)
So what does all of this have to do with you and your business? Well, let’s take a look at your client and customer expectations.
If your customers and clients are hiring you or investing in your products and service with high expectations, and you aren’t meeting them, their overall impression is going to be they had an unpleasant experience with you. Even if your offerings are better than your competition, they’re still going to be disappointed.
But if your customers and clients come in with slightly lower expectations, and your products and services blow those expectations away, they’re going to be thrilled to death with you, tell all their friends and associates about you and maybe even write a newsletter article about you.
This is why it’s so important to underpromise and overdeliver. Especially now. Because people are becoming more careful with their money so the last thing you want to do is leave them with a sour taste in their mouth after doing business with you.
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06.26.10
Posted in General at 10:17 am UTC by Michele PW
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If your primary source of business revenue is selling services, there is no worse feeling than having an empty pipeline (especially when you’re completing projects with your current clients).
So how do you keep a full pipeline with eager clients and customers? Let me share 3 steps to get you started:
Step 1 — Know who your ideal client is. If you don’t know who you’re trying to put into your pipeline it’s going to be pretty hard to get them in there.
But this is deeper than just taking on anyone who waves a check in front of your face. If you want to fill your pipeline with clients who are EAGER to do business with you, you want to attract your IDEAL clients.
So what is your ideal client? Your ideal clients are the ones who you love to work with. They’re the ones who are a perfect fit for what you offer. They are NOT “women between the ages of 20 and 50 who are married with 2 children and trying to start a home-based business.” That’s a target market and that’s different from ideal client. Ideal clients are about an attitude, a shared vision or goal. An ideal client description would look more like this: “mothers who have been stay-at-home mothers but their children are now starting school and they’re ready to start working. But they don’t want a job, they want something they can do at home and have flexible hours so they can still put their kids first.”
See the difference in the description?
Now, you might be someone whose pipeline is empty and you REALLY need the cash flow, so while an ideal client is nice, you’d be happy with anyone who waves a check in front of your face.
First off, I get it. I’ve been there myself. However, as I know you know, taking on those less-than-ideal-clients while might be necessary for financial reasons, usually turn into a bigger headache than what you signed up for. I know you sometimes have to do this, but wouldn’t it be better to NOT have to? Start now focusing on attracting your ideal clients into your pipeline. Will a non-ideal client slip in from time to time? Of course. And if you so choose, you can take the on as a client. But start it off right by building that solid foundation first.
Step 2 — go where your ideal clients are. Now that you know who they are, it’s time to hang out where they’re hanging out. Don’t know where they are? Then go back to step 1 and do more digging. If you really know your ideal clients, you’ll know where to find them. Then you can focus your lead generating activities in the places where they are.
Step 3 — nurture your leads. Once you have your leads in the door, now it’s time to build a relationship with them. The best way to do this is through a consistent follow-up system, such as an ezine and/or direct mail piece. If you have a weekly ezine or something that goes out regularly to your leads, you don’t have to worry about remembering to contact them.
It takes AT LEAST 7-13 touches to turn a prospect into a client. In this “new economy” this number is even higher (I’ve found you need to be a little more aggressive to get the same level of sales as you would have a few years ago.) So if you have an easy and automatic way to stay in touch with your prospects, you’ll find building that relationship with your prospects that much simpler.
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06.18.10
Posted in Business at 9:10 pm UTC by Michele PW
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If you want to grow your business, there are 2 ways you can go about it.
Slow and fast.
Most people end up growing their business slowly. Now there’s nothing wrong with slow. It’s not easy to grow your business period, so even growing your business slowly is better than what a lot of entrepreneurs do.
So let’s talk about fast. Another way to view growing your business quickly is by taking a quantum leap, which basically means you leap frog ahead versus taking your growth one step at a time.
Taking a quantum leap means transforming your business quickly. It means going from $200,000 to a million in a year. It means seeing opportunities fly to you effortlessly.
So if you want a quantum leap, how do you get one? Here are 3 steps to get you started:
1. Think big. Taking a quantum leap isn’t going to work if you’re thinking small. So the first thing you need to do is make sure you’re thinking big. And, maybe even more than that, make sure you’re READY for your business to BECOME big. If you’re not comfortable or if there’s some blocks or obstacles around you growing your business to its fullest potential, you’ll never have a quantum leap.
2. Invest in yourself. There are different ways to invest in yourself. Do you need to build a team? Hire a consultant? Maybe you need to take time to go through a program or information product. Or you need to hire a coach or get into a coaching or mentorship program to move yourself ahead.
Money is a form of energy. And when you invest in a program or hiring a team, that could be the catalyst you need to move you forward in a big way. Because now you’ve put your money where your mouth is (so to speak). You’re taking yourself and your business seriously by investing in yourself.
So how do you know what you need to invest in? You know. You know right now what you need to invest in to grow your business. Whether or not you do it is another story.
3. Failures means you’re moving in the right direction. What?? I can hear you all saying. Here’s the thing. If you design your life and/or your business around never making a mistake, do you REALLY think you’re stepping outside your comfort zone? If you’re trying to never make mistakes, then there’s no possible way you can ever have a quantum leap. Quantum leaps require you to think differently than you have before, to try something you never have. And when you do that, you may end up having a failure or two (or ten) along the way.
Successful people don’t like failure anymore than you do. But they know if they don’t get out there in big way and try new things, they won’t be as successful overall, even though that means risking failure as well. It’s a choice they make because they know the payoff is worth it.
One way to deal with failure is to look beyond it. Focus on the end goal, where you want to end up. Then, when the failures happen, you’re not as concerned with them because you’re looking past them to the where you want to be.
But the biggest part of taking a quantum leap is just to do it. Take a deep breath and jump. And believe the net will appear.
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06.08.10
Posted in Business at 9:58 am UTC by Michele PW
I’m writing to you from sunny San Diego (which is FINALLY sunny). First I was at Nancy Marmolejo’s I Heart My Biz event, then I walked the San Diego half marathon yesterday, recovering today and tomorrow then off to Lisa Sasevich’s Invisible Close Speak-to-Sell Bootcamp. (If any of you want to join me “virtually” I’ve arranged for you to get a backstage pass to Lisa’s event here: http://tinyurl.com/mejmxs )
Whew.
So while I don’t have time to give you a full article this week, I still wanted to share some tips I learned from Sandra Martini, Business Optimization Specialist, www.SandraMartini.com, about getting things done. (Seemed timely with everything I know I have going on and my guess is you have the same challenges.)
Sandy spoke at Nancy’s event, and she was the perfect Saturday morning speaker because it was about taking all the great ideas we got during the event and turning them into reality.
Below is a quick summary of what she spoke about so you too can start implementing her suggestions and getting more things done.
What Sandy recommends is to create a daily “action” list with no more than 7 items on it. (Yes, I know. Only 7. I’m having trouble with that one too.)
Create a new list every day and do the tasks in the order you write them down in. Lastly, accept the fact you may not get everything done. It’s okay. You’re an entrepreneur. You’re NEVER going to be done unless you’re dead or your business is dead.
This is why it’s crucial to prioritize what you need to be doing every day and only do what’s MOST important of all the important tasks on your list.
But what about the rest? Well, this is where delegating comes in. Start building a team, even if you can only afford a bookkeeper or one virtual assistant right now. You need to start outsourcing all those tasks that need to be done but you don’t need to be the one doing them.
You also need to learn how to say “no” to things that don’t fit YOUR goals. Be brutal. The more you can get things off your plate the faster your business is going to grow.
Once you have your list, get your calendar out and start scheduling for the week. Make sure you schedule EVERYTHING you REALLY want to get done. Put those “big” rocks in first (i.e. meetings, phone calls, blocks of time for working on a big project, etc.) then fill in the rest. And don’t forget about scheduling self-care time or you’ll end up falling apart, which isn’t going to help anyone (much less your business).
The next step? Actually doing it. I challenge all of you to take the next 5 or 10 minutes and plan out your day and your week RIGHT NOW. I know that’s what I’m going to do.
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05.26.10
Posted in Marketing at 7:26 am UTC by Michele PW
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Although the whole notion of sponsorships has been around for years, it’s only recently been gaining popularity in the online entrepreneurial community. Which leads me to 2 very important questions –
1. Should you as a business become a sponsor?
2. Should you offer sponsorship opportunities?
Let’s look at the pros and cons of each and see if your business is missing out because you haven’t fully considered sponsorships.
First, let’s look if you should become a sponsor. Sponsorships are great if:
* You’re going to be reaching a significant number of your ideal clients
* The person/biz/event your sponsoring has high credibility and influence with your ideal clients, thus boosting your credibility by connecting your name with theirs.
* You have a way to collect contact information so you can build your list and exposure
* You’re okay if the sponsorship turns into a long-term tactic rather than making money in the short-term.
Yes, I would classify sponsorships as more of a long-term marketing tactic than a short-term, make money immediately, tactic. That doesn’t mean you WON’T walk out of there with sales. But I would view any immediate sales as a bonus, and the point of why you’re doing the sponsorship is to increase your exposure and visibility for the long term. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t track your sales and make sure you get a good return on your investment, it just means you understand this is an investment in your marketing and your business and the pay off might come that day or next week or in 6 months.
If you need an immediate influx of money, sponsorships are probably not the way to go. First off, they’re more expensive than just the cost of the sponsorship — you’re probably going to have come up with booth design, advertising, flyers, etc. And second, while you very well could walk out with immediate sales (especially if your sponsorship comes with some speaking or stage time) there’s no guarantee of that. It could just as easily work out that the sales start coming in a month or 2 later, which may turn into a very big stress point for you depending on how much you need that cash.
So, now let’s look if you should offer sponsorships. First, is your business offering something where a big group of your tribe is hanging out? Something like an event is perfect, but it doesn’t have to be an in-person event. It could also be a virtual event. Or you could even offer sponsorships if you have a membership site or an association or you’ve created some other community.
Are there going to be enough people involved to make it worth your sponsor’s money and time? Ask yourself if YOU would pay to be in front of your community? (Be honest with the answer.)
Now the other part of this is will the sponsorship interfere with your ability to sell your own products or services? If you think it’s going to dilute what you’re doing, then I wouldn’t do it. But if it isn’t, and your community is big enough to warrant it, offering sponsorship opportunities could be a great way to add an additional income stream to your business plus add value to your community by offering them products and services they need.
And if you want to learn more about offering sponsorships, join me in So Cal at Nancy Marmolejo’s I Heart My Biz where you can hear Shannon Cherry, the Power Publicist, speak about this very topic. http://www.IHeartMyBiz.com
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05.21.10
Posted in events at 3:23 pm UTC by Michele PW
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If you’re going to spend the money to go to events, this is the Number One thing you MUST do or you’re just throwing money out the window. Actually it’s three things. Ready?
Follow up
Follow up
Follow up
Okay, you’re right, it’s only one thing. But it’s so important I wanted to repeat it.
Look, if you’re one of these people who go to events, gets a stack of business cards, comes home and piles it on your desk with all the other business cards you’ve accumulated over the years, you are leaving a TON of money on the table. (Or in this case, on your desk.)
I can’t tell you how many clients I’ve gotten from events who told me the biggest reason they hired me over some other copywriter or marketing strategist was simply because I followed up with them. And some other copywriter or marketing strategist they had met at an event and had a good connection with, never got considered because they didn’t follow up.
So with that said, let me share my system for follow up after events.
1. I take all of the business cards out of my purse.
2. I call one of my team members, who comes over to my house and picks up the cards. (Note — if your team members don’t live near you, you can also stick the cards in the mail.)
3. She inputs the cards into my database.
4. I don’t add emails to my list unless I’ve made it very clear that’s what I’m going to do (for instance, I’m speaking or I have a booth with a fish bowl for cards). But what I DO do is…
5. Mail them a Newsletter Postcard each month.
Some of you might be getting my Newsletter Postcard. It’s an oversize postcard that has an article, a little note from Nick the border collie, and a testimonial. It’s a template so it doesn’t take long to put together each month.
The nice part of direct mail is the connection. Many people who get my postcard take it with them to read. (How often does that happen with email newsletters?) And I can put people on my direct mail list who would never stay on my email list.
Now, if adding direct mail feels too big or complicated to you right now, let me give you some alternatives.
1. Reach out personally to everyone on your list through an email or a mailed card (like through Send Out Cards). You can have your assistant help you with this or systemize it so you add a little personal note but the rest of it is the same.
2. After you’ve reached out, ask them if it’s okay to be added to your ezine list. I’m really not of the mindset that you should add people to your email list unless you’ve made it clear that’s what you’re going to do. But that’s me, I know some of my colleagues disagree with me. I would rather have people add themselves or tell me they want to be added.
If they don’t respond or don’t want to be added to your e-zine list, I would look for them on social networking sites (Facebook, Linked In, Twitter) and connect with them there.
And if you have someone who told you they’re interested in hiring you, most definitely contact them. In fact, you should probably plan to contact them at least 7 times (if not more). No, you don’t have to pick up the phone — dropping an email or adding them to your mailing list is also fine (although I would reach personally at least a couple of times with email or by phone).
I can guarantee if you make a point of following up with people you meet at events, you will see a much bigger payoff than if you don’t.
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05.17.10
Posted in Teleclasses at 3:08 pm UTC by Michele PW
If you’re a spiritually minded entrepreneur or small business owner and you want to find out exactly how to harness source energy to grow your business, I have the perfect opportunity for you!
My friend and client, Lisa Turner, has created a truly exciting telesummit which is happening this week and I’m thrilled to say that I’m one of the speakers.
It’s called the ‘Spiritual Entrepreneur Masterclass’ and it gives you the opportunity to listen to no less than 20 of the World’s Leading Spiritual Entrepreneurs as they share their personal secrets for boosting your business success by harnessing source energy.
Here’s just a sampling of what you’ll learn…
• How to use source energy to guide you towards success (and away from failure)
• How you can start to live your big mission in this lifetime NOW!
• How to harness your inner energy, strength and power and use it as a force for GOOD in the world
• How to close a sale by connecting to soul, spirit and source
• How to spot when EGO tries to get in the way and sabotage your success (watch out, it can be seductive and trick you into making the wrong decisions)
• The truth about what the 2012 shift means for people everywhere
With 20 of the world’s most successful Spiritual Entrepreneurs all sharing their golden nuggets of wisdom, there’s simply no limit to what you can learn.
Find out more and claim your place on this free telesummit here:
http://tinyurl.com/23wmwc9
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05.14.10
Posted in Event at 6:45 am UTC by Michele PW
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You’ve got your suitcases packed, your airline booked and you’re on your way to a live event.
But you’re a little nervous. You’ve already spent a bunch of money, you’re about to spend a bunch more on hotels and food, not to mention the time away from your business and life. Will this turn into a good investment (i.e. help your business grow) or will it end up being just a waste of time and money?
That’s an excellent question and as someone who has attending more than her share of events with fabulous (and not-so-fabulous) results, let me share my 3 secrets to getting the most out of your attending events.
1. Set your intentions on what you want to get out of the event. Are you looking for joint venture partners? New clients? New ideas or information you can implement in your business? Is there someone you really want to meet in person? All of the above? Something else entirely?
It doesn’t matter how you define a successful event, what’s important is that you actually spell out what you want to have happen and make it as clear as possible
If you’re not clear on what you want, then your results could end up being equally murky. You want to visualize exactly what would have to happen for this to be a successful event for you.
Let me take a moment and share a quick story about this. At an event I recently attended, I was walking through the dining room at dinnertime and I saw a woman sitting by herself. I went up to her and asked if she wanted some company, which she did. It turned out she had set the intention for meeting ME at this event and we’ve ended up doing a couple of joint ventures together. Isn’t it amazing once you set the intention how the Universe actually delivers it?
2. Don’t just hang around your “crowd.” There’s no question that one of the reasons why I love going to events is I can reconnect with all my old friends and colleagues. However, as much as I treasure the face-to-face bonding, I also want to meet new friends and colleagues too.
Make a point of having either lunch, dinner, drinks, etc. with a new group each day. That gives you the opportunity to meet new people without going too far out of your comfort zone. (Now, if the thought of that is making you break out into a cold sweat, take a deep breath. Bring a friend with you, just don’t only talk to your friend. Or only do this once or twice in the few days you’re there and slowly work your way up. You’ll probably discover the vast majority of the people at these events are just as eager and just as nervous as you are, and it all ends up working itself out.)
3. Manage your energy. This is a big one I never see anyone talk about but it’s really important. Events are exhausting. Period. Between being “on” when you meet people to absorbing all the information that’s flying at you, it can wear you out.
So it’s important to know your limits and listen to your body. You don’t have to be at every single networking opportunity. It’s okay to skip a group lunch or dinner and get room service.
Everyone is going to have different limits and whatever that is, it’s perfect for you and you should honor it. The last thing you want to do is wear yourself out so much that when that perfect client DOES show up on Day 3, you’re not so drained you don’t properly represent yourself (and end up losing the sale).
There’s one more thing I want you to do to make your event attendance as successful as possible, but this is SO important I’m going to devote an entire article about it. Stay tuned!
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