This is a question I am asked a lot: Is there a market for what I want to do? If you are in the business of transformation or you support those that are in the business of transformation, meaning if you are a coach, consultant, speaker, author, designer, organiser or virtual assistant, then you want to watch this video as it may provide some answers or at least some insights for you.
I believe that the time is right for us, the passion-driven Solo-Entrepreneurs.

Learn not only the trends but also a systematic way to identify exactly who your ideal client tribe is.

Watch this first high content video in a series of four I want to give you over the coming week as I am getting ready to launch:

What do you think? Please let me know, lets start a conversation here on my blog. What are your burning questions regarding building a successful business? I will be shooting more videos for you, want to share specific strategies and would love your questions.

I will reveal my Blueprint for a Six Figure Coaching Business on a Webinar on the 30th June 8pm East Coast Australia Time. You can register for it already now below.

You can listen to this blog post here (4min 39sec)

Years of coaching Entrepreneurs through mindset challenges has not meant that I don’t have any myself but it does mean that I am finding it easier these days to recognise my own patterns and stop them.

Here is one that I have personally experienced, have a look and see can you relate:

Imagine having three business opportunities lined up. They all have the potential for a huge payoff. You get excited, you work hard to make them happen. Then one doesn’t eventuate, one shrinks disappointingly and one works successfully but doesn’t get the results you had expected. And suddenly you feel like your business is a house of cards that is so fragile that it can fall down any time.

Has this ever happened to you? It has happened more than once for me, let me tell you. It takes me a bit of courage to talk about this so openly but I think it’s important.

It’s those times that my inner critic comes out to play and tells me this isn’t going to work, I’m wasting my time, I’ve missed the bus when it comes to opportunities, and maybe I wasn’t cut out to run a big business in the end anyway. See, I know my pattern, this is it.

What don’t see in these moments are the other opportunities that came seemingly out of nowhere. That were completely unexpected, are a perfect fit and while not as huge as the others I feel I just lost (and even that’s debatable), they quickly add up to something really solid. So in other words, my perspective on what is going on is heavily skewed and it’s really not serving me.

The truth is, this is the kind of dance that happens for me every time I take a significant step to grow my business and I feel out of my comfort zone.

Luckily I have ways to recover from this very quickly these days. The three tips I’ll share with you here are my safety net. These things keep me sane, get me focused again and have kept me from quitting more than once.

Get a reality check

The voice that comes through in these times is your inner critic who is NOT rational, often not caring and wants to drag you back to the safest path (which is certainly not running a business). This voice is often very dominant and loud. What you need is a reality check. I use my mastermind network and my mentor to do this for me. Whenever I feel this kind of stressful state come on I reach out to them and ask them for their perspective. I don’t know how many times I have blessed my Mentor for finding just the right words or my mastermind network for just being there, giving me a new perspective or cheering me on when I needed it most. Make sure you have a support network of like minded people preferably those that have walked the path before you.

Change your state

It’s almost impossible to find a new perspective or a sensible solution when in an unresourceful state, when you feel down, depressed or stressed. My way out of it is to put my favourite pieces of uplifting music on before I even attempt to shift my perspective. And it works wonders. I feel better, and I see new options. I know this sounds so simple but doing this takes some discipline as it often is tempting to wallow in your depressed mood. So the important thing is to nip this in the butt as soon as possible.

Commit to a bigger game

When you stress about things it is often because you are playing too small. If you fret about losing a client then what does that say about your prospect pipeline? And what does it say about your efforts you put into growing your business to a certain level? What if: What if instead of three big opportunities I had six lined up? How big a deal would it be if one or two didn’t turn out? Not as big. I think one of the biggest dangers is that people underestimate what it takes to get the results they want. So commit to playing big and stop sweating the small things.
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What do you think? What do you do to get yourself back on track? And how is that working for you? Please leave me a note I’d love to know your view.

A few weeks ago I attended a great conference with awesome speakers. They were passionate, polished and very knowledgeable. There was just one thing that struck me as very odd. So many of them crumbled when it came to the end where they were going to make an offer. I heard things said such as “I am not trying to sell you anything, this is not a sales pitch,…”. Why not??? Why do we need to even excuse ourselves for a sales pitch?

Sales is not a dirty word and I think it’s important we get over our resistance to it because none of us would even have a business if we were not actively selling something. As you can see from my newsletter I always have an offer for you out there even if it’s a free one.

I do understand that there is some backlash to events that are simply pitch fests and people being over that. AND, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The reason why there are so many fantastic free offers out there is because they inspire a certain percentage of everyone enjoying the free stuff to actually take action and invest in taking the next step. And it’s when they take the next step that they really see the big benefits. Because even though the free stuff is extremely useful, it is always only part of the picture.

Nobody can put years worth of study and experience into a one hour free teleseminar/webinar and the like. The purpose of the free offer is to showcase your expertise and to give the audience the inspiration and the confidence to take take the next step and commit to achieving their goal using your material, teaching, systems.That is a really important step as when you sell information/coaching/consulting you are always selling a result.

So the better you are at building people’s confidence that they can do what you recommend in order to get the results they want, the more people will invest with you. That’s what you want to achieve in your promo free give aways. So don’t be afraid to be generous when you give information for free and at the same time don’t be afraid to make your offer and invite people to take the next step. Your speech/free give away earns you the right to make that offer.

And believe me, there are  people who want to hear it, who are waiting for you to show them how they can find out more, so don’t rob them of the opportunity to invest in themselves!

Ok, I”m going to get off my soap box now, what do you think of this? I’d love your comments on this here on the blog, I promise I read every one of them, even if I don’t always get to answer everybody!

So drop me a line ok?

“If  you build it they will come” is probably one of the biggest myths ever published and believed when it comes to business.

“Once you build something extraordinary  and you tell everybody why they should come they may” is probably closer to the truth, I’d say.

So how many people find out about you and what you do every day?

As you know you could have the most extraordinary offer but unless  people know about it, you will stay the best kept secret in your industry. And it’s exactly here that most Solopreneurs think too small and simply underestimate how much exposure they really need in order to fill their pipeline.

“But I am already working so hard”  I can almost hear you say.

I know. And that’s why the strategies that really take your business to the next level need to leverage everything you already have: Relationships, technology and online media.

Here are three strategies that  I am using and that are working for me right now to increase my reach:

1. Form Joint Ventures

The upcoming Massive Client Attraction Telesummit is a great example of a joint venture that I have formed with seven other experts in my industry.  Teaming up with who you could regard as your competitors to create a triple win situation (you, your JV partner and your clients/subscribers) is a great way to increase your reach.

Seek out the big players in your industry, set up events where you interview them or present alongside them not only positions you as the expert in YOUR field but also exposes all of you to a wider audience as each contributor promote s the event to their following.  This strategy has been instrumental in my business success to date probably more than any others.

During the Massive Client Attraction Week Telesummit I will be interviewing Janet Beckers who built her entire business in record time based on boldly putting this strategy in place.

2. Drive traffic to your website with a purpose

It is imperative that your website is structured to generate leads for you. Giving a valuable piece of information away in return for them providing their name and email address  is the most effective lead generating strategy that you can virtually put on auto pilot.  Using paid ads such as Google Adwords or Facebook ads or your ad on other resource sites can lead a steady stream of potential prospects to your site without you having to do anything else (except monitoring your Return on Investment).

During the telesummit I will be interviewing Alicia Forest who built a huge list of loyal subscribers using a variety of such ‘list building’ strategies.  As a mum of two little kids Alicia is a master of systemising things as she has to – there’s no time to waste when you have kids to look after.

3. Use Social Media to engage

Social media is all the rage at the moment and I have had success in getting clients through social media sites such as linkedin, facebook and twitter. You can too, but beware it is easy to get sucked in  and waste your time doing this. They key again is to use leverage.  It is possible to link the different applications and connect them with other media such as your blog so that one update gives you exposure in many different places.

And yes we will have an expert covering this area at the Massive Client Attraction Week Telesummit which is  a really important one as there are so many variables in this field, you really want to know what you’re doing here. Wendy Moore will shed some light on this, I for one am really looking forward to this session.

There are other strategies that are highly effective and the key is to leverage what you have got in as many ways as possible. I suggest you focus on one strategy, implement it to an extend that you can clearly see it working, then move on to the next one.  Making it perfect before you move on will mean you are wasting time.

What are your thoughts on this? I’d love to know what you want to know more about, so I can ‘grill’ my experts during Massive Client Attraction Week and get you answers.

Please leave me a note!

You may have heard it before: Experts get paid a lot more than Generalists, and the way to attract a lot of clients is to position yourself as an expert in your field. Being the accepted Go-to Person for your particular field is the easiest way to stand out and have clients choose your service over your competitors’. Ok so far so good. But how do we do this in the fastest way possible you might ask.

When people hear the word ‘Expert’ they often think of somebody who has been in one field for a long time. Many people balk at the idea of claiming expert status for themselves thinking “Who am I to claim I am an expert, I don’t know anywhere near enough to be an expert. When I ask clients how long they need to have been in a field before they can claim to be an expert, they often answer with “at least five years”. Hmm, so what are you meant to do in the meantime? Just accepting the fact that you are merely mediocre? Marketing yourself as a beginner?? No way. Nobody wants to work with a beginner. So who decides from what point onwards you can call yourself an expert?

And really it can be so easy if you just make that one small but important mindset shift that lets you claim expert status no matter where you are at and how long you have been doing what you’re doing.

Here is the all important question:

Who is your audience?

Expert status is always relative. Here’s an example. I am a total tennis novice. For me the tennis coach giving lessons at my local club is an expert at what he does. But for a professional player, like the world’s number one, Roger Federer he is not really the expert, he’s an amateur. Roger needs somebody MUCH more experienced and knowledgeable than my local tennis coach to assist him in his training.

Point being, who do you cater for with your expertise? If my local tennis coach compared himself to Roger Federer’s trainer, he would never be able to claim expert status. He will be forever an amateur. Feeling like the eternal amateur isn’t going to be good for his image and not very client attractive. Not to mention what it will do for his self esteem. But for a tennis novice like me, my local trainer is THE expert I want to work with as he can relate to me as a beginner, he knows how to teach beginners like me and he can easily take me to the goal I want to achieve when it comes to playing tennis. Maybe better than Roger Federer’s trainer who really would be totally bored working with a beginner like me.

Now how about you? If you are having issues claiming expert status, then who are you comparing yourself to? A competitor who has been in the industry you just entered for 10 years? Is that why you can’t claim to be the expert? And who are you looking at catering for? Where are they at in their journey? And what level of expertise will most serve them right now?

Now if you needed to be THE BEST to be an expert, then wouldn’t every local tennis coach be out of work while Roger Federer’s trainer was inundated with clients? I think we both know the local tennis coach down the road has nothing to fear from Roger’s coach. And both can quite happily call themselves experts, as they are both speaking to a different audience.

So what is your audience? And how far ahead of them are you? Can you take them forward the steps they are seeking to take? If yes, great then you are an expert in their eyes RIGHT NOW.

Next week I will share with you three ways you can position yourself as an expert almost instantly. Hint – check out my Client Attraction Week Telesummit where I team up with seven other experts to bring you highly effective strategies for positioning yourself as an expert…. you can attend for FREE, check it out… http://www.clientprosperity.com/telesummitsales

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the whole Expert Status thing? I’d love to know, please leave me a note…

You’re at a networking function and you’re getting into a conversation with the person next to you and sure enough here it comes, the one question they all ask: “So what do you do?”

Do you look forward to it and confidently answer it or do you dread the question as you know your answer sounds either confusing or simply doesn’t do the value you really create justice. And then you see someone who really could benefit from what you do walking away…. Another opportunity missed…

Just because you really don’t have a systematic way to answer that question.

Why is it so tricky to describe what we do?

Because what we do is creative work that usually doesn’t fit into a box, a mental reference we can pull out and understand, for example if someone says I’m a baker we all know what that means. But what about a Coach? Or a Consultant? What does that mean? Most people don’t have a clue let alone knowing how a coach or consultant could benefit them.

In order to be truly successful you must learn how to say what it is you do in a way that is easy to understand and attractive to the RIGHT potential clients so they can step forward and express interest in your work. This is the essence of your marketing, make it clear what you do and for whom and the right people will put up their hand and say “I want some of that.” Simple. Yes, but not necessarily easy.

Read on to get my three top tips for elegantly, confidently and clearly stating what is that you do so you can start looking forward to the question “what do you do?” knowing it will generate business for you.

1. Get really clear about who you want to attract and what you do for them

Yes I’m afraid it always comes back to this fundamental question. Your message can never be a one size fits all, the whole idea is that as part of answering the question you will know whether the person who is asking could be a potential client or a potential alliance partner who could refer business to you. So don’t be afraid to be very specific in who you serve. People will thank you for it in referring business to you as you are now the go-to person in their mind for whatever it is that you do. So get clear. You can’t expect clients to clearly say ‘yes’ to you if you are not clear yourself on what it is you do and who you do it for. The whole reason why clients seek you out is because they are confused themselves and they want clarity.

2.  Think outcomes not process

Your clients don’t know and most likely don’t care all that much what kind of process you use as long as you can get them the results they are after. So when you talk to prospective clients,do it in terms of  the outcomes you can achieve for or with them. That will get their attention over everything else. And be as specific as you can possibly be with these outcomes. Again that’s easier the better you know who you serve.

3. What happens if they don’t work with you

This part is often overlooked by many coaches and consultants. Moving away from fears and frustrations is a strong motivator. And there’s nothing wrong with mentioning what it is that they avoid when working with you or what they miss out on if they don’t work with you. Often this adds a lot of power to your statement. Again this should be outcome orientated. And be as specific as you can.

If you follow these three steps and put together what you came up with in each step you will arrive at a powerful elevator pitch or unique selling proposition that can be the thread that people follow throughout all your marketing. It creates enormous clarity and confidence for you and it will get you more business.

Do you want my very own template for creating an elegant answer to the question: So what do yo do?  Want to end the struggle for the right words once and for all?

If you’re not already registered for my magnetic marketing webinar series, where I give you this template and others, then I suggest you register now while there’s still time. We start THIS week. You can register here at http://www.clientprosperity.com/magneticmarketing

I made this video for you to pull away the curtains and give you a behind the scenes glimpse at my current Magnetic Marketing Webinar Series Marketing Campaign Results and the Success Formula that I use to fill this program (which is the same one that I teach during the webinar). In case you haven’t seen the campaign, it is highly successful already and its not over yet.

You probably know by now that I want to do right by you. Yes I want to promote my Webinar Series, and yes I am mentioning it here at the end of the video and I really think this is one of the smartest investments you can make right now in your marketing skills, that’s why I am setting out to prove it to you in the best way I know: by sharing with you what I have achieved using my own
principles. It’s 10 min long, well worth it I promise! So grab a cuppa, sit back and watch!

To secure one one of the last spots in the Magnetic Marketing Webinar Series, go to http://www.clientprosperity.com/magneticmarketing the special price ends at Midnight Thursday April 8th.

How easy is it for you to fill your programs? According to my research, filling a room is THE biggest challenge coaches, consultants, speakers and trainers face. And I know how disheartened it is when you put your passion into a program and then can’t convince people (who you know would greatly benefit from it) to sign up. Sometimes it’s simply in the way you launch the program that you set yourself up for the struggle or for success. There are three mistakes people make in launching their programs that see them getting disappointing results even if their program is hugely valuable.

1. The time frames are too short
This is probably the biggest and most common mistake. When people ask me, “how do I get more participants for my workshop, it starts in two weeks”, then that’s a tough one to answer. Two weeks is really last minute! You want to plan and start marketing your programs well in advance. Think of what you consider well in advance and double it and you probably are closer to being right on. People are busy these days and especially live events take a lot of planning to organise kids care, work commitments etc.

2. The offer is not compelling enough
Your offer should lead to a very easy ‘yes’ decision. The better you know your ideal clients the easier that will be. So mingle with your ideal clients, find out what they want and package it up. You want the value of the package to be so overwhelming that they would be crazy not to say ‘yes’. Most people offer a lot of value but don’t highlight it appropriately in their offer. Many professionals don’t even realise how many hidden assets they have in their programs and in their creative minds. It’s important to look at it from a client’s perspective to find the really valuable pieces. Even if they are not a big deal for you, they could be a very big deal for your clients.

3. There is not enough communication
Most people underestimate the amount of touch points it takes to convince a client to say ‘yes’ to your offer. One or two emails is not enough. And the higher the investment the more different touch points are required. People are naturally inclined to say ‘no’ to your offer, because opening our wallet is not something we like to do, unless we are totally convinced it’s worth it. So your job is to do the convincing. And for some people that takes more touch points and conversations. Needless to say the conversations need to be respectful and meaningful just as if you had them ‘in person’. So remember to think of all the objections people could have to joining your program and make sure you overcome them during your launch campaign.

Launching a program successfully is a real art and science and can easily fill a couple of days. I hope these pointers have helped you make a start on improving your success rate. How successful your launch is, is MOSTLY determined by your whole positioning, meaning your overall marketing strategy, your niche, your business model. If you want to learn how to set yourself up for success, I suggest you join my Magnetic Marketing Webinar series. We are already 75% sold out, so secure your spot now while you still can. Go to http://www.clientprosperity.com/magneticmarketing.

Would love to know your thoughts on this, so leave me a message here, ok?

How often do you hear “I’d love to work with you but I can’t afford it” from your clients? If you think it’s too often then chances are you are not marketing your services to the right people, those that can actually afford it and those that are affluent enough not to have to be out shopping for the lowest prices.
Marketing to affluent clients has many advantages: It’s easier to raise your fees, you don’t get bargain shoppers but people who value quality and people who will rave about your services to their (also affluent) friends. So how do you position yourself as attractive to this group?

1. Be clear about your ideal client

How clear are you about your ideal client profile? Is your marketing material designed to speak to those people who have the funds to pay your fees? What are their demographics? What affluent means is relative and it all depends on what kind of a fee you are planning it charge. But you want to make sure that your client is in life circumstances where they have enough disposable income to pay what you are asking. For example, a singe stay at home mum with two little kids with an income of $50,000 a year is not very likely to invest $20,000 in a premium image makeover session. While this is an obvious example, I suggest you look at your ideal client profile and just check that you are being realistic with your target audience.

2. Create a strong premium brand

A strong premium brand creates a sense of quality you can trust and it truly sets you apart in the market place. Affluent clients are more likely to buy from you if you have created a strong brand personality. A brand that stands for a clear message of premium, quality, innovative, glamorous or other attributes that are associated with being superior will be favoured by clients who have sufficient disposable income to spend. While budget conscious clients can’t afford to think this way, affluent people can and LIKE that they can ( I know that whenever there’s a premium option available, I’m likely to take it, because I can and I like the preferential treatment).

3. Don’t be a bargain

Affluent clients will not buy from you just because you are offering bargain prices. In fact, they may even be skeptical about the value of your service if you don’t charge enough. That’s right, you can lose sales if you undercharge. Affluent clients equate a premium price with premium service (you need to back it up and actually deliver of course). So if you are wanting to attract affluent clients, position yourself as a premium provider and have your fees be aligned with that.

I realise that doing this (especially the last one about raising your fees) takes some courage to do because whenever you select a specific group to target you are also deselecting another. It shows once again that you can’t be all things to all people. I do know though that if you consistently do the right thing with your marketing, attracting affluent clients to you is a much smarter strategy than being a bargain provider. And as for the middle ground, well, that’s a pretty wishy washy place to be. I suggest you make a decision and stand by it.

What are your thoughts? Would love your comments on this. Please leave me a note!

Clarity and Focus have been a big focus for my platinum group. They wanted to walk away having a clear plan that would add big dollars to their bottom line THIS YEAR, and they did (some of them have a plan for generating more than $100,000).
Listen to some of them here describing their breakthroughs.

June Kitto from www.careerfit.com.au on her breakthroughs on niche, standards and masterminding

Diane Gatto, Heart to Mind, finding the key to really have her business stake off…

Jenny Marshall from www.kidsweightmatters.com sharing numerous breakthroughs

Rosie Hirst www.alignedbusiness.com on her new business approach that will prevent burnout

Tisiola Lear, Coach, watch this space…