Archive for the ‘Small Business Marketing’ Category

From a confidence perspective there is nothing like hearing from a client that you did a great job. Not only do you feel terrific but you feel awesome for the client because you realize just how much their life, business or world has been transformed by working with you.

So why use testimonials?

Here’s 3 reasons to use testimonials to grow your business starting today!

Reason #1:  Creates Social Proof and Credibility

From a business perspective what you’re doing when you use testimonials is creating social proof and credibility. Social proof is just the opinion of others.

For example, you put a testimonial on your website and a prospective client sees it.  You have just provided that prospect with almost instant reassurance that you can be trusted – that you have the goods!

When your prospects know you have the goods, they will see you as someone that can be trusted, will deliver what you say you will deliver, and has credibility.  All extremely important characteristics to have if you want to leap into 6-figures!

Reason #2:  Creates Desire

When you read a great testimonial filled with the kind of results that you ache for, what does it do to you? If you’re like most people it makes you want what other people have!  You stop and say to yourself, “Hey, I want that too!  If they can do it, I can too.”

Not only does the testimonial help to create a picture of what’s possible but it also creates a gap between where they are right now and where they want to be. This gap creates a tension that can only be released by working with you.

Reason # 3:  Creates Longing

Testimonials when used correctly help to create a feeling of longing for the prospect.  They long to be part of this tribe of people who seem to have it all.

You read the testimonial and begin to think, “I want to be just like them.  I want to be part of this elite group of people who are successful.” That’s the tribe.

Pretty cool, right?

Bonus Tip: Don’t Forget About The FTC

Make sure to stay current regarding the rules of testimonials for your industry, including the new FTC regulations… but do NOT let this stop you from going out there and getting testimonials.

Testimonials are an important tool in your overall 6-figure strategy.  Proper use of testimonials can help you be seen as the credible business person that you are and help you gain more clients.

When your starting it out in business it can be really frustrating if you don’t know what marketing activities you should be focused on.

Here are four simple ways to market yourself:

1.  Speak

Find as many speaking engagements as you can. Speak for free if you must, but get out there regularly and speak at places where your ideal clients would be.

There are plenty of organizations out there that are always looking for people to speak at one of their meetings.

When you do speaking engagements make sure that you get the biggest bang for your effort by ensuring you:

• Record it
• Collect the names of the attendees
• Provide a handout
• Mingle about before and after your talk or speech

2.  Network

…like crazy.

When I say network I don’t mean just going around and collecting business cards.  It does mean spending time at networking events where you’re  going to meet your ideal clients and critical buyers.

3.  Publish

Don’t have a blog?  Start one.

Write for your local community newspaper or on line magazine where you’re clients would be looking for information.

If you’re a women entrepreneur there are some great free on line communities where you can post your articles for free and gain valuable exposure.  The Diva Toolbox is one that comes to mind.

Get out there by spreading your message.

4.  Internet

Again start a blog.  Blogs are great because they add valuable content to your website regularly and the search engines love them.

Start a newsletter so that you can stay in touch with your clients and potential clients.

Check out HARO (Help A Reporter Out) to search for queries by reporters who are looking for people to be interviewed or other opportunities to expose yourself to the masses.

One of these marketing efforts is good, but use all of them as part of a comprehensive marketing plan and your efforts will really pay off.

This week while on a couple of different calls,  I noticed a theme that kept coming up for my  new clients.  They all seemed to be completely and utterly overwhelmed with everything that was on their plate.

It struck me that what was missing in their work lives was a serious plan and commitment to carving out the space and time to attend to their business.  So we addressed the issue head on.

Here are a couple of great tips to help you tackle the overwhelm and start getting a handle on developing your dream business:

1. Marketing Takes Time

Realize that it takes about 3 hours a day to market your business effectively.  I just heard a thump…was it you falling off your chair onto the floor?  You heard me right.  3 hours each day.  I know that this sounds like a lot and, well it is a lot but the rewards will be even better once you reach your goals.

Try waking up an hour earlier each day in order to work on your marketing plan and strategies.  Spend less time doing things that are not going to build your business.  No matter how you accomplish this realize that you MUST find the time in your schedule to build your business, market your business and attract all the clients you want into your business.  In essence, you must make this a top priority!

2.  Create A Plan and Stick To It

Once you carve out more time to work on the most important aspects of your business stick to the plan.  Stop allowing all the other stuff to creep into your schedule and take priority.

One of  my client’s told me she loved to garden.  I said, “great, you can only garden in the early evening and weekend.”  Work time is work time and you shouldn’t be doing laundry, cleaning the house, or any other chore you can think of when you should be devoting your time and attention to your business.

3.  Rid Yourself of Everything That Drains You

You need to have  a lot of energy to successfully create and grow a business.  Maybe  you are engaging with people, activities and responsibilities that suck the life out of you.  Evaluate your current circumstances and begin to eliminate these energy drains immediately.

If you volunteer and it is a painful process – give it up.  If you have a friend that complains all the time and you really don’t enjoy her company – stop seeing her.  Make the hard decisions and reinvest your new found time and energy into your business success.

4.  Realize That You Should Be Focused On 3 Things and 3 Things Only

You should be focused on:

• Work with clients – If you get a client you are working with them as you should be.
• Marketing the business – Without the marketing activities you won’t have a business.  So get busy marketing!
• Working on your mindset – Our mindsets often stand in the way of our progress.  Sign up for a teleclass or read a great book that will help you consistently work on the mindset issues that come up for you.  It will be one of the greatest things you can do to move your business forward.

Follow these tips  and you will find a great return on your investment by doing these simple, but effective strategies.

What does your website look like? Most of us understand that we need an eye-catching website.

But what most people fail to understand is that a beautiful website is not what’s going to get visitors to actually take action and push the buy button.

So if you have a great looking website that doesn’t result in your phone ringing off the hook with new business then it’s time to look at your website copy.

Yup, it’s the words that matter most in the design of your website, not just how it looks. Think of it this way:  It’s the perfect blend of design and content that sells.

Marketing copywriting is different from other types of writing.  And website copywriting is even more of a sub specialty.

In order to covert leads and generate income you must first understand internet marketing principle and then be able to apply those principles in your text.

There are many, many courses you can take to hone your skills.  They typically take 4-8 weeks of your time and cost on average about $1000.  But I would have you ask yourself if that is the best use of your time and resources to learn this yourself, or would it be better to invest in hiring a website copywriter to write your copy? Don’t make the mistake in believing the person you hired to design your site can handle the copy too.  That is a huge mistake unless the design firm has copywriters on staff.

Ultimately you need to make the final call on that decision.  But I will suggest that you consider leveraging the talents of someone else when writing your website copy.

Leveraging someone else’s expertise will usually result in a far better end result that if you do it yourself. Usually, the most cost-effective solution for having a site that provokes your visitor into action is to invest in a professional copywriter.

One of the easiest and most unused piece of FREE marketing is the email signature. Yes, that little piece of real estate at the bottom of your email messages.  A well crafted email signature is one of the easiest and simplest forms of marketing that you can engage in and yet it often goes unused or underutilized.

Here are three simple tips to make sure that you craft the most effective email signature line.

1. Make It 5 Lines or Less

Many email signatures are way too long.  They try to cram everything that is happening over the next year in these email signature lines that go on and on.  Who is going to read all that?

No one!  That’s who.

When you craft your email signature keep it to five well crafted lines of text.  Be creative and thoughtful with your email signatures.  I highly suggest that you craft several email signatures for ready use.  If you are launching a special program or product develop a new signature to use during on going promotion.

Keep them fresh and useful and they WILL be read.

2.  Include Results

When crafting that email signature include the results that you get for your clients.  Now I didn’t’ say, what you do, because quite frankly no one cares what you do.  They do care however,  what you can do for them.

So craft that email signature into a results driven description of what you can do for your clients.

3.  Give Them A Call To Action

When you craft that message make sure that you include a call to action. Typically this is either an invitation to get a free report or sign up for your newsletter or ezine.  My friend Janet Powers of Diva Toolbox asks in her email message to visit the site each day to be inspired!  Who could resist the invitation to be inspired?

No matter what you include make sure that it asks your reader to take a next step.

So go out and create some results driven email signatures and start getting better use of that free real estate at the end of your message!

Anyone who is member of my DARE To Be Phenomenal Fan Page knows that every Friday I encourage my fans to shamelessly promote themselves and their business.  Sometimes I ask them to promote something very specific, like a link to their website or blog and other times I ask them to promote someone else.

What I love about this idea is that people really step up to the plate and promote themselves; proudly describing the value behind what they have to offer to their potential clients.  But what I am stunned by is why more people don’t take the opportunity get themselves out there and promote away.

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of promoting yourself, then you’ll enjoy my post today which will give you three tips on how to promote yourself with greater ease.

1.  Promote Yourself with Articles

It doesn’t matter what you do, almost anyone can write an article that engages the reader and provides valuable content that will make you memorable.  Once the article is written it can be promoted through several venues: on a blog, in the newspaper, on your website under an “Free Article” section, in a local publication and on article submission sites.

2.  Promote Yourself by Speaking

There is almost no better way to promote yourself than through speaking engagements. Look for opportunities in your local area to speak at clubs and organizations.  You can find these opportunities by doing a Google search.  I usually devote a portion of my week to looking for speaking opportunities where I can promote myself to the audience.  And even if you are asked not to do a hard sell, which frankly I hate too, your energy, enthusiasm and your great content will have people wanting to work with you.

3.  Promote Yourself When Asked

If you are prompted to promote yourself will you be ready to tell the world what value you provide to your clients?  Remember, it’s not about telling people what you do.  It is about telling people how you can solve their most difficult problems.  It’s about being the solution.

So if you haven’t figured out the best way to express how you are the solution,  get cracking on coming up with a great pitch so that people understand how you can really help them.

Ultimately, that is all they really care about.

In the end, if you don’t promote yourself no one else will.

I have been chosen by the Diva Toolbox as THE Authority!  Check it out below or visit the www.divatoolbox.com

Area of Authority: Money and Mindset Strategist

Company Name: DARE To Be Phenomenal

Website: www.daretobephenomenal.com

Industry: Business Coaching

Years of Experience: 8 years

Authority Statement: I am not your typical coach; I won’t make you struggle to find the answers on how to make your business thrive.  Instead, I’ll challenge you to rise above mediocrity and DARE To Be Phenomenal. Your mindset around money and the role it has played in your life was handed down to you just like an inheritance; it was given to you by those who influenced you as a child.  Maybe it was your parents, grandparents or other important figure. No matter who it was, we all have a money story that affects how much we make and keep each and every year. But it doesn’t have to be that way and you can change your money story.

As an accomplished business coach, author, speaker, radio host and entrepreneur I spend my time in the trenches working on solving the unique money problems of women business owners and entrepreneurs. I can always be counted on to deliver smart, innovative solutions so that you can turn your hectic and draining business into a thriving, highly lucrative, smooth running, money making reality.  Whether it’s personal or professional, or in many cases – both, I am particularly attuned to the unique challenges women face as they confront their money past and try to start or grow a business . I know, because I’ve been there.

Like many women I have made the transition from executive to entrepreneur.  When I started my business I was lost in a sea of confusion on how to make it successful.  I worked with some great mentors but none of them could help me achieve what I wanted so desperately to accomplish. Finally, I found the solutions that catapulted my business and now it’s my mission to show women how they too can have their business fit their lifestyle and NOT the other way around.

As a seasoned coach, I help women transform their business by busting through their  limiting beliefs, confronting their money past, stepping into their greatness, and harnessing their courage so that they can make achievable steps toward creating the business and life they want from a place of confidence, authenticity and power!

About Maureen Campaiola: http://www.divatoolbox.com/featured-contributor/2009/1755-about-maureen-campaiola.html

Contact Information: maureen@daretobephenomenal.com

If you are like most other coaches, consultants and small business owners you probably dread, maybe even hate to market your business.  The problem if you feel that way is that everything you do is about marketing your business.

Funny thing is this:  If you hate marketing that much you probably are not spending a whole heck of a lot of time marketing your business, and if you are not marketing your business your cash flow is probably really suffering.  Am I right?  Read on and learn 4 simple but effective marketing strategies that can help create on-going cash flow in your business.

1. Become A Magnet To Your Perfect Clients

I have written about the idea of identifying your ideal client before so this should come as no surprise…Know what your ideal clients want, know how you can help solve their problems and communicate this consistently all the time.

In order to effectively become that magnet you will need a couple of things:

• A clear marketing message
• An awesome website
• A juicy free offer with an e-mail capturing database
• A clear understanding of what your gifts are and how working with you will ultimately change the life of your clients

2.  Share Great and Valuable Content With Your Prospects

In this day and age there are many places that prospects can go to get some FREE help and resources.  What can you offer to help you stand out from the crowd?  Providing valuable content that answers some questions and offers them a take away without giving away the farm is a great combination that will keep those prospects coming back and investing with you.  Remember, your free offer should give them some help but not go so far that they don’t come back for more.

3. Share Your Time with Your Tribe

Connecting with your tribe is the best investment you can make and it literally only costs you your time.  Connect regularly with them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and your newsletter.  Make sure you publish your newsletter regularly so they know when to expect it.

One of the best ways to interact with your tribe of followers is by engaging them in a conversation.  This is accomplished by asking questions on your blog, on Facebook and Twitter posts and in your newsletter.

Don’t forget to share information about yourself.  Now don’t get freaked out on me.  You ultimately control the amount of information you share with your followers.  There is a fine line between too much and too little but if you are resistant to sharing I would ask you to work through that resistance.  Followers want to build a connection with you and if you never share anything personal about yourself chances are they will go to someone who will.

4. Ask Your Followers To Take the Next Step

Here is THE mistake that most solopreneurs make!  They fail to ask their tribe to take the next step. They fail to market their services to the people that they are engaged with.  They fail to ask them to invest in themselves by working with you.

Does this sound familiar?  This is where your fear of sales and marketing comes in…you see how this kills your cash flow?

Asking is ok, heck it’s necessary!  But I know how scary it can be just asking.  Do you struggle with these very issues?

If you have that fear of sales and marketing I will be addressing this very issue in my Money, Marketing and Mindset Mastermind Program that is currently forming.  Contact me at 978-794-4991 or at maureen@daretobephenomenal.com to request an application.  Don’t delay as space is limited and the early bird pricing goes away February 28^th!

I look forward to helping you break through your stuck points and create the cash flow you desire!

I have written extensively about this subject but I am going to write about it again because I know there are plenty of people out there making this mistake.  So here goes…

I hate to hear the word “NO”.  How about you?  Well, I bet you hate that word even more when you talk with potential clients about your fees.  You’ll do almost anything to get a “yes” instead of that dreaded no and I bet that includes lowering your fees.  The problem is that dreadful habit of lowering your fees will eventually put you out of business.

So how should you handle price objections?  Here a 4 simple solutions.

1. Establish Value Before Discussing Fees

It is always about the value.  You’ve heard me say this before, “no one cares what you do, but they do care about what you can do for them.”  Therein lies the value; its what you can do for them.  Can you help them loose weight?  Can you help them increase their sales? Can you help them manage their time more effectively? 

Whether on your website, in the sales conversation or in any other written material remember to always establish the value that you are offering the client.  So get clear on this, ok?

Remember when discussing fees don’t let the conversation stray into pricing too soon.  You need to ensure they understand the value of working with you BEFORE you talk money.

Here’s an example:  What would it be worth to you to be able to accomplish all the things that we discussed today?

Doesn’t get any simpler or more powerful than that!

Remember, there is a lot that goes into the sales conversation but if you are not clear on the value you offer your clients they won’t be either.

2. Lowering Fees = Removing Value

Remember when you are developing your packages you can always offer a lower priced alternative.  But don’t forget to remove services from that package.  Often times when clients see what was removed from the higher priced package they suddenly find the original package very appealing.

3. Have Multiple Options For Your Clients

Sometimes it really is about money. When it’s really a matter of affordability for your clients are you able to help by offering them multiple solutions?   If they aren’t ready to invest in your private coaching, then they can sign up for your newsletter and join your next workshop or group coaching program.

Having multiple packages to offer your prospects makes the entire sales process much easier. Regardless of their objections, you have something they can say “YES” too.

4. Say “NEXT” and Move On

Be willing to walk away.  Yup, you heard me right.  It takes a lot of guts to walk away and know in your heart that a better client is just around the corner.  Remember there are many, many more clients willing to pay your fee and work with you to get incredible results.

This is in fact an extremely powerful way to close a sales conversation.  People hate when something is taken away from them; they hate scarcity.  All of a sudden they want things that they think they can’t have.  Nut’s I know, but it’s true.

When you prospective client sees that you’re willing to walk away… they suddenly see you as more valuable.  You’re not there squirming and begging for their business.  You understand there is someone out there dying to work with you!

When you allow prospects to push you around and into lowering your fees you end up resenting them.  And is this the kind of working relationship you want with your clients?  I think not!

Not making a sale can be nerve racking, but take a step back, a deep breath and know that the next client is just around the corner!

Oops, you did it again didn’t you?  You discounted your products and services.  I bet you feel like crap right now and are really angry with yourself because you are not getting paid the amount of money you want, need or deserve.  Am I right… am I?

I can even imagine how this happened.  You were having a conversation with a perspective client and they began hemming and hawing about the price and so you immediately jumped into discounting mode and then oops, you did it again.

You know what discounting represents?  It represents that big pink elephant in the room called DOUBT! And you know what else?  It tells me that instead of being focused on the results of your product or service you are focused on features and that is the wrong thing to be focused on my friends.

Your fee is a representation of your inner worth. When you doubt your fees you doubt yourself and your value.  You are negotiating with yourself.  Your internal conversation probably sounds something like this:  “If I don’t discount my services I won’t get this client” or possibly you say “I am afraid they will think I am charging too much for my service” or “I don’t think they will be able to see the value of what I offer if my price is so high.”  The list is endless.

Behind the self talk is the reality that we doubt ourselves and do not truly value ourselves enough to charge what we are worth.  Somehow the money becomes more important.

A good friend told me of a recent conversation with a client.  At each point in the sales transaction this person had repeatedly and repeatedly demanded a discount.  It was becoming and endless cycle of my friend providing outstanding service, client showing up, demanding a discount and getting one, and another and another.  She even reported to me that she had taken a loss on some of the transactions.

Does this sound familiar?

Here is what needs to happen for you to STOP discounting and start valuing yourself!

When you are able to see the value of what you offer and the results that you create as being more important than the money that you charge you will never discount again.  And it will get easier and easier for you to charge more money for your services because you are confident in the result your clients will get from working with you.

Is there ever a time where discounting is a good idea?  I don’t think so.  Instead create packages that are filled with valuable incentives and extras that your clients will really love.  Just make sure that these extras don’t mean more of your time.

Not sure how to package, price and promote your services so that they are focused on the right stuff? Contact me to find out how we can work together and in as little as 4 hours have packages developed that will have your clients gladly paying for your services.  Give me a call at 978-794-4991 or  drop me an email at Maureen@daretobephenomenal.com and I will gladly send you an information packet.