It’s Fabienne and Derek sending you warm wishes for a very Happy Thanksgiving.

We want to take this moment to tell you that we’re just so grateful to have you in our lives.

We were reflecting back on what a wonderful year it’s been, giving deep thanks for all the abundance in our lives and really taking the time to appreciate our family, our children, our friends, our team, our yummy clients and customers and of course, you too! (Click here to tweet this.)

We’re so incredibly proud of the work that you’re doing. Whether you’re just getting your very first client or you’re passing the million dollar mark in your business, we’re truly honored to have you in our lives and to be part of your process–so thank you.

Take a moment to watch our video message because we have a special Client Attraction assignment for you for today. It has to do with gratitude and this one simple assignment is going to give you a lot of momentum as you continue to attract more clients and grow your business.

Remember, we love you, we believe in you and we’re sending you big hugs from all of us here on the Client Attraction Team.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,
Fabienne and Derek

Have you started doing free teleclasses yet? This can be such a powerful method to accomplish two important goals. First, free teleclasses will help build and grow your list. The bigger your list, the more people to which you can market your programs and products. As I’ve said many times, I have found the tipping point for list building is about 1,000 people.

The second goal with free teleclasses is to convert some of the attendees into paying clients. Obviously, this helps you generate income. You might wonder what is the best way to convert these listeners and is it like have a closing conversation with an individual? The process is somewhat different.

Here’s what I tend to do. You can use these same steps and adjust for your business model.

1. I start off the call by having participants imagine their ideal business and paint a picture of everything that would be going right if they had everything they wanted.
2. Then I point out the contrast they are having – and say, “Now that’s not your reality yet is it?”
3. Next I list all the reasons why it’s not their reality yet and why it’s important they change.
4. I share the things listeners need to do in a top line way, condensing the steps. This is where you share your content like crazy. Otherwise the call can feel like a big sales pitch.
5. As you get close to the end of the call, start your closing conversation by asking questions like:
• Can you do this on your own?”
• Do you know how to do this?
• What would happen if you didn’t do this?
6. Share how all this information will be covered in your program, the answers to their questions and the way to achieve what they want in their business or life. Get into the details of what your program offers and how this is essential to help them do what they can’t do on their own.
7. Then send them to a page on your website where they can register.
8. You can add a bonus as an incentive for anyone who takes decisive action and signs up before a certain time limit. That can help people decide on the spot to join you.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
What type of teleclass can you offer? What is the problem that keeps your ideal client up at 3am? This is a great topic for your teleclass and a wonderful way to introduce your program to prospects.

As I always say, share loads of content, but focus on the “what they need to do and why” rather than exactly “how” to do it. This leaves them with the need to work with you so they can go deeper to find out how to achieve their goals.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

When I started out building my first practice, I was taught to offer only one program. This was meant to make things easy for practitioners. But, what I noticed with time is that many prospects would come for the free consultation or get acquainted session and leave without signing up.

With time, I came to realize that providing two or three options, for multiple price points or budget levels and different needs, helped me to close more sales. I firmly believe that options help prospects feel more comfortable making a choice to work with you. I also discovered how the choices for prospects need to be so clear that they can decide between the options on the spot.

I want to really reinforce this point. After years of coaching, clients still come back to me having created packages that are so convoluted and complicated, it’s hard to figure out what is the top level. Or sometimes it’s difficult to decipher the differences between the various options.

Even when it comes to naming your packages, selecting simple names is so important. When you use names like optimum, premiere and deluxe, clients have a hard time knowing which one is the highest level.

Why is simplicity so crucial to closing more sales? Because confusion can interfere with a prospect’s decision making ability. The minute a potential client walks away to “think about it” or speak to her spouse, or check with the accountant, you will likely never hear from them again because life gets in the way. This is called the Law of Diminishing Intent. The moment someone walks away to think about signing up – you’ve lost her because her intent to work with you diminishes surprisingly quickly.

Another way to make the decision for prospects easier is to pack the highest level package with yummy bells and whistles that aren’t available at the lower levels. This will make the highest level package so desirable it becomes hard to resist. Doesn’t that make sense?

Your Client Attraction Assignment
If you already have packages designed, named and priced, it’s worth checking to see if they are simple enough for easy decision making. If you belong to a mastermind group or have a friend who is also an entrepreneur, review them together to get some feedback. Then take that response seriously and consider how you might simplify things if needed.

If you haven’t created your packages and pricing yet, keep simplicity top of mind. Make sure your communication of these details can be conveyed easily. More than anything, you want this closing conversation with a potential new client to be so easy, they just naturally want to start working with you right away.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

[youtube width=”600″ height=”350″ ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4K6NZMOWFI[/youtube]

Today’s video strategy is about how to transition into a new business. Whether you’re transitioning from a corporate job into a new business or if you are transitioning from one business to another, it can feel like a bit of an identity crisis. I know because I’ve done this twice. I’ve jumped from my corporate job into my first business, which was a holistic nutrition business, and then I transitioned from my holistic nutrition business into ClientAttraction.com.

The identity crisis and the angst comes from the fact that you don’t want to lose income from the first business or job, but you also need to let others know about what you’re doing. I have several tips for you today about how to transition from one into the other. (Click here to tweet this.)

The very first thing I want to share with you is do not quit your day job just yet! For many years, I worked with clients who would let me know after the fact that they quit their day job, and they said, “Oh, I’m free and now I have all this time to spend on my new business.” But they took their eye off the ball, if you will, in terms of what their bread and butter was. After a while, their income very quickly spiraled, which puts people into a fear place. I do not want that for you. Do not quit your day job. Instead, focus your attention on what is bringing in the money. Even if you’re transitioning from one business to another, you don’t want to put your full attention into the second business and forget what’s bringing in the money.

Continue to give attention to job #1 or business #1, and then create extra time for your second venture. Perhaps you start working on your second business during the evenings and weekends. This is what I did in my transitions, both from corporate to my first business and from my first business to my second business.

The idea is that while you’re still collecting a paycheck from either your first business or corporate, you create all of the marketing you need. This is where you start focusing on who is your ideal client, what is it that they need most, what is it that they are struggling with the most? Create a compelling message around this new business. Create your marketing materials. Create a marketing plan and decide how you will get out there in a big way while you’re still collecting a paycheck.

Once you have those things in place, then it’s time to begin networking your new business in a new group. Here’s what I did in the beginning. I would go to a networking group at 7:30 in the morning, even though I was still working in corporate. I would market my new business and be at work by 9:00. If you’re in your existing business, you keep networking for your existing business and then you find a different networking group and market your second business.

The idea is that you’re riding two horses at the same time. That can be tiring, but it’s less confusing and again, you want to continue getting that paycheck. Sometimes people ask me, “I’m carrying around two different business cards. Do I hand out two business cards or just one?” I believe that you hand out just one business card—whichever is more appropriate for that person. You don’t want to confuse people.

Then once you’re making enough income from your second business, that is the one that you start marketing full-time. Once you get at least enough to cover your basic expenses, then you shift your entire focus onto that one. Don’t stop taking clients from the first one if you don’t have to and then build the second one. That is how I’ve been able to transition twice and my clients have been able to do the same without losing any income and without sleepless nights.

Make the transition peacefully and easily.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

If you’re thinking of transitioning into a new business, take these tips into consideration. Continue to get clients, continue to make money, and to be able to transition peacefully and easily.

Join Fabienne and Shama Kabani for this conversation about inspiration and courage, while you discover “best practices” on how to play big. Enjoy!

See all the classes here.

You are ramping up your business, looking for individual clients. While networking, you meet many people who are also in the business building stage. They are interested in your work, but aren’t sure they can afford it. So, rather than pay you, they offer to exchange services with you. The barter discussion follows.

Prospective clients might offer to help you format the ebook you’re writing, videotape a presentation or record some audio. These three bartering offers are focused on helping you create and produce product to sell to generate passive income.

Tempting as it may seem to barter with clients during the start up phase, I’m not a big fan of this arrangement, especially when it comes to creating products. Let me explain.

1. Your first ramp up priority is to generate income.
At seminars you may attend, the discussion often covers how it’s so much easier to make passive income. But that’s not the fastest path to cash – individual clients are. Filling your practice needs to be your main objective. So creating product is like getting distracted by a bright shiny object rather than getting new clients.

2. You don’t have a big list for selling products.
During the earlier phase of your business, which I call “Ramp Up Rachel” in my Client Attraction Winners Academy, you are working to build your list. To generate significant passive income, you need a substantial size list for marketing – a minimum of 1,000 or 2,000. That’s when you can start to make money with passive income.

3. The production quality is questionable.
Have your prospective clients created information products before? There is a specific way that audio/video needs to be made to be effective. To keep your clients and customers satisfied, you want to deliver high quality materials or you risk turning them off.

4. People don’t take your service seriously.
In barter, even if you have a contract, your project will likely never be on the front burner because there isn’t any money at stake. You may have to chase after them to get what you need completed which is no way to conduct business.

5. Your ideal clients will pay for your service.
If a person really wants to work with you, she will find the money. That’s what I have found during my many years in business. When clients barter for your service, they are saying it’s not worth paying for or finding the money. These are not likely to be your ideal clients anyway.

Overall, I recommend avoiding the barter relationship for product creation or really for any reason. It seems like it could work out, and occasionally it does. But more times than not, one party walks away disappointed.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
If you are interested in creating product while ramping up your business, one simple way is to write blog articles. This way you populate your blog which helps you get found on the Internet. And if you take the time to make a plan before you write, each post could be a book chapter. So over time, your book is getting written to generate future passive income, without distracting you from your top priority – filling your practice.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

Today’s video is about how to create great, free content in order to build your list., Last week we talked about how you can have all of the best products and services in the world, but if you have no one to offer them to or no one to sell them to they won’t sell very quickly.  When you have an email list (also called an ezine list) of several hundred and preferably, several thousands of people who are eager to hear from you, you now have people who will buy your products and services immediately and over time.

Now, that you’ve figure out which irresistible, free offer you will use to build your ezine list quickly and consistently it’s time to create great content for your IFO, your irresistible free offer.  Remember, you must offer massive value if you want to build trust, but you also don’t want to give away the entire farm. (Click here to tweet this.)

Here’s a tip.  The difference between giving away good value and not giving away too much is to give them the steps or give them good information, but to obviously not tell them exactly how to do everything.  Don’t give the exactly how.  Give them the what.  Give them the why it’s important, but not the exactly how.

I recommend three different types of content for your irresistible offer.

1. Walk them through all of the steps of your proprietary system.  If you’re a student of mine you know what the proprietary system is.  It’s a series of steps that you use to get your clients results.

My proprietary system is called the Client Attraction System. It’s got 10 steps and it starts with figuring out who your ideal client is and create a compelling message and compelling marketing materials, etc.  If you go to clientattraction.com you can read all of the steps there.

2. Give them your compelling story, which means tell them about how you got to do what you’re doing. Then give them some tips as to how you got from your ‘before’ to your ‘after’, in your before and after story.  People find that very, very compelling, especially if you supplement with lots of tips.

3. Do an interview.  You can actually give someone a set of questions that they ask you and that you respond to and you can record those.  This is what I have in my free CD.  It’s a series of 10 questions that I gave to a former radio personality.  He called in from his line and I called in from mine and recorded the entire hour.  It’s super high value, super high content and it’s great for people. It was an easy, one-hour thing for me to do.

Whichever you choose of the three, the idea is that the topic must be something that your ideal client would love to get their hands on.  As you may know mine is How to Attract All the Clients You Need.  This is something that’s appealing to the people who will eventually become my clients.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Your assignment for this week is to come up with a topic that your ideal clients would say yes to.  Remember, the topic is one of the most important things.  They don’t know what your content will be yet, but they will want to sign up for that topic.

Then, once you’ve selected your topic that they would say yes to, choose from talking about your proprietary system, telling your story and giving some tips, or content based on a Q&A style interview.  The key is at the end of any type of IFO that you have give them an offer for deeper learning or give them a call to action to work with you. If you do this, just like I’ve shared with you, you will quickly build your list, get more clients and make more money.  Enjoy!

Once you have filled your practice, and your business is growing, the next step is to find ways to leverage that. One smart method is to create a membership program.

The key to enticing people into your membership program is of course to make the proposition an amazing value. What creates that level of interest? The kind of value that is so good, people feel they absolutely must invest and they just can’t walk away from it.

So, for example, you’ll want to provide loads of content. A combination of ebooks, video, audio and even worksheets. Then give members access to you, which is always seen as highly desirable. This could include monthly question and answer calls as well as specific office hours for brief private check-ins. You may also offer quarterly live meetings with other members, which add tremendous value and excitement for all. They can see everyone in person, plus have exceptional networking opportunities.

To spark immediate interest that will get the membership started, you can also do what I did which is to have a charter membership. This is a limited time, lower price just to get a lot of people registered. Then you can move the price up as enrollment grows.

The feeling you want to create among your membership is, “Wow, I’m getting all that? All the content, program materials, live visits, calls and access, etc, and it’s this little compared to people charging three times as much for less access.” That’s what I’m talking about in terms of value that makes it a no-brainer for people to sign up. They just can’t walk away from all that value you are providing, making your membership program nearly irresistible.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Have you thought about creating a membership program? If you already have some great content created, take time to review everything. Consider how you might combine materials and what you have to offer that can make your membership irresistible. Think about how you can give your subscribers access to you that would make them think, “Wow, I have to have that!” Then you know you are on your way to creating a program that leverages your business to generate more income and work smarter, not harder.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

If you are just starting out, it might feel daunting to come up with your first program. You could have questions like

• What should I talk about?
• What must be covered?
• How do I handle difference in people?
• What steps come first?

These questions swimming in your head can make you feel overwhelmed. But don’t worry, I can make this easy for you.

1. Make a list of every topic you can think of about the work you do now

Think about what your clients are suffering over. What keeps them up at night with the 3am sweats?

If you have had the problem you now solve in your business, what did you wish you had known way back at the beginning?

2. Do some research on the web.

What do other service providers offer? What do they talk about? This can be a great way to stimulate new ideas and also see what you might have missed on your own list of topics and ideas.

So for example, if you are a wellness consultant with a nutrition focus, you could start by thinking about

• Each meal individually
• Healthy snacks
• Food groups
• What to eliminate from their diet
• Dining out

When I was doing this work, I even had a session on take out. My clients would send me their take out menus and I would highlight the healthy choices for them that would help to achieve their goals.

Regardless of what business you are in, there are likely several aspects of it to work with.

3. Categorize topics and put them into logical order.

After you create the fullest list of topics you can come up with, put them into some kind of order that feels appropriate. Then, try the new program out with clients. The more you work with your program, the more you will discover what works, what areas may be lacking, and what helps your clients get the results they want.

Thinking about your program from all angles, then checking with other sources to see what they recommend, will give you confidence using the new program you have created.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Set aside one hour this week to brainstorm a big list of topics you can cover. Don’t get up or switch to doing something else – dedicate the entire time to creating this list. Then leave the notebook open all that week, so you can jot down the new ideas that are likely to continue popping into mind. You will be amazed at how many ideas you can come up with this way and how easily your new program will form.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re done with that, you move on to step two, and so on. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

Today’s video is about How to Create an Irresistible List building Opt-In Offer. In addition to networking and speaking, if you want to build your business very quickly, one of the very first things that you want to focus on is building your email newsletter list. You see, you can have all of the best products and all of the best services in the world, but if you have no one to offer them to, they won’t sell very quickly.

I’ll give you an example. Many years ago, one of my favorite clients of all time spent a lot of time working on her home study system and she thought, “I’m just going to put all my knowledge into this and then I’m going to sell it and I’m going to make a lot of passive income.” (Click here to tweet this.)

She spent months and months working on it and went to sell it and sadly, she only sold one the first time around. Well, when we looked at what was going on, it was a great product.  Everything was great about it except she had very few people on her email list. There will only be a certain percentage of people on your email list or your ezine list that will buy.  Unfortunately her numbers were too small so she only sold a couple the first time around.

However, when you have an email list of thousands of people who are eager to hear from you, you now have people who will buy your products and services over time.  So the question is how do you quickly build a responsive list?  We’re not looking for a dud list. We’re looking for a responsive list.

It used to be that you could just say on your website, “Join my mailing list,” and people would actually do that. But that doesn’t happen anymore. Now with all the noise and with the overwhelm of email, who wants to be on yet another person’s email list unless there is going to be great value and a really juicy incentive for your prospects to get on your list?

What you need is an irresistible free offer. My clients and students know that I’m always talking about the irresistible free offer, which we call the IFO. The IFO is something that will make someone really want to give you their email address or perhaps even their physical mailing address.

So how do you do that?  What you’re offering must be so irresistible that they’re happy to give you their contact information because they want that irresistible free offer so badly.

Let me give you some examples of IFOs.  The first one is the free CD. As you know, at Clientattraction.com, that’s what I offer.  If you go to the website, you’ll see right at the top that I offer this free CD—high content, high value, totally free.  I pay for the shipping, everything.  When I first started offering this many, many years ago, I was the only one that I knew offering this and it went like wildfire.  It helped me build my list very, very quickly. So that’s what I still offer.

You could also consider offering a free report. You can offer a free downloadable audio perhaps if you’re not yet ready to do a free CD. You can offer a free eBook, a free video or a free DVD, a free checklist which was actually my very first IFO from many, many years ago.  It was called 151 Ways to Attract All the Clients You Need.

The key is it doesn’t matter what you offer as long as it will be something that is super irresistible to the person that you want to get on your list so that they’re okay with giving you their contact information.

At the same time, let them know that they will also be receiving free content from you every week or every other week by email.  Let them know that it will also be high content, high value and to look out for it in their email inbox.  Again, the idea is that it’s going to be really good, not like a bait and switch.  No one likes to give their contact information and just get sold on the other end so continue to be in integrity and give high content, high value.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

So your assignment for this week is to figure out which irresistible free offer you’re going to use to build your ezine list — ezine stands for e-magazine — quickly and consistently.  Select from one of these options this week and next week I’m going to take you through Part 2 of your IFO which is about creating compelling content for it.  So you’ve figured out the format; now we’re going to talk next week about the content. See you then!