2012 - Page 9 of 24 - Small Business Coach, Women Business Coaching

Clients often ask me about discounting their services fees. This comes from a desire to attract more clients, particularly when there is a lot of competition or the economy is on a downward trend.

In fact, you can attract more clients by NOT discounting what you charge. (Click here to tweet this.)

Usually the reason why more people aren’t hiring you is because they don’t understand the value of what you have to offer or they don’t know about you. Neither is a pricing issue. It’s more about awareness and value, right?

My recommendation is to never discount your fee. The truth is, you can make money in any business, at any time, in any economy. This is a matter of mindset.

Here are three big reasons why you don’t want to do discount your services and how to attract more clients as a result.

1. Discounting your fee discounts your value. Plain and simple. Doctors and lawyers don’t do this and neither should you.

2. You are focusing on pricing rather than value. A stronger promotion is to add value to whatever you are offering. This helps prospects feel like they are getting MORE when they sign up to work with you. Prospects may feel more inclined to say yes since they are getting a good deal. But you can achieve this without sacrificing your fee and also attract more clients as a result.

3. From a mindset perspective, whatever you focus on is what you get more of. So the last thing you want to focus on is discounting your fees. That sends out a message that cheapens your service and impacts your confidence.

What can you do instead?

1. Point #2 above talks about adding value and that is a great way to attract more business. Give clients something in addition to your services at no extra cost. This is a common practice in the cosmetic industry where they never discount the product, but add other products or provide a special gift. People love freebies!

2. You can discount your products with a special promotion. This works best when offered for a limited amount of time. People will be motivated to act now in order to take advantage of the lower price.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

If you want to attract more clients by offering a special promotion, come up with a package that delivers something additional to your services at no extra cost. For example, throw in a free product when people sign up to work with you. Think about what you have to offer and how you can combine the items to make the best value for attracting new clients.

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.

I want to talk to you today about systems. Systems are crucial if you want to multiply your business and get to the next level. (Click here to tweet this.) Whether you are just starting out, ramping up or you’re in a place where you’re needing some serious leverage, I want you to think about how things get done in your business. Most likely right now you have a self-generated business, whereby if YOU don’t start something yourself, or generate it, it doesn’t get done.

Now, that’s great in the beginning when you have to do most everything yourself, but when it comes to really wanting to multiply your business and not work crazy hours and into the evenings and weekends, you need to create some systems.

People always ask me, “How do you create systems?” Well, the way to create systems is to actually dissect your business and look at all the different little parts. There are so many different parts to your business. For example, there’s the client acquisition/attraction process, there’s invoicing and payment, there’s the delivery of the goods and services or products, there’s the process of saying goodbye to a client and there’s even administrative scheduling.

There is actually a system that can be implemented for every single one of these parts. If I look at my business, there is not one aspect of it that isn’t systematized in one way or another.

Now, why is it important to create systems? If you’re self-generating everything in your business right now, you are probably exhausted. You are focusing your time and energy on non-money generating activities.

All those little things that you have to self-generate take all of your time and all of your energy, which means you can’t attract more clients and make more money because you’re using your time on stuff that simply doesn’t have to be done by you.

Let’s look at scheduling, for example. Scheduling can be done many, many different ways.
In the beginning of my business, it was just me talking to a client on the phone and scheduling on my own. Now, that doesn’t sound like it takes a long time, but when you take into consideration cancellations, rescheduling, phone calls back and forth, checking messages, etc it can become a huge time drain for you. If you have one or two clients, it’s not bad but when you have 20, 30, 100 clients to schedule, it can really become difficult then.

Here’s where you want to create some systems. Look at what works. When I was doing all that scheduling many years ago I actually mapped it out so that each client had their own time slot. One client would “own” Tuesdays at 2:00 PM in my calendar. That was their time slot and a system that I created around that was to ask the client to try not to reschedule because they might lose that spot, since every half hour of my day was assigned to someone.

You can also create systems around what to put in your client welcome packet about scheduling, detailing how it’s done. Perhaps it’s done online. Perhaps it’s delegated to somebody else. There is a way for you to do everything more systematically in your business. Scheduling is just one example of it.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Look at those different aspects of your business and see what’s working well. Then, also see what’s falling through the cracks. Consider what needs to happen for all of these things to be generated without you or to be taken care of without you. Who would it be delegated to? How would it be automated with technology? How could it be systemized so that everything happens the same way each time? Those are the questions I want you to ask of yourself. You want to create your business to be a problem-free zone. No more stuff falling through the cracks.

Then, create a procedure. It could be your operations manual or just a series of checklists. I even have a system, believe it or not, for packing for business trips. When we used to take all of our kids and the au pair on a business trip across the country for seven days, I had a checklist for that—what to bring, what to make sure I packed, how I packed it, every single thing, how many shoes to bring, how many scarves to bring—you get the picture.

When you do it once, you don’t have to self-generate it again and again. You just pull out your system and follow that. You can have these systems all over your business. If there’s a way that you launch a program or a product, map it out. Systematize it. Whatever it is, maybe it’s your closing of the sale, maybe it’s ordering supplies. Whatever it is, systematize it.

Have you tried offering free workshops to get new clients? This is a great way to connect with people and let them get to know you. (Click here to tweet this.)

Think about it. You can gather together a bunch of your ideal clients– either live at a location or on a conference call. You get the chance to speak to each person and share tons of content so people’s eyes both glaze over from a little bit of overwhelm and feeling grateful because you’ve given them so much.

Now what? How to you turn these attendees into clients at the end of the workshop or teleclass? What type of language do you use to close the program?

Focus on Implementation I recommend your closing focus to be about implementation. Say something like, “So the biggest thing you need to focus on is actually implementing this because you can’t get results if you don’t implement. But this may seem a little overwhelming and a lot of people would just put all this on the shelf. But I don’t want you to do ‘shelf help’. If, instead, you are interested in working with me to implement this in your business, let’s set up a get acquainted call. I want to hear about your situation and what you want to accomplish to see how I can help.”

Schedule Get Acquainted Calls
That’s all you have to say. For me, every time I held one of these workshops, four to five people would walk up to the front of the room after my talk and say, “Yes, I would like to talk to you about working together.” They’d give me their contact information and I’d call them to follow up the next day. Then I would set up the call a few days later, send them the materials and go through the call, finishing with the closing the sale conversation. And just like that, I’d have several new clients.

Be sure to give people a lot of the “what and why” of your solution, but not all the “exactly how”. Then they’ll want to know what the “how” is, which creates the desire to work with you further to find out.

Practice Your Pitch to Get Good at It
The first time you do this it might seem a little awkward, but with time you’ll get really good at the subtle nuances needed to get several people requesting a get acquainted session with you.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Do you offer free workshops? If you need more clients, this is a great method to fill your practice. Take a look at your signature talk and see if you can turn this into a workshop. Then go ahead and schedule a live program or teleclass. That gives you the opportunity to practice your close in front of a group to get more clients. It works like a charm every time.

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 know my story, you know that I filled two different practices by networking. Yet, some people get frustrated, expecting faster results from networking. So let me explain how to make the most of the process and set your expectations.

Networking is a lot like dating – and one of the best ways to attract clients. (Click here to tweet this.)

I’m going to use an analogy to help make my point. The first time you meet someone, you have to get to know each other right? However, many clients who are frustrated with networking think they can get “married” on the first date, going from the first kiss directly to the marriage proposal. That’s not how things work.

With networking, it’s about collecting referral sources or potential clients, and then “romancing” them. Here are three easy ways to do this:

1. Add new contacts to your ezine list. Of course you do this with permission. Then every time you send out a newsletter, they will learn something new about you and your business, keeping you top-of-mind.

2. Start a warm letter campaign. Everyone knows at least 300 people by first name. When you send a personalized warm letter, you can help them talk to people about what you do. This helps contacts start generating referrals.

3. Send out warm letter updates. When you share your client success stories and what you have been up to, you create the impression of increase in your business. Obviously, you need permission from your clients or keep the examples anonymous to protect their privacy. Telling these stories helps people think of friends, family or colleagues who could benefit from your services.

You can also send:
A letter containing an interview with a client, which provides a case study
A testimonial from a satisfied client
An invitation to a teleclass
An update on new employees

Connecting with your contacts regularly will help them know exactly what you do, who you can help and what kind of success you are known for. This makes it easy for people to give you referrals so your network is really working for you.

None of this happens in an instant. It takes time and courtship. Romance your contacts so they naturally want to refer people to you. Once you understand that it takes time to get referrals, you will recognize the possibilities networking does provide and how well it builds on itself to fill your practice.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
If you’ve been frustrated that your networking activities aren’t producing the results you want, start working the system to romance your contacts. Write your warm letter, plan future letters and mark the calendar when you will be sending them out. This type of letter writing campaign builds awareness and relationships and can really pay off in referrals.

Are you trying to fill a smaller group coaching program or mastermind series? Maybe you are seeking six to 12 members. If you are promoting the offer with a teleclass, then closing the sale with callers is a bit different than the regular process.

The “Cherry Picking Method” is one of the best ways to close the sale with a group mastermind program. (Click here to tweet that.) Here’s how it works.

1. Interview Prospects Individually to Ensure the “fit”

Explain to the callers that you are offering to speak with each person personally who is interested in joining the group. Tell them you will be “Cherry Picking” each and every group member to make sure they are the right candidate.

2. Clients Prove They Are a Good Fit

Just as much as clients will be interviewing you, you will be interviewing them to see if they have what it takes to be part of the group. By doing this, you are essentially turning the tables and saying, “You need to prove to me, perspective client, whether I should pick you or not.” This is a very powerful method for recruiting group members.

3. Discuss Program Details and the Solution Your Program Offers

You want to lay it all out, what the program includes, what members struggle with, the results members want most and who is right for the group.

4. Scarcity Turns Up Interest

Next, stress the scarcity of how few spots (like 12 or whatever your number is) are available. Plus, they have to go through the application process so you can see if they have what it takes to be a part of this special group. Naturally scarcity creates a stronger desire for something. That is just part of human nature.

5. Mastermind Script Suggestion

For a mastermind group, you can say something like, “As you can imagine, in a mastermind group like this one, the collaboration and the association are key. We need to have only a certain level of client in the group for it to work well. So you need to show us that you will be a good fit.”

In addition, this method sets up the expectation that callers need to speak with you directly to get in, giving you the needed access to close the sale with each one individually. It’s a great way to increase your Closing the Sale success rate.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Are you thinking about offering a group program? While you plan out your teleclass script that introduces your program, make sure to focus on your closing script as well. While explaining what the program is about is key, the “Cherry Picking Method” is even more important to fill your small group with ease.

As an entrepreneur, it’s important to assemble your knowledge into a content system that’s easy to follow – a proprietary system. (Click here to tweet that.)

Clients frequently ask me how to put together their proprietary system and in what order the information should go. The confusion comes from the difference between working privately with clients versus group coaching or a home study program.

When you are coaching a client privately, you can start anywhere they want depending on the person’s specific needs. So you might start at step six because that is what they need in the moment and then circle back to step one at a later date. And the client won’t be confused by this out-of-order interaction because you are jumping in exactly where they are.

But, with a group or home study program, the experience for the client is very different. The content must be presented in a more orderly fashion. In other words, it should start from the beginning of what you do and go to the end in a chronological and logical manner.

So, for example, when I sat down to write my Client Attraction System (my proprietary system) I started by having my students make client attraction a priority, then figuring out what their position was in the marketplace. Once that was done, the logical next step was to determine where to find their ideal clients, and then the next step involved creating their compelling marketing message, followed by their materials, etc.

Most importantly, you want the content order to make sense for marketing purposes. You want to set it up so that communication about what’s included on your website and in your materials is clear and logical. Step by step. Visitors can see what the first step is and the second step, etc. Putting things in order this way will also work for a boot camp or other multi-session series.

Another way to think of organizing the information is as if you were writing a book. In fact, many of my clients turn their proprietary system into a book over time, as they gain more experience and client success stories.

Once you can put your system into chronological order, writing it and pulling all the pieces together will be so much simpler. And you’ll rest easy knowing people who use the system will benefit from the logical arrangement of the material.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Have you created your proprietary system yet? If you haven’t done so, this is the perfect time to get started. Think about the program you want to offer and first map it out step by step. That will help you know what to write and include, and how it should be presented.

If you have already started or even completed your system, you may want to look it over to check that it is in chronological order. Take a look at your marketing materials as well to make sure your communication of the system makes sense logically.

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One of the questions that I get very often is, “Fabienne, how do you host your own introductory event? What is necessary and how do you promote it and all that good stuff?”

This is a very good question because one of the fastest ways to attract lots of clients is through your introductory event. Or, perhaps you have plenty of clients but you’d like to scale your business models or leverage your business. Introductory events can be very good for that too.

The reason these work so well is that instead of just talking one-to-one you’re talking one-to-many. When you can give high content plus high value for a minimal price point, people who are somewhat interested in working with you will come out to see you. If you’ve done everything correctly and if they are the ideal people, they will raise their hand and say, “Yes, I would like to work with you further.”

Many, many years ago I used to do a 3-hour introductory event the last Wednesday of every month. Every single time I walked away with four, five, six new clients. It is well worth it.

So here are the 4 components you’ll need for a successful introductory event. This formula worked for me and will work for you too.

1. Think about your content. You really want to map that out. If you’re a student of my Client Attraction system, you know that we talk about creating a step-by-step proprietary system of all of your information. This is something that you can share during your introductory event as a sampling of what you offer.

2. Work on your compelling story. How did you get to do what you are doing today? That is something that you are going to weave into your event.

3. Share client case studies and testimonials. Your attendees will want to hear about the success that your clients have experienced.

4. Present your call to action. Let your audience know what to do next.

All four components work together to give your audience all that they need to make the decision on whether they want to work with you or not. Hopefully, they will.

Another important point is to make this a regular event. That could mean you host one once a quarter or once a year. I like the idea of once a month.

Make sure that you charge for it. If you don’t people will say they’re coming but they won’t. There’s no skin in the game. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money. For my first introductory event I charged $20. And I’ve charged as much as $95. Anywhere within that range is good. You can start small and then go up from there, but the key is to collect something. Even if it’s just breaking even when considering the rental cost for the room, supplies, etc. When your attendees pay, there’s a commitment coming from them.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Your assignment is to pick a date within the next few weeks. Just commit to it right now, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night. Pick a date.

Pick a time during the day or in the evening that you’re going to do your intro event and start letting people know about it. Put it out to your ezine. Share it on social media. Create fliers and invite folks from your networking groups to come and see you.

Then, work on all of your other materials that we talked about. Come up with your call to action and get going with this because this is a great way to get more clients and to leverage your marketing so that you’re not just working at your marketing one-to-one. And be sure to let me know your results. Good luck!

Join Fabienne and Amy Cosper for this conversation about inspiration and courage, while you discover “best practices” on how to play your own bigger game. Enjoy!

Amy knows what it means to drive a business idea forward with passion, creativity, savvy, and yes, even a little moxie. Having been in the entrepreneurial trenches with her media consulting business, Cosper has an in-depth understanding of what entrepreneurs want and need. She knows that without the right information, tools and resources, small businesses stay small.

At Entrepreneur Media, Cosper’s breadth of experience and tech savvy infuses cutting-edge ideas into the company with a 34-year legacy for serving the small business market. Her mission? Keep entrepreneurs alert to the network of tools fundamental to launching and growing their businesses—whether they’re people, technologies, funding sources, or best practices.

For her, “It’s all about what you do with what you’ve got.” According to Cosper, that’s a whole lot more than most people fathom.

Listen to this Master Class today!
Subscribe to “Play Big Master Class” podcast on iTunes or download the mp3 here.

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A lot of business owners enjoy speaking and want to build this aspect of their work. There is an entire industry devoted to professional speaking and very specific ways to work the system. Follow these six steps to build a speaking business for yourself.

1. The first thing to really look at is how you’re positioned in the marketplace and why corporations, associations, or groups would pay you to speak.

2. Next, develop your “signature talk” or series of signature talks, again based on what the audience ‘would do anything for’ and ‘pay anything to have’ as a result of having you there.

3. Then you create a special website called a “One sheet” online. This site is directed at meeting planners and speakers bureaus outlining what you speak about, why you are a good fit with your target audience and how to reach you. You can incorporate video so visitors can preview your speaking. You may even offer a free DVD so they can see examples of you speaking before hiring you.

4. Establish your fee schedule. The going rate depends on your expertise and the industry. Some people charge as much as $50,000 or more for a one-hour keynote, while others charge $1,500 or even less.

5. Surround yourself with other speaking professionals by checking out the National Speakers Association . These organizations can help you with best practices and networking for the right connections in your chosen area or industry.

6. With experience, you can register with a speakers bureau that can represent you and help get you even more gigs.

If you are serious about speaking, you will want to treat this like an entire business in itself. Some people do just this for a living.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

If you are ready to build your speaking business, start by treating it like a new business. Ask yourself these questions to set your up brand and position yourself in the marketplace:

Why would they pay you?
What is your story?
What is your particular angle?
What is your promise?
Who is your target audience?

Once you know the answers to these questions and formulate your signature talk, the marketing will be so much easier.

Q&A calls vs. open office hours Are you looking to provide some added value to your clients? Additional ways to access your wisdom can be seen as a significant bonus with private clients or even for group programs. Two simple ways that allow clients to connect with you are Question and Answer Calls and Open Office Hours. Here are the benefits of both to help you decide which one is right for your business.

Q&A Calls

Well-Developed List If you have a well-developed contact list, the traditional Q&A call is a great offer. You need a healthy-sized list since this can be a waste of your time if too few callers participate. You don’t want the whole 60 to 90-minutes to become a private coaching session for just a lucky few.
Group Learning Q&A calls provide participants with learning not only from their own questions, but from others as well. Often one caller will have a question that several others will be struggling with as well. So listeners benefit not only getting their own questions answered but from the questions of others too. That’s why you need multiple callers to make this offering successful.
Frequency – Monthly For my Inner Circle clients, I offered these calls monthly. People were able to call in with questions or could email their questions prior to the call.
Per Person Time My goal is to answer each question within about 5-minutes to permit as many questions to be answered during the call as possible.

Open Office Hours

Any Size List When you hold Open Office Hours, you agree to be at your desk for one or two hours to answer questions from callers.
Private Learning Each caller gets private attention so you don’t need to gather a crowd to make this work.
Frequency – Your Option You can offer this mini-private session monthly or more often if you prefer. Since you don’t need to gather a group, you have no lead time to fill the call. This can even be a special offer promotion you announce only 24-hours in advance.
Per Person Time What works best is to keep each call at 5-10 minutes. Since others might be calling, you don’t want to hold up the line with just one client. Keep things moving so several callers can have access to your wisdom and you don’t give away a lengthy private coaching session.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

If you are looking for bonus options to sweeten your offering and make it irresistible, add one of these calls so clients can get greater access to your help. People crave interaction with the expert so give it to them in a way that is easy for you and effective for your clients. You can test the waters by offering either or both options on a one time basis to see which one your clients want more.

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