I’m thrilled to introduce you to one of our standout students of The Client Attraction Business School™, Donna Cravotta of Social Sage PR.  Please welcome Donna as a guest contributor to the Client Attraction blog. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback. Please post your comments and questions below. ~ Fabienne. Connect with Donna on Facebook here.

Public Relations (PR) is one of the best ways to get in front of scores of your ideal clients and other media outlets for FREE. It’s a win-win! Media outlets get your valuable content to share with their audience and you get the benefit of exposure to an audience they’ve already gathered for you – on a solid online platform. And in some cases, Google values the content on these media outlets higher than traditional sites, so any related social media posts or links back to your site are fantastic for increasing your search engine rankings.

Entrepreneurs can easily incorporate PR as part of their Client Attraction marketing pie. (Click here to tweet this.)

Get started right away with my four simple steps to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable media opportunities, to increase your visibility and attract more ideal clients.

1. Sign-up for HARO, Radio Guest List and Pitch Rate. These are all free services that will send you daily emails with listings of media opportunities posted by journalists. I have landed valuable media using these resources not only for myself, but also for my clients – and as a result have had success in getting media exposure and free publicity…you can too!

2. Create your media kit.  This is a compilation of everything the media might want to know about you – in one central place. Your media kit can be posted directly on your website – or in a document uploaded to your website. I suggest not sending the media kit as an attachment in an email – but instead direct them online to view all the different components. Here’s what you should include:

• Biography
• Company Bio
• Description of products, services or book
• Prior media
• Images, headshots (downloadable)
• Links to videos
• List of 5-10 sample Q&A for media
• Testimonials
• Press releases
• Speaking topics
• Speaker One Sheet
• Book excerpt and Book Fact Sheet (for author media kits)

If you don’t have everything on this list, it’s OK. Just include what you have for now and add on as you go. Keep materials brief, easy to read, and not overly busy so they can be printed easily. Content is more important than design.

3. Write a brief email pitch. If you are responding to a media request through one of the sites listed above, the subject line should reference the request. Focus on how you can help their audience. Take the time to do some background research on the media professional you are contacting. Early in the email, mention a recent article you enjoyed by the journalist. Or, if the inquiry is for a radio or TV show, include something that would indicate that you’ve actually watched or listened to the radio or TV show. This is important, as it will capture their attention. Read and reread the media request, giving them exactly what they requested and honor deadlines. Follow the media professional or the outlet on social media and engage with them further – by sharing their work and commenting on their blog posts. They love this.

4. Use social media. When you do receive a media opportunity, be sure to share it online, across all of your social media platforms. Add it to your media kit for future reference. Be sure to thank the media professional – not only in an email but also a tagged mention on social media so they are sure to see it.

These four steps will help you get started to receive new media opportunities and publicity which helps you get noticed – and get clients!

Donna Cravotta, CEO of Social Sage PR and creator of The Total Social PR System™ is fiercely committed to guiding entrepreneurs in gaining visibility and fostering engagement online through the creative use of Social Media and Public Relations.

With over twenty years of experience in the corporate world and seven years guiding her amazing clients to achieve remarkable success, Donna’s mission and commitment is to provide all of the elements necessary to successfully amplify your unique voice and share your purpose in the online media arena.

Do you hesitate to follow up with people you met who expressed interest in working with you? Some clients tell me they have a variety of fears about making those calls:

• People might not remember who I am
• Maybe people don’t want to hear from me
• I might be bothering people

These concerns cause procrastination and hold you back from contacting prospects who are “low hanging fruit” or most likely to become clients. The following suggestions will help you create new habits to get past the fears and make it easier to contact people.

1. Book time in your calendar for follow up calls.
Next time you plan to go to a networking event or a conference, put the date on your calendar. Then block out an hour or two on your calendar the next day to make those follow up calls when people will easily remember you.

So, for example, if you attend an event on Thursday night, block time out Friday morning to make those calls. You can also share resources with people and hand write notes, send emails or whatever you promised or makes the most sense for each individual.

You are simply creating a new habit that will help you capture so many more leads, have more clients and make more money.

2. Shift your thinking about follow up calls
This is the mindset piece that can make a difference about how you approach this task. Don’t focus on selling or the money you might make. Instead, see this call as being of service. Put your attention on the client who expressed a desire for the solution you offer and working with you. That way you are coming from a place of offering to help.

When you are of service, you don’t have to worry so much about closing the sale. You’re just there to support them, provide a solution and give them answers to the biggest problems they have. When you come from this place, people close themselves.

You can say something like, “I was thinking about you the other day and remembered that when we spoke three months ago, you were having a hard time with (insert problem here). How are you doing with that?” Just start a conversation and you come from a place of caring. You have the solution these people are looking for. See the shift in mindset?

Your Client Attraction Assignment
If you have a list of people that need contacting, mark time in your calendar to make some follow up calls. Get in the mindset that you are simply starting a conversation to see how people are doing. You’re being of service. The more calls you make, the more comfortable you’ll feel doing this. Then start that habit of booking follow up time the day after events so you can talk to the new people you meet right away while everything is still fresh in both of your minds.

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  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’ve often said that I believe entrepreneurship is a full contact sport. Instead of clocking in and clocking out of a job, working hours for dollars, we entrepreneurs can sometimes give our ALL to our business. We do this simply because we know our livelihood and income depend entirely on us.

But often that leaves us depleted, feeling like there’s nothing left to give. The typical entrepreneur would just keep going, even if there’s nothing left within. The typical entrepreneur would keep working really long hours, evenings and weekends, just to get things crossed off the to-do list. And don’t get me wrong—there’s room for that sometimes. (I call it the No Excuses Approach.)

When you don’t take time to replenish, you become the opposite of client attractive. (Click here to tweet this.)

However, too much of this pushing, pushing energy will wear you out. Envision yourself as an oil lamp: you cannot create light when there’s no oil left inside. When you push too hard and don’t take time to replenish, you actually become the opposite of Client Attractive. You become Client Repulsive. Who wants to hire you if you look depleted and resentful?

In this week’s video strategy, I share how I “fill my bucket,” or indulge in personal time and development to retain energy for client attraction. Take a few minutes and watch below—do it for you and for your business.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Ask yourself this: how are you furthering your own personal growth and development these days? Are you allowing yourself the time and space to learn new things, to dive deep, to research and explore? This kind of learning can sometimes seem extravagant, especially when you have a lot of work on your plate, but try it anyway. See how you feel when you allow yourself this time. Like me, you’ll probably feel energized, fulfilled and inspired. Ready, set, go… fill your bucket!

This is just one of the many best practices we dive deep into with the students of The Client Attraction Business School, the premier training school for growth-minded entrepreneurs looking to quickly attract more clients and make more money. If you’re interested in finding out more, visit www.ClientAttractionBusinessSchool.com for more details. To speak to an enrollment coach, click here.

Looking for quick ways to build business and bring in extra cash? Once you get your practice rolling, one of the easiest ways to do this is to look for opportunities that I call, “Money on the Table”.

I don’t mean to highlight what you haven’t done. Yet, sometimes, the places where you haven’t followed up offer the strongest opportunities to earn income quickly and build business.

For example, if you went to a networking event and had some really great conversations, but haven’t followed up with those people– that’s an easy opportunity. If you had a lead someone gave you, but you didn’t connect, make time now to do so. Everyone has a few situations that might not have come to closure and that’s where money has been left on the table. You can potentially capitalize on these things right away and convert them into money without a lot of time and effort.

1. People you didn’t close. If you’ve had get acquainted sessions with people who didn’t sign up, these people are a good bet to become clients. Since they know about your service, have expressed an interest, and you’ve already had the conversation with them, consider them to be “low hanging fruit” which is easy to pick! Follow up with them to find out if they are ready now or new circumstances make it possible to sign up at this time. Also, anyone who has said, “That sounds interesting,” but you never had the conversation with is worth talking to again.

2. Products that can be relaunched. Maybe you created a product in the past that could be updated or refreshed. This is something that you have already invested time, money and effort in, but with a little work, could be offered again to your list. This is considered money on the table because the majority of work has already been completed. Relaunching a product takes much less effort than creating something from scratch and can really work to build business.

3. Follow up with a Joint Venture partner. Have you started a JV conversation with someone, but never executed the program together? Since you’ve already made the connection, this too can be money on the table. It’s especially true if you can deliver a program that has already been developed and you can just deliver it to your partner’s list and share the fee. That is certainly an easy way to bring in some profits quickly.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Where have you left “money on the table”? Think about who you have spoken with, leads you’ve gotten and networking events where you met new people. Create a list of the low hanging fruit and other opportunities that wouldn’t take that much time and effort to move on and generate some fast and easy income.

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  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.

Some clients come to me with strong feelings of overwhelm. They are getting so much email and information and can’t get to everything on their to-do list, never mind read all the material that shows up in their inbox. For some business owners, this can cause you to feel shut down or immobilized as resistance grows to moving forward with any passion or energy.

One reason this happens is what I call mental clutter. It can add to your inner critic which definitely can get in your way. And that can prevent you from connecting with people to serve them fully. You need to be able to speak from the heart to truly make that connection and when you are feeling overwhelmed, that is very difficult.

Since much of the overwhelm in this case comes from external sources, the best way to end the cycle is to unsubscribe from many of the emails and newsletters you receive. Keep the ones that really serve and help you, but significantly narrow the list. The information that helps you feel good, feeds you mind and inspires you is worthwhile, but dump the rest.

You won’t believe how amazingly liberating this is. It can free up so much energy, time and mental activity. Here’s what can happen:

• Your inbox will be cleaner
• You’ll feel less bombarded by information and options
• You won’t spend time reading all those other newsletters and stressing
• Your mind won’t be overwhelmed with too many ideas and ways to do things
• You’ll have time to work on your own ideas!

If you find yourself focusing on what others are doing a good percentage of the time that is your signal to bring the focus back to yourself. Start concentrating more on what you are doing to grow your business:

• What are your ideas to attract clients and build business?
• What products can you create?
• What topics can you write about?
• What programs can you develop?
• What offers can you create?

Minimize outside influences that cause overwhelm and bring your energy back to you and building your own practice.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
If you are experiencing overwhelm, what comes into your inbox that you can unsubscribe from? What outside factors are causing you to feel stressed? Find a way to bring your attention back to yourself. Get centered in what you are working on and planning. Limit your current to-do list to three projects and do them one at a time to get past overwhelm and feeling stuck and get back on track for greater productivity.

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  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 have a question for you: how many emails do you receive in your inbox each day? Is it a few? A couple dozen? Maybe even a couple hundred?

If you saw my email inbox (and I’ll be totally honest with you), you’d see that I only receive about 10-15 emails a day… to my inbox. Don’t get me wrong – I receive hundreds and hundreds of emails each day, but I am selective about which appear in my inbox.

Email marketing is almost ALWAYS about giving a call-to-action. (Click here to tweet this.)

When I receive those 10-15 emails, I eagerly open them, happily read them and usually engage further by clicking through to see more, whether to an article, video or offer. I love receiving these select emails. How about you? Which emails do you actually love, or even look forward to, receiving?

Whoever is sending you these emails must be doing something right, and it’s time you do the same. As a business owner or entrepreneur using the power of email marketing to get out your message, you need to ask yourself if your emails are exciting to your readers. Are they compelling and engaging? Do they generate behavior and inspire action? If they’re anything like the majority of emails out there, they probably are not exciting enough.

In this week’s video strategy, I give you six secrets to writing exciting and interesting emails. Are you ready? Watch below to discover how you can make your emails more exciting, and ultimately generate more sales as a result.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/BvgFiI5NYHM[/youtube]

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Keep these six simple techniques in mind when writing your next email and you will find that your email subscribers are not only excited to read your next email, but you will end up generating more sales. The more compelling your email content, the more likely your subscribers will be to follow your call-to-action.

And don’t worry – you don’t need to implement all these strategies at once. Take it one step at a time by trying a single technique and seeing how the response works for you. Until next time, Happy Client Attraction!

Creating session packages for some business owners is easy and it’s very obvious how things should work. But, for other owners, they prefer packages that offer more flexibility to attract more clients. Their prospects might need more time per call or more time in between sessions.

There are many ways to set up packages that will attract more clients and I’ll share a few alternatives to choose from. These suggestions might spark additional ideas that will work perfectly for your type of business.

Keep in mind that you don’t want to short change your clients. If you provide only two options and one is shorter, it’s not likely people will sign up for the longer program. Offering three options allows clients to choose the middle level with greater comfort. And the top level must have significant value to heighten appeal, so some motivated clients will go for it.

1. Traditional Packages of 3-6 Months
A) With the traditional package, clients get one call per week for three or six months. Calls can be 30, 45, or 60-minutes in length depending on the format that works best for your business.

B) An alternative some coaches offer is three weekly calls per month and one week off.

C) Another option is to offer a prescribed number of hours per month and clients can choose how to use that time. They can have one three-hour call or three one-hour calls over the 30 days.

2. Year-Long Packages
A) This option provides clients with a pre-set number of hours that can be used in any combination over 12-months. Clients can call on a weekly basis or periodically over the entire year as they wish. They might schedule a bunch of sessions in a row and then take a few months off before contacting you again. This can help you attract more clients when flexibility is part of the issue.

B) Schedule 12 monthly calls giving clients structure for support and accountability throughout the year. In between calls, they have plenty of time to implement the strategies you shared and gain experience before taking the next step.

Longer packages of 6-12 months can be particularly helpful when you are teaching mindset. I believe you don’t ever completely heal all of your mindset issues. We all still have them – I do. We don’t reach mindset nirvana right? So, the more time you invest in mindset, the more layers of the onion you peel away, going deeper into the issues.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
What type of packages will best serve your clients and makes sense with your business? Will it be better to have a structured schedule or one that is more flexible? You can even offer both types to help you attract more clients and fill your practice. When prospects call, test different options to see what has the most appeal or ask a few longer-term clients for their opinion. You may start with one type of package and shift to another over time as your work evolves.

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  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’m often asked how to attract clients to fill a workshop. If you are planning to deliver a program, here are six suggestions to help you reach as many people as possible with details about your event and pack the house.

1. Call Prospects. Yes call them. Choose the most likely prospects who you haven’t worked with yet. Maybe they weren’t ready for private sessions. With a one-day workshop, people can get a lot of information and support from you at a group rate. Call your prospects and say, “I’m doing this event and I immediately thought of you. I know you’ve been thinking about working together, but I thought this would be an easy way for you to get some great value and a feeling for what it’s like to work together.”

You can call existing clients as well and tell them about the workshop. They might want to supplement the work they are already doing with you.

2. Create a Flier. Prepare a one-page flier with all the program details to attract clients. Write a bold headline that addresses the big problem you are offering to solve. Include everything attendees need to know including date, time, place, cost and how to register. Provide your phone number, email address and website because people have different preferences for how they’ll want to sign up.

3. Network Like Crazy. When you go to events, instead of handing out your business card, give people a flier. You can say, “Yes, I have a card, but let me give you this invitation to my upcoming workshop.” Attend as many events as possible during the three-six weeks prior to your workshop to reach lots of people and attract clients who will register.

4. Email Your List. This goes without saying – share program details with your current list. If you have good size list that’s great, but if not, this will still supplement your networking efforts.

5. Offer a Free Teleclass. Another way to attract clients for your workshop is to offer a free teleclass to sample what you will be covering. Give people a taste of the wonderful information they’ll gain. At the end, say, “You may not want to do this on your own. If that’s the case, come to this workshop so I can help.”

6. Look for Joint Venture Partners. You may know other professionals who target your same audience but are not in the same business. Partner up with them to reach out to their lists. Remember, this is an opportunity for them to add value to their subscriber community.  They might send out an email to their list with details or run a teleclass with you to encourage registration. You can offer an incentive for every person who registers as a result of the partner’s help.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
These six ways to attract clients for your workshop will help you build awareness and share with plenty of people. Take the time to write it all down so you know what needs to be done and put timing next to each step to keep yourself on track.

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  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 had the perfect opportunity this past week to put to use one of the most important concepts that I teach: no matter what challenges you see before you, you must remain in a state of positive expectation and always act with faith.

Two weeks ago while hosting my Mindset Retreat, my team and I were prepared to do a soft launch of my new book, Embrace Your Magnificence. After months of preparing this book for publishing, we had set up a campaign to achieve #1 Best-seller on Amazon in several categories. We sent one simple email out at around 2 o’clock in the morning and by 5:00 a.m., enough books were purchased for Embrace Your Magnificence to climb into the Top 100 Books on all of Amazon. Soon after, it landed among the Top 5 in three of the categories. Not bad for just one email…

We create our lives with every action and every reaction. (Click here to tweet this.)

But then the big breakdown before the big breakthrough happened… Amazon changed the book’s availability, with no notice or explanation. People were no longer able to place an order. Our campaign completely stalled and we watched the #1 spot slip through our fingers. We started hearing from people all over the world, saying they kept refreshing their browser and, despite visiting Amazon dozens of times throughout the day, they still couldn’t buy the book.

For some in my position, this could feel like a failure. However if you’re coming from a place of positive expectation, despite what you see in front of you, an otherwise perceived “failure” will turn into a wonderful opportunity. And that’s what this turned out to be.

My video strategy this week is all about manifestation and the role that faith plays in creating your reality (for an entrepreneur, the number of clients you attract and the money you make). When you watch this video, I don’t want you to take any notes. Put down your pen, stop typing and just spend the next few minutes with me, OK?

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Next time a potential crisis occurs, stay in faith. Don’t react to misfortunes. Just keep focusing on what you want as if it has already happened. Because it has. Most people say, “I’ll believe it when I see it” but the Universe doesn’t work that way. Instead, it’s “I’ll see it when I first believe it.” So, whether it’s clients, money or anything else you want to create in your business or in your life, keep believing and that’s when you’ll see it.

This is just one of the many best practices we dive deep into with the students of The Client Attraction Business School, the premier training school for entrepreneurs looking to quickly attract more clients and make more money. If you’re interested in finding out more, you can email an enrollment advisor at info@clientattraction.com. See you then!

Do you waffle on the commitments you make? Maybe you make promises to yourself to clean your house or exercise regularly. You get started, but then in time, it fizzles out. This lack of commitment often stems from a self esteem issue.

I saw a speaker this year who talked about this exact topic. She said, “Commitment equals results.” If you want to lose weight or get more clients, you need to look at your level of commitment around whatever it is you’re striving for.

The results only come from your level of commitment. You’ve heard me share the John Assaraf quote and I’ll paraphrase it here. “If you’re interested, you do what’s convenient. But if you’re totally committed, you’ll do whatever it takes.” You can see the difference here right?

By the way, self worth is my life lesson – you’ve probably heard me say that. Two books really helped me heal this:
1) The Self-Esteem Workbook
2) Healing the Shame That Binds You

When we come out of the womb, we enter this world with our self-esteem and self-value at 100%. Then, little by little most people find this gets chipped away. Then you end up walking around with a gaping wound and feel that there’s something wrong with you. If you’ve had any traumatic events, these are wounds that need to be healed.

The truth is, there’s nothing wrong with you. My new book, Embrace Your Magnificence talks about how you have a perception that there is something wrong with you because those things happened to you. You might have thoughts like, “I’m lonely, I’m alone, I’m sad, I’m scared, something is wrong with me.” These thoughts create those feeling of inadequacy and that causes you to not treat yourself well and self sabotage your commitments.

I recommend reading these books, as well as trying EFT, hypnosis or intuitive healing. These are the healing modalities that have helped me tremendously to get past these feelings. You don’t have to do it all, but a little healing here and there will add up to close those wounds that keep you from your commitments.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
To break through this pattern of wavering on commitments, I recommend that you one take action today. Choose your first steps and schedule something today. Draw the line in the sand and say, “I can do this.” Take care of yourself as you would your own child and make this a priority so you can begin the healing process and get on the road to the success you want.

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  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.