When it’s time to raise your prices, many questions come up. Many of my students ask me how to figure out the best way to tell current clients that rates are changing.

First, you know it’s time to raise your prices if you get feedback about the amazing value you provide. Sometimes people just tell you straight out they think you should charge more. Another indicator is when your practice starts to fill up or you have a waiting list. That’s a sure sign you can start to charge more!

Naturally, there is a big concern about how your current clients will react to an increase. Here are five ways to handle this change with existing clients and prospects as well:

1. Grandfathering. What I have done with my own clients is to let them know prices are going up. However, I also tell them that since we are already working together, they are “grandfathered in” at the original price. This usually is a relief for them and promotes a feeling of good will among customers.

2. New Price after a Gap. Here’s another way to handle a price increase with current clients. While they are working with you, the old price holds. But if they decide to take a break, you can tell them the new rates will take affect when they return. This can be an incentive to continue working together so clients can keep the old fee structure.

3. New Client Fees. While you may not want to ruffle feathers of existing clients, definitely tell new prospects about your new higher fee structure. Most likely they are unaware this is a new level for you and will assume this is how you normally do business.

4. Announce the Increase. You can state an upcoming fee increase to prospects in your newsletter. Communicating the new rates can work to your advantage. An email like this can encourage fence-sitters to become customers so they get in on the old, lower rates before the adjustment occurs.

5. Let Go of Clients. As your fees increase, there may be some clients who were at the old fee that you decide to drop. This is not mean at all. It’s just business. If you find your old fees no longer serve you and an existing client doesn’t want to move forward at the new rate, it might be time to wrap up your work together. Deciding not to accommodate that person is OK because, ultimately, it’s your decision.

Pricing requires testing and I am always trying different ways to set my rates. There is no definitive way to price. Students always ask me how to price their service or product and I have to explain there is no formula that works for everyone, every service and product or every client. That’s why you need to test and tweak to get your fee just right.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Over time, prices for everything go up. While you can make more money by getting more clients, you can also generate more cash by raising your rates. Don’t be afraid to increase your prices when the timing feels right. Follow these five methods so the shift can go as smoothly as possible.

Networking is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use to attract clients and build your business. I recommend that every business owner join a networking group with regular weekly meetings. The more people you meet, the more contacts you add to your marketing database.

Sometimes, my students struggle with keeping track of contacts. After a networking event, you’ve collected a lot of business cards and may not know how to organize them or stay in touch. I’m going to share a few ways to help you make the most of your new networking contacts.

First, let me clarify that networking is not a game to collect as many cards as possible. Instead, you want to gather cards from people you want to speak with again, can help in some way or who might become good strategic partners. Networking is not about quantity, but the quality of the contacts you make. This way, you aren’t trying to stay in touch with the world. Your efforts are more targeted and as a result, more effective.

1. Take Notes. It’s not easy to remember where you met a new person which is why I suggest you take notes right on each business card. Jot down the place you met and then any details such as:

• What they do
• Their interests
• Desired follow-up timing
• Any agreements you made like sending your newsletter or free offer

Not only will this jog your memory about what transpired in your conversation, but you can also hand the cards off to your Virtual Assistant (VA) to add to your database or email list if the individual has asked for your resources.

2. Bend a Corner. If the person you meet is someone you definitely want to speak to again, the easiest thing you can do to make them stick out is to bend one corner of their business card. I learned this trick from one of my colleagues and it’s so simple. This is your signal to follow up when you get back to the office.

3. Add to your list – but only if they asked to be added. Networking events are great places to build your email list, but you shouldn’t just go ahead and add everyone to your list whose business card you collected. If someone is interested in learning more about your business, ask if they would like to receive your newsletter. If they say yes, make a note and instruct your assistant to add these names to your list.

Once you’ve got the process worked out for handling the cards, the follow up will be much easier. You’ll be able to send people what you promised and foster strong relationships going forward.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Do you have a big pile of business cards that need to be added to a contact system? Don’t put this project off! Get someone to help you, whether it’s someone local, someone from Odesk.com or someone you find on Craig’s List. Load up the data, add them to your newsletter list and send each one a warm letter. It’s time to make the most of your new networking contacts.

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.

When you’re a sponsor or have an exhibit at a big event, your main goal is to convert leads into new clients as much possible. You want the opportunity to talk to people about what you do, let them get to know you, and then schedule a follow up appointment so you can go more in depth with them.

Step #1: Get Clear on Ideal Client
The first step is to get very clear on who your ideal clients are. If you don’t know, review your best 25-100 clients to see what they have in common.

Step #2: Talk about Your Ideal Client
Once you identify your ideal client, then you can start to talk about that with people who visit the booth. Say something like, “I work with people whose issues tend to be…” or, “I work with people who need this the most right now…” This helps people self-select to learn more about working with you or your products. This is similar to information you can put on your website to clarify for visitors what you do and who you work best with.

Step #3: How to Share Your Message
To clearly communicate who your ideal clients are, you can:

• Provide a handout that can be picked up at your booth
• Relay the message in a conversation
• Play a video loop on your laptop throughout the day

The script for the video could go something like this, “Hi this is John. Here’s who I work with and who I don’t work with. This is what you struggle with. This is what you need most right now. These are the results you’ll get. Now you know you’re in the right place.”

The key is to differentiate yourself from everybody else and establish your expertise by getting crystal clear on who you work with, so people can self-select.

Minimize Tire-Kickers
To be sure you are qualifying your leads, ask prospects to do the same homework you would if they came to you from your website. Have them fill out the paperwork and email everything back to you prior to your “get acquainted” call. This practice helps you minimize tire-kickers who aren’t serious about working with you.

Short Follow-Up Sessions Work Best
The last thing to consider is to keep sessions to 20-minutes or less. You don’t want to give away your material during a long conversation. The purpose of the “get acquainted” call is to talk about the person’s problems and how you can help, not to provide solutions on the spot.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Have you done enough work on identifying your ideal client? This is such an essential piece of the marketing pie because everything else you do is based on this basic understanding. Once you understand who your target is, you’ll find it much easier to locate where they hang out. Plus, you‘ll be able to see who else talks to this group so you can find joint venture partners easily as well. If your ideal client is still a bit of a mystery, take time this week to gain the clarity you need for greater success.

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.

Students often ask me when they can start making passive income with information products. They are anxious to generate cash flow that’s not tied to an hourly fee. But information products are not the fastest path to cash: private clients are. So if you are new in business, your first priority is to fill your pipeline and practice with private clients.

When to Create Your Information Product
Your second priority is to build your list. Once your list size gets to about 1,000 contacts, you now have enough leverage to start generating passive income by selling products.

How to Promote Your Product
Once my list reached 1,000 people, I created the Client Attraction Boot Camp, which included class recordings, transcripts and Q&A call recordings. The program was promoted to my list with a typical hour-long teleclass, explaining what client attraction content was included in the program and what potential buyers could expect.

Working with joint venture partners is another great way to expand your reach and promote the program to an even broader audience. In addition, partnerships help build your list quickly. The bigger your database, the more people you can market to for client attraction.

How to Deliver Your Products
The next challenge is how to provide access to your program online. At first, I simply posted all the recordings, transcripts and Q&A calls on my website without any password protection. Buyers were provided with a link to a certain page and I sent out an email with a link to this page every time a new recording was posted.

When sales started to escalate, I looked into a more automated delivery process which was member-based. Naturally, there is a monthly fee attached to this system. If you aren’t ready to make that kind of investment and prefer something less expensive, there are alternatives. One good option if you have a WordPress site is a system called Wishlist Membership plug-in.

Either way, these systems guard your materials. After purchasing your program, buyers need a password to gain access to the information. Using software like this keeps people from sharing the links with others who have not purchased your product. As your list grows and the number of people who buy your product increases, greater control makes sense.

Once you get some momentum going, becoming more automated is appropriate. Then people can start your program anytime to get their weekly lessons and you won’t have to keep track of which week each person is in – the software takes care of that for you. Relying on automated systems gives you more time to focus on client attraction.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Have you thought about creating an information product? One easy way to do this is to record a live teleclass series. Then you can make it available for purchase so customers get the same great learning, just not “live” with you. That’s why the fee for a program like this is lower than a live program where people can interact with you.

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.

Do you have a workshop coming up? Woohoo! First, give yourself a pat on the back. Next, let’s talk about what you’re going to do to fill the seats and get the most people participating. Check out this list of simple suggestions that are free or relatively inexpensive:

1. Make an Announcement to Your Email List. Your own contact list has the people most likely to register for your event, making this is the best place to start. Send out a few personally crafted emails with details to encourage readers to register.

2. Post the Event on Your Website. If you have an event calendar on your website, make sure to list it there so visitors can learn about your program and sign up.

3. Post on Social Media. Announce your event on all social media platforms and be sure to include a link to register in every post. Always make it easy for people to sign up.

4. Post on Local Event Calendars. Many cities and towns have local calendars where you can list an event. You’ll need to research what is available in your area.

5. Post on Patch and Craig’s List. Most towns have a local Patch.com extension where you can post your event and Craig’s List is another great resource with local access.

6. Hand Out Fliers at Networking Events. When I started out doing small workshops at my home, I created fliers on bright neon paper with all the details. I handed these out to people at every event instead of my business card. Don’t be afraid to ask people to share with others.

7. Ask for Referrals at BNI Meetings. At your Business Networking International (BNI) weekly meeting, hand out a flier and ask your team to share with people they think could benefit. You can also attend other BNI groups and pass them out to expand your exposure.

8. Make an Announcement in Your Warm Letter. Send out a wave of “Warm Letters” to your contact list providing details of your upcoming event. Ask your contacts to pass along information to any of their own contacts that might benefit from the workshop.

9. Ask Strategic Partners to Share. If you have started lining up strategic partners who are professionals targeting the same audience, they are perfect to help you spread the word. Have coffee with a few if time permits and ask them to consider who of their own clients might be interested, and then invite them.

10. Ask Strategic Partners to Send an Email. You can also ask select strategic partners to send out an email to their list for you. You might offer partners an incentive for anyone who signs up from their list. If you are already set up for affiliates, this is the ideal way to reward a partner’s assistance.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
When planning an event, be sure to plan how you’ll fill the seats. All the great material in the world won’t anyone help if people don’t sign up. You can use a few of these marketing methods to spread the word, or get really busy and try them all!

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.

When you hire people to help with big business projects, you will likely have ideas about what you want. That’s perfectly fine. However when you’re working with vendors, the smartest thing you can do is be open to their suggestions and advice. This is especially true for a first-time creative project where you have little experience, like creating a new website or designing a logo.

This is uncharted territory for many new business owners. In this situation, you want to be the dumbest person in the room so you can learn from experts who know their craft.

I’ll admit it – the truth about me is that I am a bit willful. I know what I want, and I want it the way I want it. At the same time, I try to remain open to get the best advice. It’s not a problem, as long as you learn how to work with your vendors to get the most out of their service and the end result you seek.

I recommend you follow these five steps when working with outside resources:

1. Do the Research. When you start a new project, take time to investigate what you like and don’t like. Look for examples to share with the person you hire. The more specific direction you provide to your vendor, the closer the finished product will be to your vision. The time you invest up front is well worth it and far less expensive than having the work redone later.

2. Listen to the Experts. You hired your web or graphic designer for a reason. Even though you may have preferences, I recommend you try to listen to the experts. Do your best to hear them out and consider their advice. They do this work every day, so they usually know what they are talking about.

3. Open Communication. Feel free to communicate what you like and don’t like. Of course, be very polite when sharing your feedback. Think about how you’d want to hear feedback about your own work and treat them the way you want to be treated. Showing respect can help you build a strong working relationship that can last.

4. Trust Your Gut. Sometimes you just know what you want. You can certainly express your “must haves” for the project and then talk about how you can work together once these primary areas meet your needs. Have confidence in knowing your own mind and taste.

5. Set Clear Deliverables. If your vendor doesn’t offer you a schedule, please ask for one. This is a completely acceptable request. As much as just being informed about each step as it’s completed can work too. But you don’t want to be left hanging, wondering when you’ll hear from the expert again. As long as you know the next step and ask to be posted on changes, you should be in good shape.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Do you have a big project scheduled to start soon? The worst thing you can do is tell your vendor, “I don’t know what I want but will know it when I see it.” Invest now in yourself and your business by getting clear on what you want for the finished product.

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.

You’ve created a compelling Irresistible Free Offer (IFO) to build your email list on your website. This is a powerful way to encourage visitors to share their name and email address in exchange for valuable information. The bigger your list of contacts, the more prospects you build relationships with by sending your marketing materials.

The Irresistible Free Offer is often a free report, ebook, audio program or video series that provides strategies around your ideal client’s biggest problem – the one that keeps them up at night. Your offer shares information about the highly desired solution they seek.

However, to build your email list even more rapidly, there are many other ways you can use your IFO beyond your website. To start, clearly identify your ideal client and then think about where you can find them, in person. This will help you figure out how to expand your reach so the most people possible can gain access to your IFO.

These are three of my favorite methods to broaden your exposure in person:

1. Speaking Engagements. Bringing up your IFO is so easy during a presentation, and it’s simple to provide the audience with access. Mention your offer and then tell people to fill out a signup sheet or drop a business card into a basket going around. Either way, everyone who gives you their name and email will be sent your free offer.

2. Your Business Card. When networking, tell everyone you exchange business cards with about your offer and how they can get a copy. Also, put the text on your card about how to get your IFO. The back of your business card is often unused real estate – now you can put it to work for you! This works great anywhere you go, whether you are in your hometown or traveling for business. The more people who have your card, the more potential prospects will be added to your list.

3. Joint Venture Partners. Working with partners who serve the same ideal clients as you do is a fantastic way to expand your reach and expose more prospects to your IFO. Your partner might send out a dedicated email encouraging her list to get your IFO, host you on a teleclass or offer your free gift as part of a larger giveaway. Partnerships are one of the fastest list building methods available.

Basically, the more ways you can find to share your free offer, the faster you will build your email list. Your business will start to gain momentum once your email list reaches 1,000 contacts. Building your list helps to fill your pipeline and keeps new customers and clients coming into your marketing funnel. That’s how you fill your practice and grow your business.

Your Client Attraction Assignment
Do you have an Irresistible Free Offer? If you do, take a minute to review and notice if there’s anything you can update or tweak to keep your offer current and helpful. If you don’t have one, it’s time to create this powerful incentive for prospects. Your IFO is a dynamic way to share your brilliance and the solutions your prospects avidly seek, as well as let people get to know you.

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.