I’m thrilled to introduce you to one of our standout coaches of The Client Attraction Business School™, Jen Levitz, The Strategic Automation and Marketing Consultant for Automate With Love. Please welcome Jen 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 Jen on Facebook here.
When it comes to marketing automation, the first big question is usually: “What system should I use? MailChimp or AWeber, GetResponse or ActiveCampaign, Ontraport or InfusionSoft?” The truth is that if you’re focusing on the technology, you aren’t focusing on the right thing. You see, the technology is just a tool to help you get a specific task done.
Here is what I’d like you to do instead. Think of your automated marketing system as the first employee you are going hire for your business. The job title is going to be “Director of Customer Relationships.”
Now before you hire someone – and even before you start to interview candidates – you’ll need to figure out what exactly this role entails in your business. And ideally, you’ll look at what your business needs now and what it will need in the next 12-24 months.
You see, just like a real person in your office, your automation system is going to need some training in order to be able to do the job you want it do. And if you are going to be investing resources in training, your candidates should be able to handle your business as it grows.
One of the best tools for this process is to create a flowchart that will map out your current customer experience. This will allow you to follow the flow of an ideal client from when they join your email list all the way through when they buy a product.
Everything you do to serve your ideal client should be on this flowchart or map. This includes phone calls, emails or even manual tasks like sending a gift once they hit week 4 of your program. A side benefit of a super detailed map is that you can see where you can improve in order to create even more sales and build even better relationships with customers.
What also happens in this process is that you discover the features of the software that you need to have in order to successfully automate your client experience. Because you will know what you need, you will feel empowered as you interview different software companies.
So you see, the brand of software that you use for your marketing automation is really not as important as first knowing what you want to do with it.
Your Automation Assignment
Have you mapped out your client experience yet? Make a flowchart or map so you can start identifying opportunities for better sales and ways to build better relationships with customers. Also note that your customer experience map isn’t static. It’s dynamic and changes over time. This means that it will need to be changed and updated from time to time.
Jen Levitz is a Strategic Automation & Marketing Consultant and founder of Automate With Love. Through her workshops, courses, speeches, and coaching programs, Jen helps her clients to effectively use technology to build strong client relationships and sustainably grow their businesses. She integrates and optimizes technology systems so that rapidly growing businesses can launch successful marketing endeavors throughout the globe. To hear more from Jen and learn how to serve more clients, make more money, work less hours, and have more fun, visit: www.AutomateWithLove.com
Many of my students want to know how to squeeze writing into their busy workday, as it’s very difficult to find the time to work on a book while working full-time. So, I want to share how I have done this and what I have found to be the most effective process.
My initial method was chaotic
When I was writing The Client Attraction Home Study System, my business was booming and I was pregnant at the time. Obviously, I had a lot on my plate. Because of everything else going on, I initially tried to write here and there when I could fit it into my schedule. Unfortunately, this was not the best process for me, as I discovered that too much time between writing sessions made me unproductive when I did sit down to write.
Whenever I would find time to get back into things, I found myself wasting precious moments (and sometimes hours) rereading my previous words in an effort to pick up where I left off. I grew frustrated with my inability to jump back in and was tired of having to constantly re-familiarize myself with my voice and the ideas that I was trying to convey. I quickly realized that this system was not only not working, but it was truly a waste of my time.
Establish a writing schedule
Once I realized that my “write when you can” method was not working, I decided to try a more regimented schedule. I committed to writing on a regular basis, so I wrote every Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30.a.m. I would leave my office so there were fewer distractions and interruptions, and go to Starbucks or a local diner. I chose places that were welcoming of customers with laptops (hello, free WiFi!), and where I could have a cup of tea and comfortably type on my laptop for a few hours. Every day, for those three hours, I forced myself to write.
Usually the first twenty to forty-five minutes were slow and uninspired. I would procrastinate by checking my email and catching up on the news. But once I finally settled in and felt caught up on where I was when I last wrote, I was able to dedicate myself completely to my work. With no distractions or thoughts looming over my head, I was able to produce quality content at an amazing rate. Plus, I still had the whole day ahead of me and did not have to worry about my writing interfering with my day-to-day work.
Take time off
Eventually, I decided to take two weeks off and make writing the book my sole focus. Without the distractions of work, I was able to get my writing finished in no time. While it was the best choice for me at the time, as I was under a deadline, I understand that taking time off is not a luxury everyone can afford. However, if you can make it work, it’s definitely an option worth considering.
Determine your best time of day to write
For me, I happened to write best early in the morning, but everyone is different. You’ll need to figure out the time that works best for you. I recommend trying different blocks of time in the morning, afternoon or late at night in order to discover when your creative juices flow easily.
Your Client Attraction Assignment
Do you have a writing project that‘s been on the back burner for a while? Dust it off and schedule blocks of time for writing. Give yourself a deadline to finish. That’s really important. If you don’t have a deadline, then there is no reason to focus on the project, stick to your schedule or feel the pressure to complete it. Make it real and give yourself a timeline. Think how happy you’ll be when the project is done! Happy writing.
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.
If you are a small business owner who runs live events, you’re probably wondering how to get more people to attend. Obviously, the more seats that are filled, the more people you can help and the more sales you can make.
At The Client Attraction School of Business, we use a number of methods to spread the word about an upcoming program. Below are five tried and true methods for boosting your event attendance. I encourage you to try one – or be bold and try them all!
1. Email your list
We rely heavily on email marketing, as this is one of the best ways to stay in touch with both current and potential students. In order to make sure you are targeting the right people for local or regional events, you need to have your email list geographically segmented so that you’re reaching out to the people who live in or near the city where the event is being held. We typically send out a few messages for each event.
2. Post cards
People send and receive an average of 121 emails per day, meaning that many messages unfortunately go overlooked. When you send a post card by good old-fashioned snail mail, however, it’s more likely to get noticed and actually read. Showing up in this unexpected place helps you stand out from the pile of bills and coupons. Post cards have been an effective marketing tool for years and continue to deliver good results. To use them, your list needs to include physical addresses, not just email addresses. That’s why it’s a smart practice to collect both from new contacts.
3. Referral marketing
We ask our clients to share details about our events with friends and family who might be interested. Clients are encouraged to spread the word via social media, by forwarding emails, or even by picking up the phone and inviting a friend to attend. Obviously, the goal is for each existing client to bring along a potential new client. You can even add an incentive for those who bring a guest, such as extra time with you or a complimentary product.
4. Social media
Naturally, we announce our upcoming events via social media. We have friends, fans and followers on all of our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and like to share a unique message for each individual page. We’ll post multiple updates leading up to the event to reach more people. Remember, people live in different time zones and are active at various times of day, so don’t limit posts to your business day.
5. Facebook ads
Facebook advertising is great because you can adjust the targeting. You can choose age, income, gender and geography along with various other factors. We run a variety of ads on Facebook that appear in the area near the event location. This has worked really well in cities where our email list is not as strong. We’ve reached tons of new clients we ordinarily never would have met this way, so I highly encourage you to consider using targeted Facebook ads for your next event.
Your Client Attraction Assignment
If you are planning an event for your business, take time to map out all the ways you can announce it. Don’t forget about partners who might also help you promote your program. The more people who know about the program, the more seats you will fill. That’s a big part of running a fabulous event.
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.
Occasionally I meet business owners who are not only great at what they do, but very fast as well. Their proprietary system gets to the heart of the matter super quickly and provides solutions in just a few sessions. This amazing efficiency has good and not-so-good aspects to it. If this describes how you do business, you could be not only short changing your clients by not providing enough access to you, but you could also be limiting your income.
Even though fast action might seem like a strength, a more thorough approach could serve you and your clients better for several reasons.
1. It takes time to implement your recommendations. When there are several changes to be made, it can be best to do them one at a time, rather than jumping in with both feet and doing everything all at once. That can be very disruptive to the client’s life or business.
2. People need time to adjust to changes. Once implemented, it takes people time to adjust to a new system. Getting used to a new way of doing things doesn’t happen overnight – it takes time to learn how things work and get comfortable.
3. New issues can crop up that were unforeseen. As clients begin to implement your proprietary system and work toward their goals, there can be a few bumps in the road. You want to be there for them as they continue the transition and handle issues.
4. Allow your clients time to do things right the first time. Another reason it makes sense to implement a new system one step at a time is to keep from making mistakes that stem from rushing. Making changes after the process has started, takes more time and can be more costly than doing things right from the first time around.
5. More access to you creates more income. I’m not suggesting you drag out the process within your proprietary system just so you can make more money. But, the outcome is more support for your clients, better results and more income for you all at the same time.
Your Client Attraction Assignment
Take a look at your proprietary system. Do you have enough steps to logically take a client through your process? Do they get enough time to work through everything and still have access to you while implementing the changes? If not, then consider adding a couple of steps to ensure clients get the support they need from you for success.
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.
One of the marketing strategies that Fabienne and I teach many of our clients and students is the concept of using a product launch to help sell more of their products and services. It’s an essential strategy for getting your product out to the masses.
More specifically – we teach them exactly how to use the technology and tools that are available to achieve maximum sales when it comes time to get their product out there for sale. By product I’m referring to any program, service, event, etc. Really, anything that you want to sell to your network.
Use a compelling and authentic teleseminar to launch your product out to the masses. (Click here to tweet this).
Why? Well, imagine this. You’ve spent all this time and effort to create this amazing product with all the value and benefits you know your prospects need and want – including extra bonuses and goodies – and you post it to your website under the shopping cart – and then you expect the orders to flood in. But they don’t, do they?
Instead you hear crickets… So you decide to email your list about it and you just say, “Go buy my new product. It’s all great and here’s what it’ll do for you and more…” Maybe you get one sale? Or a few sales? And more crickets…
It’s because you don’t have a launch! A launch is an essential vehicle to get the word out about your offer. It creates excitement and buzz in the marketplace where people are excited and interested in what you have to offer. In addition, when done correctly, using the teleseminar approach – you can create heightened motivation to the point where many, many prospects are excited to purchase your product! Doesn’t that sound better than… crickets?
Watch this week’s video for my 3 simple strategies on how to use teleseminars to launch your product for maximum sales. You’ll then be able to map out your launch, pick a date and start promoting!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fqic1PB34k[/youtube]
Your Client Attraction Assignment
Ask yourself: how can I use a tele-seminar product launch for selling more products, programs or signing on more clients? Then, following the 3 steps I’ve shared with you, map it out, pick a date and start promoting it!
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=”352″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSSOBqzFVZY[/youtube]
Let’s be honest. You can’t change something you’re not willing to acknowledge.
I’ve heard so many entrepreneurs tell me, “I’m really good at what I do but I’m just not getting enough clients. I just don’t know why.” Then they’ll add: “It’s easy for them. But not for me. Something must be wrong with me.”
Your self-doubt starts to creep in. I know. I’ve been there, too.
I’ve even heard some entrepreneurs wonder, “I don’t know…maybe I should go back to corporate.”
Before you throw in the towel, let’s take a look at some of the things you might be doing wrong with it comes to marketing and running your business. When we identify these things, then we have the opportunity to change them.
Looking to ramp up your Client Attraction to get more ideal, high-paying clients – quickly and consistently? My Get More Clients Workshop is THE event where I teach you EVERYTHING you need to know to get more clients and make more money in your small business so you too can live the freedom-based lifestyle you deserve!
In this 3 day LIVE event I will personally reveal and show you exactly how to use my step-by-step Client Attraction methods – and actually create the marketing materials you need – so you always have a consistent stream of ideal, high-paying clients, a waiting list of prospects and can systematically and authentically close the sale virtually every time, so you never EVER worry about how to get ideal clients again. When you apply these strategies, you can bring in clients within a few days or weeks and generate an EXTRA $5,000 – $15,000+ a month to take your existing business to multiple five-figures, six figures, multiple six-figures and beyond, in record time. (It’s actually a really simple, and fun process when you’re shown exactly how.) The Get More Clients Workshop will show you how. Guaranteed.
Click here now to find out more and register TODAY for the Get More Clients Workshop.
When talking about what they do for clients, most people end up talking about the PROCESS of what they do, not what they really DO for clients, both in speaking to them and in written communication to them, i.e. their marketing materials. There’s a huge distinction there, and that distinction is costing them (and perhaps even you) lots of potential new clients.
When talking about their business, many professionals make the mistake of describing exactly what they do, in boring detail. “My company has been in business for X number of years and we use the newest technology systems. We use a complicated series of… blah blah blah.”
Hate to say this, but… SO WHAT! Nobody cares!
When I hear someone talk to prospects this way, it sends up a big red flag for me: these people don’t really know what they DO for clients and they’re losing potential clients every time they open their mouths and every time someone reads their materials! The problem is that they’re clearly not connected enough to their client base to see what honest-togoodness benefits they bring their clients.
There’s a saying that goes “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” And until you can tell someone what’s in it for THEM to work with you, they won’t pay attention to you or what you’re saying.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with you if you’ve been doing this wrong, but it’s something that you’ll want to work on quickly so you don’t let any more prospective clients slip through your fingers. It just takes asking yourself what you really DO for clients, what results and benefits you get for them and then to articulate that so that a prospective client looking for that particular problem will want to work with you.
Real client attraction is based on creating client-centered marketing and messages. You may have heard of the phrase “features vs. benefits” but have never really known what they mean or how to apply them to you business to get clients. We’ll do this now.
An example of a product’s FEATURE is its color, shape, size, usage or capacity, etc.
An example of a BENEFIT or a RESULT is what it does for you—its solution. It helps you lose weight, makes you more money, saves you more money, makes you happier, helps you attract clients, helps you grow your hair back, solves your particular frustration or ends that chronic health concern you’ve been dealing with. This is what you want to focus on when describing what you really DO for clients, not what you think you do.
Your Client Attraction Assignment:
Write out the specific and numerous benefits, results and solutions clients receive when using your services. At the end of the day, what do you really DO for your clients? What are the results and benefits you bring to them? What do they walk away with? Make a list of all the tangible results and measurable benefits people get from working with you.
Think: “What do I really do for them in the end?” and “What’s REALLY in it for them?” If you don’t know what that is, ask your current and former clients, “What have I done for you? What specific and tangible results have you gotten from our work?” They’ll tell you, in a language that OTHER prospective clients will understand.
Then create a series of statements from these benefits and solutions simple enough for a 6-year old child to understand and repeat.
Then combine them into a captivating 3 or 4-sentence statement that you’ll use in all your marketing communications and every time you meet someone new.
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=”576″ height=”346.5″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKXLsXYnjj0[/youtube]
In this video I share a few simple yet extraordinarily profound tips on how to use networking to form strategic alliances and joint venture relationships to attract more clients.
If you do ANY networking in your business (who doesn’t) then you need to make sure you watch.
I also share a special opportunity to join me in Dallas as my guest at the annual eWomenNetwork Conference where I’ll be speaking in July.
Contact my team at info@clientattraction.com to join me in Dallas and I can’t wait to see you there!
I came across this video of Social Media Expert, Gary Vaynerchuk that I want to pass on to you. Gary is the New York Times bestselling author of Crush It and his newest book, The Thank You Economy. (Love both of his books…)
He’s got a great message about the importance of building relationships and getting to know your potential customers and clients, making one on one connections with them, caring about them, appreciating them and gaining their trust. How are you reaching out and touching your potential clients everyday? This video will get you thinking.
It’s short. Take a few minutes to watch it here:
And speaking of clients, if you want to attract more (and who doesn’t?), check out my new Get More Clients Blueprint. They flew off the shelves when we announced it last month, but I still have just a few copies left. Don’t miss out on this last chance… For details, go to: www.jointhetop5now.com
