OK, so you’ve figured out where your best clients have come from and where your Ideal Clients can be found in large numbers, and inexpensively. It’s time to create a marketing plan that has you focusing on “fishing where the fish are.” The more focus you have, the better the results.
When coaching clients to do this in private sessions, I ask them to draw a large circle on a blank sheet of paper, and draw 4 lines to create a pie with 8 slices.
Then I ask them to fill out each slice of the pie with what they’re currently doing to attract clients (only the things that really work) and then fill in the rest of the marketing pie with marketing tools we’ve agreed will PULL their clients in. This comes from the list of where their Ideal Clients congregate, remember?
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QUOTE: “The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided. It is sometimes better to abandon one’s self to destiny.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Have you ever felt on the verge of something BIG in your business, that the next level is just within your reach, and at the same time, wondering if you have what it takes to make it happen, if you can actually handle it? There was a point in time when I curiously observed this with colleagues, students and Mastermind Clients of mine.
There are some solo-entrepreneurs that market ’til they’re blue in the face, and STILL don’t attract ideal, high-paying clients. They’re seemingly doing all the “right things”: they’ve got marketing materials, marketing plans, they’re speaking, networking, etc. and yet producing no real results. Yes, they have some clients. Yes, they’re making their bills. But they’re not seeing the kind of success they so desperately want. (Are you one of those?)
You might be wondering, “What is going on? What am I doing wrong?? I’m busting my chops, working like a dog, and yet my 1ncome is still NOT what I want it to be… in fact, not even close.” On the outside, everyone probably thinks you have a great business, but YOU know what’s really going on, especially financially. I actually hear this a lot. As I am working with higher level clients (people who have plenty of clients but not the business or 1ncome they really want to be making) I’m noticing that the marketing is only half the problem.
I once asked a few people to be part of my Research and Development team to find out what stopped them from getting out there in a BIG way to get clients. I also asked them to tell me the MOST they could see themselves making being self-employed. Honestly, I was saddened by the answers that rolled in, and their answers were right in line with the people I talk to on a daily basis.
You see, most people have very LOW expectations on what can be made in self-employment. The average from my polling was between $50,000 and $75,000, and the highest amount I heard was about $150,000. Using SYSTEMS and LEVERAGE techniques, we can totally change that to create an income that is FAR beyond what you’ve ever thought attainable for yourself. (I know it may not seem possible as you read this, but I promise you, it IS possible for you too. I’ve done it for myself and I’ve done it for countless clients.)
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” — Bill Cosby
To attract clients consistently and with little effort, your marketing message must be clear and it must stand out. There’s no way around it. If what you say about your business and what prospects read about it isn’t sounding irresistible to them, they’ll move on to the next person. Guaranteed.
While the media is searching out anything to create panic in the eyes of consumers, I want you to think about your own life. When you went to the mall last time, was it empty? What about popular restaurants? Could you hear crickets chirping? Personally, everywhere I go, I’m still waiting in line, I still wait ten minutes for a table, and I’m seeing people STILL buying a lot. In fact, to put it in perspective, our business has made more just last month than most people make all year. What “economy”?
Sometimes, you just KNOW there’s something you need to take action on to take your business forward. However, if you’re anything like me, you’ve gotten stopped in the past, even when it’s something you KNOW will create big results. You procrastinate, you tidy up your office, get another cup of coffee, ANYTHING to not get it done. Ever have that happen to you?
There are different reasons why you may be stalling from taking action. It could be that you don’t know the next steps, that you’re not sure how to move forward. That happens, but that’s not what we’re talking about today. Most likely, it’s something deeper. (more…)
