Kristine Carey, Author at Get Clients Now!

Did You Ask for the Sale?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was on the organizing committee for a huge event. We rented out a venue that could hold 1500 people and hoped to fill it as full as possible. We engaged a well-known author and speaker. We had multiple teams of volunteers handling the event promotion, venue logistics, lunches, back of the room book sales, travel and other arrangements for the speaker. In short, we were on it.

As event day drew closer, we noticed ticket sales were lower than hoped. Not to worry, we thought; we know that many people wait until the week or two before an event to buy their tickets. Nonetheless, the promotion team redoubled their efforts to get the word out. One week before the event, ticket sales still lagging, we realized we had a serious problem and were not likely to meet our goal. Again, the promotion team made one last effort to get the word out.

When the big day arrived, we had fewer than 100 people in attendance. We barely broke even on the event and our efforts to fill the organization’s coffers — and bring a message of hope and transformation to a big audience — were, well… failing.

The Write Way to Make Clients Believe in You

by Kristine Carey | Writing & Publicity

People need to believe in you in order to do business with you. They must believe that you know what you’re doing, that your services are on the up-and-up, that working with you will benefit them, and that investing in you is worth their time and money. Just how do you do that, though — build your believability?

One of my favorite ways to do this is through writing.

Writing is a vulnerable act; it requires you to put yourself out there and share your expertise in public. Even if your articles “only” appear in the church bulletin, you’re still going to unmask yourself, which is actually a good thing for your business.

Laying Your Marketing Foundation

by Kristine Carey | Success Ingredients & Tools

Some marketing elements are foundational to your business. They function as the building blocks on which everything else is constructed. If you were building a house, this would be like pouring the concrete to make a solid foundation which you build everything else on top of.

These elements are things like having business cards, a good answer for what you do for a living, a website, a free giveaway, or a go-to speech. As a business owner, you’ll want to figure out what’s foundational for your business, and how to get those things done.

Figuring Out What’s Foundational to Your Marketing

What foundational items you choose is completely dependent on the type of business you have. In my case, most of the people I work with have a service based business, which lends itself to foundational items such as:

Entrepreneurs: Own Your Value

by Kristine Carey | Marketing Mindset

If you’re in business for yourself, you need paying clients; that’s what makes your business profitable. I know that’s stating the obvious, yet there are many in business, and I used to be one of them, who love what they’re offering, yet don’t love getting clients. If that’s you, there’s hope! You can find a way to get paying clients, without too much effort, in a way that works for you.

How?

Recognize what you’re offering is worth; charge a reasonable rate for your goods and services. Don’t overcharge or undercharge.
Believe in the price you’re charging. If you don’t believe it, neither will your client.
Know there are clients who will pay for your goods and services, who want to work with you rather than a competitor.

Selling is a Conversation between Two People

by Kristine Carey | Fear & Resistance

When you think of going into business, you may think of the freedom you’ll have as your own boss (see Part 1 of this three-part series, You Are The Boss), or about all the good work you can do and people you can impact. At some point, however, it occurs to you that you’ll need to sell your services. If you’re like many people, that’s enough to make you stop before you even begin.

Selling is a loaded concept. I often picture a man in a leisure suit and loafers asking me what it will take for me to drive this car off the lot today (ewwww). Selling conjures up images of being pushy, of not listening, or not taking no for an answer. Or of an endless stream of people all of whom you’re supposed to talk to and say something clever and just right so they’ll like you and buy your stuff! Or, um, is that just me?

You Are the Boss: The Entrepreneurial Mindset

by Kristine Carey | Running a Business

Flashback to 2004: I had my shiny new coaching certificate. I had a grand vision of the future. I had five clients and several years of experience. I had just quit my job. World domination was mine! Except — I had no idea what I had just signed myself up for, and if I had, I’m not sure I would have done it.

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