Hate to Sell? You Can Fix This
Do you love your business but hate the selling part? Whether it’s calling prospective clients on the phone or writing persuasive emails and web copy, most self-employed professionals say that selling is the element of their business they dislike the most.
If it was possible to sell without having that feeling of discomfort in your gut, or those sweaty palms and increased heart rate, would you be willing to make a change?
Video: Networking During the Pandemic
One thing I’ve noticed regarding networking during the pandemic is how people are connecting, or more accurately, not connecting. During more “normal” times, networking had a certain forgiveness built into it. For example, if you went to a networking meeting and met several people, you’d connect with some more than others, and that would feel normal.
Entrepreneurs: Own Your Value
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.
Why You Need Clients and What to Do About It
We need to talk about your business. Not to be too crass, yet part of the formula for a successful business looks like this: Clients = Money
You need clients because you need money, because you want freedom to do things for yourself and others, both personally and professionally, which means you need to do something about that. About the getting of clients. That thing that’s easy to say, that you’re “supposed” to do, yet is easy to ignore. But. Something. Is. Always. (Seemingly) More. Urgent.
Four Steps Out of Marketing Overwhelm
Does it seem like there are always too many things to do to market your business? It’s easy to get overwhelmed by marketing ideas, plans, and tasks, especially when many of them involve learning new skills. And then people are always telling you about something else to do. But you’re only one person.
Success Ingredients and Daily Actions: What’s the Difference?
In the Get Clients Now! program, the 28-day marketing plan you design for yourself should include two different types of action-oriented elements: Success Ingredients and Daily Actions. During the course of the 28 days, you’ll work on projects and you’ll take action steps. With projects, you’ll acquire tools or skills you need for your marketing. With actions, you’ll take steps that lead directly to achieving your 28-day marketing goal.
Even if you’re a veteran of the 28-day program, it’s possible to get tangled up when designing your projects, which are called Success Ingredients, and the tasks necessary to achieve your marketing goal, which are called Daily Actions.
Turning Your Business Vision into an Action Plan
Over the past few months, I’ve been writing and thinking quite a bit about making post-pandemic changes in your business as a self-employed professional. First there was Reinventing Your Business to Survive a Pandemic…
Does Your Marketing Spark Joy?
Marie Kondo (author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up is famous for encouraging you to ask if the things you surround yourself with spark joy. What if you applied this concept to your business marketing?
Don’t Give Up on Follow-Up
Follow-up may be the most underrated marketing technique in existence. Self-employed professionals spend an enormous amount of time and money on attracting or meeting people who might do business with them. They build websites, go to networking events, purchase ads, set up social media profiles, and more. But marketing activities like these are aimed at making contact with new potential clients for the first time. Follow-up is missing from the picture.
You’ve probably heard the following truths about marketing and sales before:
- People prefer to do business with people they know, like, and trust.
- It takes five to seven contacts with a prospect to close a sale.
- Marketing is a process; not an event.
Is Your Marketing Approach Incomplete?
Trying to implement a marketing approach that has critical elements missing is like trying to make a pie without the ingredients to form the crust. Or in some cases, without an oven to bake it in!
There are four essential elements every successful marketing approach must have:
- Strategy – What are you trying to do, and why?
- Tactic(s) – How will you do it?
- Tool(s) – What will you need to do it well?
- Medium or Venue – Where will you do it?
If any one of these ingredients is missing, your approach will be less effective than it could be, and in many cases, will fail completely. Here are four examples to show you where an incomplete marketing plan can go wrong.
