How to Find More Hours in the Day to Market Your Business? Clone Yourself

March 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment


When I left corporate America in 2000 to start my strategy consulting practice, one thing I realized very quickly was that selling my time, by the hour or day, was going to limit my income. Even though I could raise my rates every year, eventually there would be a breaking point. 

And more important than that, if I wasn’t working, I wasn’t earning. I remember forgoing a week at the beach with friends, and telling my husband that even though we could go, we really shouldn’t because that would mean giving up nearly $12,000 of consulting revenue. Crazy way to make decisions, right?
I could try to “clone” myself by hiring consultants to work with me, but then that adds another headache of having to manage employees. That was one of the elements of my corporate executive job that I was happy to give up and never take on again.
But then I read Million Dollar Consulting
by Alan Weiss and that changed my life. He talked about developing products as a passive income stream. Books, booklets, ebooks, audio programs, etc. where you could work once and get paid again and again. In effect “productizing” your knowledge. That was the epiphany. I didn’t have to clone myself through people, I could do it through products!
Little did I know that the first product I created, a tips booklet called 102 Secrets to Smarter Networking, would launch a whole new business, five-figure speaking engagements, a book deal, and national media and tv appearances. Although I had used networking to get clients for my strategy consulting practice, as a subject area, it had very little to do with my existing business. One of the other things Alan Weiss had recommended was to start speaking and even though I had always been scared to get on stage, I wanted to take his advice. 
I jumped in and volunteered for a panel presentation a local women’s business group was organizing on how to start your own consulting business. I chose networking as my topic because as an introvert who had good success with it, I felt I could share my experiences and insider secrets. And since I was going to be in front of 100 people (yikes!) why not have something to sell at the back of the room after the event and make a little bit of money? And as they say, “the rest is history.”
Product creation is so much easier these days and less expensive with so many new tools and options. You don’t have to do what I did and sequester yourself for a few weeks, invest a lot of money upfront for printing and then hope the product sells. Now when I create audio programs, for example, I sell them BEFORE they’re even created, so I have money coming in at the BEGINNING of the process instead of at the end.
Even if you don’t want to create revenue from products directly, having something that helps people sample your knowledge, understand your approach to a problem, and get some valuable content is an excellent tool way to market your services. It’s also an easier way to get business from referrals. Your contacts feel less pushy recommending your booklet or free report to their network than a free consultation with you that everyone knows is going to lead to a sales pitch.
A tangible product in your marketing arsenal can:
  • Make it easier for contacts to refer you
  • Show prospects and the rest of your network that you are an authority in your field
  • Build your reputation and visibility in a new area
  • Make money for you in your sleep
  • Help speed up the selling process, because when prospects contact you after experiencing your product, you know they are highly qualified and ready to buy. 
Creating products, whether free or paid, is just one of the steps to monetizing your expertise and earning maximum revenues from what you know. You also need the right market positioning, the right marketing platforms, the right people in your network and the right plan. 
I’ll cover these other areas in future posts…
Filed Under: Building Your Business, Marketing Yourself, Monetize Your Expertise, Teleseminars & Training Tagged With: ,

Question the Beliefs That Keep You in Start Up Mode

March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I was doing some research online today and came across this photo of Hans and Franz from Saturday Night Live in the late 80s. Some of you may be too young to remember this hilarious duo that satirized a certain Austrian-muscle-man-actor-now- ex-governor. They were famous for their phrases, “We’re here to pump (clap) you up” and “girly-man.”

One of my favorites was “Hear me now and believe me later” which they would say when doling out advice that people needed to hear, but weren’t quite ready for. I often find myself doing that when speaking to entrepreneurs who complain that they feel like they’re always in start up mode — too much to do, too little cash. When I tell them they need to start setting priorities for their marketing and networking and just start taking action, they come up with a whole range of excuses.
Here’s what they say and my “hear me now and believe me later” response:
Excuse #1: “I don’t have enough time.” 
If you’re busy because you have way too many clients, that’s one thing, but if you think you’re too busy and you DON’T have enough clients, then it’s time to evaluate how you’re spending your time and cut some things out that aren’t generating results. Since a day is fixed at 24 hours, you can’t ever get more time, but you can make different choices about how you spend it. For example, stop checking email every 5 minutes, limit your time on Facebook, and batch your tasks for greatest efficiency.
Also, put some things on the back burner for now and focus on just one project with the highest potential. Block time on your calendar — perhaps 1 hour per week, or 1 hour twice a week if you can — to work exclusively on that. If you’re like most of my clients, you’ll be amazed that it takes you less time to finish that you thought.
HMNBML: “Because how you spend your time determines your results, learn to take control instead of accepting being controlled.”

Excuse #2: “I don’t have a game plan.”
When you cut through it, a game plan is really not that tough to put together. You see what the options are, choose what you want to do, and figure out the steps you need to take. When I’m giving my clients some tough love in this area, I tell them that I see the “lack of a game plan” argument as an excuse for inaction and a smokescreen for a deeper fear: What they’re actually worried about is making a mistake. You can avoid mistakes by never doing anything, but where would that leave you?
You didn’t learn to walk as a toddler by putting together a game plan and then getting up one day and walking perfectly. You crawled for a bit, grabbed on to some support, tested out your balance, fell flat on your butt a few times, but slowly you got stronger and more confident, and walking quickly became second nature to you. In fact, it became a springboard to bigger and better things like running, dancing, riding a bike and driving a car.

 

HMNBML: “Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time. Learn to evaluate what NOT taking action is costing your business.”

Excuse #3: “I don’t know the right people to contact.”
What if you could get the right people to raise their hands and contact YOU? I’m always amazed by how many entrepreneurs keep wanting to work the “needle in a haystack” angle. Even if you could figure out the right person in the company to call and you could get them to talk to you, they many not need your services at all or be ready to buy at that moment. And even if you did get this far, would they be willing to pay the prices you want to charge? It seems like a lot of hurdles that you need to jump.
Rather than diving into the haystack myself, I’d much rather wave a giant magnet over it and draw the best needles out. You become more magnetic when you learn how to position yourself effectively against your competition and convey benefits to your prospects that they really want, not what you think they need.
HMNBML: “Rather than expend all your effort chasing people, invest time in learning how to attract the right ones to YOU.”
Excuse #4: “I don’t have the track record to be an expert.”
I often tell my clients that focusing on raising their profile as an expert in their field is the fastest way to get top clients and raise their rates. But some of them resist because they don’t feel like an expert yet.
Can I be totally candid with you? People called me a networking expert long before I was ready to feel it myself. Yes, I had already been writing articles and speaking to groups about networking, but I always felt I had so much more to learn and so much move to prove … mostly to myself … before I could fully accept the “expert” mantle. But I kept sharing ideas, developing content and products, being visible and playing the role until I could embrace it internally. Experts aren’t born that way, nor are they anointed by a higher power. They’re self-made.
HMNBML: “To be seen as an expert, learn the things that experts do and do them.”
Excuse #5: “I don’t have enough money.”
There are lots of free and very low-cost tools out there to use in your marketing — Facebook, blogs, YouTube, speaking — and certainly plenty of articles you can read and free intro teleclasses you can take to get information. But my guess is that it’s not more information you need, but more help on how to choose the right strategies and apply them to your business. Nothing is ever truly “free.” If you want to get something done, it will take either time or money or both. And if you don’t think YOU are good investment to make, why would prospects believe it either?
When you say “no” to opportunities to invest in yourself and your business, ask yourself what are you saying “yes” to instead? Saying “yes” to staying in start-up mode? Saying “yes” to being in exactly the same place a year from now? Saying “yes” to delaying your dreams?
HMNBML: “Often the first big sale we have to make is to ourselves that we’re worth investing in. Once we believe it and take the steps to prove it, others will too.”


If your business isn’t where you’d like it to be, what do you think is standing in your way? Do you hear these same sentences in the back of your mind, or do you have other “reasons”? Whatever you’re thinking, ask yourself, “If this weren’t the case, what would I do?”
Then just do it.

Filed Under: Building Your Business, Monetize Your Expertise, Success Principles

The Double-Edged Sword of Experience and Expertise

March 20, 2011 by Leave a Comment








While spending the day in Philadelphia yesterday, my
husband and I dropped in on our nephew who just opened a small retail store
selling eco-friendly baby gear. When I first heard this idea, I was skeptical,
knowing he doesn’t have much experience with either babies or retail.

But after visiting the store and speaking with him,
I’m realizing that that’s precisely why he just might succeed. Because he
doesn’t have tons of experience and expertise in this area, he can’t fall into
the trap of “I know better than my market.” In fact, he and his
business partner had first set out to open a clothing store for adults, but
when they saw this space right across the street from a popular daycare and in
a neighborhood filled with families and already saturated with adult clothing
establishments, they adjusted their plan.

Don’t get me wrong, hundreds of things still have to
go right for this idea to take off, but I was heartened to see that their
priorities are in the right place, which is being ultra focused on their marketing
– what’s going to get the store’s name out there, what’s going to bring the
customers in, and what’s going to get them to buy and keep buying?

Unfortunately, so many entrepreneurs I’ve come across have not prioritized their marketing to the level they really should. Sure,
there’s a great deal of *wanting* their marketing to be more effective in
bringing in more clients, but I don’t see enough of the right action
steps needed to make it happen.

It’s almost as if they’re relying on their mastery of
their subject to win over their market, but for many, it’s just not enough.

I’m not saying you should get away with being a hack.
Not at all. I’d love to see you getting the rewards you richly deserve by
being a master of your craft and truly knowing your stuff. It’s
tremendously satisfying to be paid well to do what you love and are good at.

But that means you need to master marketing and
relationship building too. The money can’t flow in if the clients don’t. Without
marketing and relationships, not everyone who should know about you and can
benefit from what you have to offer will get that chance.

What do you think? Can experience and expertise be a double-edged
sword that can get in the way of attracting more clients? 



Filed Under: Marketing Yourself, Monetize Your Expertise Tagged With: , ,

Productive Networking Conversations Part I: Making Initial Contact

February 9, 2011 by 1 Comment


 

Many people underestimate the power of preparation in maximizing their networking efforts. From researching the right event to attend, to preparing for the conversations they hope to have once they’re there, to how to follow up in the most effective way.

They just make it up as they go with meager results to show for it. And then,
ironically, they complain that, “networking doesn’t work.”

Whether you’re networking in person or trying to make connections online, it’s not about just being in the room, or putting up your profile. It’s about the quality of the interactions you have, and even more specifically, the quality of your CONVERSATIONS.

No relationship moves forward without words being exchanged. while some small talk can help break the ice and build initial rapport, you can’t stop there.

Before you start connecting with anybody, it’s important to think about strategic questions like:

  • Whom do I want to meet?
  • What’s the best way to meet them?
  • What’s the best way to introduce myself?
  • What do I want to convey?
  • What questions will I ask?

The difference between being a new contact that falls off their radar screen right away and one with potential staying power comes down to what you talk about. Light banter is all well and good, but it won’t move the needle. Not these days, not in our information-overloaded, multi-tasking society. 

If you don’t add value, you quickly become irrelevant. Moving the conversation forward adds value. Being authentically interested, listening actively, and asking questions lets the other person know there’s potential for a genuine relationship, and you’re not just trolling for business cards.

By the way, when I say “ask questions” I don’t mean questions like “How happy are you with your financial planner?” which has nothing to do with THEM, and everything to do with trying to ease your way into your sales pitch. Epic fail.

Instead, really get to know something about the person and what they do, and perhaps even why they do it. I LOVE talking to people about what they’re passionate about, how they got into it and where they hope to go from here.

Not only does that make networking much more enjoyable, I always end up learning something that’s helpful to me, and in turn, I may uncover an opportunity to help them. Now THAT’S productive!

Want to learn more secrets to purposeful, productive and profitable networking conversations? Join my free #conversationcall. Learn more at www.OneConversationAway.com.

 

 

Filed Under: Marketing Yourself, Monetize Your Expertise, Success Principles, Teleseminars & Training Tagged With: , ,