"You either have excuses or you have results. Which one do you have today?"
This was a tweet recently posted by a former Platinum client of mine, Liz Dennery Marks, owner of SheBrand.com and Dennery Marks Inc., a very successful brick-and-mortar branding and celebrity outreach firm in Beverly Hills.
And it really struck a chord with me. Why? Because I've been having that conversation more often than ever lately, with both clients and colleagues.
So let's see if I can help you figure out which is true for you:
Think of *one thing* in your business right now that is frustrating you.
Once you have that 'one thing' in mind, what was the next thought that popped into your head?
Was it…
– I'm waiting for so-and-so to get back to me first.
– I don't have the time, money, resources.
– I don't know what to do next.
– I'm not sure this is right for me.
– I'm feeling lost, confused, unsupported.
All of these thoughts and feelings are absolutely valid. And they are all excuses. Choose a different word than 'excuses', if you'd like, but if you're not moving forward and getting results, then I'm going to suggest that the issue isn't truly any of the above.
By the way, I worded it that way – 'what's one thing' – on purpose, because how we do anything is how we do everything.
And that's my intention here – to shine the light on the fact that as long as you focus externally as the 'reason' something isn't working for you, you'll continue to be frustrated and stuck.
Here's an example from my own client files:
I had a client who was frustrated by what she considered to be my lack of support of her and her business. When she shared this frustration with me, I didn't get defensive or take on her frustration. What I did do was ask her a series of simple questions that drilled down to the real issue.
In this case, it was that she wasn't taking any action, including asking her coach (me) for the support she needed. Once she realized that she had everything she needed to move forward, including the very help she was paying for, everything shifted for her. She began asking for direction and implementing the information she already had, and her business started flowing immediately.
But more than that, she realized that she was doing the same thing in her personal life with her husband. She was frustrated by his lack of support, and yet as soon as she asked for it, he immediately sought out ways to help her.
So let me repeat:
How you do anything is how you do everything.
Think about that.
I'd love to know how this resonates with you. Please leave your thoughts below – and thanks!
(c) 2010 Alicia Forest
About the author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
As your business grows, and your client and customer base increases, you'll likely be tested on the strength of your boundaries and the parameters of how you operate your business on every level. I wanted to share some of the boundaries and parameters I have within the way I run my business in the hopes it will help you run a business with more ease and grace sooner than later.
Here are 4 ways that you can gracefully set boundaries in your business:
1. Have a policy page
For every product, program or service you offer, someone is going to ask you to do something different for them. It could be to offer it in a different format, at a different time or day, with a payment plan option, or dozens of other scenarios than I can't possibly cover here.
As a general rule of thumb, don't accommodate. Yes, there will be times when you make a different decision, but most of the time, stick to the parameters you created in the first place. You can't please everyone, and every time you accommodate someone, you a) typically un-accommodate someone else who was just fine with the way your offer stood in the first place, and b) attract more people who will ask you to bend things for them in the future.
What do you do with the requests you get? Create a policy page from each and every decision you've made on how you will or will not run your business. Then when the next person makes a similar request, you simply send them to that page that explains clearly what your policy is, and that the policy applies to everyone. It takes the edge of it feeling like saying 'no' was a personal decision as much as it makes it super-simple for your team to handle these requests.
2. Be fair to ALL your clients
Being fair to all my clients is one value that I hold dearly that makes it easy for me to be clear about the boundaries I have in place in my business. If you remember that it's NOT that you aren't willing or don't want to be accommodating, but that it simply wouldn't be fair to the rest of your clients and customers by doing so, it makes it much easier to say no graciously, and it keeps your integrity intact.
3. Have a buffer
Having someone on my team who manages these requests is imperative. First, as the businessowner and leader of my company, it's not the best use of my unique brilliance to be dealing with these requests personally. Second, my team is quite capable of knowing when a request may require my attention, and I trust them to let me know. And third, it makes saying 'no' less personal and much more graceful and respectful to the person making the request when they get an answer from my team instead of from me.
4. Be willing to let go
At times, I still struggle with a tendency to over-explain. I like to craft just the right words to make sure someone understands my decision about something. I've realized that in doing so I've wasted a lot of time, energy and emotion. So I stopped doing that for the most part. Recently, I found myself back in that loop again, and when I realized how much of my team's time I was wasting, it bopped me over the head. I instantly went back to my short-but-sweet way of responding.
Here's the thing: there's always going to be a tiny percentage of people who want you to customize and accommodate them. But let them go play somewhere else. Because what happens when you stick to your guns is that you honor your value, your time, and your self-respect. You attract more clients and customers who are ideal and who are respectful of you and your team as well, and your business runs more smoothly and more joyfully.
I'd love to know how this resonates with you. Please leave your thoughts below – and thanks!
(c) 2010 Alicia Forest
About the author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
Are you working too hard in your business? If you're an entrepreneur, you probably are, especially if you're in the early stages of your business building.
And you're not alone.
Here's an example from my own client files:
I was recently working with a client who was a real go-getter, very serious about being in business for herself, and marketing only to a more affluent clientele. She wanted to increase her reach into that market online. And she was considering adding article marketing to her mix.
At this stage in her business, she was already doing quite well. She was close to making 6 figures and charging 5 times as much as her counterparts – and getting it easily. But she wasn't satisfied. She really wanted to break the $100k mark before the third anniversary of her business, which was coming up in just a few months.
When she asked me, "What is the quickest, most cost-effective way to regularly market articles?" and then told me she planned to do this work herself, I stopped her.
"You know, just because you can do this task, doesn't mean you should…"
She was quiet for a moment before asking me to elaborate.
"I know your writing is high quality and of high value to your market, and I definitely think you should be getting that content out there, to the appropriate places that will bring you the highest return-on-investment for your efforts. But I don't think you should be doing this yourself. It's not a good use of your time or your energy. What do you think?"
After a bit more discussion, she agreed to hire someone to do this for her.
As you read this, did you think of perhaps one task that you routinely do (or that falls by the wayside because you can never just get to it) that you know is 'below your pay grade' and yet you continue to waste time and energy on it (even if that time and energy is just thinking about how you're NOT getting it done?)?
This concept was (still is, from time to time) difficult for me to grasp when my own coach shone a light on it for me. But since I've tried to be aware of how much effort I really need to put into a task to get the result I want, it's opened up space for things to flow more effortlessly and more quickly than ever.
Here are four ways you can do less and still grow in your business:
1. Email
Do you spend more time than necessary responding to emails? Do you write two paragraphs when a two-sentence response would suffice? Do you respond to emails that actually don't require a response? Do you check email every 5 minutes (come on, fess up!)? What if you didn't do any of these things and still had a handle on your inbox? You can if you put a system in place to manage it.
2. Blog
Are you writing blog posts that are long? Maybe it even feels cumbersome to try to write a post the length of an article. Don't – keep them short and pithy. Make sure your keywords are in the content and it doesn't matter how long your posts are to the search engines – and your readers will probably appreciate shorter posts as well. Better yet, turn your weekly ezine articles into blog posts to save even more time and energy.
3. Website
Are you constantly updating your website? Does it really need to be revamped so often? More to the point, is this something you have to do yourself? No. Most virtual assistants can make website updates for you at a much lower cost to your time and energy than you doing it yourself.
4. Customer/Client Relations
Who responds to questions and comments from your clients and customers? Are you processing refunds, working out payment glitches, resending download links, answering the same questions about your programs over and over, or any other task that could easily be passed off to a capable assistant?
You can quickly and easily train someone to respond to these inquiries in your voice by having them shadow you via blind-copying them on each email you send out. Then reverse the process and voila – another time and energy drain has been removed from your shoulders.
If you've been a client of mine, it's very likely you've heard one of my mantras, "Done is better than perfect." I usually follow that with, "And it's never going to be all done." So choose to cause yourself less stress and DO LESS. Experiment with this and see how much more productive you'll actually be. Think of just one thing that you could do the easy way instead of the hard way, or delegate to an assistant, or better yet, take off your 'must-do' list altogether.
I'd love to know how this resonates with you. Please leave your thoughts below – and thanks!
About the Author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches entrepreneurs how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.clientabundance.com/
Did you know there is a super-simple way to leverage your gifts, talent and know-how into lucrative, highly leveraged income streams?
It's your Signature System, and it's your step-by-step formula for multiple streams success.
So, what exactly is a Signature System? It's the work you are ALREADY doing with clients, packaged into a highly marketable, step-by-step system they will want to buy.
If you are thinking you can't create a system because every client is different, think again. EVERY service can be transformed into a simple, repeatable system clients will happily say YES to – yes, even yours!
Once I figured this out and finally moved away from solely working one-on-one with clients and started adding other revenue streams, I knew I had found the right system that was going to help me create the kind of income I desired.
Specifically, here are the top 10 reasons why having a Signature System is a MUST to quickly transition out of 1-on-1 work fast…
1. Your clients LOVE systems.
They're so overloaded, they can't even stop to think. Your system tells them "I've done the work so you don't have to."
2. Your clients can practically predict their success.
When they see the results others have achieved, clients feel very reassured… and start to picture the results for themselves.
3. Your Signature System sets you apart.
It's as unique as your signature, after all – nobody else has it!
4. Instant credibility.
Without a system, your services can appear all over the place. A system instantly elevates you to expert status.
5. Quicker, easier sales.
Your clients will "get" what you offer much quicker and are ready to buy much sooner.
6. Your clients will get better results…
…when they follow given steps in a given order, instead of blundering around trying to find their way.
7. Your clients will get results faster…
… because they are not wasting time on needless "stuff."
8. Your clients will come back again and again…
…because they have had such success with you the first time!
9. You will help more people…
…because your Signature System (or key elements of it) can be "bottled and sold" at different investment and commitment points.
And best of all…
10. You will see just how easy it is to create 3, 4 or even more lucrative income streams
…that will deliver a steady and predictable flow of cash into your business. And you know what that means? Peace of mind. Priceless.
About the author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
I think if you've been a survivor of any sort, you can relate to Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind. Sure, she used her womanly wiles to get what she wanted, but hey… who hasn't? (And men, you've got 'wiles' of your own, so don't think you're off the hook.)
When Scarlett tore down her mother's green velvet drapes to make the dress that ultimately saved Tara from the tax collectors, it was 'necessity is the mother of invention' in action. It's sheer ingenuity to look at those curtains, one of the only things left by the Yankees, and see a fancy dress that could be the solution to her problem.
Scarlett was smart, savvy and had the spitfire spirit of her successful entreprenuerial-minded immigrant father. Over and over, Scarlett relies on her wits to maneuver her way out of predicament after predicament. And maybe some of her actions weren't those of a lady playing nice (like marrying her sister's beau) – but to her, the end result always justified her behavior. She took care of herself and her 'folk' with no apologies – and she made riches from it.
So, how does Scarlett's smart and savvy personality relate to your business?
Your biggest client decides to quit working with you, for no apparent reason, leaving you with a huge in^come hole to fill. Your shopping cart bills your customers three times for a single purchase. Your virtual assistant decides to fly off for a spur-of-the-moment week away, leaving you with hours of admin nightmare to deal with.
There isn't a businessowner around who hasn't been surprised by these or similar challenges once they've been in business for awhile.
Yes, it would be nice to be prepared for all of our worst-case-scenarios with back-up procedures and the like, but please… especially if you're the creative/idea type – who's going to deal with all that detail for the 'just in cases'? Not me…
When Scarlett turned that green velvet from drapery to dress, my heroine didn't know she was carrying out a perfect example of exactly how to zig-zag your way very quickly from problem to solution:
Here's how:
1. She stayed focused
Scarlett didn't let herself get all spun up about only having one dirty dress to wear, picking cotton herself, or having no food to eat during the war that was going on around her. What she did was stay focused on the task at hand: saving Tara.
All the decisions she made and actions she took came from focusing on that single goal.
2. She quickly shifted priorities when necessary
Scarlett's mantra of "I can't think about that now. I'll think about it tomorrow" kept her focused and on task, and allowed her to shift her priorities when necessary.
3. She was willing to fail quickly
Scarlett made a decision and took action. If things didn't work out the way she wanted them to, she took stock, made another decision quickly, and took action again. By being willing to fail quickly, instead of trying to figure out and manage all the potential pitfalls beforehand, she was able to rebuild her life on her terms much more quickly.
4. She was open to receiving
So maybe marrying two gentlemen she wasn't in love with for all the wrong reasons doesn't speak well of her heart, but Scarlett saw both marriages as a solution to a current predicament.
She wanted to stay close to Ashley Wilkes so she married his brother-in-law. She wanted $300 to pay the taxes on Tara to keep it, so she married her sister's beau to get it. She wanted the store and mill to make more mo*ney, so she did business with those who were willing and able to pay, even if it was with the Yankees and carpetbaggers.
5. She didn't let anyone stop her
Whenever Mammy protested Scarlett's plans, Scarlett persisted. When her sisters protested her behavior with her gentleman callers, she persisted. When she wanted to hire convicts as laborers for the mill, and both the men in her life told her it was wrong, she did it anyway.
If you know that a solution you've figured out is right for you, don't let anyone talk you out of it. Even if it doesn't work out, at least you know you stuck to your guns and your integrity to yourself is intact.
And lest you think I'm blind to some of the deeper layers of Miss Scarlett, let me assure you that no one is more satisfied than I when Rhett tells her, "Frankly, my darling, I don't give a damn."
And yet you can't argue with her results.
I'd love to know what you think… please leave your comments below.
About the author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
Writing a regular ezine (online newsletter) can sometimes feel like hard work. So if you're putting in the time and effort to give your readers valuable content, consider implementing at least a few of the strategies in this article to help your efforts pay off in profits.
Here are 4 ways to help your ezine make you more money:
1. Self-promote
Besides giving valuable content in each issue of your ezine, don't forget to add a little self-promotion as well. After all, it is one of your best marketing tools, and you want to make sure that you're letting your subscribers know what products and services you have available for them. It's best to do this in a separate section of your ezine, instead of in the copy of the article you write for your readers. A short blurb about you and what you offer, as well as a bit about one of your products and services with a link to more information is all you really need to do.
Depending on the method through which you are publishing your ezine, you can track how many times your links are clicked on, which gives you valuable market research information about what your readers are interested in finding out more about.
2. Give Options
If you are a service professional, know that there are many people who would like to hire you one-on-one but that option doesn't fit into their budget just yet. If you offer them other options, and promote those offerings in your ezine, you'll turn some of those prospects into paying clients.
For example, if you coach or consult one-on-one, consider offering a group coaching program with a price point that would be much more accessible than your private fees would be. Or take your knowledge and package it into an ebook, or a series of teleseminars, or an ecourse, and price them reasonably. Then promote them in your ezine.
3. Offer specials
Your readers may find the content of your free ezine valuable and would really like more, but they might need a bit of encouragement to buy from you. So give your subscribers a special discount on something you offer, with a time limit for purchasing (which really does encourage people to "act now").
For example, offer a 2-for-1 deal on your ebooks, or 20% off one of your programs if they register within a week. This strategy will move some of your readers from the "free" part of your funnel into the "fee" part of your funnel, which is exactly what you want.
4. Offer recommendations
I get so many questions about the services I use in my business that I periodically give recommendations in my ezine. These products and services are ones I truly believe are of high quality, because I have used them personally or because they come highly recommended to me by my mentor coaches. Some of these I am a reseller of (an affiliate), meaning I make a small commission on every sale I refer, and others are products and services I love and know would be of value to my subscribers.
Don't forget that your number one priority with your ezine is to provide valuable content for your subscribers. Proportion 10-20% of your content with promoting you and your offerings, and you will be working smarter and not harder.
Which one of these strategies are you willing to try – or do more of? I'd love to know via the comments link below.
© 2005-2009 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com
About the author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
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