One of the things that was so frustrating for me was figuring out what business I was really in.  If asked, most people would respond they are in the coaching business, the insurance business, the healing business, etc.  All really bad answers.

Dead Pan Flat

If you speak to the people you want to work with in that way you can expect a dead pan flat response.  In fact, your response is a real conversation stopper.  There are several reasons.  One being the other person already has a preconceived perception of what that means that rarely works to your advantage.  Plus they already work with or know someone in that business.  Yada Yada Yada.

Passion Evoking Position

No matter what business you’re “in” if you want extreme success you must be in a passion evoking business.  You must set yourself, your business apart from the rest, and position your business as the business your best ideal clients are really excited about.  You have to be passionate about what you do to get to that point.

And that’s where the real problem is.  Most business owners, just like I was in the beginning, are totally confused about not only what business they’re in but what they are passionate about.

Michel Fortin says, “To me, the most effec­tive way to com­mu­ni­cate added value is through the gen­uine, sin­cere, and pas­sion­ate zest you have for what you do and the clients you serve.”

Here’s why it’s so hard for most of us to get to this point.

If you’re familiar with Earl Nightingales Acres of Diamonds talk you know “The thing about this story that has so profoundly affected millions of people is the idea that each of us is, at this very moment, standing in the middle of our own acres of diamonds. If we had only had the wisdom and patience to intelligently and effectively explore the work in which we’re now engaged, to explore ourselves, we would most likely find the riches we seek, whether they be financial or intangible or both.”  

What Gets You JAZZED Up?

There is one thing I know is true for every person in any business selling a service.  You LIVE to help people.  However, there are certain people with specific problems you can solve, or goals you can help them get that you enjoy doing so much you’d do it for free.  Yes, that’s right you’d do it for free if it weren’t for the fact you have bills to pay just like everyone else.

Gosh, if your entire business were filled with people like that so you could do that work, and that work only each and every day… why you would literally dance a jig in the streets.

Now you think you can’t do that because you think there aren’t enough people like that to pay your bills.  You worry you’ll exclude yourself from the work you need to pay your bills.  You think if you’re already struggling to get enough clients the last thing you want to do is limit your pool of potential clients.

YOU are Dead WRONG

Unless you are working with some obscure problem that only a few people on the entire planet ever have I’d be willing to take the stance you are dead wrong.  Even if what you do really is that obscure I’d still say you are dead wrong because those people with that problem or unmet goal are probably willing to pay dearly for your help.

Here’s why you aren’t finding your diamonds.

1. You aren’t open to the opportunities already available
2. You aren’t willing to man up and take a risk
3. You are focusing on what you want rather than how you can better serve

Did I Make You Mad?

GOOD.  I hope you are madder than a hornet.  You know why?

Because I’ve come to realize that when something makes me see red there’s probably a GINORMOUS opportunity to really learn something right under my nose.  And when I act like a big girl and admit my faults, get my ego out of the way, and look for the lesson I find a diamond in the rough.

Another way to think about it is acting like you want to capture the heart of your perfect mate, the love of your life, your soul mate.  In your mind this person you envision meets certain criteria.  The better job you do identifying your must have criteria the easier it is to figure out where a person like that would hang out.

Or, if you prefer, think about buying a home.  You need a set of criteria before you start looking for a home or you can plan on a very long unproductive search.  Kind of like your elusive search for clients.

Once you’ve got your must have criteria you then have to put all your efforts into attracting the people who fulfill your criteria.  Does that mean you can’t work with people who aren’t a perfect match?  No.

Does it mean you are going to attract more highly qualified potential clients who are interested in doing business with you? Duh!

The choice is yours.  Your diamonds are right there under your feet just waiting for you to look down and pick them up.

Coach Cheryl

Do it Yourself

Do it with a Little Help

Do it with Guidance

photo credit: xlt.lv

You know one of the nice things about owning your on business?  You can do things when you darned well please.  So the other morning I decide to go to the grocery store while all the working stiffs are chained to there desks.  It’s so much more pleasant to shop when you nearly have the joint to yourself.  So much less stress.

I Overheard Something Very Interesting

As the checker was ringing up my groceries I overheard a conversation in the next check-out line.  This Wal-Mart employee was confirming Wal-Mart was indeed cutting everyone’s hours back and making them do some funky shift rotations.  Hmmm… interesting.

This was especially interesting because here in Iowa we often never feel the extremes one way or the other that people who live on the coasts do, so I immediately wondered if that meant things were getting tough here too.  Yet, at least in western Iowa, people tend to hold very conservative values when it comes to money so perhaps they are simply reacting to what they are hearing, reading, and seeing.

I also knew if sales were falling for Wal-Mart it would strike terror on the hearts of other businesses because everyone things if Wal-Marts sales are down you are doomed.  Even though that thinking is untrue “stinking thinking” as Zig Ziglar would put it.

So I did a Little Checking

Daily Markets had an interesting article about how Wal-Marts sales are falling amid tight consumer spending and confidence.  And an interesting quote…

“Our customers are more disciplined in their spending,” Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke said in a conference call with investors, adding that consumers are saving more and spending less.

When I read that quote it was like someone hit me over the head with a baseball bat.  It never ceases to amaze me how people get so caught up in their own mindset they can’t see a GINORMOUS opportunity that’s right under their very nose.  Please realize I can be every bit as guilty of this as anyone else.   Just one more reason a good coach is worth their weight in solid gold.

The GINORMOUS Opportunity to Get More Business Wal-Mart is Missing

Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke, bless is ever loving little heart is stuck in Wal-Mart’s low price model mindset.  That mind set is one that feeds a scarcity mentality, a frugal mentality, a mentality that says you better not buy today because you may not have a job tomorrow.  It encourages “average Joe Wal-Mart shopper” to feed his fears.

Do I even need to mention the fact that’s NOT a good idea?  Mr. Dukes statement indicates he and Wal-Mart are COMPLETELY missing the boat on this one.  They aren’t helping “average Joe Wal-Mart shopper” perceive things differently.

The Opportunity is in the Perception

Geez, everyone understands perception is EVERYTHING in business.  Here’s how Wal-Mart can change “average Joe Wal-Mart shoppers” perception so they get more business and really help Joe in the process.

You don’t have to look hard or far to find numerous economists and economic pundits who are predicting the fall of the U.S. dollar as a result of predicted hyper-inflation.  They say this hyper-inflation will occur when the government turns the billions of dollars the fed’s have printed and stock piled lose.  What that means to “average Joe Wal-Mart shopper” is the $10 he’s saving today could have a value of $0.10 once hyper-inflation hits and he is forced to spend his savings.

So what do those same economists and economic pundits recommend for poor “average Joe Wal-Mart shopper”?  Well, they would recommend instead of hoarding his dollars that Joe use his extra cash to purchase durable goods and hard assets now before the value of those dollars evaporates.  So when Joe visits Wal-Mart instead of buying one package of razor blades he buys two, instead of buying two cans of green beans he buys four, etc.

Why does this make sense for Joe?  It makes sense for Joe because when hyper-inflation hits Joe will need food, personal hygiene products, clothing, car care products, cleaning products, etc. just like he does now.  Because Joe has a stash of these durable goods he won’t be forced to trade his $10 for $0.10 worth of goods.  He can hold on to his cash a little longer and use his stash when everyone else is burning through money like water.  Hopefully, he can hold onto his cash long enough to ride out the hyper inflation.

So…  What’s Wal-Marts angle?  Wal-Marts angle is helping Joe maintain his wealth.  Wal-Mart is Joe’s wealth building partner.  Wal-Mart should have two-fer deals up the wazoo and use their advertising power to help Joe see what they see…  durable goods and hard assets are how Joe protects himself and his family from potential economic changes beyond his control.

And if I see Wal-Mart doing this I think a 6% share in their increased profits would be more than fair:-)

Coach Cheryl

Do it Yourself

Do it with a Little Help

Do it with Guidance

  photo credit: gesses

There’s no question when you are just starting your business if you don’t invest heavily in prospecting your business dream will never become a reality.  No matter what service you sell you are in the business of marketing and selling that service first, or there’s no need for your services.

As you improve your prospecting efforts and follow even a basic sales process like the one described on SmallBizPod you start getting clients.  The more clients you get the less time you have to prospect.  Unfortunately, if you decrease the time you spend prospecting you set yourself up for the…

Feast and Famine Revenue Roller Coaster

When you run your business on the feast and famine roller coaster model you go out and prospect like crazy, get a lot of new clients, and then watch your income dry up because you don’t have any new clients coming in.  You don’t have any new clients coming in because you haven’t done any sales prospecting.  Is this just a fact of life that you need to accept?

Heck NO!

As you look at the professional service providers around you, you may notice they don’t seem to prospect.  You might wonder how they get away with that.  You might think they just have such a huge client base and get so many referrals they don’t need to prospect anymore.  Not true sprout.

You Can Get More Business and Spend Less Time Prospecting

It isn’t that those professional service providers don’t prospect for new clients.  It IS that they go about it differently than you.  There are 3 key components to getting more business in less time:

1. A system to attract highly qualified potential clients to you
2. A process to develop relationships with those potential clients because relationships are the key to MORE sales, MORE often, at HIGHER prices
3. Automate your processes so you can put your sales prospecting on autopilot

This creates a 24/7/365 machine for getting new clients.  As your business grows you have to accept that the one-on-one method you used to get that business is not sustainable long-term because there’s only so much of YOU to go around.

These 3 components:

• continually make new connections for you
• help you transform skeptical strangers into believers
• transition those believers into buyers

The other big advantage of these components is the ability to dramatically increase your ability to connect with larger numbers of potential clients.  You could double, triple, even quadruple your sales funnel with zero additional work.  You get more business with no time increase and a tremendous return on the initial time investment required to develop those 3 components.

Coach Cheryl

Do it Yourself

Do it with a Little Help

Do it with Guidance