A NEW Kind of “TLC” on Valentine’s Day for the Service Entrepreneur

Happy Valentine’s Day! “Tender” isn’t the word used to describe me as a consultant (as in Tender Loving Care). In fact, a recent student of mine referred to me as a passionate pit-bull. So, I don’t have anything tender for you this Valentine’s Day, but I do have a NEW meaning for TLC, that definitely expresses my love for you.

A couple of weeks ago, a client of mine referred to me as a thought leader–which I accepted gratefully and humbly–in the same instant that I clapped a hand to my head and thought, “I build Inspired Leaders…but to be much more specific, they are Inspired Thought Leaders! So, the TLC I’m giving you this Valentine’s Day is: Thought Leader Clarity….namely, the 12 Steps to Thought Leader Clarity! (TLC!)

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What Every Entrepreneur MUST Have In Common With a Prosecuting Attorney

Ready for this? Your business sales are directly proportionate to your ability to stand before the judge and win your case.

Yes, you’re here to effect change in the world. To do good. Be an inspired leader. But in addition, you must be as sharp as a prosecuting attorney if you’re going to make money helping the world with your business–any money.

Sans all sleazy and unethical tactics. In fact, the opposite of slimy verbal gymnastics will win your case: irrefutable truth is the secret. But I’m jumping ahead of myself–and don’t assume you know what I’m about to say. Read on. I promise this will twist your circuits and get you thinking…

So, what does the prosecution in a case do? He puts forth an argument and then sets about proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. If he wins, it’s because the jurors or judge couldn’t come back with a, “Yeah, but –”. The proof was irrefutably true…or, at least, presented no holes.

I want you to realize why you may not be making enough money. Because you’re not presenting a solid case.

I’m willing to bet my life that 1. you don’t have a carefully considered and clearly articulated argument for your market on what they must do (hence your confusion, round-and-round thinking, lack of spark in your business); and 2. I’m willing to lay down my life that you haven’t considered or articulated iron-clad proof of your argument.

Am I warm?

If you fail to present your case, you lose. If your market doesn’t buy (believe) what you’re saying, they won’t buy it. You must present a truth they can’t deny.

So, let’s look at point 1: What is your contention for what your market must do? Spin on their toes for 5 minutes every day? Drink spring water from the Himalyas? Clear their mental blocks to success?

(You need an argument/contention for your entire business AND for every program and product you put out there. Your brand should have one salient contention; the single “to-do” that you are fired up with conviction about. And your smaller program/product contentions should step in line with that.)

Now, the more hackneyed your service (insurance; fitness; weight loss; life coaching; accounting; financial planning; yoga; etc.) the more immune we are to your argument because we’ve heard it already and have already made a decision about whether or not it’s true that we should do that—and, often, the more skeptical we are that your position has any merit. So, you have to work all the harder to articulate a provocative contention that catches attention.

For point #2: presenting the case–stating proof to expunge reasonable doubt. I’m a task-master with this and my clients have to go to the drawing board several times until they have satisfied this criteria. Not one of them has an easy go of it because it’s challenging to remove the holes a prospective client could poke in their argument. They get frustrated in that challenge, but I tell you, it turns their business from questionable to viable—and THAT is the difference between having to quit and Easy Street.

Heads up: The more esoteric, abstract and fringe your service (energy healing; dream analysis; past-life regression; medical intuitive healing; group sex therapy; Akashic Record clearing; even raw-food dieting) the harder it’s going to be to make a sale–because the harder it is to build a case that overcomes resistance or that has hard-core evidence that takes them beyond a reasonable doubt. So your job is to dig really hard and really deep to find the kind of evidence that will make your case.

Whatever your business, whatever stage your business is in–it is essential that you give this top priority.

This is selling we’re talking about. So, step one is to ask yourself, “What does my market have to do?” Don’t take yourself out of this by insisting that you don’t believe in telling your clients what to do!! That’s a really, really weak argument! You will only be successful in business to the degree that you have ironclad conviction about the very, very best solution for your folks. Without it, you will never stand apart, you will never sell well, you will not have a sustainable business—and you will lose your way in restlessness, uncertainty, self-doubt and confusion. Know what they must do and be a stand for it!

After you have your contention—put the word “because” after it…and start explaining why it’s true, in bullet-points.

Then look at each and ask yourself, “Could someone poke a hole in this?” If so, go at it until you have at least three or four solid proof-statements your market would buy. Then get out there and share it so they buy!

Coming in June! A free training call on how to build a successful one-of-a-kind business empire. THIS is one of the keys!

A Successful Expert But Not Feeling Your Big Purpose? Reason #1

So, what do you do if you’re like my colleague-friend–an expert with a successful
business–and you want to feel that you have a BIG PURPOSE, but you’re just not
feeling it?

If you’re feeling ho-hum, and not called to anything particularly meaningful, or not meaningful enough for you, I can almost bet
it’s because you aren’t connecting with the right audience.

The one you’re currently working with is either too broad (a
huge issue for so many experts/service providers!!) or simply
not the right one.

You need to know, who has the pain that you most want to
heal
? Not the pain you are dealing with now, but the pain that most galvanizes you when you think of soothing or eliminating it. Perhaps you are working with too superficial a pain right now—or an audience whose level of pain doesn’t enable you to do your greatest work.

Or look at the aspiration you most want to help people fulfill. You may simply not be calling your current audience to reach high enough. Or you may need another audience entirely who has higher aspirations.

My Big Purpose is to change the world by ensuring that you, visionary leaders, change the world. I am very clear that I am here to help that population, and the
recent change in my business identity makes that abundantly clear. I am speaking to
a very select group of experts now—those who are visionaries and want to change the
world. I narrowed my already narrow market. And I did it because I had to for my
own growth. I was feeling that something was missing—I was feeling uninspired–and I
realized that I was getting bored with what I was asking of them. I didn’t need to change
markets, as you may, but I needed to call them to higher aspirations—to satisfy my
own soul.

And, luckily, my desire to call them higher coincided with what was happening in the marketplace: millions of service-based entrepreneurs waking up to a desire to be part
of something bigger. And I knew I was the one to help them.

Knowing my skills and talents went a long way to firmly establishing my Big Purpose.
But I’ll delve into that in my next post. For now, I want to emphasize the importance
of your audience in feeling your own purpose.

You are here to effect change. You wouldn’t have chosen your profession otherwise.
And you do have a purpose—and I firmly believe you have a Big Purpose. If you’re
not feeling it, take a hard look at those with whom you’re working now. In some way,
they are not igniting your spirit. Either call them to something higher, heal a deeper
pain, or change to an audience who wants either or both in direct proportion to
your passion
for either or both.

Be sure to get on next week’s call: A Time to Lead: Do You Dare?

UPDATE:  A relatively new client of mine wrote me the other day because she was
noticing a lag in her excitement. “I have moved away from “life interests” and into
more of a “business” market and am questioning what I am doing and why– forgetting
that it simply doesn’t excite me thinking about working with HR or executives to
bring my offering to them. It actually gets me to an icky place of,  “Why bother?” I’ve
looked at our work so far and see that the only thing that needs changing is my target
market! Now, it is feeling GREAT!!”

Purpose is entirely linked to your target market!

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