Does “Changing the World” Seem Too Big for You?

February 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

In my new business incarnation, I use terms like ”change the world,” “mission” and
“leader.” A colleague of mine, who’s been in business for years, told me she wants
to feel that she has a BIG PURPOSE, but her specialty doesn’t seem to be evoking it.
She does very helpful things for her target market, but she’s not sure it’s going to
change the world or make her a leader. Now, she hasn’t worked with me, and
that’s exactly what I can do with her, but because I know she’s not alone, I thought
I would share some direction about this.

Before we go further, however, let’s get this out of the way: if you are an expert on
earth at this time, chances are very good that you are here with a bigger mission
than you are now realizing. Millions are waking up to a powerful call to impact. If
you know that (as she does) but just can’t “get at the itch”—relax, it’s going to come.
If you don’t know it at all and you’re very happy doing just what you’re doing, no
world-changing needed, then–at least for now–this whole idea isn’t for you.
However, you could be attracting far more business with just a slight change
in perspective. (I’ll write more about that in an upcoming post.)

If you’re like my colleague and can feel it “in there somewhere,” don’t be scared by
the idea of “changing the world” and being a “leader.” They’re part of your new job
description and with help, they will feel entirely natural (and destined) for you. I
want to help you see that the whole process is akin to moving from the shore into
tepid water, rather than skydiving off Mt.Kilimanjaro.

The fact is, there is only one thing standing between you and changing the world
as a leader of change. Only one thing that makes “those who know and are doing it”
different from you, and that is: a passionate belief.

There is something you believe fiercely that you are simply not bringing to your
business. It’s not shaping your “Store Front” (business identity), or reflected or
discussed in your programs/information products/speeches–and it’s not pivotal
in your marketing.

That’s it. No big mystery. No huge hurdle. If you aren’t “feeling it”—it’s because
you’re not feeling a passionate belief. Which could mean you’re not feeling a lot of
anything—maybe your “winning formula” in life has been to be highly intellectual
and not feel. It does require feeling to change the world, for certain. And a
passionate belief is what will get you feeling. It is then woven into absolutely
everything you do as a business owner.

You see, changing the world doesn’t have to mean that you “have a dream” that
literally touches every person on the globe—though, aspire for that, I say! And
being a leader doesn’t have to mean standing on a platform that millions can see—
though…! It means that you have a belief you cannot contain inside your own
skin and you know it will solve a problem.

You have it. I know you have it. For years, I have worked with countless visionary
entrepreneurs (coaches, consultants, wellness practitioners, speakers, authors),
and in our work,every single one of them excavates a passionate belief—their
leadership message. You can, too. Indeed, it is time.

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that a passionate belief is all well and good,
but without strong internal conditioning, it will fall limp. A leader must call
herself to very high personal standards to actually lead and effect change. But that’s
for another time.

Right now—just live and breathe this question: What do I believe passionately?

Join me on a very special call Feb 23–A Time to Lead: Do You Dare? Read more
here.

Filed Under: A Little Inspiration, brand yourself Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Final Session to Help 2 Financial Coaches Get Clients. Today: Planning the Launch!

October 21, 2010 By

In this 8th and final session, I make sure M&M leave with a sound
plan-of-action they can implement without me; that they have
a strategy for “launch.”

I help to take them from where they are right now—with a com-
pletely designed signature program and solid marketing strategies
–to the day they deliver their program. We create a “count-down”
to the event, and I cover everything from what to say to referral
partners to inspire them to spread the word about the program, to
what to say to get speaking engagements at churches and schools….
to the all-important, and always over-looked, math exercise to
determine how many people they need in their room to break-even,
make a profit, and have a healthy conversion into their next program.

A similar countdown is in chapter 11 of Speak Free and Profit (that
ebook you see on the right-hand side of the page), and it is very
detailed, but I’ll share what I had M&M do so you see how meticu-
lous you need to get. What do they do with all of the Touch Point
1 contacts I had them collect? They need to reach out to them
to see if they’re open to hosting M&M or referring them. I make
M&M write down all of the dates when they will make those calls.
Then they must mail the letter of introduction I wrote for churches
and schools.

Next (and promptly), in order to have something tangible to give
to these contacts, they must take the copy I wrote for them for
their promotional postcard and get it designed by a graphic
designer or Vistaprint, or Overnightprints. I make them put
the date in their calendar when they will send the copy to the
designer and when they’ll have the postcards in their hands.

Then, when will they go networking? They have just 3-4 months
to promote, and in that time, they need to saturate the market
with their presence and promotional material. And when will they
do their “video promotion” day, when they interview couples on
the street?

Next…how will they secure registrations? They need to add an
autoresponder to their technology, and have a page on their
website just for registrations. Even before that, they need to
secure a hotel, or the venue where they will host their seminar.
Again, I ensure that they write all of this down in their calendar
because I won’t be with them to provide accountability.

Very important, they need to carve out lots of time to practice.
And in order to deliver the “offer-from-stage,” they need to have
fleshed out the details of their next program (the 1-Day). So, when
are they going to sit down and design that program? They also need
to create a hand-out for their offer-from-stage—an order and/or
description form for the audience to hold while M tells them
about the 1-Day program.

Sound overwhelming? Sound like you don’t want to bother with
so much work? Well, M&M have each other to lighten the load, and
you can certainly hire someone to help you—but even if you work
alone, just taking one step at a time and putting each step into
your calendar are the keys to a smooth transition. Then, before
you know it, you’re on that stage, sharing the message and the solution
your market so desperately needs—and you look back at the stream
of things you did to get there, the frustration you experienced and
the pitfalls–and they all fade into the background. You are offering
an invaluable service, sharing your heart and your wisdom—helping
transform an audience—while you also make far more money than
you would working one-on-one. It’s well worth every step.

And M&M feel that way as we say good-bye. It’s been a steep incline
for them, doing things they’d never done before—and at warp speed,
no less: eight sessions in just one month. As we wind-down our last call,
the female “M” says to me, after much acknowledgment,  “We need a
break from you, girl!” I laugh. “Those are the sweetest words I’ve ever
heard. It means I did my job.” She responds, “You did your job
exceedingly and in abundance!”

Truly, I couldn’t ask for more.
I hope you enjoyed this 8-day blog series! And if you ever need
me to help you with your signature program, I’m here!

And you know that everything I did with M&M is available for
you in an 8 CD-Set, Getting Clients with an Irresistible
Signature Program that Sells AND Transforms, right?
I’m very excited to be able to offer that to you. Go see the
videos and grab your copy by clicking here!

Filed Under: Eavesdropping on Sessions, Sales and Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Session #6/8 With Financial Coaches: Copywriting for Their Marketing!

October 20, 2010 By

So what’s so important about having a signature program?
There are many advantages for a business, not the least of
which is that it is a sure-fire differentiation strategy.  As a
communications expert, I’m interested also in the fact that
it streamlines what the heck you talk about when describing
your business! When I attend networking meetings (which I
still do occasionally), and certainly in my daily work with
coaches, I consistently notice that they discuss several
things they’ve got cooking. The brain can’t process all this
information. It wants to know you’re doing one thing. So,
in Session 6, one of the things I tell M&M is that they will
now be speaking only about “Feast or Famine,” their portal
event. On their website, ideally, they would have a squeeze
page, inviting people only to this event—rather than explaining
in detail all the things they offer. This always produces a big
sigh of relief for my clients, who are always aware that typically
their communication isn’t effective because they talk about
too much.

In this session, we also discuss possible copy for their promo-
tional postcard and I emphasize the need for their couples to
“self-identify”—to say, “That’s us!”—and to do it either in
the headline or in the first paragraph, and certainly through-
out the rest of the copy. So, I play around with a few possible
headlines for them that satisfy this requirement, then we pull
the first line of the copy straight out of their heads and gut:
It (marriage, as referred to in the headline) hasn’t worked out
the way you envisioned it, has it? So we’ve slammed them
with two “self-identifying” questions in the headline and
first sentence.

Then we list several unwanted things in their lives that
they never envisioned—things directly related to their
financial stress, and we further “call them out” by discussing
their particularly unique situation: that they make a good
income but continually coming up short. This rules out
other couples who don’t have that issue.

Then we slip on M&M’s “older and wiser couple” persona
with the next paragraph that begins, “We know.” And
continues on with the brief story of their financial struggles
twenty years ago and the constant fights they used to have,
inserting some of the accusations they hurled at each other,
which we know their market most certainly does as well. This
is another self-identifying tactic. And we conclude that
paragraph by saying, “we’ve weathered those storms and
are here to show you how to, too.”

Below that, in the center, is the title of their program and below
that, centered, is the thesis argument of their “brand
concept” (Remember that? It’s a teaching point around
which their portal program revolves.) Theirs is that financial
struggle is directly related to a secret communication cycle
they can’t see. Below the thesis, we put the statement, “You
must attend this special seminar to break free of that cycle
once and for all.” (That’s what I wrote about yesterday:
activating the compulsory need in humans to know). Then
we describe what they’ll learn in the 90-minute program and
conclude with logistical information such as where, when
and how to register.

Of course, I don’t write this on the fly; I spend time in off-call
hours constructing the final language, but we flesh out the
basics in this session.

I’m happy to provide some key pointers for your promotional
copy! I kept this post purposely vague for copyright purposes,
but there’s enough direction here for you to apply the general
concepts to your own marketing pieces.

TOMORROW IS THE DAY!! You can own this entire 8-session
consultation! To see the first of two videos introducing the CD,
click here now!

Filed Under: Eavesdropping on Sessions, Sales and Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

8 Sessions with 2 Financial Coaches Who Want Clients

October 12, 2010 By

I had an 8-session consultation with two financial coaches
who wanted more clients to walk in the door. There was one
thing they were clear on: once they had clients, these two
coaches would do amazing work with them. The trick was
getting them in the door! Sound familiar?

Over the next 8 days, you’re going to get the chance to
“eavesdrop” in on my sessions with “M&M” and get some
ideas for your own business. This is just a sampling of
the work I do and I decided to make it public—not just
in these blog posts, but in a CD product I’m launching
next week! You’ll be able to get the actual sessions,
plus 2 great bonuses, starting next Tuesday.

So Session 1 with M&M. Of course, I need to get the lay of
the land: how long have they been coaching, who have
they been coaching, etc. They tell me they were trained
through Dave Ramsey and have been coaching couples
on and off for ten years, mostly giving their coaching
away. Now, they’re ready to make money! I am pleased
to see that they have a somewhat Brain-Sticky differentia-
tion already, promoting themselves as, to paraphrase,
the “seasoned couple working with younger couples.”
This is, of course, very appealing, as what younger couple
wouldn’t want to be guided by an “older and wiser” couple,
who had weathered financial storms in marriage?

I am also pleased to see that they have a target market!
I can’t tell you how many service entrepreneurs don’t.
“Couples” is still too broad, but we can begin to focus this
down by looking at the age of their market’s children. Do
M&M work with very new couples, who have newborns?
Or those who have preschoolers? Or are they in high school,
facing the issue of college? Each “era” has its own difficulties
and it is critical to know which difficulty they want to
address as coaches. They tell me that most of their clients
have children in elementary-school, indicating that (generally),
the parents have been married at least seven years, and up
to 14 years.  These are often pressure-cooker times, when
the honeymoon is over, financial issues are no longer
ignorable and volcanic eruptions occur.

I begin to take M&M through a process I call the “Trigger
Event.” The fact is, humans walk around thinking they can
handle most of their issues by themselves, or at least with
the help of friends and family. But something happens, one
day—in fact, one moment—that triggers their dawning reali-
zation that they need help. This is a tough exercise for most
people, and M&M and I move right in like “Google Earth” on
their couples, looking in on a typical scene when such an
awakening might occur. They decide the couple is reviewing
a new credit card statement and we move through the entire
scene: what the conversation is like, what eruption occurs,
and what finally “pops the cork;” has one or both of them
blurting out, “We can’t do this alone!”

Why is this important to know? For starters, it is critical
to understand that you won’t make money if your market
isn’t hungry—and they aren’t always hungry. I always tell
my clients and students that your greatest competition is
not someone else, but rather the idea, “I can do this myself.”
But there will be a tipping point when they are in such pain
or frustration they are finally ready to spend money. And
you want to know what that pain is—on a very specific level
—so you can refer to it in marketing copy, creating intimacy
with your market as they “self-identify,” saying, “That’s me!”
—and so you can potentially influence that trigger event in
those who haven’t had it yet. The trials and tribulations are
there in the background, like a humming furnace, but they
haven’t realized they need help yet. You can help them
realize it, by talking about those moments, only if you know
what they are.

So, what is a moment that would wake up your market
from enduring and tolerating whatever is not working for
them? Would love to hear your ideas below! And be sure
to come back tomorrow, when M&M decide on the strategy
they’re going to use to get more clients!

Filed Under: Eavesdropping on Sessions, Sales and Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Marketable Is Your Service Business?

September 8, 2010 By

 

Very soon, I’ll be leading my intensive, Masters-Degree-
Level program, 12 Sentences: The Ultimate Business Creation
and Articulation Course, and one of the first issues we address
immediately in The 9 Strategic Inquiries Manual is the question,
“Are you marketable?” And it’s a tough inquiry. It’s scary to look
at whether what you have is good-enough. Perhaps you’ve put
months and years into learning a process that really matters to
you—but is it something the market really wants? You think it’s
a great idea, but does anyone else? And can you support (prove)
your claim that they would want it?

In this particular chapter and corresponding weekly call, participants
must face a few hard realities about the viability of their services.
When they don’t have enough clients, I always say, “Maybe they’re
just not that into you.” And sometimes that’s something you can
change (with a vamped-up Brain-Sticky differentiation, and/or a
new target market, and then strong, Brain-Sticky communications.)

But other times, you just aren’t selling anything the world wants.
We probably all remember what happened with New Coke. But
Pepsi failed, too, with its Pepsi A.M. and Crystal Pepsi. As Wallet
Pops writes on its blog:

      In the late 1980s, Pepsi came up with the brilliant plan
      to cater to the  breakfast cola drinker, under the assumption
      that because Pepsi contained caffeine, it must be a natural
      substitute for coffee. Well, you know what they say about
      assumptions — but needless to say, Pepsi AM was not successful,
      and neither was Pepsi’s later foray into clear cola, Crystal Pepsi.
      Apparently, when it comes to cola, the consumers know what
      they want — they want it brown, and they want to drink it all day
      long.

Then there was bottled water for pets, Harley Davidson Perfume,
Maxwell House Ready-to-Drink Coffee, RJ Reynolds smokeless
cigarettes and, of course, the Ford Edsel. These are enormous
companies, with vast resources, and certainly the ability to
conduct meticulous market research—yet in the end, the idea
failed. Nobody wanted what they were offering. And it
cost them millions. In many cases throughout business history,
it cost a company its entire reputation. It had one shot and blew
it.

So, can you escape this fate yourself? Or is it part and parcel of
being in business? I personally think it is, absolutely. Ideas are
going to fail. The trick is to not put all of our “eggs in one basket”;
to not fixate on one idea for business, stubbornly refusing to alter
direction. This is an issue I see with many of the students and clients
I’ve worked with over the years: they want to have the business
they want to have and no matter what they have to do, they’re
going to push that round peg into the square hole. People need this
service and come hell or high water, they’re going to get it! 

And then their sales are limp and they blame the economy, or make
excuses that they’re too busy to really promote their business…
when the reality is that the public doesn’t want what they have.

And I hate to say this, but I see this with greatest frequency among
service providers—coaches, wellness practitioners, speakers. They’re
not offering a marketable product or program.

How can you tell if you’re one of them? For starters, are you feeding
a significant pain? A service business solves a problem, and it
must be front and center, top-of-mind. You cannot be in a position
where you are convincing someone that they need you. They need
to ”get” that they need you—and they will if they’re acutely aware
of their pain.

Are you really focusing there? Or are you focusing on your great
service? Have you just earned a certification through an energy
healing school and are you all excited about how powerful and
transformational the work is? Or are you blown away by your
coaching school’s unique technique and can’t wait to share it?
Neither of these techniques will be marketable until they solve
a very noticeable problem.

You are un-marketable until you have a market with acute pain.

Now, maybe I’m going too far. You may be marketable to a market
with mild pain—but you’ll be relegated to your market’s “discretionary
income” column in their budget. You will be a luxury because without
a significant issue they need alleviated, there’s no urgency to buying
you.

In the service industry, people buy what they cannot do themselves.
And their spending rises in direct proportion to the degree of their pain
and to their inability to do it themselves. That’s why we pay a pretty
penny for lawyers, accountants, electricians, plumbers: we need them
badly and we don’t have their expertise.

You fall into the category of “highly marketable” when you find the
sweet-spot between these two.

So, to recap, to be marketable you need to solve an acute problem—
for the right market and have a specialty that they don’t have and that
they recognize they need, in order to alleviate their pain.

Now luckily, unlike most products, a service can be adjusted.  Indeed,
an entire service business can be adjusted (and must be!) to meet the
tastes of a particular market. A truly ho-hum, unmarketable business
can suddenly jump to life when its programs and services are revamped
to diminish or eliminate a specific pain in a truly original way.

One of the twelve sentences participants have to write in my 12 Sentences
course—after they’ve finished the incredibly rigorous strategic work–is,
“Why you MUST buy my service over doing nothing?” This, I tell them,
is their greatest competitor–not someone else in their field. When you
can answer this, (and all the other sentences) you are marketable. When
their pain is sharp enough and ”doing nothing” is unacceptable or just not
possible, they’ll buy you. So, try your hand at this one this week.

And tune in for the 3 free calls next week that give a sneak-peek into
12 Sentences. I have a feeling that Pepsi may have escaped their
major blunders if they’d taken it. 🙂

Filed Under: Sales and Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Get Your Heart On Straight

August 31, 2010 By

All of us are bombarded with “buy this!” messages, and as
business owners, I think we can sometimes drown in the
self-doubt these messages activate. “I should be doing that?!
I didn’t know that!” Furthermore, “inspired entrepreneurs”
—those wanting to change the world—can easily drown in
the constant quest to do it “right” because they feel a bit out
of sorts in the business arena, and so grab at countless promises,
praying they’ll be a life-line.

In other words, there’s a lot of fear that passes through the
hearts of coaches, wellness practitioners, authors and
speakers when it comes to business. And fear, as we know,
is entirely corrosive. It eats the healthy parts of us and all
too often kills our businesses all together.

Today, I’d like to make a suggestion: Get your heart on
straight. Take your head, in fact, and set it aside for a while
as you re-acquaint yourself with the meaning of your life.
Your mission. Your mission. You. You have one. One that
is independent of your business. Ask yourself, “What am I
here for? What am I very clear I am not here for? What is my
highest purpose on this earth?”

And put it on paper.

And ask yourself, “Am I living this?”

If you’re not, it is absolutely time to get your heart on straight.

Then, step your thoughts back into your business. What is its
highest purpose on earth? What is it to accomplish that will
move humanity forward? At the very pinnacle of its success,
what will it have achieved…that is important to our evolution?

Be called by something bigger than yourself and the marketing
messages you receive constantly will fall into two categories:
those that do not match your personal and business missions,
and those that do. This will be clear to you and you will be
far better equipped to say no to the wrong ones and yes to the
right. The fear and self-doubt these messages can invoke will also
fade as purpose–far greater than your little self and your little
business (not to be condescending, but just factual)–fills your
heart and transcends the minutiae of daily marketing messages.

Something must both anchor and emancipate you as you move
through the busy-ness of your business. Otherwise, you will be
swallowed up by the latest fads, trends and concepts—in the hope
that one will be your savior.

Your “savior” is connecting back to what you are here for. And
then ensuring that every action you take aligns with that–including
the business you offer and the way you offer it.

So, get back to the basics and get your heart on straight. Putting your
personal mission and your business mission into words—and then
sharing it with others—will ground you when you get unfocused,
and free you when you get tangled in fear and self-doubt. You are
here for a reason. When you do business from that realization,
nothing will stop you, and you will pull to you the right and perfect
guidance.

This is the first “Strategic Inquiry” we address in my upcoming 12
Sentences Business Creation & Articulation Course. More on that
soon.

Filed Under: A Little Inspiration, Business Articulation, Sales and Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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