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When I first started providing business coaching services, I followed the time for money model that all coaches at that time were trained to use. I charged a monthly fee for two hours of time with me every month.

That worked well while I was in start-up mode. But, it stopped working so well when I reached a full practice. I ran out of the time and energy I needed to add more new clients and additional income. I started to realize there was a cap on my profits.

I could see only three options: either work harder and longer hours to increase my income, or raise my rates, or settle for a less than satisfactory income level.

I chose to raise my rates. I was too timid to go back to my current clients and tell them I wanted more money, so I just increased my fee for new clients. That worked all right for quite a while, and I was content with a decent hourly rate and a full roster of clients.

It wasn’t until I started learning about different business models that I realized I had been in my own little world of not knowing there were other options for me to have a much more profitable business.

It wasn’t until I implemented a new business model and leveraging strategies that I was able to bring in the kind of income I wanted to make. The knowledge of new business models and ways to leverage my time and energy was the foundation for my being able to even imagine making six figures or more.

I made the shift from professional practitioner to business owner first by branching out into multiple streams of income – such as group coaching programs, workshops, training and speaking, and then creating a line of information products. Over time, I discovered additional leveraging models, such as the membership or association model.

Now I know that there are many ways to structure your business so you can move away from trading all your time for money and enjoy much more income and freedom in your business. If you’re not bringing in the kind of money you want, your business model and service delivery systems are the first places to look.

The business models and systems ideas are almost endless so you can attract more clients and make more money without working so hard. I teach those newer models to all my clients. I love showing women how to shift away from trading all their time for money and implementing systems to leverage what they know into multiple streams of income.

Is your business model set up so you can bring in more money with less effort? If not, here’s what to do. First, look for ways you could deliver your services to multiple people at one time. Or, consider raising your rates by packaging your service delivery in different ways that provide more value without taking more of your time. Or, if you have a proven program or signature system, licensing or selling your home-study system might be another option for you to consider to increase your income to the level you want.

Think out of the box with creative, innovative ways to deliver and leverage your existing services, and watch your income start to soar!

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Is your business model set up so you can bring in more money with less effort? I love showing women how to shift away from trading all their time for money and implementing systems to leverage what they know into multiple streams of income.

Join me for a Special FREE one hour Teleseminar on
THURSDAY, FEB 2nd, 2012 at 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific

“Smart Strategies to Create a Client Attractive Signature Program: How to Attract More Clients, Achieve Expert Status, and Take the Ceiling Off Your Income by Packaging Your Expertise” – Free Training Call”

You’ll learn the steps you need to take to redesign your business around your expertise, create your signature program to attract more clients, and shift into a six-figure business model.

Find out more and sign up here

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Are you looking for proven business growth strategies that REALLY work? Get all the details here for my new coaching program “Make a Bigger Difference: The Step-by-Step Method to Leverage Your Expertise Into a High-Profit, High-Impact,Multiple Streams of Income Business” – 5 Month Teleseminar & Live Webinar Training for Solo Professionals” that STARTS WED FEB 8th – and start kicking your business into high gear today!

Find out more and sign up here

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Copyright © Jan Marie Dore ~ www.femalepreneurs.com ~ All rights reserved.

Jan Marie Dore, ‘The Professional Women’s Success Coach’, Master Certified Coach, Speaker, and Author, publishes valuable ideas to grow a professional service business and increase profitability in her newsletter ‘Success Secrets for Solo-Professional Women’.Jan Marie teaches self-employed female professionals to attract more clients and financial success, and as a result, live extraordinary lives. For free resources and programs on marketing a professional practice please visit Femalepreneurs.com and read the Blog Prosperous Professional Women

RETURN TO DIRECTORY TO READ MORE SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING ARTICLES FOR SOLO-PROFESSIONAL WOMEN

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Attracting clients can be effortless when you focus on your strengths rather than trying to improve your areas of weakness. There  might be something you are already doing that comes easily to you, something you might take for granted, but which could be the best way for you to connect with potential clients. If you spend more time doing that, rather than trying to do all the various marketing activities that are possible, over time you’ll achieve success.

Here are some ideas for growing your client base if you’re in the early stages of your business:

1. Get the Word Out
Who doesn’t know about you yet? Tell everyone you know about your new business.  Let them know what you do and who you do it for. If you get in the habit of always telling everyone you know what you are up to and asking for their help in growing your business, that may be enough to bring you all the clients you need. Ask for their support and ask for referrals. Keep them updated regularly. And – remember to always ask what you can do for them.

2. Focus on Benefits
Focus on the benefits of what you do, not on the way you do it or the process you use. One mistake professionals often make is talking about HOW they work with people.  Most people are interested in what’s in it for them, not how you do your work. People want to hear what outcomes or results they might expect from working with you, not how you are going to get them that result. For example, an accountant might say that the benefit of their work with clients is ‘peace of mind’, rather than saying ‘we’ll have your monthly statements ready on time’. Hear the difference?

3. Develop a Powerful Self-Introduction
Many self-employed professionals lack the confidence and the clarity to declare succinctly who they are, what they do, and who they do it for. It often takes time to find the exact words that will have an impact.  Having a clear self-introduction implies that you have made some choices about who your ideal clients are and what your strengths are in working with them. A simple formula for your self-introduction is to say who you work with, what their key challenge is, how you can help them solve that problem, and what the long-term effect of your solution would be for them.

4. Be Very Interested in Your Potential Clients
Don’t try to ‘sell’ your services. That’s too painful! Instead, engage in conversation with people and be REALLY interested in them – genuinely, of course. Stop trying to persuade people to buy, and instead, find a way to be in relationship with each person you speak with. Don’t use a canned sales talk; have a REAL conversation that reaches into the heart of what this potential client really wants to talk about.

5. Network Like Crazy
Every encounter you have is a chance to expand your network. In order to attract more clients, you’ll need to expand your circle of influence. You have to get the word out to everyone you know, then count on them to get the word out to everyone they know.  And voila – thanks to the theory of six degrees of separation, hundreds, or even thousands of people will know who you are and what you do. You can network through groups or associations, or even by volunteering. Your local paper will have a listing of events you can choose from in the weekly business section.

Make attracting clients fun. Make it a game. Challenge yourself to approach more people and strike up a conversation. Reframe ‘selling’ to ‘forming new relationships’ and you’ll be well on your way to having a steady stream of new prospects calling you.

There is no one right or best way to attract clients. Get your message out to as many people as possible. The more people who know about you, the more likely you will be to attract all the clients you can handle.


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Copyright © Jan Marie Dore ~ www.janmariedore.com ~ All rights reserved.Jan Marie Dore, ‘The Professional Womens’ Success Coach’, Master Certified Coach, Speaker, and Author, publishes valuable ideas to grow a professional service business and increase profitability in her newsletter ‘Success Secrets for Professional Women’.

Jan teaches self-employed female professionals to attract more clients and financial success, and as a result, live extraordinary lives. For free resources and programs on marketing a professional practice please visit Femalepreneurs.com and read the Blog Success Secrets.

Jan
06

The Four New Cs of Marketing

Posted by: Jan Marie Dore | Comments (0)

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Marketing in this day and age needs to be a two-way communication. In a professional service business, it may make more sense to focus on the four C’s of marketing rather than the more traditional four P’s. They are much more customer oriented – and you need to think like your clients to do your best marketing.

Originally coined by Robert F. Lauterborn, co-author of “The New Marketing Paradigm: Integrated Marketing Communications”, the four C’s are more client centered and encourage us to view our business from the client’s perspective. They represent a fundamental shift in the marketing paradigm in response to the dramatic changes in the way people now make their buying decisions.

  • Instead of Product – you have Customer Value
  • Instead of Place – Convenience
  • For Price – Cost
  • For Promotion – Communication

Here are some guidelines on these concepts and why they are important to consider in your marketing plan.

Customer Value
You can no longer sell whatever you want to. You can only sell what people specifically want to buy. Understand your client’s needs and wants through ongoing survey and feedback so that you can provide massive value back to them.

Convenience
With the Internet and increased competition, the availability of similar services is infinite. Think convenience to buy. Make it very convenient for consumers to acquire your products and services. Many websites are set up to sell online 24/7 so that when the client is ready to buy, they don’t have to wait.

Cost
Understand consumer’s costs to satisfy their wants and needs. Determine how customers will respond to paying your sales prices by doing some market research. Are your price points set at the level where customers are willing to buy?

Communication
Forget Promotion; the new word is Communication. Mass marketing no longer works. Two-way conversation is essential. Your marketing communication may need to be more of a relationship-based process.

In today’s economy, it’s very easy for consumers to take their dollars elsewhere. If you can understand your client’s needs and wants through ongoing survey and feedback, you will be able to provide lots of value back to them.

To promote yourself effectively, you need to stand in your clients and shoes, and look at things from their perspective. If you practice these four C’s you’ll have a better chance of connecting with your potential clients.

Take Action

Review your marketing practices in the following four areas:

1. Customer Value
Survey your client’s needs and wants on an ongoing basis so that you can provide massive value back to them.

2. Convenience
How convenient do you make it for consumers to acquire your products and services? Can they purchase from you 24/7 through your website?

3. Cost
How are customers responding to paying your sales prices? Will they buy at the price points you have set?

4. Communication
Take a look at your marketing communication. Is it one-way or two-way? Do you encourage comments and feedback? Can you say it’s a relationship-based process?

© Copyright Jan Marie Dore www.janmariedore.com All rights reserved.

Jan Marie Dore, ‘The Professional Women’s Success Coach’, Speaker and Author, publishes valuable marketing tips to grow a professional service business and increase profitability in her newsletter and blog ‘Success Secrets for Solo Professional Women’.

Jan Marie teaches women how to attract more clients and financial success, and as a result, live extraordinary lives. For free resources and programs on marketing a professional practice please visit Femalepreneurs.com .

RETURN TO DIRECTORY TO READ MORE SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING ARTICLES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Attracting and retaining prospects and clients is the lifeblood of any business. Yet one of the biggest challenges most of the entrepreneurs and self employed professionals I work with say they have is getting a steady stream of new clients.

Is this a challenge for you?

Well, if so, you’re not alone. I know that when I started my professional coaching business many years ago, I struggled for the first few years to build up a full practice of clients. Now, I have systems and support in place to generate new leads for my website and my business automatically so that the marketing is not such a time-consuming effort anymore.

If you need more clients to sustain the income for your business or professional practice, here are three of the best ways to generate new business quickly.

1. Ask for Referrals.

Asking for referrals is the number one way for most businesses to get new business. Yet many professionals don’t use this strategy because they are not confident in asking clients and colleagues to refer to them on. You can send an email, a letter, or a postcard to everyone in your database letting them know that you build your business through referrals and that you have openings for new clients. Be clear about the type of client you are looking for and how you can help them achieve a certain outcome or result. Being as specific as possible will make it easier for people to refer you new business.

2. Give a Free Talk or Teleseminar.

Giving free talks is a great way to put yourself in front of people who might be interested in your services. There are numerous places in every city where you could give a free talk. Teleseminars are also a great way to gain wider exposure. Be strategic in giving your presentation only to people who are in your target audience so there is more likelihood they will hire you. Focus on delivering good content, and weave in stories about the results people receive by working with you. Make a ‘call to action’ at the end of your talk to entice people to follow up, and have business cards, a brochure, and/or a handout they can take away with them.

3. Contact Former Clients.

This is the one of the most overlooked yet one of the best ways to get new clients quickly. Most professionals make the mistake of continually looking for brand new clients. This can be costly and time consuming. They don’t think to try the quick, low-cost way of contacting and reactivating former clients. People who have worked with you in the past will often be willing to work with you again – especially if you make them an offer they can’t refuse. Contact former clients and make them a special offer, or offer them a slight discount for the first session. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many say yes.

If your business needs an infusion of cash and clients right now, try any one of these quick, low-cost way to generate new prospects and clients. It can be easier than you think!

Wishing you much joy and prosperity in 2012!
Jan

P.S. Are you coming NEXT WEEK Friday, January 13th for my one day WORKSHOP “ATTRACT MORE GREAT NEW CLIENTS WITH A SMART MARKETING PLAN AND STRATEGY FOR 2012”? I’ll teach you easy ways to simplify your marketing, increase your visibility and income, and build a meaningful business around your life purpose.

Early price just $99 until TODAY January 3rd – save $80 off the full price of $179 by signing up NOW. Burlington, Ontario. Seats are filling up – limited to only 18 women – Join Us . . .

RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW here for the “Smart Marketing Intensive

P.P.S: Can’t make the live workshop? Why not schedule a private half-day virtual intensive with me to create your blueprint for success? Together we’ll design your customized plan to attract more clients, opportunities and income in 2012. Find out more and sign up here for your own “VIP Private Virtual Intensive”


Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine? You’re welcome to, however we do require that you include the copyright and the following bio with live web site link. Please also notify us where the material will appear. copyright by Jan Marie Dore of Femalepreneurs.com.

Jan Marie Dore mentors coaches, speakers, consultants and other solo-professional women to work fewer hours and make more money with online business building strategies. Get your free Professional Women’s Success Kit and other marketing resources at http://www.femalepreneurs.com


I’m getting ready to celebrate the holidays, as I’m sure you are too, but I wanted to take a moment to share with you a quick business assessment that can potentially shift your income dramatically in 2012.

With the changing economy, you may have noticed changes in the effectiveness of your marketing tactics. In this period of slower economic growth, the women business owners who clarify the most profitable zone in their marketplace are the ones who will come out on top. It’s now more important than ever to find a profitable niche you can be a leader in.

Do you know your ‘Perfect Profit Zone’?

If not, here’s a quick assessment you can take for your current business to determine your most profitable and in-demand services and products.

First, look for these two groups or client types in your current client base:

  1. clients who have been the most loyal

  2. clients who have been the most profitable

Then, look at your services, programs and products to determine:

  1. which ones are in most demand

  2. which ones are the most profitable

Now, find the intersection of your most loyal, profitable clients AND your most profitable, in-demand services and products, and you’ll know where the sweet spot is in your business that you can now leverage in 2010 for continued growth and profitability.

I invite you to post your comments and thoughts below.

Wishing you much joy and love during this holiday season,
Jan

P.S. Are you joining me Friday, January 13th for my one day workshop “ATTRACT MORE GREAT NEW CLIENTS WITH A SMART MARKETING PLAN AND STRATEGY FOR 2012”? I’ll teach you easy ways to simplify your marketing, increase your visibility and income, and build your business around your life purpose.

Only $99 until Dec 28th – save $80 off the full price of $179 by signing up early. Give yourself the gift of working ON your big business VISION for one full day. Burlington, Ontario. Seats are filling up – limited to only 18 women – so

RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW here for the “Smart Marketing Intensive


Visualizing your goals and desires is a very powerful way to attract what you want into your life more quickly. Before visualizing, the first thing you need to do is to make a decision about what you really want. You need to get crystal clear on exactly what you want to experience or have in your life six months, one year, and three years from now. You need to set some goals, write them down, and add dates for when you want to achieve them.
success
Once you have determined your goals, you need to really believe that you can actually have them. Belief always precedes attraction and results. You’ll want to picture yourself doing work you love, working with only your ideal clients, making your ideal income, and having enough time off for friends, family and personal interests.

Use your imagination to put yourself inside your visualization as if it were happening right now in this moment. Imagine what it feels and looks like to have achieved your goals. Picture it like a movie that’s unfolding, not just a snapshot in time. For example, if you want to attract more ideal clients, actually imagine their faces, see then interacting with you, and hear them say “Yes, I’m ready to work with you.” Feel the joy your experience in that moment.

If increased income is your goal, picture your ideal clients handing you a check made out with your name on it and the exact increased amount you want to charge for your services and programs. Or, if you take credit cards, imagine swiping their card or them giving you their number so you can process their order. Feel the sense of security and confidence you will feel as your bank balance increases.

Breathe in the positive feelings you experience as you imagine your ideal scene. Notice if you feel happier, more self-assured or confident, more peaceful or energized when you picture your goals being achieved. The feelings that come up for you are an essential piece to activate your vision and turn it into reality.

For best results, visualize daily. First thing in the morning and last thing at night are the best times. Throughout the day, you might also use a visual cue, such as a vision board, to remind you to connect with your vision and imagine the outcomes you want. Imagine as if it were happening right now, and make all your decisions from that future place.

Many people are visualizing, but get stopped in the belief part of the goal achievement process. They have some self-limiting beliefs they need to clear before the visualization will have enough power to attract what they really want.

For example, they may say “I want to earn a million dollars”, but their underlying belief says “I’d have to work too hard to make seven figures” or “People would never be willing to pay me enough for me to earn seven figures”. In coaching, we call this having conflicting intentions. The effect is that one intention cancels the other out and nothing happens.

The other factor that stops people from achieving what they really want is a lack of expecting the desired result to happen. If they have made a firm decision and clearly pictured the goals they want to achieve, and really they believe they can accomplish what they set out to do, then it’s often a lack of expectation that gets in the way.

People will say they want something, but then they don’t actually expect it will happen. They don’t take the action they need to take as if they were expecting it to happen, and consequently they don’t see the opportunity because they’re not really expecting it to show up.

So, the steps necessary to visualize your success are clarity, decision, visualization, feel the feelings, believe, expect results and take committed action. If you’re missing one of these steps, go back to the beginning and go through all the steps again to achieve the outcomes you really want.

Share your thoughts on visualizing below. What success have you had with visualizing the results you desire?


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© by Jan Marie Dore of Femalepreneurs.com.
Jan Marie Dore mentors coaches, speakers, consultants and other solo-professional women to work fewer hours and make more money with online business building strategies. Get your free ‘Professional Women’s Success Kit’ and other marketing resources at Femalepreneurs.com

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Personal Branding can be a powerful tool for success. If you are marketing yourself or your professional services, a strong personal brand will draw people and opportunities to you like a magnet.

Personal Branding is about honing your skills, narrowing your focus, and getting clear on what you’re passionate about.

Branding is not just about you being better than your competition. It’s about getting your prospects to choose you as the ONLY solution to their problem.

Here are seven powerful benefits of creating a strong personal brand:
Read More→

The quality and quantity of ideal clients you will attract is in direct relation to the work you put into building a client-attracting personal brand. You can increase your brand value by managing your website appearance and by communicating effectively with your marketplace.

Here’s how:

  • Set up your website and blog so that you are speaking directly to your ideal prospects. Make the content about them, not all about you. You have about 30 seconds to capture their attention, and if they don’t see what they’re looking for, they will click away.
  • Make an enticing offer at your website and blog that is very easy to see as soon as someone arrives at any of your pages. Don’t just say “sign up for my newsletter”. That just doesn’t work anymore. You must provide something that your prospects can get immediately and that they would value enough to give you their name and e-mail address in exchange for. (So you can build your list, of course!).
  • Post to your blog a few times a week some relevant tips and actionable information that your ideal clients will benefit from. Communicate authentically from your expertise and come from a place of helping your clients solve their most pressing problems.
  • Communicate consistently to your list so that they come to know, like and trust you. Twice a month or once a week is a good rhythm to get into. Be consistent with the day and time so they look forward to receiving your messages. Let your passion, expertise and personality shine through.

Do these four things and you will have the foundation for a client-attracting personal brand attracts more of your ideal clients authentically without you having to work so hard at selling.

I invite you to post your comments below.



Build the Buzz for Your Brand Online – Free Teleseminar TUESDAY


I invite you to join me TUESDAY, November 22nd for my FREE Teleseminar: “Six Smart Strategies to Build the Buzz for Your Brand Online”.

Sign up here

In this value-packed training call, I’ll share with you my online marketing secrets so you can make a name for yourself in your niche market and make a bigger difference in the world.

You’ll learn exactly what you need to do to create a well-known, in-demand, client-attracting personal brand so you can work less, have more freedom, and make more money in your solo-business.

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© Copyright Jan Marie Dore www.janmariedore.com All rights reserved.Jan Marie Dore, ‘The Professional Women’s Success Coach’, Speaker and Author, publishes valuable marketing tips to grow a professional service business and increase profitability in her newsletter and blog ‘Success Secrets for Solo Professional Women’.
Jan Marie teaches women how to attract more clients and financial success, and as a result, live extraordinary lives. For free resources and programs on marketing a professional practice please visit Femalepreneurs.com .

RETURN TO DIRECTORY TO READ MORE SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING ARTICLES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Click the arrow to listen to Jan Marie Dore reading this article


Is your website bringing you all the sales and opportunities you want?

Over the years as I have studied marketing best practices and mentored thousands of women entrepreneurs in marketing and growing their business, I have observed what works and what doesn’t work in creating effective websites that sell.

All too often I have seen entrepreneurs and professionals spend thousands of dollars on pretty but ineffective websites. They pay someone for a lovely design but that person may not know the basics of how your website needs to be designed so that you get more leads and more sales.

Here are the mistakes I see and the steps to fix them:
Read More→

In today’s crowded online marketplace, building your reputation as a thought leader or expert is one of the best strategies to give your attention to in your professional service or expertise-based business.

It’s easy to make a name for yourself if you know what to do and how to do it effectively so that you stand out and get noticed.

Here are my three tips to make a name for yourself in the online world if you’re a coach, consultant, speaker, trainer or other solo-professional who provides a service:
Read More→

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