The More Clients Blog

MC Blog: Business Plan or Lifestyle Plan?

We all need a business plan, right? Well yes, but we need a lifestyle plan even more.

Simply put, a business plan outlines our business goals, our strategy to reach those goals and the tactics we need to implement those strategies.

It also includes a marketing and financial plan and plans for other parts of the business. For Independent Professionals, about 80% of the business plan is the marketing plan. Who are your ideal clients, what is the service you are selling, what is your brand or identity, and what are all the ways you're going to get the word out?

Finally, you need step-by-step action plans to implement each of your marketing goals.

But don't stop there. Create a lifestyle plan as well. After all, you have a business to support your lifestyle, don't you? If you are only immersed in your business, as so many Independent Professionals are, you often leave out your life entirely. No wonder you're stressed and your relationships are suffering.

A Lifestyle Plan starts with headings for all the important areas of your life: Health and Well-Being, Relationships, Finances, Home and Possessions, Leisure and Recreation, Family and Friends, Educational and Spiritual, etc.

And then under each of these headings list four to six things you want to have in those areas this year. For some you may already be there. For instance, under health and well-being, I'm already exercising six times a week. But I was going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep. Also, I was was getting one massage a month. I went to two a month. Leisure time? Too much TV. So I took a big step and virtually eliminated it.

Take as much, if not more time building your Lifestyle Plan as you do building your business and marketing plans. If you do, you'll have some balance and actually enjoy all that money you'll be making!

MC Blog: Writing and Mind Mapping

Excerpt from an Interview with Daphne Gray-Grant, writing coach. From the Action Plan Marketing Club.

Robert: Where do you start, and what do you do? You have this thing you do called “mind mapping.” Is that often where you start with a writing project?

Daphne: Yes it is. Mind mapping is a very interesting technique. I didn’t discover this until after I had done most of my own research on writing. When I heard about it, I thought it sounded too phony to be true, and I dismissed it.

Then, in this online forum I belong to, I saw more and more mention of it. I thought, “This is really crazy. I guess I’d better give it a try.” I posted a note and said, “Can someone tell me some more about mind mapping?” A bunch of people wrote back and said, “There’s really not much to tell.” That made my heart sink because I thought it sounded too easy, too simple.

Robert: Sometimes, the best things are really simple.

Daphne: Exactly. Mind mapping was invented during either ancient Greek or ancient Roman times. Basically, you take a piece of paper and turn it sideways, so it’s sitting in front of you, landscape fashion. You take the subject you want to write about, write it in the middle of the page and draw a circle around it.

Robert: That’s the title of your article, in some cases.

Daphne: It may be, but I don’t want people to feel that it has to be. You just pick something that is enough to get your brain going on this particular subject. It may or may not be the title.

After you’ve written it in the middle of the page and drawn a circle around it, then whatever else pops into your mind, you write elsewhere on the page, draw a circle around it and draw a line from it to the central phrase. If your next idea comes from a secondary circle, then you can draw a line to that, write another phrase and draw a circle around it.

I don’t spend too much time fussing about which idea is a parent of which child because I don’t think that’s so important. The idea is to just get whatever is in your head onto the paper.

Robert: Say I’m thinking of writing an article about web marketing. In the middle, I’d write “web marketing.” The first idea is that we need to have good design. Then we need content, so I’d write another circle there.

Then I think, “How do you get found on the web?” That’s another one. Another is building a list. This is something I obviously know about.

From design, I can talk about some of the rules of design. I can talk about colors. All of a sudden, I have the middle topic and four main things, and then other things start to pop up all over the place. Before long, I have the main content of the article, but it’s not organized in any linear way at this point.

Daphne: That’s the purpose of mind mapping. It’s not meant to be organized.

Robert: Its purpose is to get those ideas out of your head.

Daphne: I sometimes describe it as “vomiting onto the page!”

Robert: That’s a good image!

Daphne: Some months ago, I was contacted by someone who works with copywriters. He had heard me talk about mind mapping the same week he was approached by a book publisher and invited to write a book.

He desperately wanted to do it, but the deadline was about six months. That is a very short amount of time for a book. He was also trying to run his business at this time.

He really didn’t know if he could do it, but he had heard my little blurb about mind mapping and thought, “I’m going to give that a try.” He started his mind map. Because it was for a book, it was very big. I sometimes recommend to people doing mind maps for a book that they get a piece of butcher paper, not just 8.5-by-11, and pull it over the dining room or boardroom table, someplace very big.

He did this mind map. All of a sudden, the word “pancakes” popped into his head. He wrote down the word “pancakes” because I had emphasized how important it was not to let these words get away, even if they seemed irrelevant.

Within about five minutes, he had decided that pancakes were going to be a central metaphor in his book. They were, and it worked well. He got the book done within the timeframe. He was thrilled with how mind mapping worked for him. This excerpt is from one of my Expert Marketing Interviews in the Action Plan Marketing Club.

Easier, Faster, Better Writing

One of my favorite sayings is, "Writing is like pumping iron for marketing." That is, when you write, you build your marketing muscles. If you don't write, your marketing tends to get weak and flabby.

All too often I hear, "But writing is so hard and it takes so long that I end up avoiding it." A lot like exercise!

Writing is also a key element of the Contribution Factor.

It's through writing that we make some of our biggest contributions. Articles, reports, talks, and eZines, all require writing. And offering this written material to prospective clients not only provides real value, it adds to your credibility and professionalism.

It should be a goal of every Independent Professional to become a better writer - but only if you want to attract more clients, grow your business and multiply your income. If you're not interested in that, writing is optional.

So, where to start?

You not only want to write, but want to write easier, better and faster. In today's eZine I'm going to share a few ideas from the interview I recently did (see above) with Daphne Gray-Grant who is a writing coach and expert in helping business people write with more impact and less struggle.

Most of us learned to write in school, college or university.

Daphne said, "The trouble is, writing for academic reasons is often a problem. The type of writing style they’re looking for in academia is very different from the writing style the typical average reader is looking for.

"It usually has a lot of passive voice. It’s just filled with problems. What’s worse is that these things aren’t seen as problems. You might get excellent marks for writing that way and have no idea that what you’re producing is actually a failure (as far as business writing is concerned.)"

The way to write for business and for marketing is much more conversational, and less formal. Therefore it's a lot easier. Throw out the academic rule book. Write as if you're explaining an idea to someone, trying to make it as simple and clear as possible.

When you're writing, you also want to spend more time on planning and thinking than on the actual writing.

You start with an idea - often the best one is a problem your clients have experienced. Since you already have methodologies and stories as the foundation of solving these problems, you just need to get your key ideas onto paper.

For doing this, Daphne is a big proponent of mind mapping.

Start with a circle in the middle of a page with the main idea or problem and then draw circles around the central circle with all the other related ideas written inside these circles. Don't worry about structure or getting it perfect.

Before too long you'll have a pretty good idea of the core content of your article. You don't need to outline it in detail. What I often do is let the idea gestate at this point. I just did that this weekend on an article about "The Fear of Rejection."

I did the mind map the night before and when I woke up, the whole article was assembling itself inside my head! I grabbed my laptop and before I even got out of bed I wrote the first full draft of a 2,000 word article with very little effort.

Once you have a first draft, let it rest again. Don't obsess about it being perfect. Go do something else and get your mind off the article. I did this on Sunday by going out to a show and dinner with my wife. When I returned, I approached the revisions and editing with a fresh eye, and it was easy to complete.

Feel stuck about ideas or content or can't get started?

Send out an email to those you know asking them to share some ideas about the topic. You'd be surprised at the valuable input you'll get back, ready to incorporate into your writing.

Another great idea I got from Daphne is to direct your writing to one specific person, not to a crowd, not even a generalized picture of an ideal client. She was very insistent on this:

"It can be very helpful to have a deep understanding of who your reader is, including gender, age profile, education, things they’re interested in and kind of business they’re in.

"Anything you can do to help you create a strong visual image of a specific reader, not a whole group of readers, is going to be very helpful to you as a writer. Take it down to one individual person. That makes the reader real to you. That tends to make a big difference."

Perhaps one of the most powerful things I got from the interview with Daphne is that you can "let the writing come to you." You don't have to force it (which so many of us do).

You know the material already. You are focused on the reader. You have done your planning and thinking ahead of time. You are not obsessed with perfect writing. Then the writing itself will come naturally. You'll be amazed at how easier, better and faster your writing will be.

If you want to take the struggle out of your writing, and learn many more tips from Daphne, you can order the Expert Interview I did with her at this link:

http://www.actionplan.com/tc/tc_writefast.html

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Writing doesn't have to be a chore you avoid. Learn the secrets of writing easier, better and faster and it can be both productive and fun.

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What tips do you have to make your writing easier, faster, and better? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Great Love and Much Service

On today, the Inauguration Day of our new president, I wanted to share an essay that I just read in a book titled, "Timeless Wisdom" written almost 100 years ago by Dr. Frank Crane.

As Obama says, "Yes, We Can! I felt somehow that this essay captured the spirit of this historic moment better than I ever could.

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It is the commonest things in the world that most need definition.

There are certain vital subjects the mind handles every day, indeed must handle because they are as essential to thought as bread and water to the body. And by much handling, these subjects become smooth as old coins. Once in awhile it is well to examine them minutely to see what "image and superscription" is thereon.

Nothing is more constantly spoken of than happiness. It is the end of religion, the object of philosophy, the dream of the wretched, the quest of the whole world.

BUT WHAT IS IT?

Suppose we ask ourselves that? And suppose we patiently and honestly try to find an answer? If we discover what happiness is, or at least what it means to us, we have gone a long way toward grasping happiness, the thing itself.

And just to stimulate your inquiry, allow me to hand to you a definition I read the other day, I know not where. It is this:

"Happiness is great love and much service."

If you will look about carefully among the people you know, not neglecting yourself, you will discover that not one of them is happy that does not love. Furthermore that all of them are happy in proportion as they love.

Happiness is the perfume of the rose of love, the light shining from the candle of love, the sound from the bells of love.

You can get a certain something that resembles happiness from the gratification of desire, from eating, drinking, playing, and the like. But it all has in itself the seed of boredom. You get SATED from satisfying your appetite; but in the happiness that comes from love is no satiety.

What is true of love is equally true of service; because to love is to serve. Search again among the people you know, and note that they are happy in proportion as they serve.

The great mass of men and women are reasonably content because they are at work. They often complain of their work. They even call labor a curse. But they would be miserable without it.

They dream of a life of idleness and self-indulgence, and many imagine that is heaven. It is not. It is hell.

The world was made for lovers and servants.

If anyone's heart is full of love, and his hand is full of service, he has no morbid "problems." He has solved the riddle of life.

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You can find this essay and 164 more in "Timeless Wisdom" by Dr. Frank Crane. Complied in 2007 by K.R. Talbot. Available on Amazon.com.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: We are entering into one of the most unique, exciting and perhaps dangerous times in our history. If there was ever a time for love and service, this is it!

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Please feel free to add your comments about love and service to the More Clients Blog.

Contribution in Action

Warning! Today's More Clients will ask you to take action. Please don't read if you want to maintain the status quo in your business.

I'm calling this year, "The Year of Contribution" for both my business and my life. In More Clients each week, I'll be sharing ideas and information that are based on this theme.

Another way to say contribution is "making a difference," "making a positive impact," or even "service." I've discovered, over the years, that this mindset is what makes it all work. It's what attracts clients and makes your business grow.

Since it took me many, many years to grasp this concept, I'm not sure I can communicate it succinctly in one eZine. However, this theme will be running through More Clients for the whole year.

Let me talk about this at a very fundamental level:

It's the beginning of 2009. The economy is in the tank. The stock market is still very shaky. Half a million jobs were lost in December alone. Businesses, small and large, are struggling.

And I'm telling you that the key is making a contribution?!&#

Yes, I am! After all, look at the alternatives. You can be petrified with fear; worry about your business; get sucked into negative thinking; and give up all hope.

Do you really want to go there? I didn't think so!

Instead, if you're willing, I'd like to take you to a place of possibility, opportunity and adventure. If you take this journey, your business will do just fine this year.

The path is simple:

Make a commitment to make a contribution, a difference, an impact every single day of the workweek. (Yes, you can take the weekend off, but do something for a loved one on those days!)

In your business, what would this look like?

It would mean reaching out to one or more people in almost any way to offer some kind of value. Here are a few examples:

• Call a past client and see how they're doing. Don't ask for anything; but offer an idea, a resource, or even encouragement. 

• Send something of value to those on your e-list. This could be anything from your regular eZine to a tip, idea or resource. 

• Call someone you met through networking and invite them to coffee to learn about their business. 

• Do a favor for someone who you know would appreciate it. Don't worry about what you'll get back. 

• Offer a teleclass or introductory program of some kind to those in your database or to another group. 

• Write a thank-you note to someone who did you a favor or who took the time to speak or meet with you.

If you are doing this kind of thing already, great! But up the stakes and do even a little more. Make it a daily practice.

If you're not doing this kind of thing consistently, you probably are skeptical. "What difference will this make in my business? I need more clients, not waste my time helping people!"

I promise you that it will make a difference and that it won't be a waste of time. It will force you to get out of your insular, fearful, scarce, self-centered, selfish mindset that's only interested in "What's in it for me?"

That old mindset will do nothing to grow your business. Ultimately you'll discover that making a contribution (and the mindset of giving, not taking) will take your business to places you haven't even imagined.

Now make your list and go into action.

By the way, it doesn't matter how big or small the contribution is. And you'll know you're making a contribution by the response you get. People will thank you. They'll appreciate you. You'll feel good.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: If you want to grow your business, you need to master the art of making a contribution. You start small by focusing on little things that will add value. And you do something every single day. No exceptions.

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What are some of the things you'll do this week to put "The Contribution Factor" into action? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Contribution Factor

Over the past few months I've been re-thinking everything about Action Plan Marketing. And during the past two weeks, over the Holidays, I've worked at re-branding my business.

For years my message has been: "Marketing for Independent Professionals who are struggling to attract clients." Up to this point this message has served me well.

However when I looked at the ideal clients and customers for my products and services, I realized that this message was outdated.

One of the ideas that I've always emphasized was that the key to effective marketing was to make a contribution through your marketing. This was also the foundation of the InfoGuru Manual.

Making a contribution, providing value, and making a difference is the most powerful and effective approach to growing your business. It's what builds credibility and trust and draws prospective clients to you without force or manipulation.

This is our new brand: "Marketing for professionals committed to making a difference."

I've written a report called "The Contribution Factor" that shows exactly how to use this principle to grow your business. This is the report that all new More Clients subscribers will receive.

The first part of this report is below and you can download the complete report at this link:

www.actionplan.com/thanks_contrib.html

The Contribution Factor

We all want to make a contribution. In fact, it’s the thing we want more than anything else. When we’re making a contribution, we feel that we matter, that what we do makes a difference, an impact. When we are making a contribution, we feel fulfilled, successful and powerful.

If you’re a consultant, coach, trainer, speaker, writer, therapist or other professional service business owner who is focused on helping individuals and organizations develop, grow, change, evolve, improve or transform, your business is all about making a contribution.

All you wanted to do when you started your businesses was to make a contribution - to your clients and to the world. And you spent a lot of time studying your profession so that you could make your contribution real.

You wanted to be as good as you could be. And you knew that if you strived for excellence, your impact would be greater and that you’d be both successful and fulfilled.

But has it turned out like that?

Perhaps you’ve done well working with clients, helping them produce results, and even getting paid well for those efforts. But pretty early on in your business you may have realized that the most challenging and daunting activity in a business was not making a difference with your clients but in attracting new clients.

Maybe clients came in slower than you had expected and you had no sound strategy to attract more of them. And because of this, you’re not making the contribution (or the money) at the level you know is possible.

For many self-employed professionals (also known at Action Plan Marketing as Info-Gurus), their primary marketing strategy is to do great work for their clients and then pray for referrals!

But, other than referrals, very few Info-Gurus have the know-how or skills to bring in new clients consistently. Even ones who have been in business for some time tend to resist, if not detest, marketing and selling activities.

Therefore, it’s not unusual that many very talented Info-Gurus who are committed to making a contribution, find themselves thwarted because they are only working with a limited number of clients and they don’t have a reliable strategy for attracting more of them.

This often leads to frustration, struggle and discouragement. And this isn’t the case just for new business owners. It’s not unusual for established Info-Gurus to also struggle with marketing.

Perhaps they do all right; they make an okay living and enjoy working with and contributing to the clients they do have. But underneath they have the nagging feeling they could attract more clients if they could only find a way to market their services more successfully.

The question is, how?

Continued here: www.actionplan.com/thanks_contrib.html

You can both read and/or listen to this report.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The most powerful approach to marketing your professional services is to focus on making a contribution - not just to your existing clients but through all of your marketing activities. Make sure to read the full report to learn how to make The Contribution Factor work in your business.

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How have you used The Contribution Factor to market your professional services? Please share on the More Clients Blog.