The More Clients Blog

A Dangerous Word

A word you hear bandied around a lot these days is "Recesssion."

A recession, or slowdown in the economy, is part of a natural economic cycle. Things go up, things go down. There are good times economically and not so good times.

No big deal.

I saw a pretty interesting piece on "60 Minutes" last night about the sub-prime mortgage crises. Apparently a lot of greedy mortgage bankers got together with a bunch of irresponsible people and made a big mess of things. Nothing new, really.

Is a recession real?

In a way, yes, the economy is experiencing a bout of flu. But like the flu, it will eventually pass with minimal side effects. If you look at it like that, no problem. You take some precautions, but you don't lapse into hopelessness and despair.

The thing is, words are powerful and sometimes dangerous.

Certain words trigger certain feelings. We hear the word recession in the media over and over, and each time it triggers a little fear, a little uncertainty. Before you know it, many people are making the recession a self-fulfilling prophecy.

There's nothing you or I can really do about this.

Economic fluctuations happen on a very large scale. We don't have control over the media. And we don't have a say in the workings of the federal reserve. We also can't control what other people say or do.

But that doesn't make it hopeless. Far from it.

You can treat this like a wake up call. You, personally, can make a difference for you, your family and business. You can choose what you think and do. You can take creative action.

Part of this is taking control of your marketing.

You can't leave it to chance anymore. Those who practice proven marketing strategies will attract more business than those who don't - especially when times are tight. But you need to choose information you can easily apply to your business.

I've created the following chart to make it easier for you. It will enable you to pick the marketing information that you need most right now that will work for your business. You can't use all this information at once, but one bite at a time.

See it here

I've divided it into seven categories.

Marketing Foundation - The most essential information you need to be a better marketer and attract clients consistently.

Get Focused - Information to help you zero in on your ideal prospects and stay organized and on track.

Relationship Building - Information to help you communicate your message and connect with your prospects.

Present Yourself - Information on how to increase credibility through presenting your message powerfully.

Online Presence - Information on leveraging the Internet to give you access to more people and networks.

High Performance - Information on taking your business to a higher level of performance and the rewards that brings.

Selling Skills - Information on turning qualified prospects into paying clients.

Just ask yourself which information you need right now and we have several resources and in-depth information on each to help you choose. Take a look

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Don't let yourself be dragged down by talk of a recession. You can use this time as an opportunity to improve your marketing skills and sharpen your competitive advantage. Now is the time to apply proven marketing principles to attract more clients.

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What mindset do you adopt when everyone's talking about a recession? Do you get dragged down or do you see it as an opportunity? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Accelerating Client Results

When it really comes down to it, is there any thing more important in your business than helping your clients produce outstanding results?

Producing Great Clients Results Builds Your Business

When you ask the average Independent Professional where most of their clients come from, the most common answer is "from word of mouth."

But what generates word-of-mouth? Client Results.

If you can master the art of supporting your clients in consistently accelerating their results, marketing won't be a struggle for you.

Over his 15-year career as a coach and consultant, Patrick Summar has put his primary focus on this question: "How do I produce such outstanding results for my clients that they'll tell everyone they know about me?"

The answers he's discovered to that question has resulted in a coaching practice full of highly satisfied clients, who now pay up to $5,000 per month to work with him.

This past week I recorded an audio interview with Patrick on this topic and I'll summarize his seven main points in today's ezine.

1. Focusing on Client Results

It's not unusual in working with a client to jump right in to solve problems and outline action steps. When a client hires you, they are often eager to get moving and see results fast.

But Patrick points out that this is actually detrimental to producing sustainable results. What's more important is spending as much time as it takes to determine where the client wants to go and why.

"I point out to them that they have to be very clear about WHERE they want to go before we go into any conversation about HOW they will get there," says Patrick. This can take some time but it builds a more solid foundation for bigger gains later on.

2. The Client Is Responsible for Producing Results

You need to communicate this clearly to the client early in the process. It's not unusual that a client wants to be "saved" but Patrick points out that "the coach can't play."

"While I may have ideas, tools or strategies, I might offer or may teach them an idea or concept, they have to use it to play and produce results. I can't do it for them," asserts Patrick.

"It’s going to take multiple baby steps on their part and massive action with a lot of mistakes and learning from those mistakes and false starts. Significant change takes time. It won’t happen if they don’t make it happen. They have to stick with it."

3. Make Sure Your Clients Are Passionate About What They are Working On.

It's easy to focus on goals such as increasing income or producing a particular result. But if there's no passion behind those goals, no underlying motivation to achieve them, they are going to struggle and not know why.

If you want to create breakthrough results for your clients, the more you support them on focusing on what they really want to do, the easier it’s going to be to produce results.

Sometimes it takes several conversations with a client to become clear about what is most important to them. When that clarity comes, they way opens up and barriers to success seem to disappear.

4. Create a Plan and Work the Plan

Patrick says. "I find that you can come up with a more elegant shortcut to get where you want to go when you really get clear about specifically what you want, then brainstorm multiple action plans for getting there.

"It’s back to creating the plan. Help them think long term in terms of Phase 1 and Phase 2. Help them brainstorm multiple action plans. Help them focus. That’s the whole thing. You can have anything you want, just not everything.

"Help them prioritize. Break it down into baby steps. And then by checking in week to week, finding out what's working and what's stopping them, you can help them brainstorm solutions and keep moving."

5. Working with Limiting Beliefs and Fears

You can have the best plan in the world and even be working on your passion and still get tripped up. Limitations and fears stop even the most successful people.

As a coach or consultant you need to address those issues. You can't sweep them under the rug. You want to encourage clients to focus their awareness on what they are telling themselves, what their stories are when they get stuck and to inquire into the validity of those stories.

When you realize a story you're telling doesn't hold up under scrutiny, you are free to construct new stories that support your progress. "I have to do it by myself," can turn into, "When I give away certain tasks, I'm freed up to focus on my priorities."

6. Track and Measure Progress

This is one of the things many coaches and consultants give lip service to. But it can be the key to client success. If you don't measure the progress from where you were to where you are, it's easy to lose motivation and momentum.

Patrick requires clients to rate where they are on a scale of one to ten at the beginning of the engagement and then tracks progress on the scale as they work together. As a result, clients see their movement and stick with the process.

Another tool Patrick uses is a weekly "pre-call checklist." That adds so much to the coaching process," says Patrick, "It gets them into a weekly process of defining and orienting where they are on the map by asking, “Where do I want to go? What’s next?” each week at least, if not every day."

7. Celebrate Successes

Patrick makes the analogy of taking a trip across the desert: "If the journey is 40 days and 40 nights, you wouldn't wait to drink water until the end of the journey. You'd drink water many times a day as you made progress across the desert. I find that people often wait until the ultimate goal is reached before they think they can celebrate."

Patrick continued: "With every point between Point A and Point B, Point B being the goal, you’re losing the opportunity to appreciate the process, journey or experience of your life because you’re waiting for Point B before stopping to appreciate it.

"I find that to the degree that we as coaches can really teach our clients to focus on what progress they’ve made, celebrate it, appreciate it and recognize it, it helps to build momentum, confidence, optimism and positive expectations.

"All of those things help them produce even more results and step up to do more, take on more and stretch more."

7.5 - Successful Clients Equals a Growing Business

Each of these points by themselves are not groundbreaking. But combined, they are extraordinarily powerful. Patrick centers his work around these principles. His clients consistently get exceptional results, stay with him for a long time and pay him substantial fees.

For more on the Audio Program with Patrick on "Accelerating Client Results, see the write-up below.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: You have one job as a coach or consultant, to support your clients in achieving breakthrough results. The good news is that there are practices you can implement in your business that will help your clients get those results more consistently.

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How do you help your clients create breakthrough results? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Timing Your Offers

I've noticed an interesting phenomenon in marketing and selling. When you make an offer, you sell something, when you don't make an offer you don't sell anything.

I know this sounds simplistic, but in many ways it's really at the heart of successful marketing and also at the heart of many marketing failures.

I've noticed that Independent Professionals are notoriously bad at making offers. Let me give you some examples.

Networking
A web designer at a networking event has discussions with several people. He leaves with a few cards and gives his card out to a few people. None of this activity results in new business.

Speaking
A consultant gives a talk at a professional organization. The talk is good, the graphics are interesting; people enjoy the talk. But it doesn't turn into any new business.

Mailing
A communication skills trainer sends out a letter and brochure to a qualified list of potential clients. The information is full of benefits and advantages of his services. But nobody responds.

What's missing? Why no results?

Networking, speaking and mailings are all proven marketing tools for Independent Professionals. They can actually work. They can be very effective. But often they're not, for one very simple reason: No offer is made.

What is an offer?

An offer is a specific call-to-action to the prospect. It is a request for them to do something. It doesn't have to be an offer to buy now, it may be an offer to find out more.

The simple construct for an offer is: "Here's something I have that will provide value to you. Here's how to take advantage of it."

An offer always needs to be explicit, not implicit. It needs to be direct, not indirect. It needs to be a request, not a suggestion. And a successful offer also depends on the right timing.

Let's look at our three examples again.

We often think an offer in networking would go something like this: "I help companies increase their profits, would you like to meet with me to discuss how I can do that with you?"

OK, that's an explicit, direct request. But the timing is bad.

Why would someone want to meet with you just after a brief conversation? You've barely connected. So you need to make an offer appropriate to the situation:

"I help companies increase their profits. I have an article called "Ten Profitability Mistakes Most Companies Make." Can I send you a copy and then get back to you and get your reaction to it?"

This is also an explicit, direct request, but with better timing.

Timing has to do with sensing the appropriateness of the offer given the situation and relationship with the prospect.

Many of us are not too good at this, so we avoid making offers completely. Instead, we need to think through our offers more carefully and design offers that apply good timing

You might design this offer in stages:

1. An article, followed up by an email, phone call, and an introductory conversation: "How did you like the article? Tell me something about your business."

2. An offer or request for an appointment: "Why don't we set up a time to talk in more depth about your business and how I might be able to help you."

3. A sales conversation in which you offer to do a piece of work: "What I'd recommend to start is a Communication Assessment Session with you and your top managers."

Let's look at a speaking engagement.

You give a great talk and at the end is the opportunity to make an offer. You want to make it appropriate to the situation, so you need to consider the timing carefully.

Recently I saw one of my Action Plan Coaches give a 3-hour presentation to a professional group. In three hours you can build a strong connection, and she had succeeded at that. Her offer went like this:

"I have a 6-CD set called "Seven Steps to Energize Your Marketing." The price for that is $199. For anyone who gets one today, I will also give you a complimentary "Marketing Energy Audit" valued at $395."

Eleven people (about a third of the audience) bought the CD program and signed up for the audit. In that audit she explored the situation, needs and opportunities for their businesses. Then she made an offer for a four-month group coaching program valued at $2,000. Seven of the eleven signed up for it.

With this two-step offer, she generated $16,200 in business. And it happened because she thought through her offer, and made explicit, direct requests with the right timing.

For a direct letter you think through this in the same way.

You need to realize that probably you won't get a sale only from the letter. And if your letter says, "Here's what we do. When you need help in this area, just give me a call," you're not likely to get very good results. (I've sen thousands wasted this way.)

That's poor timing because they likely don't need you now, so you're asking for action in the future. All offers need to be for NOW, not the future. So you could offer a special industry report, an introductory presentation or something that will be relatively easy to say yes to now.

The first thing to notice is how often you fail to make any kind of offer in your marketing. The next thing to work on is crafting offers that are explicit, direct and ask for action. Finally, you need to fine-tune your offers so the timing is appropriate to your audience. Before long, your offers will generate new business.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: The better you get at making offers, the more business you'll attract. Creating and communicating offers is a bit of an art. And art takes practice. Develop a new offer for your business today.

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What offers do you make in your marketing that really work for you? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

The Art of Renewal

A few years ago I read something interesting about vacations.

It said that the more vacations you take, the more money you make. If you think about that, it's a pretty nice idea (if in fact it's true).

This year I decided to believe it and scheduled five vacations. (Let me tell you, my wife was all for it!)

We have just completed our Christmas and New Year's vacation and I have a few insights to share.

Other than checking email a few times and writing the eZine last week, I didn't do any work. No writing, planning, meetings and most importantly, no spending hours at my computer.

We spent time with our family and friends. I read seven books in the "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series (amazing books, highly recommended for any self-employed person). We attended the best New Year's party of our lives (without getting drunk). We slept late a whole lot. We went to a few movies.

In the past, I admit, I've had a hard time with vacations. I found it difficult to turn off my "working hard mindset." I didn't feel I was getting my full vacation value unless I was doing something productive.

Many self-employed people are like that. I know a number of these people who haven't had a real vacation in many years (if ever). They don't know how to let go and renew themselves.

Well, I'm getting the hang of it at last, so here are those insights:

1. If you go on a vacation, you won't get as behind as you think; you pick up where you left off. Who says you have to be insanely productive all the time?

2. We probably waste more time procrastinating in a year than the time we "lose" on a vacation. For most of us, real productivity is an illusion; better to focus on true priorities and stop sweating the small stuff.

3. A vacation is a mini version of retirement. Many of us look forward to retirement, but probably wouldn't know what to do with ourselves when we reached it. Why wait? Get some practice with your vacations!

4. Ever notice how you get great ideas in the shower? That's a mini vacation. We are relaxed and our minds are open. On this vacation I got some great ideas for my business in the coming year (without any effort).

5. Ultimately, a vacation is a state of mind, a state of being. It's not somewhere you go (although it's great if you do). It's a place where you have time for true appreciation (def: the recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something, gratitude for something).

You know your vacation has worked if you feel renewed and ready to take on the next adventure in your life. Last week I told you what I had planned for 2008. I sincerely hope you were renewed by your Holiday vacation and are ready for the very best year in your business.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Vacations are about renewal and appreciation. Take a few each year and I predict that your business will do better than ever.

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What's your favorite type of vacation (that really renews you)? Please share on the More Clients Blog.

Coming Attractions for 2008

What's on tap from Action Plan Marketing this coming year?

I've taken a long and relaxing Holiday vacation and am ready to launch several exciting marketing projects and programs.

Perhaps this will also inspire you to create big plans for your New Year as well. The first is a free teleclass next week.

No-Hype Internet TeleClass

You are probably aware that I now do most of my marketing via the Internet (email and web), but that I don't actually teach Internet Marketing. Nevertheless, increasing numbers of subscribers and clients are interested in how to use Internet marketing in their businesses.

The problem is, too much Internet marketing is all hype and little substance. Where can you get reliable information on how to use the Internet to sell information-based products and services?

One of my most reliable sources is Ken McCarthy who produces "The System Seminar." I asked Ken if he'd be willing to be interviewed about "No-Hype Internet Marketing" and he agreed. We'll be offering a free TeleClass next week, Weds., Jan 9th at 12:00 noon Pacific time. Click below to reserve your space:

www.actionplan.com/mccarthy.html

Hands-On Audio Programs

In 2007 I recorded and released five Audio Programs of interviews with marketing and business experts. I'll continue this next year, and my goal is six new Audio Programs. The first will be released later in January. The topic will be "Accelerating Client Results" with Patrick Summar. Patrick will outline his proven system for supporting clients in producing breakthrough results.

For Patrick, this system has resulted in a stream of highly qualified referrals who pay him very high fees. You'll learn several high-leverage tools that have the power to accelerate client results, helping you grow your own business.

(Interested in other Audio Program topics this year? Let me know!)

National Marketing Workshop Tour

This is my most exciting project for 2008. I'll be touring the U.S and Canada, holding one-day marketing workshops in ten cities in June and July. Right now, the dates are as follows:

Wed, June 4 - Cincinnati, OH
Sat, June 7 - Miami, FL
Wed, June 11 - Boston, MA
Sat, June 14 - New York City, NY
Wed, June 25 - Detroit, MI
Sat, June 28 - Toronto, Ont Canada
Wed, July 9 - San Francisco, CA
Sat, July 12 - Kansas City, MO
Wed, July 16 - Portland, OR
Sat, July 19 - Vancouver, BC Canada

These dates and locations are subject to change, but mark your calendars now and I'll be giving you more details in a month or so. Workshop fee will be only $149.

Marketing Book

I plan to write and publish my first mass-market book in 2008. The tentative title is: "Marketing Ball - Winning the Game of Attracting More Clients." I've been struggling with moving ahead with this but have finally run out of excuses! I also want your help in writing this book, and you'll hear more about that soon.

The Marketing Certification Program

This is the project I now devote the most time, effort and passion to - training and certifying Action Plan Marketing Coaches. If you'd like to take your business to a whole new level, I invite you to learn more and apply to the next program starting this spring:

www.actionplan.com/apmc.html

I think these projects will keep me busy for awhile!

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Are you willing to break through your self-imposed limitations around your business and marketing this year? If so, I look forward to playing with you in 2008!

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What are your big goals and plans for 2008? Please share on the More Clients Blog.