The More Clients Blog

There's No Hovering

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

I was talking to someone about their marketing recently and what she told me, in essence, was that she was okay with where she was in her business. No, she wasn't happy with her clients or the kind of projects she was doing, but at least she was making good money.

She was hovering.

One of my favorite business sayings is: "You're either moving forward or you're moving backward; there's no hovering!"

We think of hovering as maintaining the status quo in our businesses, keeping on doing the same thing, not taking risks and hoping for the best. At least you're surviving. Right?

Wrong.

Everything is always in flux, always changing, and if you aren't making a concerted effort to move things forward, sooner or later things will drift backwards, often to a point of no return.

OK, so you choose to move forward. You can move forward either reactivity or proactivity.

Reactivity is working on moving forward because you have no choice. Perhaps you lost a big client and need to get a new one.

Proactivity is working on moving forward because you have a bigger vision and want to fulfill that vision.

Reactivity comes out of desperation and proactivity comes out of inspiration. Reactivity says, "How can I survive?" Proactivity says, "How can I thrive?"

Take a look at your marketing.

Are you moving backward or are you moving forward? Are you reactive or proactive? And if you'd prefer to be moving forward proactively, how do you do that?

You ask these kind of serious questions:

What do I really want for my business?

What's the difference I want to make?

What are my stretch financial goals?

What would be more exciting and fun?

What new projects could I take on?

Will the benefits outweigh the cost?

Will I regret it if I don't move forward?

Where can I get the help to make it work?

What is the first step I need to take?

If you actually take the time to answer those questions honestly, you'll shift gears from moving forward reactively to moving forward proactively.

The final step is commitment. And when you make that commitment, as W.H. Murray said:

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way."

Stop hovering and commit.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: There is no hovering. You're either moving forwards to backwards. You can moving forwards reactively or proactively. To get proactive, ask serious questions. Then commit. And when you do, it all falls into place, sometimes miraculously.

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Where are you hovering in your marketing right now? What are you going to commit to? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below. 

 

Attracting Your Ideal Clients - Pt 2

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

Are you working primarily with Ideal Clients?

Ultimately it took me a few years to discover and implement the approaches that virtually guaranteed great clients every single time - ones who were not only fun and stimulating to work with but who paid me well.

Let me share these with you.

1. Get well known by prospects before the selling process starts.

My silver bullet here has been my eZine and web site. When people are seriously looking at getting my assistance they already know a lot about me - how I think, my values, my approach to marketing. They may have bought the InfoGuru Manual or taken a teleclass or two. They already know, like and trust me.

2. Develop a service or services with clear parameters.

Yes, you have to do customized work for some clients, but more often that not you can create a program or service that is packaged pretty much the same for most of your clients. Whether you're a coach, web developer, financial planner or consultant, you don't have to re-invent the wheel every time.

This doesn't mean your clients get cookie-cutter solutions, it simply means that you approach how you work with clients in the same way. This approach must, above all, provide a desirable outcome for the client, but just as important, must set clear boundaries with some built-in flexibility.

3. Clearly package and brand your services.

Look at the service page of many Independent Professionals and all you have is a laundry list of technical skills and or generic services. We can help you with: web development, search engine optimization, social media, blah, blah, blah, we can do it for you. Just give us a call.

Well, this communicates approximately zero and almost always guarantees prospects will call you looking for generic services that they are comparing in price to other generic services. And that's the formula for getting bad, low-paying clients.

Instead, you want to offer a more comprehensive package of services that is focused. For instance, someone recently referred me to someone who is the "Facebook Marketing Expert." She touted him as the person who could help me dramatically build my list with Facebook. Now that's focused and clear.

4. Provide a ton of value on your web site.

When someone is in search of service provider, this first thing they want is more information. They want to know if you can help them, of course, but they want to know more. Do you have the following on your web site? - A page that's all about the kind of clients you work with and what their issues are. There's nothing about you on this page. It's all about them. You want them to think: "He understand me!"

- A page about your approach to working with clients. You want to talk about the kind of results they can expect, your process of working with clients, your business philosophy, etc. You want them to think: "I cold work with her!"

- A page with very results-oriented case studies. You should have six or more stories of clients you worked with, how you helped them and the kind of results you produced together. You want them to think: "This is impressive!"

- In-depth page(s) on your specific service or services. You want to outline the results, the benefits, the process and structure of working with you. You want them to think: "This sounds great. I hope we can afford this!"

5. Have prospects fill out a questionnaire or application.

Now, this may sound counter-intuitive. Don't you just want to get into the selling conversation as quickly as possible when a prospect calls? My answer is, "most definitely not." I want to talk to them briefly and then screen them to see if they are an ideal client or not.

A questionnaire with several questions to learn more about their business, situation, goals, vision and challenges, will let me know immediately if there is a possible fit or not. I can screen out people this way. The ones that give me one-word answers don't get far: "What is the primary purpose of your business?" Ans: "Profit." "Your biggest challenge?" Ans: "Marketing."

This way you only end up having productive selling conversations with those who are engaged, interested and who want to work with you. They'll also appreciate that you have a deliberate process of working with clients. It will get you respect.

6. Always speak about who your ideal clients are.

If someone asks you who an ideal client is for you, your answer should be more than, "A business who can pay his bills!" Sure, that's a given, but it gives me little to go on. Be prepared to tell them something like this:

"My ideal clients are successful self-employed professionals such as consultants, coaches or trainers who are world-class at what they do. However up to this point they'll gotten most of their clients by word-of-mouth and they can't seem to get past a certain income threshold. They want to grow their business by $100K or more in the next one to two years by adding effective marketing strategies to their business."

So, first start thinking about your ideal clients and then put these five practices into place as soon as possible.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Ultimately, you get the clients you intend to get. This takes real focus and clarity in communicating what you want and then only accepting clients who fit that criteria. It won't happen overnight, but if you keep communicating this, those ideal clients will be attracted to you naturally and effortlessly.

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What do you do to attract Ideal Clients? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.

 

Attracting Your Ideal Clients - Part 1

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

My definition of a perfect Independent Professional business is when you are paid well to work with ideal clients you love.

For many this is an elusive goal.

Sometimes we attain half of the equation - we work with great clients who can't pay us much or we work with difficult clients who pay us well. The nightmare is working working with clients who not only can't pay us well but are also a pain in the you-know-what to work with.

I worked with a client like that several years ago. Her needs were many and her mode of working drove me a little crazy. I developed a lot of marketing materials for her and she had this habit of calling me and then insisting on editing these materials by phone.

It was a great way to practice patience!

I charged by the hour back then and I never felt appreciated for what I was doing for her. These intense phone sessions where we went over every word about ten times before she was satisfied were very stressful.

Even when I took her on, I knew it was going to be tough. Her communication style was abrasive and she was also very needy.

But I prided myself on being able to work with difficult clients and I have to admit I learned a lot in the process. I still did all I could to help her promote her services effectively and we had some great results over the years we worked together.

But something had to give. I got tired of being the whipping boy of my clients. I had to take control.

I had the opportunity when I met with a new client to discuss their web site development. In the meeting the client did nothing but talk; I could barely fit a word in edgewise.

After the meeting I felt a foreboding of doom. This was going to be a difficult client. He wasn't going to listen. If I sent him drafts of my designs he would not be responsive; I'd seen it before and I didn't want to go through it again.

So I took a risk and wrote him an email.

I told him that I was concerned with the meeting, that we had not really had the chance to focus on the direction of the web site, and that if it was going to go successfully, we'd have to do it my way. And I laid out a specific approach for development.

His response email was a relief.

He told me he was completely willing to do things my way in order to get a high-quality web site. He was ready to begin. And the great news is that he turned into an excellent and responsive client. We finished the web site in record time and he did everything I asked him to do. He paid me well, too!

Ultimately it took me a few years to discover and implement the approaches that virtually guaranteed great clients every single time - ones who were not only fun and stimulating to work with but who paid me what I was worth.

I'll share some of these approaches with you next week.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: In order to start attracting the ideal clients to your business, first you need to be sick and tired of the kind of clients you're attracting now. You need to approach attracting clients differently and it starts with clearly stating what kind of clients you want and the conditions that must be met in order for you to work with them.

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Do you have any stories of clients that drove you crazy? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.

9 Reasons You Don't Make the Sale

By Robert Middleton - Action Plan Marketing

Are you closing as much new business as you could?

When it all comes down to it, if you don't get more clients from your marketing efforts and if you can't close the sale, all your work, promotion, and follow-up has gone to naught.

How many times have you gotten the chance to meet with a good potential client, but despite putting your best foot forward and presenting your services as well as you could, you still didn't make the sale?

It's easy to chalk it up to "bad timing" or "not a good fit," and sometimes that's true. However, in working with hundreds of clients over the years I've discovered that more often than not they have made serious mistakes that have killed the sale.

Below are nine of those mistakes. You may be familiar with some of them and surprised by others. However, if you can make some changes to correct these mistakes, I predict you'll start turning more prospects into paying clients.

1. You don't know enough about the prospect going in.

I'm not a big researcher, but I want to know something about every prospect before we sit down and talk about working together. I'll look at their web site, Google them, glance through some articles they've written. I want to get a sense going in if this is someone I can help or not.

This will also prevent you from working with someone who is not an ideal client for you! But if they're a good prospect, you want to learn enough about them to show that you are interested. Being interested makes you interesting.

2. You don't control the conditions of the selling conversation.

If I set up a sales meeting, I have a plan. I know what I'm going to ask and what I'm going to say about my services. I know how much time I need and all the other conditions that increase the chances of the meeting going well.

I'll ask for 90 minutes; I've found if I try for 60 things get rushed. I make sure there won't be any interruptions. I think of every detail and am ready. For instance, I'll bookmark their web site and have it ready to comment on during the session. Look, nothing ever goes perfectly but If I know what works and stick to it, I succeed.

3. You don't provide enough information before the meeting.

If I have a selling meeting with a prospect I also want them to know certain things about me as well. I don't assume. Sure they may have been reading my eZine for years, but I want them to know quite a bit about my services going into the meeting.

So I'll direct them to a web page about my program and ask them to read it; I'll send and article and perhaps a questionnaire. When you do that, people are more prepared, they take you more seriously, and they ask better questions. And they agree to work with you more often.

4. You're not sufficiently prepared for the meeting.

If you were going to be in a production of Hamlet next month, you'd prepare, wouldn't you? You wouldn't just skim the script and then improvise on opening night. But this is the equivalent of how the majority of Independent Professionals prepare for a selling meeting.

They perhaps have a rough idea of the questions they'll ask and how they'll talk about their services, but it's rarely thought out in any organized, deliberate way. This has always puzzled me. You need an outline and you need to rehearse. Out loud (to a friend or to the wall). No kidding. After all isn't this meeting more important than Hamlet?

5. You don't offer real value in the meeting.

One of the best ways to think of a selling meeting is as if they had already paid you for the meeting and you were there to give them value immediately. You'd find a way to add some value, wouldn't you? First you need to ask a number of questions to learn about their situation, goals and challenges.

But wouldn't it also make sense to tell some stories of things that had worked for other clients, a few suggestions and some very thought-provoking questions that made them see new possibilities? Perhaps a few resources they could use. If you do this, you're actually giving a sample of what it would be like to work with you. And that's what they're buying.

6. You don't ask "uncomfortable" questions.

Afraid of losing the business, you tend to be too careful, too controlled, too, well, boring... Clients don't want to pay you for boring; they want to pay you for insights that will lead to change. And to do that you need to ask tough questions, questions that are "socially unacceptable."

They are not questions you ask in polite company, but that you must ask in the selling conversation. If you stay away from the touchy subjects, you'll rarely get to the heart of why they need you in the first place. It's OK to be blunt or provocative as long as you are kind at the same time.

7. You rush through presenting your services.

You can divide a selling meeting into three main parts: The questions, the presentation and the close. The questions are all about the prospect. The presentation is all about you. More about the close later. In the presentation you are simply telling the prospect about your services, how they work, and how they will meet their needs.

If you have, say, seven main things to tell, you need to go through them slowly, deliberately and clearly. You know this stuff, they don't. For each point make sure you get agreement on each and every one.

"Each coaching session is about 75 minutes long. They are held weekly at a prearranged time. This ensures that we have continuity and that you get the level of support that dramatically increase the chances of you reaching your objectives. Make sense?"

8. You don't close or suggest a next step.

After all, it's easier to leave things open-ended; that avoids rejection. However, at the end of the selling meeting you want a definite plan to move ahead. If you're dealing with an individual client, there's no reason not to ask for the business at the end of the meeting.

"OK, based on everything you've told me, I'd love to have you as a client. I feel that working together we could produce results for your business at a whole new level. Other than the fee for my services, do you have any other questions? OK, my fee is $1,500 per month with a minimum of six months. Will that work for your budget right now?" A similar close has resulted in hundreds of thousands in new business to me."

9. Your proposal process is a mess.

If you are meeting with a larger client, a proposal will often be required. The most common mistake is to prepare a proposal before you have all the information you need and before you've come to a conceptual agreement to work together. You "throw the proposal over the fence" and pray they'll lob it back with a deposit check. Not usually.

Instead, work with the prospect together on the proposal until you agree that what you're offering is what they want. Only then, put a price on it. But before you send the proposal, set up a phone meeting about an hour after they receive the proposal so that you can answer any final questions.

Which of these mistakes are you making now? Are you getting a little clearer about why your closing rate it not as high as you'd like it to be? Time to make some changes!

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The More Clients Bottom Line: There's no doubt about it: selling is an art. It takes practice and perseverance. But it also helps if you understand the mistakes you are making and work seriously to correct them. These ten mistakes are both common and deadly. Do things differently and you'll get more clients. You can thank me later!

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Which of these selling mistakes are you going to correct first? Please share your answer on the More Clients Blog by clicking on the Comments link below.