This so rocks- you’ll finally figure out how to attract better clients, raise your prices unashamedly, and boost your confidence around your work.

Click LIKE and share this baby!

P.S. Contact me for a consultation if you’re ready to step in!

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If your coaching packages are named and identified simply by how many hours you’ll coach someone, then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to get paid for the value of your expertise.

Learn how to turn basic coaching packages into a story of results your clients will value and pay you top price for. The secret? “Give your baby a name!”

Check out these marketing and positioning tips to grow your coaching or consulting business.

Please SHARE this and spread the love. <3

Wanna talk to me about your biz? Find out more here

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Think about it: if you’re the first one people think about, you’ll be the first one they buy from. Nice place to be, right?

However, somebody somewhere started making marketing really complicated, especially for solo-professionals and other small businesses. With so many marketing tactics and doo-dahs everywhere, where do you begin?

My advice is to position yourself so your ideal clients know that you’re the one for them, they know the type of results they can get from you, and how you stand head and shoulders above your competition.

Go through this handy checklist and let it guide your path to success.

Position Yourself for Success Marketing Checklist

1. You’re crystal clear on your expertise: what you’re great at and why it’s so important

2. You know how to “speak” your business so prospects become fascinated and want to learn more

3. You know who your ideal client is and what problems they struggle with

4. You have success stories and case studies to give social proof of your talents

5. You use results based language so people know you’re the best choice

6. You engage your target market online and offline so they get to know, like, and trust you

7. Your pricing structure reflects the value of your expertise- not underselling yourself, not overinflating

8. Your branding is consistent, current, and relevant

9. Your marketing is consistent, current, and relevant

10. You have a network of colleagues, referral partners, and other businesses to share opportunities with

When you have all 10 of these in place, your business can go beyond where you are and put you on a whole new level. Whether you’re a start-up or established business, keeping these tips in mind will keep you visible to the right people and attracting the most lucrative of opportunities.

Action Step: Some of you reading this are realizing you need a second set of eyes to evaluate and strategize around your business.  Contact me directly for information on working with me to put these components into place.

People don’t know who they are anymore. And they’ve run out of words to describe things.

Perhaps you’ll recognize some of these?

The fear of failure has turned many amazing folks into boring old clones… and the situation keeps getting worse.

I talk to so many people gripped by fear. They’re making moves they “think” are smart, but really it’s just a copy of what someone else is doing.

From the language they’re using in their marketing to how they describe themselves, it’s just one big boring snore-fest.

You know what I mean… and if you interact with me on Facebook, you know how much juice comes out of these observations when I post them.

Sure, I get plenty of amens and hallelujahs on Facebook, but what I really want to see is CHANGE.

I want to see people get back in the driver’s seat of their own business and stop living in this place of fear.

Like you, I want simplicity. I don’t want complicated approaches to success because frankly the world is complicated enough. I want my business to be a sanctuary, a creative expression that fills my bank account and allows me the freedom to do the things I love with people I love.

I want the same for you.

Doesn’t that sound heavenly?

So here’s how I’m supporting CHANGE for the people who really want it…

In a few weeks, I’m bringing together a group of 6 business owners. 6 go-getters ready to discover something in themselves and in their businesses that is more powerful than the tactic of the week.

You’ll discover secret treasures of your own business that are right under your nose… but you can’t see them.

What’s really amazing is that I can see them. That’s my gift- I can see your possibilities when you can’t see them for yourself.

Joining this group of 6 is by interview only. No sales page, no hoops to jump through to learn more. But yes, there is an investment which isn’t cheap but isn’t out of reach either.

When you go to this page, you’ll see some questions. If you’re serious about activating change in your business, then be thorough and be honest. You’ll see instructions on how we go from there.

Please share this with people who you know would resonate with this message. I look forward to hearing from those of you who are ready for action, ready for change, and ready for a breath of fresh air!

But list-building also has a downside. You may find your list is filled with people who either a) never open your emails, b) never take any kind of action, or c) are no longer a fit for you.

I recently released several hundred people from my email list, mostly for the reasons listed above. Yes, it was a little scary but in the end I’m glad I did it.

Nature has a way of thinning out overgrowth, so why not try the same for your list? What you’ll end up with is a more responsive list, higher open rates, and a tighter focus with people who truly resonate with your message.

Here’s what I did:

1. I looked at my stats

A big picture thinker like myself doesn’t get all giddy going into the analytics, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Grab hold of your last 6 months of broadcasts and pay attention to which emails got opened, which didn’t, and any other variables to help you wrap your head around the numbers.

2. I had to NOT take things personally yet still OWN the outcome

Looking at your open stats can break your heart if you’re not emotionally ready to simultaneously detach  yet take full ownership. As I was looking things over, I had to keep saying to myself “this is business, don’t take it personally”.  The fact of the matter was I had to come face to face with who opens emails and who doesn’t.

3. I reached out to those who haven’t opened

I picked a time period to study (60 days in my case) to see who hadn’t opened ANY of my emails. I segmented them out and decided to send them a note; sort of a last attempt to get their attention. My subject lines were pretty blunt, “Please unsubscribe or stay”, really getting to the point.

4. I rewarded the people who opened and responded

Offering a cool gift to people is a nice way to reconnect. So the people who did reply back were given a nice little something that I’m not sending out to the rest of the world. That simple act re-engaged LOTS of people.

5. I had closure with the people who *still* didn’t open

After sending out 3 nudging emails with provocative subject lines, I still had people who didn’t open. And in the click of a button, I released them. With love and well wishes, I took them off my list. I felt like I let go of a 40 pound ball and chain.

6. I rewarded EVERYONE who opened my emails.

After focusing so much on people who didn’t open, I decided to create a special event ONLY for people who consistently open my emails. I set up a few “secret” calls only for the people who were on my OPEN list. To find them, I peeked into my list and searched all the people who opened in a certain time period. (Again, I chose 60 days). Then I had an incredible time serving them, coaching them, answering questions, and helping. It was awesome.

The results?

Now that I’ve eliminated a big chunk of my dead weight, my open rates naturally increased.

By reconnecting with people, I’ve opened the channels which  has led to new clients.

And by taking a scary action, I shook myself out of a haze and into momentum. It has been glorious.

Now that I’ve cleared that hurdle, I can get this OFF my mind and go back to focusing on what I LOVE and DO best: helping entrepreneurs position themselves as credible, sought after experts. 

So don’t mistake me for the person who wants to teach you about lists and analytics… because the big end result is that this is a way to stay engaged, top of mind, and ready for your next client! It’s just that sometimes we need to apply some elbow grease to our businesses to stay where you want to be.

If you’re an expert  (or if that’s who you know you’re destined to be),learn about working with me and how I help experts position themselves like no other. I’ll teach you more than how to scrub your list- just watch!

Simply go to www.TalkWithNancy.com to take the first step.

My daughter went for a walk with her uncle and his family along the shores of San Francisco Bay. Like any kid would do, she picked up rocks and threw them into the water, sometimes to skip them, at other times to see how far they would go.

Her uncle noticed she had a pretty good arm. And being a coach to his daughter’s softball team, he became curious.

“Who taught you to throw like that?” he asked.

“Throw like what?”, she replied.

“Like THAT!”, pointing to the ripples far away in the distance.

“I dunno”, she shrugged and ran off to rescue a piece of driftwood from between two larger stones.

In a moment of childlike playfulness, my daughter did what all kids do when faced with calm waters and a rocky shore: she picked up a stone and threw it into the water.

And in a moment of keen observation, her uncle saw raw talent with immense potential. She had no idea she possessed the skill.

Chances are, though, you may have trouble spotting your strengths and talents when you look at yourself. I hear this a lot from clients, especially the ones who are multi-talented. You’re too close to see the forest from the trees.

When you can’t articulate what you’re great at, then what are you really offering in the marketplace? Vagueness doesn’t sell. Neither does confusion as in “Today I’m a life coach! Tomorrow I’m a marketing expert! Next week I’m a social media trainer!”

Not having a handle on this is costing you in clients, new opportunities, and revenue. It’s that simple.

all the best,

Nancy

If you like this post then share it on Facebook, Tweet it, put it on Pinterest… it’s an important thought to share.

Here’s a link for those of you ready to move out of the vagueness – it’s for a strategy session with me so we can nail what you’re great at and put that into your offers, marketing, and more. If you’re ready for the real change to happen, then let’s talk.

www.TalkWithNancy.com 

I look forward to connecting with you!

I will start off this post by freely and willingly admitting that my heart has been broken more than once.

The first time was  in 5th grade when this boy Sonny asked my friend Chrissy to go steady with him when he was MY crush. It devastated me. It was the heartbreak of “what could have been, but never had a chance”.

Another was many years later, realizing I couldn’t stay married to the person I thought I would be with for the rest of my life. That was the heartbreak of “Why didn’t I think this one through?”

But affairs of the heart aren’t just for romance- a lot of your business is run from the heart too. And as soon as you bring that into the equation, you’re on the list for possible heartbreak.

Listening to your heart in business is something I espouse- but with a hefty dose of caution because you could end up HEARTBROKEN.

I’ve seen way too many people do things they “felt in their hearts” only to plummet over the cliff financially.

I’ve seen reputations ruined, credibility lost, authority debunked, and deals lost simply because of badly thought out “heart-based” advice.

I’ve witnessed people being coached to go with poorly developed ideas simply because there was an initial stirring in the heart… and then things failed.

The result? 

Bitterness. Heartbreak. Fury.

Trust me, I’ve seen it, heard it, dealt with it.

The hardest part is that heartbreak doesn’t go down without a fight. It takes prisoners like your sense of self-worth, the value you place on your talents, your sense of purpose, and the love you have for your work. The image below pretty much sums things up:

 So what does that mean for you?

Should you quit listening to your heart? Guard it so you’ll never feel pain again?

Should you run everything according to “what makes sense” or “what’s already been proven”?

Does your head take full control and lock your heart up someplace where it can do no more harm?

This is a topic extremely important to discuss right now because so many people are coming to terms with failed heart-based plans.

Who’s to blame? You? Your heart? The people who encouraged you to follow your heart? The mean old world we live in?

Of course I’d love your opinions on this in the comments below, but more importantly I want you to join me when I put these questions to the public on a free call I’m hosting on 12/12/12. 

The best way we can have a dialog around this topic is to pull it out from under the rug- and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Check out the info page so you can start pondering this topic too and join me when I host the call. 

What are your thoughts? Shall we end the heartbreak cycle once and for all?