Tag: confidence in business

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E#171 Pull Marketing – Attract Clients with Confidence

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This episode is about pull marketing – attract clients with confidence

I was asked recently for tips on how to ask clients to work with you, or engage people in a sales process. This episode covers what I call a coaching approach to attracting clients with confidence and creating clients with ease. 

What is Pull Marketing?

I use the concept of ‘pull’ marketing. It means creating demand for your services or products, rather than pushing them onto people.

If you are a coach, you are perfectly equipped with the coaching skills that can help you do this easily. All you need to do is to flip your thinking and redefine the words that currently seem icky and uncomfortable, like “marketing” and “sales”. 

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
* What is Pull Marketing?
* The 4 Step “Pull Marketing” Process
* How to get it right?

The essence of pull marketing, from a coaching perspective, is to speak with conviction about your why, to be aspirational and inspirational, and to build or tap into a community around that. Then to match your values and services with the people who need them, and offer to support them through a journey if and when they are ready to take it.

Here is a rough 4-step process that I use, that others have used, and that really works.

4 Step “Pull Marketing” Process

Step 1 – Start with the Why

Pull marketing starts with clearly communicating your big why and your bigger mission and really unpacking it.

The why naturally speaks to a huge problem that people want to solve – confidence, fear, isolation, self-doubt – or whatever it is. 

It paints an aspirational picture of what’s possible (and what we can achieve together). People see themselves in that and create a shared vision.

Speaking to the why regularly ignites the fire in people who are thinking about change but are afraid (it’s not you, it’s them!) – they move through the stages of change to become ready. 

They sit up and take notice. Your inspirational and aspirational approach gives them a sense of hope, of potential, and that you are the leader who can help them.

Step 2 – Give a Vehicle for Engagement

By communicating your why in your content, people are attracted and engage with you as they become readier and readier to change (and therefore buy).

They want to stay connected because it feels good to be around you.

They may not be ready to buy yet.

So, create a vehicle for engagement. Give them a place to go to stay in touch – a meetup group, a LinkedIn group, or some other ‘container’ for like-minded people.

They will want to be part of that community and they will have ownership if they can co-create it with you (and this is the coaching way). 

In that container, you can speak more to the journey they are on and help them solve day-to-day problems that they’re facing, and to get peer support.

Be authentic, and speak to both obstacles and wins. Keep the positive momentum going.

The community will become very problem aware, and solution aware, and are equipped to evaluate how important it is to change at this time.

Step 3 – Add More Value

With the help of your content in steps 1 and 2, some of the people in your audience will become more ready to change and will start to prepare for change.

You can add more value in an event of some kind – a workshop, webinar, etc.

In that session you would unpacking your why (related to their problem), and then introduce how you help people solve that problem. What has worked for you, and/or your clients?

What you are selling is support to walk people through a 4-step process or formula for helping them go from point A (problem) to point B (solution).

Engage the audience and make them part of it. Make the content specific and relevant to them. And right up front, let them know that at the end you’ll let people know how to work with you if they want to.

Step 4 – Make a SMART Offer 

There is an offer at the end of this event (and you can make this offer once a month at least, for your general audience). The offer is your vehicle to actually help those people to find the confidence and support they need on such a big journey.

The offer is essentially formulated like a SMART goal (I am patenting this idea) 

It talks about the:

  1. Specific problem you are helping with and type of people who have that problem 
  2. Two Measurable elements – how long it is (e.g. 8-week program) and how many people you have capacity to work with (e.g. 5 clients)
  3. Actions that 
    1. people need to take e.g. must be committed to attending weekly sessions, and, 
    2. the actions that you will take to help them overcome their obstacles and objections
  4. Realistic results that people will get if they take the actions – and the outcomes that those actions will generate e.g. have a bigger impact, be a role model for their kids
  5. Timing of the offer – e.g. contact you by a specific date, starting on a specific date

Then, you must have the next steps mapped out clearly to enquire or take up the offer.

I like to have a good fit call to see if the person is truly ready to change, and if they are a fit for working with me.

If they aren’t interested, it might not be the right offer or the right time.

If they aren’t a fit, you can refer them to someone or something else.

In either case, you can STILL offer them value through ongoing connection with you on (LinkedIn, email, community etc) and you can invite them to share the message with others who need the courage and confidence to navigate the journey.

Getting it Right

This method works for me, and others. 

Your courage to do it is borne from your bigger why, the thing that you MUST do no matter what – which is the kryptonite for your fears.

If you can engage people in your why and share the dream with them, and co-create a vision, you will both be able to put the fear of marketing and sales aside and focus on making a change, and a difference. 

Summary

Attracting clients and selling programs is a big challenge for a lot of coaches. There are mental and emotional hurdles and often limiting beliefs in the way.

Your courage to make offers is borne from your bigger why, the thing that you MUST do no matter what.

Pull marketing is a strategy that leverages coaching skills and strengths.

The four-step process I shared today includes:

  1. Starting with the why (as the focus for all your content) 
  2. Creating a vehicle for engagement where you dive into the what 
  3. Adding more value by offering events that truly help the people who are becoming ready to change
  4. Making a SMART offer that helps people connect with you so they can benefit from your skills, abilities and support.

Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

Learn more here:

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E#138 Three Ways to Feel Confident In, and Connected With, Your Business

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This episode is about three ways to feel confident in, and connected with, your business
.

A lot of startup business owners lack clarity in the beginning, feel uncertain about their performance at times and start to question themselves. And the same can be true for seasoned business owners! 

I want to share three ways to feel confident in, and connected with, your business.

In this episode, I’ll talk about 
*Spinning Your Wheels? – Get the traction that you need to head in the right direction
* Ground truth your thoughts – Observe and check for accuracy
* Be of service – Flip the switch towards your success

Spinning Your Wheels?

Have you ever felt like you’re spinning your wheels in your business and not really getting traction, not really going where you want to go, not sure if you’re heading in the right direction?

I felt like this at times for sure, as have many of my clients. 

You can tell you’re in this state because you’re asking yourself things like, 

“Am I doing things the right way?” 

“How can I get more customers?” 

“Am I doing a good job at giving people what they want?” 

“Why is (other person) doing so well, when I’m still struggling?”

I’m sure you can hear the lack of clarity and confidence in these types of questions.

Having coached many clients around this, I know that when you feel like this it might mean you’ve been distracted from your goals, have become disconnected from your vision, or have lost confidence in yourself and you are questioning your focus.

Now think a little deeper. What do these sorts of thinking patterns tell you?

Simply, that you’re spending too much time in your head, and not enough time in real life collecting evidence and celebrating successes.

Does that resonate?

That’s why this discussion is so important. If you’re too much in your head, then you need to do something to ground yourself and get back on track.

And the  best way to ground yourself is with a bunch of FACTS.

If you start to pursue facts instead of fears and thoughts of “what if”, then you are more likely to regain clarity and reconnect with your sense of purpose, simply because you’ve stopped second-guessing yourself and have sought concrete evidence that’s staring you in the face!

The three things I will share now will help you to get out of your head and re-focus on what’s important in your business, so you can feel confident in and connected with your business.

1. Ground truth your thoughts  

Ground-truthing means making observations to check for accuracy. This is something I did in my career as a scientist. 

We would create a hypothesis, then go and get actual data to see whether we could prove or disprove the hypothesis. 

The great thing about ground-truthing is that it is 100% free, and it is a really easy way to bring yourself back down to earth.

There are two simple ways you can ground-truth your thoughts.

Firstly, find a networking group or a social media platform where your niche client hangs out, and check in there regularly (at least once per month) to observe two things:

  • What their problem is
  • What they want to achieve and why

Just talk to people, or read a selection of comments!

Doing this as a regular activity helps you to reaffirm that you are targeting the right niche, that your marketing messaging is on track, and that you are focused on the right thing. 

Secondly, you can pull back and reflect on what is going on for you! 

Is your work still aligned with your niche and ideal client – and your own values? I suggest at least once per month, reflecting on:

  • The why behind your business
  • The type of person you are attracting
  • What your shared values are.

When you do this, you remember why you started your business in the first place. You check that it’s still valid and relevant. 

You make sure that you are attracting an audience that is aligned with your values. If you’re attracting the wrong type of customer, then you can go back to your marketing and look at the messaging, the offer and other aspects to correct things.

Every business owner should know that this research and reflection is an essential, ongoing activity that helps you to stay abreast of customer opinions and market trends so that what you’re doing stays relevant and meaningful.

Also, if you want to be a lighthouse for people in your niche, you need to stand firm in your own beliefs. So your job as an industry leader is to check in with yourself and remember why you’re doing this!

If you do these two things, you will be constantly ground truthing your thoughts, feelings and reality and making sure that you are on the right path.

2. Review client results

Years ago, I went through a period of helping a lot of my friends to write their resumes and cover letters as they applied for jobs. Many of them lacked confidence, but by the end of the session, after reflecting on all their achievements, they realised all they were capable of and felt way more hopeful about getting the job they were applying for!

Business owners can lose confidence in their business because they have forgotten about all the value they have created for their clients. 

The lesson is this: reflecting on past success reminds you of your value and that you offer to the world.

You can reconnect with your value right now by reflecting on what your clients have achieved as a result of working with you.

But there is another important reason to reflect on success – that is, so that you can make sure that your marketing messages are still relevant.

Remember that, no matter what you’re selling, people buy results, so your promotional messages need to speak directly to the results that people want to achieve. People want to know that what you sell really works and is worth spending money on.

One of my students in my Passion to Profit course was recently telling me about some market research she did. 

She was asking people if they would buy a coaching program like the one she was developing. And the person said, “Sure I would buy it if I could be guaranteed that I would get results.” 

Now while you can’t necessarily guarantee people’s results, you can guarantee that if they do everything possible to achieve that result, that they are likely to do so. 

In any case, we can see how important the achievement of results is to the customer who is buying. 

They’re not going to buy something from you for the fun of it, or out of the hope that it could make a difference, or for general interest. You’re not in the business of educating people – you’re in the business of transforming lifestyle habits, thoughts and actions.

If you need help with this, I will be covering a simple method to get your wording right, called the end point method. It helps you to work out if you’re describing your services in a compelling and attractive way. Stay tuned for that.

3. Be of Service

There is one last thing that will truly help you to feel confident and be more connected with your business.

Flip the switch – instead of focusing on your own fears or discomfort, simply focus on being of service to others.

If you master this, you will be successful. There are two ways to look at this.

Firstly, to be truly successful you need to become very good at what you do.

If you put your heart and soul into practising your craft with people and focusing on doing the best job that you possibly can, and improving through interactive feedback with your customers, then you will become known as somebody who cares, and somebody who can help people get the results that they want.

Secondly, the better you can build rapport and genuine relationships with people, the more successful your marketing will be, and the quicker your business will build.

It’s no secret that every business is only as good as the relationships it’s built on.

So if you focus on exceptional customer service, being caring and empathetic, and connecting with people where they are at as part of your marketing, then you will feel confident and connected with your clients and your business..

The great thing about these two skills is they take your focus off you, yourself, your perceived shortcomings and your fears.

By being extremely curious about your customers, and what they need and want, and how you can help them, you will quickly forget about your own fears and start to really build strong relationships with the people that matter most in your business – potential customers.

I will go into depth on these in another episode as they’re pretty important!

Summary

If you’re struggling with imposter syndrome, have lost confidence or are feeling disconnected from your business, then please know that there are three solid ways you can regain that confidence and connection in your business.

Today I discussed three things you can do to get there:

  1. Regularly ground-truth your thoughts by investigating what you and your audience want, and whether you are aligned,
  2. Review client results to remind yourself of what you have facilitated, and as an added bonus, to get your marketing messaging right, and
  3. Be of service – hone your skills in servicing and connecting with clients, so that you can become highly skilled, admired and sought after.

If you need help, get in touch!

Ready to get clarity on your pathway to success?

Understanding who you are and what you need will allow your business to thrive! If you’re truly ready to break old habits and get out of the rut I encourage you to check out the Habitology membership.

Learn more here:

Learn More