Imagine Your Reality

One of the key realizations I’ve had about marketing is that it’s very important to track what works and doesn’t work with your marketing. I track which marketing activities help me get business and which ones don’t do anything and on the basis of that tracking I determine what I should continue doing and what I should let go.

For example, some time back I gave up using lead referral networking groups because I wasn’t getting much business from them…certainly not enough to justify the amount of money I spent on those groups. Since then I’ve joined three chambers of commerce and I was quickly able to determine that being involved in the chamber was much better for my business, because of what I tracked. What was very interesting to realize is that by not only changing the type of networking group, but also the activity associated with such a group I was able to figure out what worked best for me when it came to getting business.

The importance of that last statement is that its also important to track the specific activities that work or don’t work. By learning which activities work you can continue to focus on those activities, while also testing other activities to see if they also fit or don’t fit.

What I’ve also realized is that just because some activity works for one business doesn’t mean it will work for every business. Additionally each person has their strengths and weaknesses and so its important to learn what your strengths are and how you can use them to help market your business and put you in touch with your clientele.

Book Review: How to be a Fierce Competitor by Jeffrey Fox

This is a very relevant book to read in a time of economic recession, but its also a book I would recommend reading even during a time of economic boom. The author spells out in clear cut terms what activities and behaviors work to make a business a fierce competitor and more importantly a successful business. I like the use of stories, but I also like the author’s bluntness. The book is easy to read and to the point, but you will learn a lot in each chapter you read.

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Typically, what I read and see in regards to social media is how it can be used for marketing, how it can be used to get in the door and catch the eyes of people. But I think social media is a lot more than just marketing or even networking. Social media needs to be examined in terms of how it can or can’t be applied to all areas of a person’s business.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Do what I tell you to do, not what I do.” While it is a bit of a cliche, there’s some truth to it as well. How often have you worked with a client and and after you’ve helped them with your particular, you’ve said to yourself, “I should be doing that for my business?” If you’ve found yourself saying that, don’t worry you’re not alone. I also find myself saying that on occasion, when I’m providing business and social media advice to other businesses.

It’s all to easy to not follow your own advice. You’ve got a client who needs you, a project that needs to be attended to, or something else you need to accomplish for your business and in the process you forget to put time toward doing the very activity you would advocate your client to do. So how do you stop and find time?

First, keep a pad of paper on hand that’s just for you. If you find yourself saying to yourself, that’s something I should do, scribble a note down for yourself.

Second, put aside fifteen to thirty minutes to review any notes you made. By putting aside that time you can then review the notes and determine what activities you will follow through on. Use that time to not just review, but also follow through on activities you feel you should be doing for your business.

Third, do it every day. Make notes, review them and follow through every day. Think of the 15 to 30 minutes as a time to reflect and review what you’re doing with your business to make it successful. And remember you can’t really take care of anyone else, until you take care of yourself. This applies to your business as well, so making that time to follow up on your internal business activities can make a big difference in the work you do for your clients and also in attracting new prospects.

What do you think? What would you add that I haven’t?

I’m a firm believer that you never stop learning and that if you think you have nothing to learn, you’re pretty much stagnating. This is true for life and for business as well. As a business owner, one of the values I stress for myself and my clients is education. This is why I attended the National Speakers Association Fast Track program, because I knew I would learn a lot about business and not just the business of speaking, but business in general. Last night I finished the program and I’m really pleased, because I learned a lot in the last 9 months about myself and my business.

I’m also an avid reader. I read between 5 to 6 books at a time. One of those books is usually mind-candy reading, a fantasy or SF book, but the rest are educational in one way or another. Some books are on finances or marketing, or social media, while other books are on meditation and internal work, another value I’ll write about late. I’m feeding my head and I’m feeding it with a lot of different material.

Why 5 to 6 books? I personally find that I like variety in my reading and that something I read in one book will provide insight in another book and help me apply both more meaningfully to my life and business. The differing perspectives provide me insight into my business and into the people I’m working with.

You never stop learning. I love learning because it challenges me to grow and become better at what I do, but also become a better person. What about you? What are you doing to educate yourself about business and life?

When I first started this particular business, it was the first time I was providing a service as opposed to providing a product. What I learned through trial and error is that not having a clear structure for how often you will meet with a client and when you will get paid can create a lot of problems for you. I’d meet with clients once a month, if I was lucky, and I felt like I was chasing after them to get paid. That’s not a feeling I wanted to have and it contributed to a lot of stress for me.

When I changed over to a contract, where I made it clear a client had to meet with me for at least three months and would need to meet with me 2-4 times a month, as well as establishing when I’d get paid, I felt like something snapped into place. I was able to sign a client on who was more than happy to put the time aside to meet with, paid me up front, and otherwise made that aspect very non-stressful. Additionally, he appreciated having the contract, because it provided him a good idea of what each party was expected to contribute.

There are some business coaches who will say that you shouldn’t use a contract and that it’s up to you to prove yourself to the client. Frankly, these coaches have probably never owned a business, or they would realize that not having a contract is more harmful to you and the client, than helpful. The client doesn’t want to be chased after and you don’t want to be chasing them. You also don’t want the stress of having to figure out when you’ll be able to schedule the next meeting. If they’ve paid upfront clients will definitely make time because they want to spend their money for nothing.

If you run a service business and you don’t have contract, consider getting one and using it. It will make your life and your client’s life easier and also help you both stay on track with what it is you’re doing for the client. Additionally if problems do arise the contract will be a legal document that can be used to help resolve the situation. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Something I like to do with my business, particularly with the icon for it, is use that icon to meditate and in that meditation create an environment where I can interact with my business. I treat my business as a living entity that I want to feed and take care of so it can grow. I’ll even ask my business questions as far as how I can help grow it. The suggestions are usually quite helpful. For instance getting my first newsletter out, or joining the local chapter of a coaching association.

This approach is helpful because it creates an “objective” identity for the business, plus gives me a chance to dialog with the concept of the business and run ideas by it. Of course, I still work with other life coaches, but making my business into an entity I can dialog with provides a personality and sense of life to my business. It adds to the reality I’m seeking to manifest.

The last couple of weeks have been busy. I had a convention I travelled to where I co-presented a workshop on Manifesting Wealth in your life. The presentation went really well. People came away feeling like they’d learned a lot about how to manifest wealth, how to recognize their internal attitudes about it, etc.

Besides the convention, I’ve been gradually putting different elements of my life coaching business together. This saturday I set up my business bank account for it, to go hand in hand with the paypal account I have set up. I sent out my first newsletter last week, which also felt good. Tonight I’m going to a two hour workshop, which integrates tarot into life coaching.

I’m also thinking of going to additional training, both for the marketing aspects, but also further development of my skills as a life coach. There are several seminars coming up in April that have perked my interest. The marketing skills, in particualr, are reallyi mportant, because they help you build a business. I’m reading a book: Four Steps for how to market your life coaching practice, and following the steps. The book is helping, just in terms of giving me an outline of steps to follow.

Speaking of books, I’m also going to start using this blog to do some reviews of life coaching materials and related work. Be on the lookout for that in the near future.