Author Archive
Attract Your Ideal Client in 5 Simple Steps
June 14, 2011 | 
Author
If you could work only with your ideal client, who would that be? What are their problems, how would you serve them? And HOW would you get that message across to them?
5 steps to attracting your ideal client
Is your ‘to-do list’ really just a ‘busy list’?
I am very lucky to be surrounded by passionate and capable women,
who also happen to juggle a lot of stuff.
The great thing about this, is that I’m not alone in the experience
of being mum/wife/entrepreneur/public speaker/ mentor, so I feel
right at home.
BUT…over the past week or so I have noticed that it doesn’t take much
to tip ourselves into an unhealthy state of mind, when our to-do
lists take priority over our health! We find ourselves sick and
unable to function; tired and unable to function, or maybe for some
of us, just plain sick and tired!!
So, I’m wondering, how ‘healthy’ is your to-do list?
Does it keep you busy, or productive? There is a difference. Busy
will tire you out, productive will energise you. Especially if what
you are producing is moving your toward your VISION. (If you don’t
have a clear vision, time to get one.)
THE TO-DO LIST HEALTH CHECK – how’s your list inventory?
Number of items that are administration tasks only
Number of marketing activities
Number of client connections
Number ‘not sure what or why I’m doing this’!
Number of ‘me time’ activities
For each set of activities, calculate the time spent on each.
Subtract your me time.
(Activity x hours spent) – (me time) = energy expenditure.
That much huh??
Now why am I asking you to do this? Because, recently I decided to
get honest with myself about where I was spending my time. My
family was neglected, and I was too! I took a hard look at my
‘to-do’ list and realised there were things I could discard, or
limit, so I set about tweaking my to-do list so that it actually
worked for me, instead of my working for the to-do list!
Be honest about where you are spending the majority of your time.
Ask yourself:
*Am I using my time in the best possible way, to grow my business?
*Am I spending more time hiding behind my computer, than I am
connecting with people who could potentially, use my services,
refer my services, or help spread my message?
*Have I allocated appropriate me and family time?
It’s time to get the mix right, so that your busyness is rewarding
you personally AND financially.
ACTION STEP: Review your to-do list.
1. Identify what is busy only, rather than productive for you, your
business or your family
2. Pick something to discard or delegate
3. Schedule some you time.
4.Focus on what will be income producing first
BLISS MOJO TIP: Last week I interviewed Lisa Murray who is the author of The Mojo of Flow. One of my great take aways from our interview was when you get up in the morning to ask, “what is the greatest difference I can make today” and see what arises from that question. A great alternative to busy and striving because you need to! Once your tasks is done, ask youself “what’s next” and let your inner wisdome tell you. It’s a lovely way to work! You can subscribe for 2 free chapters of Lisa’s book at http://revivecoaching.com.au/mojo Have fun with it! If you’d like to listen to Lisa’s full interview, register at www.healthymarketingguide.com and you’ll be sent the details.
HAPPY DAYS!
Krishna
Nail your niche and stop stressing!
In the last week or so, I have talked with several business owners who are who are still struggling with overwhelm when it comes to marketing their businesses.
Most of the time, they are spreading themsleves too thin in an efffort to ‘put themselves out there’, as well as cope with the day to day running of their businesses, all the while trying to embrace new technologies and master social media!!
Enough is enough!
What I have noticed, in the effort to ‘get noticed’ they are running themselves ragged.
BUT, in most cases they have not yet identified a clear target audience, and are trying to cast a net over a very wide group of people, who each speak different ‘language’, and have differing priorities. In the process, their message becomes watered down, and is often lost in translation.
Does that sound familiar to you?
Let’s put this in perspective – if someone came to you and offered you are cure all for ‘everything’, how would that make you feel? Would you trust it?
What if someone offerered you a solution that had been found to be particularly useful in your unique situation. What if the marketing of that solution was consistent and believable, backed up with evidence and social proof (through their facebook page and website or blog), and your friends where supporters of it too. Would you be more likely to trust it?
YES! That is the power of niching!!
First I want to share two niche journeys in highly competitive fields (a life coach, Kama Frankling, and a personal trainer Jen Forster). This is an encore interview. You can listen into those here:
P.S. (Kama has just launched her book, The Happy Migrant, created especially for her chosen niche).
5 Starters to Nailing Your Niche
#1 Don’t be afraid!Although narrowing your target feels like the opposite of what you should do. It’s not (if you listen to the audio, you’ll discover how Jen and Kama found this out for themselves). A narrow target makes it incredibly easy to create a defined marketing message. This in turn helps others to grab hold of what you are offering. If you are unclear, your potential clients certainly will be.
#2 Describe your ideal client in detail.If you find your self saying things like “my clients can’t afford much, so I need to discount my prices”….what do you think you’ll get? Excactly. More of the same. Describe your IDEAL client. Who is she, what does she like, what is important to her? What are her priorities. Then everything you do, and everything your create, will have her in mind. .
#3 Explore who you’re already attracting The greatest clues will be found in your existing client base. Who are your favourite clients now, what do they have in common, and where can you reach more of those. What else can you do to meet their needs?
#4 Who can you help the most that is ready to buyEven if your solutions could be useful to many, they won’t all be ready to buy. The lower and more ripe the ‘fruit’, the better. Target those who are ‘ready’. Perhaps they are at breaking point, or have ‘had enough’. They will also see your service as a priority, because it solves a problem for them. Keep in mind that ‘problem solving messages’ are more powerful than ‘prevention’ messages.
#5 Decide on a niche, then provide services that meet their needsOnce you know who, create products and services that you can sell. Once you have those products and services, you will need to market them. This will be much easier with a target niche.
Take a look at your current products and services. Is it clear who they are for and the problems you are solving?
If you would like some help, get your copy of the Healthy Marketing Blueprint which will clarify your niche, marketing messages and how to connect the two to get customers and reduce the stress and overwhelm. You can read more about it here.
Sanity Saver #5 Take time out before overwhelm hits!
Have you noticed that once full overwhelm hits, it’s a real challenge to get things back to an emotionally managable level? Add a sick child, unexpected expense, or other unexpected crisis, then you’re REALLY asking for trouble! If you want to stay productive, it’s important to keep the early signs of burnout at bay. This means taking steps BEFORE overwhelm takes hold.
Enjoy this 5 minute relaxation!
Keep your sanity!
Krishna xx
Posted in relaxation, sanity saver | 
Tags: Buderim Falls, Overwhelm, Relaxation, Sunshine Coast | 
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Sanity Saver #4 Learn to say “no” to information overload!
When you first start out in business, or begin a new project, it’s tempting to believe you need to know everything there is to know at the start! But sure enough, you soon start to feel like a bit of a donkey with a heavy load.
How to tell when it’s time to say “no more!”
- The information you are receiving begins to be repetitive (that’s when it’s time to put your knowledge into action)
- You spend more time ’learning’ and ‘researching’ than growing or marketing your business
- The information you are fostering ends up in the filing cabinet for ‘later’
How to avoid information overload
The quickest and easist way to avoid overload, AND the most effective way to implement that information into the way you do business is to focus ONLY on what needs to be done next. For big picture people, this can feel odd at first, but you can still have a big picture, the difference is that you only colour one part of the picture at any given time. I suggest:
- Unsubcribe from newsletters that aren’t of benefit to your right now or in the very near future
- Learn to avoid bright shiny objects that distract you from what needs to be done now to move your business forward
- Have an accountablitiy buddy, mastermind group or mentor to keep you focused on the now
You have only 3 sources of power - time, money and energy. Use them wisely!
Save your sanity!
Krishna
Sanity Saver #3 Do it once, then let it do the work for you…
If you are ‘working’ for yourself, you have probably noticed you wear a LOT of hats! It’s no wonder that overwhelm has a tendency to kick in on a regular basis.
One of the best ways to reduce that feeling of overwhelm re-use things you have done wherever possible, a great way to leverage your time.
When it comes to marketing your business, it’s possible to take one piece of information and apply it a few different ways, so that you maximise the exposure with minimum effort. It’s kind of like the beehive on the left. You do the work once, and then send it out into the world in different formats to make an impact in the market place, where YOUR customers are waiting for YOU!
Lets start with a page of information. Information that your clients (and potential clients), both need AND want. Something that can demonstrate your value, so they become interested in your products and services, and recognise that YOU are you are the one to help them.
Here’s 7 ideas to get you thinking. Start with 500 words (about 1 typed page) and turn it into:
- A blog article
- Share that blog article on Twitter
- Turn it into a powerpoint to use as a presentation
- Break it up into small bite sized chunks and share those hints on your Facebook status
- Put it in your newsletter to existing clients
- Use it as an info handout at a network with your card attached
- Record it as an audio (Blog talk radio is a good place to start)
So what do you think? See how one piece of information will help you to promote your business widely, without unecessary overwhelm? Does this feel doable to you? Perhaps you just choose to use the first 3. My main point is not to keep starting from scratch, but use the information that you already have in your filing cabinet and on your hard drive.
If you’d like some help, I’m here for you, so just drop me a line at krishna@healthymarketing.com.au or skype: healthbizmentor or simply add a comment below, which I will happily reply to.
Happy marketing!
Krishna
Sanity saver tip #2 Don’t become trapped by your ideas
The world needs your ideas to manifest, create a simple plan to make it happen, and take ACTION!
Krishna….
Sanity Saver Tip #1: Use your sources of power wisely
You have 3 sources of power – TIME, MONEY and ENERGY
Marketing Magician….
A few months ago, my beautiful client Natalie Hennessey of www.spiritedwomensnetwork.com wrote this poem for me (she’s lovely like that, generous in spirit….). I tell you, it’s moments like that that make this work so worthwhile. I really do love the people I work with! I’ve held off from sharing it until now, but I thought….its time to step into where I am going, and that goes for all of us. So in the spirit of inspiring others to step up and into all that they are meant to be…..I’ve decided to share……
You know you have a message
It’s in the business name
And what you really want is
Some clients and some fame.
But how to make it visible
To shine above the rest?
You call on Krishna Everson
If you want the best.
Experience and compassion
Intelligence and skill
The Krishna marketing journey
Is really quite a thrill.
A vision suddenly appears
Born from love and care
As if it comes from magic
The signposts are all there.
And now the path ahead is clear
The steps and goals are done
Krishna you are amazing
It really has been fun
Newsletter Writing Obstacles and How to Overcome Them
Relationship building is at the forefront of how we interact with our customers. No longer is promoting your business about who can grab the most attention in the loudest way. It is about how we make genuine connections with our clients or audience – your audience – that wants what you offer and recognises they need you. Regular newsletters help nurture this relationship. This week’s newsletter looks at 5 of the most common obstacles to doing them and offers tips on how to overcome them.
Obstacle 1: No Time
Yes, newsletters do take time. In fact, marketing takes time. The upside is that if you consistently make time for it, you will fill your appointment book. Newsletters are one of the best ways to build a relationship with existing clients, educate them about what else you can offer, and generate referrals.
Overcome time restraints – by keeping it simple. A single page newsletter is perfectly fine. Just one feature or story (500 words which is about half a page). You could include a promotion or product feature, or perhaps a case study/testimonial. Inspirational quotes from your favourite personalities add a nice touch.
Obstacle 2: No Computer Skills
Yes, this is still common, even in this day and age! But there are a number of remedies available for the technophobes out there. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: client retention, Free Publicity, Massage Marketing, newsletters | 25 Comments »
