Sure Fire Communication Tips to Attract Your Ideal Clients

Over the years, my clients have become savvy marketers because they understand one major contributor to successfully attracting clients that rarely anyone addresses: how to effectively deliver messages based on how the other person wants to receive their information.

One of the filters in the decision-making process my students discover involves a person’s natural hardwiring. Hardwiring is natural to who you are and reveals how you like to give and receive your information. You will communicate the way you like to receive your information, too. If you are hardwired to want to see tangible results, you will focus on tangible results and talk in bullet points using concise language. If you like to give a lot of detailed explanations, you need a lot of information to make a decision. If you talk aloud to generate ideas, you often prefer face-to-face communication because you enjoy the external interaction you get from others.

When you’re under stress, you will revert back to your natural hardwiring. For many entrepreneurs the sales process is a stressful event. If this is the case for you, when talking to a prospect you will tend to deliver information the way you are naturally hardwired which may not be the way your prospect wants to receive their information.

Through my self-study programs, one of my clients not only recognized how to manage his natural hardwiring but became very skillful in recognizing how his prospects wanted to receive their information (and the type of information). He regularly converted prospects to clients until one day when he didn’t give enough information to someone who innately needed a lot details before making their decision. The prospect left his office missing answers to his questions and didn’t sign up.

My client immediately recognized what happened in the process. My client was hardwired for instant results and presented information to his prospect very quickly. His prospect was more methodical. What were the behavioral cues that led him to this conclusion? His prospect was asking a lot of questions, his pace was calculated and methodical, and he was more formal in his presentation style. Once the prospect left, my client immediately recognized that he didn’t give his prospect enough time to get his questions answered and he presented the information too fast.

Whether you’re meeting in person or crafting your marketing messages, consider these communication tips:

Words matter. Depending on the attributes of your ideal client, words are important. When my client wanted to attract her ideal client, she made a list of all of the attributes describing her ideal clients. She noticed similarities in her clients, specifically, that were focused on and that they needed to see tangible results. So, she used percentages or other factual data where possible in her marketing materials and focused on outcomes. Additionally, she used specific words that described the attributes of her ideal clients. They were drawn to the messages because the words were a spot on match to how her clients would describe themselves and the kind of information they would be drawn to. The right words not only helped to attract the right people, but saved her time and effort because she helped her prospects instantly pre-qualify themselves through her marketing messages.

Use all Communication Channels. One of the most misunderstood or ignored parts of creating successful messaging is to use different mediums when communicating.

Mediums include electronic mail, video, and visual aids. The reason you want to use a mix of mediums is that people are drawn to receiving information in different ways.

Some people need to see tangible items, such as graphs, percentages or statistics in writing while others want to see information through video. Some people want to receive their information face-to-face and have dialog about it while others need to think about it and process it. When you have a crafted client profile, you instantly spot how they like to receive their information and use that specific medium to communicate with them.

Use Targeted Formats. When you know how your ideal clients like to receive their information, you are better equipped to create mesmerizing messages that match your market. But what happens after you complete your client profile and discover that you have clients with a wide variety of hardwiring? Simple. Use a format that speaks to all different types of hardwiring.

• Include an Executive Summary in written communication. This is especially attractive to results-oriented individuals who are drawn to bullet pointed and summary information. The summary should include no more than three to five critical points. Individuals who are resulted oriented and are hardwired to receive their information quickly will scan the bullet points.
• Expand on those three to five critical points for individuals who need a lot of information before deciding. They will tend to read the entire copy. Include detail necessary for each of those points to be implemented or to make their decision.
• Use a variety of mediums. Prospects who like their information face to face will be drawn to video. Include the video on a blog to give them an opportunity to express their ideas in writing after viewing your video.

To get the entrepreneurial edge in today’s marketplace, get started with this assignment:

• List the attributes of your ideal clients. Notice how they like to receive their information. Do they need:
  Their information quickly or are they more methodical?
  A lot of information and ask a lot of questions, or do they prefer bulleted information?
  To think about their decisions or talk about their decisions?
• Use a mix of mediums keeping track of your conversion rates.
• Experiment with key words that describe your ideal clients in your marketing copy so that your prospects identify and connect with the message.
• Track your results on what marketing copy and/or medium is the most successful.

In a short period of time, you’ll start to attract your preferred clients with less effort. You will notice how stronger your marketing messages are and find they bring in more of your preferred clients.

Building Unstoppable Momentum in Your Small Business

If you have worked harder for someone else than you have in your own business, you’re not alone. I’ve heard this self-limiting habit from many of my clients. It shows up in many ways, including procrastinating, not following up, or not following through.

So how do you build unstoppable momentum when you just feel like being lazy?

There are two secrets critical to building unstoppable momentum:

The first is clarity. As a small business owner, you are wearing many different hats and it’s impossible, not to mention ineffective, to try to keep it all in your head. Stop trying to remember it all and get clear by outlining your:

·        Preferred Client. When you know your client’s habits and are familiar with their hangouts, it makes it simple to know where to network. You’ll immediately notice if where you’re networking is the most effective.

·       

·        Goals. Goals are broad and describe a general direction. Establish 3-5 goals each year setting at least one stretch goal each year. Many entrepreneurs set too many goals and end up confused on their direction. Keeping it to 3-5 manageable goals will help keep you clear.

·       

·        Objectives. Objectives are more narrow and specific. They support each goal and can be measured.

·       

·        Timeframes. Remember to set a timeframe. The more you set a timeframe, the more likely it gets done.

·       

Share your plan with others. When you blog or mention to your clients that you have an event coming up in a few months, it lights a fire and gets you committed to that future action.

The second secret is consistency. If you don’t consistently keep in touch with your client base, you’re missing an important part of building unstoppable momentum.

When you deliver consistent high-value messages, your prospects will see you as the go-to expert in your field. As you consistently provide information-rich topics, your prospects begin to look forward to your messages.

Consistent marketing creates a rhythm. The rhythm leads to an expectation from your clients. When you meet that expectation you’ve created, it cultivates trust over time with your prospects. Creating an ongoing system for staying in touch is a critical component in creative unstoppable momentum in your business.

Notice other areas in your business where you can create cadence. If you belong to a networking group and that networking group meets a certain date of the week, you’ve already started that rhythm. Now, start plugging in your other marketing strategies onto your calendar.

Once you regularly apply your marketing tactics, you’ll notice a synergy start to take place. Before you know it, you are getting your message out in a really harmonious way – on your way to building unstoppable momentum.

What are strategies, tactics or systems you have developed to build momentum in your life?

Revealed: One Major Factor that Goes Into Building a Business Model that Works

Remove Your Invisible Barrier To Attract More Clients

When visiting my parents one bright sunny weekend, I noticed that my mother had a beautiful plant with purple flowers resting on her window sill.  As I was admiring her plant, a hummingbird approached the window desperately trying to reach these flowers.  He must have tried three or four times each time banging his beak against the window.  I thought he must have learned his lesson when he flew away to pause on a nearby wire.  As he darted his head back and forth, he shook off his frustration but looked completely confused as to what just happened. Instead of flying away, the tenacious little hummingbird flew in again, banging his beak against the window, in a frantic attempt to break through and reach the flowers.

It got me thinking about the concept of invisible constraints or barriers many small business owners experience in today’s marketplace.  It’s kind of like the hummingbird who tried the same approach over and over expecting different results.  It also reminded me of the elephants at the circus that are tied down to a small stake.  It seems almost silly to believe anyone would think this would actually prevent an elephant from breaking free, but the conditioning comes years earlier when they are young and their feet are secured with a chain.  Their attempts to free themselves are so painful, and, as they get older, they never try again.  That experience imprinted this invisible constraint.

The hummingbird and elephant parallel the marketing problems of small business owners who limit themselves by what they have done in the past instead of looking at a new way of connecting with their ideal clients.  Just like the hummingbird who tries the same approach or the elephant that remains apathetic, you may be affected by invisible constraints that you are unable to see, but are acting as a window blocking you from reaching your goals.
When I first meet with my clients, one of the things we review is their tactics for attracting clients.  I hear the usual responses, including advertising, marketing, networking, and contacting their existing clients.  When they mention that they are always busy, but they are not seeing the results, we dig a little deeper.  While we drill down to specifics like marketing frequency, business systems, marketing systems, stay-in-touch systems and sales funnels, we start to chip away at how connected, streamlined, and effective these tactics are for them.  As they review these tactics, I usually hear how this or that won’t work and other limitations. Once they hear themselves aloud, they start to realize that they are like that hummingbird hitting that invisible window.  When they let go of the self-limiting mindset, emotional barriers, apathy, ego, or bad habits that are getting in the way of a new or different approach, they create innovative ideas and solutions.

After working together, they almost always realize the very first step to breaking through their invisible barrier is when they became self aware.  Creating awareness of the basic infrastructure where you think and act in the world is especially important. When you create that kind of awareness about how you’re naturally hardwired and the way you think about things, there is a fundamental internal shift in your ability to think and act beyond existing limits or views.  You begin to open up to a different way of problem solving.

When one of my clients had a mental block on where to look for a specialized resource for one of her projects, she used a coaching question I often used with her, which is “where in your life could you find the answer right now?”   The question is based on the premise that everything you need is in your life right now.  As she thought more about it, she realized that her resource was right in front of her the entire time.  She found the person in a volunteer group she belonged to.  She was trying to look everywhere other than the existing resources that were in her life at the moment.  She also realized that she tried to do everything herself (a throwback from times where she couldn’t ask for help because she felt she had to do it all alone).  With this new found awareness, she began to also think about other aspects of her life and business breaking through some of her self-imposed limitations.

Often times, if you are unaware of your framework that you base your thinking and decision making, you overlook that which is right in front of you.  Once you become aware of that framework, it’s almost as if an invisible window is lifted and the solution appears.  A mindset shift can be one of the most powerful marketing strategies to attracting more clients with less effort.

 

The AND Option

Have you ever been stifled when choosing between two options?  Every time you tried to weigh the pros and cons, you came to an impasse?
What if you took a different approach?  Instead of looking at a right-or-wrong, this-or-that, all-or-nothing approach, you asked yourself, “What is the “and” option?”  That is, what if you took a bit of both choices?

Throughout my career, I’ve tapped into the “and” option.  Whenever there were choices, I would often consider a new solution that incorporated those choices.  Over the years, it became natural for me to tap into this type of mindset.  It didn’t really hit me on how powerful this mindset was until, out of the blue, I received a call from a former union representative with whom I sat across at the bargaining table many, many years prior.  After seeing a story that was written about me in a newspaper, she called me to congratulate me.  While she, too, was no longer negotiating contracts, she mentioned that in her entire 25 year career, I was the fairest employer representative with whom she negotiated.  Admittedly, I almost fell off my chair.  Many people live their entire life without hearing such a compliment, especially from someone with whom you sat across the table.  Honestly, I felt the same about her.

In retrospect, I believe what she saw in action was my “and” mindset.  While many people who are part of a collective bargaining process will say there are two sides, I believe there are actually three sides:  the employer, the employee, and the union.  Each one has their own perspective.  Often times, however, they get stuck on us-or-them, this-or-that, option 1 or option 2.  Yet, when the “and” option is introduced, that is, a bit of option 1 and a bit of option 2, you can introduce a new alternative and cultivate agreement.

Today, this “and” option comes in handy when coaching my clients.  When one of my clients had an idea that the perfect profession was out there waiting for her, she used her principle of “AND”.  Instantly she broke through from her stuck place and thought of a way to integrate two options in her business model.  While at times it is necessary to choose one path and go with it, there are times when you combine options and end up creating an even better alternative or service model.

The next time you’re wavering between two options, remember to apply the “and” option.  Simply ask the question, “What is the “and” option?”  When you implement this approach, you will see the creative juices flow and discover how easy it is to master your inner game of decision making.
__________
Lisa Mininni is Best-Selling Author of Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change and President of Excellerate Associates, home of the sought-after Entrepreneurial Edge System.  She shows small business owners how their clients find them, choose them and buy from them by taking a systems approach to profitability.  Find out more in her free 5 Part Video Series: Get More Clients Now at www.getmoreclientsnowvideos.com.

option?”
That is, what if you took a bit of both choices?

Throughout my career, I’ve tapped into the “and” option.
Whenever there were choices, I would often consider a new solution that
incorporated those choices.  Over the years, it became natural for me to
tap into this type of mindset.  It didn’t really hit me on how powerful
this mindset was until, out of the blue, I received a call from a former union
representative with whom I sat across at the bargaining table many, many years
prior.  After seeing a story that was written about me in a newspaper, she
called me to congratulate me.  While she, too, was no longer negotiating
contracts, she mentioned that in her entire 25 year career, I was the fairest
employer representative with whom she negotiated.  Admittedly, I almost
fell off my chair.  Many people live their entire life without hearing
such a compliment, especially from someone with whom you sat across the
table.  Honestly, I felt the same about her.

In retrospect, I believe what she saw in action was my
“and” mindset.  While many people who are part of a collective
bargaining process will say there are two sides, I believe there are actually
three sides:  the employer, the employee, and the union.  Each one
has their own perspective.  Often times, however, they get stuck on
us-or-them, this-or-that, option 1 or option 2.  Yet, when the “and”
option is introduced, that is, a bit of option 1 and a bit of option 2, you can
introduce a new alternative and cultivate agreement.

Today, this “and” option comes in handy when coaching my
clients.
When one of my clients had an idea that the perfect profession
was out there waiting for her, she used her principle of “AND”.  Instantly
she broke through from her stuck place and thought of a way to integrate two
options in her business model.  While at times it is necessary to choose
one path and go with it, there are times when you combine options and end up
creating an even better alternative or service model.

The next time you’re wavering between two options,
remember to apply the “and” option.  Simply ask the question, “What is
the “and” option?”  When you implement this approach, you will see the
creative juices flow and discover how easy it is to master your inner game of
decision making.

__________

Lisa Mininni is Best-Selling Author of Me, Myself, and Why?
The Secrets to Navigating Change and President of Excellerate Associates, home
of the sought-after Entrepreneurial Edge System.  She shows small business
owners how their clients find them, choose them and buy from them by taking a
systems approach to profitability.  Find out more in her free 5 Part Video
Series: Get More Clients Now at www.getmoreclientsnowvideos.com.

 

How to Jump Start Your Momentum Even After a Negative Experience

The inspiring entrepreneur, Henry Ford, once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way you’re right.”  He was on to something.  We all have untapped potential, but it is often blocked by our conditioning.

One of the first steps to jump starting your momentum is to look at where this conditioning originates.  Your conditioning is part of what I refer to as your inner entrepreneur.  Your inner entrepreneur is the inner workings of your subconscious mind and your natural hardwiring.  It is always at play, but isn’t always playing positively for us.  If you only pay attention to the external and neglect your inner entrepreneur, you will work harder than you need to for years.

Often times, stories we tell ourselves or experiences we’ve had keep us from moving ahead.  These stories come in forms of excuses giving us reasons why we do what we do, rationalizations and even justifications.   On a global scale, many people use the rationale of a bad economy and then continue with self-limiting thinking or habits that align with the bad economy.  (I can relate because early on in my business I had the same thoughts.  When I changed my way of thinking, my actions changed and so did my desired results.)

So when a client wondered why “nobody wanted to do business with her” it was the perfect opportunity to dig deeper.  It turns out that when my client met with a prospect, there were actually three things she was telling herself.  “Nobody wants to do business with me,”  “This new approach is not going to work – my business is different,” and “Nothing is working.”   As it turned out, her body posture also reflected her thoughts.  She often slouched and didn’t project a confident image.

Once she changed the dialog in her head, she was more open to doing things differently.  She started to stand a little taller.  Once she started to project that confidence, she signed on more clients.  It was almost as if she just hit the “on” button to her light switch.  She became more open to opportunities, she had more business growth ideas, and she reorganized her business bringing in multiple income streams and more options for people to work with her.  Her thoughts had a systemic impact on her entire business.

Researchers have even found that our brains are conditioned to produce habitual behaviors and ways of thinking.  You can get into a habit of thinking you won’t have enough business.  Your actions will follow your thoughts.  Your current habitual actions you take or don’t take are based on your current subconscious programming.

The good news is that if you’re not achieving the results you want, you can change the results you want to manifest into your life today.  To break free of conditioned ways of thinking and behaving, you must recondition and reprogram your brain.  You must change your thoughts about those events that
keep you from moving ahead.  To get started, there are three simple methods to access your subconscious mind.  These three methods are visualization,
affirmations, and behavior modification.

1. Visualization. Visualization is a process of forming a mental image of your desired future.  When you visualize your desired future, you are drawn toward actually fulfilling what you visualize.  With repetition, the system of visualization helps you to train your brain to access your untapped potential.  I use this process daily.  When I was writing my book, I visualized it on the Best Sellers List.  Almost effortlessly, new resources and people came into my life.  Each one had a tip or something they learned about becoming a best seller.  Each day I wrote more of the book, created a plan, and worked the plan.  My book that I had visualized rising to the Best Sellers List indeed rose to the Best Sellers List.

2. Affirmations.  Affirmations are a clear statement declaring a belief.   Affirmations are almost always going on.  However, when they are left in default mode, the affirmations are many times not positive.  Become intentional about what you want to affirm to yourself.  Repeat affirmations frequently and with emotion as if they are already true or have already occurred.  This will give clarity to your projected outcome.  Focus on what you want to occur or invite into your life.

3. Behavior Modification.  Behavioral modification is simply the process of changing behavior.  One of the success principles to making new modifications stick is to develop a process or new habit.  When you develop a new process and reward yourself for sticking to the process, you’re more likely to make the new habits last.    As any athlete knows, you get better at your craft with time and repetition.  Consistency and repetition will give you results.  But if you’re consistently playing solitaire instead of marketing your business, you’ll want to break that self-sabotaging habit fast.  Instead, substitute that behavior with a new one.  Schedule an appointment on your calendar to network or market your business when you might have been playing video games.  Remember to reward yourself when you’ve changed the behavior and continue repeating it.  Over time, you will recondition your brain and produce new business-building habitual behaviors.

Remember to find the optimal part of your day to practice these simple strategies that exercise your inner entrepreneur.  When you implement these approaches every day, you’ll begin to change your inner game and, once again, regain your momentum.

Strategic Alliances Popular for Small Businesses

Yesterday I had an absolute blast speaking to the members of MBPA.  What a fun group!

Just a quick reminder to register for August’s free Business Growth teleseminar I’m hosting.  If you’ve been thinking about accepting credit cards to make it easier for people to do business with you, you don’t want to miss this teleseminar.  On Thursday, August 18, I’m interviewing Master Agent, Jared Sparr of JPS, who is going to share how you can save on credit card fees and more.  Click here to learn more and register.

I look forward to seeing you there!  Enjoy this week’s high-content article, Strategic Alliances Popular for Small Businesses.

Create a great life,

Lisa Mininni

P.S. Welcome! – New Excellerator Ezine Community Members AND Success Circle Members!  You’ll love the resources you find here to get the EDGE in today’s marketplace.

P.P.S. Did you catch my 5 part video series at www.getmoreclientsnowvideos.com?

Now for this week’s high-content article….

Strategic Alliances Popular for Small Businesses

The use of strategic alliances or joint ventures has rapidly become popular with a growing number of small business owners.  Strategic alliances can be formal or informal where two independent small businesses with the same goals coordinate their efforts often leveraging their marketing efforts for a common purpose.   This strategy offers many potential advantages for the small business owner, but can also be riddled with special considerations.

Small businesses owners may have many motivations to form strategic alliances.   Many times each partner brings complementary strengths to the table, resulting in a competitive advantage for the participants collectively.

You can benefit from a strategic alliance in various areas including growing your list of prospects, risk sharing, and economies of scale.

Growing Your List

Your list of contacts instantly doubles as does your outreach when combined with another.  A partner’s list can be invaluable if it gets services and products into a new market and/or seen by a larger audience.  When you partner with someone who serves an industry with related but not competitive products, the advantage is more easily achieved too.

Risk Sharing

With strategic alliances you share the risks.  With strategic alliances, small businesses can take on projects that would be otherwise too risky or too costly.  When they work, it pays off nicely.

Economies of Scale

When two or more small businesses combine their resources, economies of scale are achieved helping maximize efficiency.  Cooperative strategies also allow small companies to join together to compete against larger companies.  In addition to the economies of scale, this partnership decreases costs much more so than if the small business owner attempted the venture on their own.

In order to realize the benefits from partnering, there are many considerations in choosing a partner for a strategic alliance.  If you’re thinking of a joint venture or strategic alliance, remember to include these criteria in your partner selection:

Understand your potential partners’ goals.   A potential partner must have complementary strategic objectives. A venture cannot succeed if the objectives are in conflict.

Make sure potential partners possess complementary skills. Each partner must contribute more than resources to the project and bring other competencies into the venture.  You may bring technical skills while your strategic partner brings knowledge of a market. There are many skills that a company can bring into the relationship but make sure each person’s skills are balanced.

One of my Success Circle Members learned this valuable lesson early on in one of her strategic alliances. She invested in her own personal development throughout the year. As a result, she developed a growth mindset and a completely new way of growing her business.  With laser focus, she identified the precise attributes that made up her preferred client.  When she wanted to host a big event with another small business owner who she thought had the same target market, she was initially looking forward to the venture.  However, at every turn, the project lacked synergy.  When she tried to introduce new ways to attract certain business owners to the event, her strategic partner wanted to use an approach she was familiar with.   It turns out that her alliance partner was more comfortable participating in an event she had experience with rather than reach out to more of niche market.  Neither was right or wrong, just different ideas and visions.

Partners must offer complementary skill sets otherwise it may lead to trust issues or resentment.   Regardless of how mutually beneficial and rational the venture may seem, without trust and commitment, the association will fail. There are a variety of ways that you can attain and sustain commitment and trust in cooperative ventures. In addition to outlining specific goals, discussing intentions and visions is a crucial step toward building trust.

Each strategic partnership should challenge you to achieve the next level.  Whether you are joint venture partners or working in groups, make sure that the people you associate with challenge you to play your A Game. If you feel like you’re pulling people along, it’s probably time to move on.

When you bring together the right strategic alliance, you’ll notice synergy.  With synergy, new products or services are created for the market quicker or better than they might have been if the companies had kept their resources to themselves. Each venture should create something greater than the two companies could have achieved alone. When there is synergy, everyone benefits.