Introductory Sessions: Secrets of Getting Clients to Sell Themselves
May 19, 2010
These days, it seems that everyone knows someone looking for work. Savvy job seekers prepare their resumes, polish their interview skills, and network like maniacs in the hopes of "getting hired."
As a service professional, "getting hired" is no less a concern for you! No clients, no paydays. You may have finely honed your skills and abilities as an independent business owner in your chosen field, possibly obtaining degrees, certifications, and undergoing many hours of practice. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how good you are at serving your clients if you can't get clients to hire you.
It's actually very simple (though not necessarily easy) to get clients. First, you have to develop marketing strategies to attract prospects. Next, you need a reliable way to convert those prospects into clients, customers or patients.
One popular way to convert prospects to clients is through initial sessions. These could be free or paid introductory sessions, strategy sessions, or consultations.
There are ways to dramatically increase your chances of converting a prospect into a long-term paying client at an initial session, just as there are ways to dramatically increase – or sabotage – your chances of getting hired at a job interview. Nobody in their right mind would show up late in dirty jeans to an interview with a wrinkled, misspelled resume in hand. Similarly, you want to give yourself the best chance of "getting hired" by your prospects.
The process of converting a prospect into a client is often thought of as "selling," or "closing the sale." However, the real secret to success is getting clients to sell themselves... on hiring you! Read more
Persistence vs. Insistence: Does It Matter?
April 8, 2010
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." --Calvin Coolidge
There's a critical difference between "persistence," as in perseverance, and "insistence," as in continuing to believe that what you are believing, thinking, and doing are the right things, despite blatant evidence to the contrary.
If you could distinguish between the two, would it make a difference in your business and your life? Of course it would!
On today's Conscious Leaderpreneurship Conversation, we discussed practical ways to tap into "superconsciousness" and distinguish between persistence and insistence.
Is the “Competitive Advantage” Really An Advantage? The Case for “Collaborative Advantage”
February 17, 2010
When it comes to crafting your business' marketing messaging and defining your position in the marketplace, a commonly encountered question is: "What is the 'competitive advantage' of your company?"
The traditional definition of "competitive advantage" is the way a company distinguishes itself by keeping an upperhand over other companies who offer similar products and services. It's all about "survival of the fittest."
Reverend Suzi Schadle from the Center for Spiritual Living Eastside in Bellevue, Washington (www.csle.org), once shared this direct experience of hers from when she was leading a workshop in a school.
She was working with kids from the ages of 5-6. She wanted to teach them to work as a team.
She split the students into smaller groups of several children. The exercise she gave them was to take a raw egg and then, using the supplies that were passed out, they were to build a container for the egg so that it could be dropped from a height of 6 feet without breaking the egg. No further instructions were given. Read more
Investing 101: Where Do YOU Invest Your Personal Energy?
February 16, 2010
Through my years of medical training and practicing as a plastic surgeon surgeon, I've gained a great appreciation that one's health and well-being is the foundation of all wealth, material and otherwise.
Inclusive of our own health and well-being, the greatest asset we have is our personal energy. That energy is comprised of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy.
Every second of our lives, we get to choose where we invest our personal energy. Are you wasting it thoughts, feelings, and activities that aren't in alignment with your core values, your passion, and your true mission in life?
For a variety of reasons, such as fear of saying 'No,' concern about disappointing others, or fear of failure, many of us do...
If you're really honest with yourself about it, you'll probably find that you've committed to other people, events, and projects that are "energy leaks"; things that suck life out of you, rather than filling you with energy.
Now, that's a real waste of energetic resources!
So, get in the natural habit of asking yourself: "What is the highest and best investment of my energy?"
Start by asking this of yourself as you start your day. Then progress to asking it of yourself throughout the day.
The shift in your energy, enthusiasm, productivity, and life experiences may astound you!
And that's a real blow for freedom!
Conscious Leaderpreneurship and the Exponential Bottom Line
February 13, 2010
Traditionally, the ultimate measure of success in business has been to ever increase the single bottom line of profit. To our great detriment, this goal has too often been undertaken with an attitude of "success at any and all cost." In large part, this mindset has contributed to the global economic turmoil and ecological endangerment that we find ourselves grappling with today.
I've outlined five fundamental business practices that I collectively terms the "exponential bottom line." In contrast to the single bottom line of profit, this term refers to five business practices that reflect how a business:
- Enhances the quality and duration of the lives of People today as well as future generations to come.
- Restores and renews the resources and ecosystems of our Planet.
- Generates Profit sustainably, fairly, and responsibly.
- Promotes Prosperity locally and globally.
- Models and perpetuates Peace through its values, mission, vision, business practices, and ultimate impact on society.
If adopted by businesses and consumers worldwide, the practice of these ideals could synergistically shift the dynamics of commerce to effect lasting change and transformation in our global economy, ecology, and sociology.
If you are a generous entrepreneur or conscientious consumer and you're in the Seattle area, I invite you to explore what the "exponential bottom line" means to you and your business by attending my live presentation next week:
"Conscious Leaderpreneurship: Ushering a New Era of Prosperity"
East West Bookshop in Seattle
6500 Roosevelt Way Northeast
Seattle, WA 98115
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
7 - 8:30 pm
$15, at the door
DETAILS HERE:
Conscious Leaderpreneurship talk at East West Bookshop-Seattle
Coaching Boom 2010 – Tips from Day #4
February 11, 2010
CoachingBoom 2010 is a virtual business-building training event that started on this past Monday, February 11th and runs through Thursday, February 18th.
I'll be presenting on Thursday, February 18th at 8:15 am PT.
My topic? "How to Get More and Better Clients Using PAID Introductory Sessions"
Milana Leshinsky, the host of CoachingBoom 2010, has been sending out the top ideas that she's taken away from each day's sessions.
Here are eight takeaways from Day 4 of Coaching Boom 2010:
1. The 3 rules of effective business systems: simplicity,
consistency, and automation. They must also be personal
and fun to be useful to you (Melinda Cohan)
2. Become the person that people are quoting, especially
if you are working in corporate, executive, or leadership
coaching (Ann Farrell) Read more
Coaching Boom 2010 – Tips from Day #2
February 10, 2010
CoachingBoom 2010 is a virtual business-building training event that started on this past Monday, February 11th and runs through Thursday, February 18th.
I'll be presenting on Thursday, February 18th at 8:15 am PT.
My topic? "How to Get More and Better Clients Using PAID Introductory Sessions"
Milana Leshinsky, the host of CoachingBoom 2010, has been sending out the top ideas that she's taken away from each day's sessions.
Here are here top 5 tips from Day #2:
1. To get more relationship or any life coaching clients,
create and offer results-oriented programs - workshops,
classes, events - for your niche market (David Steele)
2. To create a strong personal brand, be congruent and
consistent in everything you do. Use your title or tag
line on your site, newsletters, and coaching programs
(Suzanne Falter-Barnes) Read more
Coaching Boom 2010 – Tips from Day #1
February 10, 2010
CoachingBoom 2010 is a virtual business-building training event that started on this past Monday, February 11th and runs through Thursday, February 18th.
I'll be presenting on Thursday, February 18th at 8:15 am PT.
My topic? "How to Get More and Better Clients Using PAID Introductory Sessions"
Milana Leshinsky, the host of CoachingBoom 2010, has been sending out the top ideas that she's taken away from each day's sessions.
Here are the top ideas from Day 1:
1. Create a learning plan for yourself to master
entrepreneurship in 3 areas: business building,
marketing, and finances (from Michael Port)
2. Coaching is really an online business, and
anyone who disagrees is simply walking with
their blinds on (from Judith & Jim) Read more
Can Entrepreneurs Help Out in Haiti?
January 15, 2010
As I've read information and seen pictures of the devastation in Haiti, I've wondered what I could do to help. Sure, as a plastic surgeon, I'm sure I could fly down there and do something. In fact, a fellow plastic surgeon, Craig Hobar, MD from Dallas leads an organization called the LEAP Foundation (leap-foundation.org), an organization with vast experience offering medical assistance to this part of the world. Today, a team funded by LEAP is preparing to deploy to Haiti.
I donated money to Soles 4 Souls (www.soles4souls.org), so this money could be used to purchase new shoes for the displaced Haitians.
But I started wondering: "What could contribute as an entrepreneur who is committed to global change, transformation and impact?" Read more
Focusing Through Distractions
January 13, 2010
The most important skill for consistent high-performance in your business
"If I were asked to choose one mental skill that distinguishes athletes and other performers who remain at the top of their game, I would name their ability to adapt and re-focus in the face of distractions."
– Terry Orlick, author of In Pursuit of Excellence: How to win in sport and life through mental training
The ability to remain focused, despite extreme pressure, failure, and even apparent impending doom, is what separates a good athlete from a top-performing one. Many parallels exist between peak performance in sports and that in business. So, ask yourself, when the heat is on, do you focus on distractions or do you focus through distractions?
The good news is that the ability to focus and, especially, to regain focus after a major distraction, is a learned, practiced skill. First of all, it takes awareness that you’ve lost focus to regain it. But that alone isn’t enough. Focus takes practice, persistence, effort, energy, and a high level of commitment. Read more