www.HelpMorePeople.com/minicourse.htm

In order to retain clients and build a sustainable business, you must stay in touch with people in a meaningful way. This includes people you have done business with, people you have met in person at events and your email subscriber list.

Your client base has a sacred contract with you. They have connected, spent money, and spent time with you. You must care enough to keep in touch with them.

Advertising experts have proven time and time again, that ads that run continuously, at least three times, always outperform one-shot ad runs. The same is true with your client base. Find a way to reach them, share your message, and consistently stay connected.

For coaches, consultants, healers, and other helping professionals, newsletters are one of the best ways to stay in touch. It is important to shift your mindset and action from not wanting to bother your client base, which is a common mistake that new business owners make.

Just as most new business owners commonly do, I used to say, “People have just given me their name, I don’t want to bother them and send them things all the time.” I had to recognize that touching their lives in a meaningful way allows the cream to rise to the top. Those who are truly interested in what you have to say and the solutions you offer will make themselves known to you. The rest may unsubscribe or walk away from you, but that means they really weren’t engaged or dedicated to your message anyway.

Approaching marketing this way saves you time, effort, and money. Instead of chasing people who may or may not be interested or ready for your offerings, let the people who need you most identify themselves to you. Don’t worry about the others. They will let you know when they are ready or simply opt-out if they are not interested.

My newsletter continually gets better readership when I write more often and when I provide a more personal touch about my family, my dog, or my travels. When I first started doing my newsletter, I did it once a month and about 35% of the people opened it and read it. Now I do my newsletter weekly, and I have sometimes up to 85% open it up and read it. It just proves that if you’re consistent and really share meaningful content, people will want more of it. They will want more of you!

Newsletters are only one way to stay in touch with your clients, prospects or business contacts, but they are a great place to start. Depending on your business and the people you serve, there are dozens of other ways to touch the lives of your clients in a meaningful way.

Once you’ve started regularly sending out an email newsletter, consider mailing out occasional physical newsletters, cards or small gifts to show your appreciation to your clients and contacts. It done authentically and thoughtfully, investments like this will always pay off in spades.

Although there may be specific tactics and media that will work best for your business, niche, and message, the important thing is that you are consistently reaching out to your client base and prospect list in ways that show your dedication to them. Communicating how much you care through an electronic newsletter or any other method of follow up is one of the easiest and most effective ways to grow your business and increase your visibility.

I’d like to invite you to learn how to help more people, make more money and enjoy more freedom with the free 5-day mini course, “Awakening Your Authentic Entrepreneur,” at http://www.helpmorepeople.com/minicourse.htm

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What is the topic that dominates the media these days? What is it that we’re reading on websites, in newspapers, seeing on TV and hearing on the radio?

Even if you only read the front pages or skim the headlines, you know it’s all about the economy. Everyone’s talking about Wall Street and financial turmoil.

Here’s what I know to be true – and this is especially relevant to the past year or so – the investments that I have made in myself never got lost in the stock market crash. No recession can ever devalue them.

What I am hanging onto today are the investments I made in my personal growth and in my business, not the investments that I put in Bank of America or my 401k. The investments I made in my training as a coach, as a marketer, and as a business owner continue to pay off regardless of what’s happening in the financial world.

In times like these, it’s easy to get uncomfortable about spending money on training programs, a team, or marketing for your business – and it may be true that you need to be more careful about how you spend your money. But, it’s important that you don’t hold off on the important decisions you need to make now as a business owner.

Make quick and confident decisions. Don’t get stuck in limbo. Whether you’re unsure about a decision to invest in a training opportunity, an event or directly in your business, don’t be indecisive. Successful entrepreneurs make quick decisions.

One of the most effective approaches to growing your business – even in challenging economic times is by doing what I call “taking the show on the road.”

“Taking the show on the road” means that you actively invest in building an audience – an audience to serve and that will buy from you in return.

My background is in Broadway theatre. We put on eight shows a week. It takes continuity to build an audience. Once you have your niche, your story, have begun to invest in a team and to build your business, you must aggressively seek out an audience.

The more you share your message, the faster you accelerate in building the business.

Constantly ask yourself these questions:

• Where can I speak?
• How can I get my writing published?
• Who can I talk to?
• Where can I volunteer?
• On what sites can I blog?
• What gatherings can I go to?
• Who can I call or email?
• How else can I share my message?

No entrepreneurial vision has ever come to fruition by being kept a secret. You must to take the show on the road.

When I first started my business, I was promoted myself from a booth between the tomatoes and the bananas in a Whole Foods. I didn’t know where to go, but I just started talking to people. It might feel silly at times, but you need to get out there, tell your story, and begin building an audience early one.

You will never regret investing in yourself and your business. One of the best ways to do this is to take your “show on the road” and build an audience. Get out there and speak. Go to events and gatherings. Get your writing published. Make the commitment to build your audience.

The specific tactics you use to get your message out there and develop your audience will be unique to your business, but it is guaranteed to pay off as long as you commit and recognize that you are making a vital investment in yourself, your business and bringing a valuable gift into the world.

I’d like to invite you to learn how to help more people, make more money and enjoy more freedom with the free 5-day mini course, “Awakening Your Authentic Entrepreneur,” at http://www.helpmorepeople.com/minicourse.htm

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No man is an island. Work only in your strengths and find the people to help you do those things that are not strengths for you right now.

Some of these ideas are for people who are a little further along, but in the beginning I had a coach. I had a marketing coach and I was going through my coach training. It helped me to grow and really played a key role in my growth.

Then I added a virtual assistant, and that doubled my income. Then I moved to a coach at an even higher level and higher marketing program, and that doubled my income. Then I added another virtual assistant, and I kept growing and growing. There’s a pattern here. Plan to work with people that are going to support you and can really help you in growing a team.

A virtual assistant (VA) is someone who provides administrative support to you who works from a remote location, almost always their home. They can specialize in marketing support, web services, whatever it is you have hired that particular VA to do for you. They are contractors, so you don’t have to have employees. They’re a remote professional who works within your business.

I like to work with people who are experts in their areas, so I tend to work with several different virtual assistants. I choose people who really excel in their particular field and use them for those particular tasks and project management.

It’s the key to service professional business – anybody who’s going to run a service-oriented business where you’re delivering coaching, consulting, or training, anything like that. They’re lifesavers because you don’t need an office for them, and they can do everything for you that an in-house assistant can do.

Create a business model that supports your lifestyle.

You must from the start create a business model that supports your life and your desired freedom. If you don’t, before you know it the business is going to be running you.

A strong business model is layered with growth and financial opportunities that don’t require your supervision and presence to generate revenue. That’s what I teach with the multiple streams of income model. It’s really important because you need things that don’t involve you to make money.

Sometimes you have to do things old school and learn the hard way. I’m a perfect example of that. In the beginning I worked really hard to create a business, and before I knew it I just had another job.

I was only working with one-on-one clients, it’s hard work, and every dollar I made was dependent on those hours. When I shifted that model and offered other products and programs that didn’t have to involve me it made a huge difference.
I like to preach that from the beginning so you’re thinking about the future, “What can I have besides clients? Can I have programs? Can I have an audio series? Can I have something on tape that families can listen to in their car? What are other streams of income that I can create?”

Building your team and developing additional streams of income that don’t rely on your involvement, are key to the success and longevity of your coaching business.

I’d like to invite you to learn how to help more people, make more money and enjoy more freedom with the free 5-day mini course, “Awakening Your Authentic Entrepreneur,” at http://www.helpmorepeople.com/minicourse.htm

Skyrocket Your Coaching Business: Build a Business Model that Supports Your Desired Lifestyle [ 2:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Skyrocket Your Coaching Business: Build a Business Model that Supports Your Desired Lifestyle [ 2:44 ] Download

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A common struggle for new or developing coaches is how to set your rates. Do you go with what other coaches in your area are doing? Do you offer something unique or additional that allows you to charge more? Do you even have the confidence to ask for what you’re worth?

Your rate is your announcement to the world of your confidence in your skill set. You don’t do yourself or your business any favors by being the best deal in town.

Sometimes your rate is the first announcement that you make to a potential client. They might hear about your rates from someone else or see something about your rate. What is it that you want them to hear? Your rate tells your truth.

With each appropriate rate increase I’ve had over the last couple of years, I have attracted more ideal, ready, and successful clients. There’s an absolute correlation between your rate and the type of clients you attract. The bargain hunters aren’t generally going to be people you enjoy working with or see good success with.

A little tip for those of you who are already coaching- if 1 in 5 people do not question your rate, your rate is too low. It’s really important from the beginning of your coaching to set the right rate. There’s no benefit to you or your clients in offering the lowest price around, because it’s not sustainable and doesn’t allow you to do your best work with each person.

As your business grows, it’s very easy to stop putting time into the things that got you there – your ongoing training and marketing. Being an entrepreneur takes effort and takes planning. Anything worth doing, success, takes work ethic, energy, and effort. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s easy. If you see a marketing program that says, “Oh, we show you how to make this all easy,” it should be fun, but it’s not effortless. It shouldn’t necessarily be a struggle, but building a business is not easy.
I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that some of the best basketball players throw 300 free throws a day. Championship water skiers take their first runs at 5 a.m. There are no Cinderella stories. Get clear about the time and energy it takes to build a business and get the results that you want.

I personally work at it every day. I get up in the morning, and I really think about what my plan is for the day. I think about marketing my business every day. In the beginning, I worked even more at it. Now I have a lot of things systematized, but the key to entrepreneurial nirvana is continually showing up. Action is that engine that drives all success.

Any coach, mentor, or adviser I’ve come across that has said they have the “entrepreneurial magic pill” that builds your business, I knew it was a fraud, plain and simple. Growing your business will always take effort, but it doesn’t mean you have to struggle. In fact authentic marketing should naturally flow out of who you are and your excitement about the work you do.

Be really clear what your training schedule is going to be for growing your business so you leverage your time for the biggest results.

Whether you’re just starting a coaching business or already have one think about these two critical success factors and how you can use them to grow your coaching business.

I’d like to invite you to learn how to help more people, make more money and enjoy more freedom with the free 5-day mini course, “Awakening Your Authentic Entrepreneur,” at http://www.helpmorepeople.com/minicourse.htm

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Coaching Tips: Charge What You Deserve and Invest in Your Ongoing Business Growth [ 3:33 ] Download

There have been lots of new business lessons that the puppy has taught me over the last week, but none as big as tenacity.  What the puppy wants the puppy will get, and not because he is bossy or begging, but because he is willing to use strange strategies. Giving up is not an option- strategy change is the solution.  This made me think back on the last 3 years and building my own business.  I realized I had done pretty much the same thing.  To win in the game of business you have to be willing to change strategies.

You also must be comfortable with failing.  Believe me, when the puppy fails his thoughts are not going to “how stupid can I be”, “I better give up”, or “this is too hard”.  It’s all about- “what’s next”, “try again”, “change sides”, “change ideas”, “let’s get this done”.  Many of you have tunnel vision in your business…you are seeing one problem, one solution, and one strategy.  Get out of the box- get out of the box today- just like I teach multiple streams on income…you have to have multiple streams of approach for attracting clients and making money.

1) What do you need to STOP doing?  It’s not bringing you business but you have some rule that you should be doing it?  A referral group, organization, program, etc…eliminate one thing that is costing you time and NOT bringing you business.

2) Add one NEW element to your list building/business building strategy that you have not used before: audio, video, teleclass, networking group, article marketing, twitter, facebook, etc.  Add one, but do it effectively!

3) Get consistent.  Many clients tell me something isn’t working, but when I research I find they only do it on occasion or inconsistently.  You must build consistency.  Use this newsletter as an example- every week it comes. Every week- rain, shine, sickness, holiday because I want your to depend on me.  I want you to trust me and I have to consistently show up for that to happen.

4) Change approach.  I do this all the time and in the beginning of my business I had to do it even more often… I would run a teleclass and 2 people would show up.  Yikes!  Did I abandon?  No.  New approach… I would make it a point to ask 50 more people than I did the time before or change up the name or the topic.  You have to zig when zagging isn’t working.  To get to what the puppy wants he just changes sides.  Goes under instead of over.  Digs instead of climbs.

5) Give up the complaining.  Business is hard.  Life is tough.  If this were easy- everyone would be doing it.  So, when something doesn’t work- move on or change course.  FAST.  While you are complaining and feeling sorry for yourself I am out getting clients.  I have a one -three minute rule.  I get that amount of time to wish it had gone better, cry about the loss, or be disappointed and then it’s time to get back in the game and help people.

I am on a mission. Are you?  I know I want to help people and I know I have a message… so I can’t complain or waste time- I gotta get to the people who need my help, so they will build strong businesses and in turn go help more people.  This isn’t a job- it’s a movement. Are you leading one, too?

(c) 2009 Suzanne Evans

About the author:  Suzanne Evans is best known as the ‘action expert’ and has coached hundreds of solopreneurs to model her multiple six figure business. Learn how you can help more people, make more money and have more fun doing what you love by signing up for your free copy of the 5-Part Mini-Course ‘Awakening Your Authentic Entrepreneur’ at http://www.helpmorepeople.com