Browse published articles attributed to Fabienne Fredrickson, with full-archive search.
Content is king. Content is everything. I want to drill into your consciousness today that you want to become the master of high content/high value. There are so many reasons to do high content/high value in not only your marketing, but also in your offerings. One of the reasons is that there is a lot of fluff out there. There are so many people who are marketing against you.
Today’s tip is about when you’ve reached a certain level in your business, and it seems like you’re doing everything yourself. You’re working with the clients. You’re doing the marketing. You’re buying the supplies. You’re changing the light bulbs. You’re sending out invoices and paying things, and really you’re just doing everything front of house and everything back of house.
There are many ways to set up your packages, but I recommend building levels that entice clients to go for the high end. This not only serves you, but it truly serves your clients as well. First of all, when clients stay with you for extended periods, they get that much more value, content and support to help them achieve their goals. Second, you can be there to support them as new situations crop up, which always do in business.
When you have a new product you are ready to launch, one of the fastest ways to get the word out about it is through affiliates. Affiliates are colleagues who you partner with to promote your product and then compensate in some way for their help. 1. What Size List Should You Seek
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”rn–Maya Angelou Referrals. Everyone wants ‘em, but few are willing to ask for them for fear of seeming pushy, desperate or sleazy. If you ask self-employed individuals how they would ideally like to build their businesses, they would tell you ‘by word of mouth.’ Why? Because… - It’s an ongoing, renewable process.rn- You don’t have to spend money on advertising.rn- Referrals most often end up being high quality clients.r
Getting clients online is becoming crucial for success as a small business owner - and it’s time to make sure your website is done right. To attract ideal high paying clients online, it’s important to remember that it’s all about pulling people in with compelling and engaging marketing, while giving them high-value and high-content information with a strong call to action for them to see “what’s next.”
Do you get clients who want a special price break, payment plan or a smaller program than you currently offer? Some people ask you to make exceptions and special arrangements for them to meet their needs. How should you respond? It might seem reasonable if one person makes a request of you. You can accommodate one variation. No big deal right? Believe me I did this at the beginning. The reaso I'm able to have higher standards now is because I lived through saying, "Yes, I'll give you a modified program or pay plan" and know the downward spiral that can create.
In the beginning you may feel like “Only I can do it this way.” But, there’s a concept called the “Glass Ceiling” in business where you can’t go any higher because there’s only so much you can do yourself. The business gets so complex that you will actually need to simplify.
QUOTE: “Substantial value is created when the client achieves more than they expected. One of the best ways to ensure the client achieves more than they expect is to ask more of them than they expected you to.” – Thomas Leonard, founder of Coachville My translation: don’t be wimpy with your clients! One of the most interesting shifts I’ve seen in my Client Attraction coaching practice and Masterminds over the last 11 years is that clients are seeing infinitely better results than at the beginning, when I first started.
When you are starting a new business, the first couple of years involve a lot of hard work to attract clients. That’s no secret. But sometimes business owners come to me about how hard they are working and that nothing is happening yet.
Delivering teleclasses is a powerful way to get clients. Yet, many of my students tell me they aren’t sure what to include or the order that works best to deliver the information. I’m going to share my surefire structure for creating an amazing teleclass. It’s so easy you’ll have your first program together in no time. Or, this can be your opportunity to restructure your current content to make it work even harder for you so you get more clients.
Recently I shared three powerful ways to follow up. But sometimes the methods alone don’t help you get the job done. That’s when you have to ask yourself, “Do I have a system in place to follow up with hot prospects?” Without a system, it’s easy to let the follow up tasks fall between the cracks. Follow up can be time consuming, especially when there are several calls back and forth if you have trouble reaching a prospect. That’s not a good thing because a hot prospect can get cold while phone tag is in play.
As you work to grow your business, there are many options available to attract clients along the way. One thing that may tempt you is the idea of licensing your proprietary system and/or training coaches or trainers to teach it to others. This can be a lucrative revenue stream but first I recommend you follow these steps before moving into that arena.
If your practice is filling up and you are looking for ways to serve more people, consider developing a boot camp program. I did this several years ago when my practice was full, and I had a waiting list. There were also others who couldn’t afford to participate in my live programs. I wanted to come up with a way to build my business and serve more people that didn’t require a lot of my time.
When your service fees run in the thousands, one thing that can help your prospects say “yes” is to allow them to make payments. Sometimes business owners find this problematic. There can be confusion because when clients don’t meet deadlines or put off decisions, they feel they can’t collect the payment as originally agreed.
If you want to pull clients in with your marketing, first you’ll need to get their attention by providing real solutions. And, I mean not the fluff you see out there – but real solutions your clients can use and get results from.
When you are building your practice, sometimes you choose to work with a client for free for a number of reasons: - Gain experience with an ideal client,rn- Minimize risk of trying out a new program,rn- Build up your client testimonials,rn- Give back to the community by offering services to a select few who cannot afford you. While paying clients are of course more desirable, the freebies often provide their own advantages. There is nothing wrong with having a few practice clients who can help you attract paying clients, as long as you set clear boundaries.
When you are a coach, you want to see your clients succeed. Their success is your reason for sharing your knowledge, wisdom and support. However, I have seen people get very upset about whether or not their clients were getting good results. And to be honest, in the beginning I was like this too. “It’s important to remember that you should be responsible to your clients, but not for them.” Are you responsible for your clients’ success? It would be ideal if you could be responsible for your clients and even do some things for them. But, you can’t do that right?
Getting more traffic to your website is always on a business owner’s mind. Higher volume traffic helps with list building and improves your chances for finding new clients and filling your pipeline. But once you start to get a steady stream of visitors, what’s the best way to build your list?
Here’s what happens when you don’t keep track and take action: A few years ago I had a year of retooling and re-gearing. I knew that I was on the cusp of making it REALLY big in my business, but I knew something had to change or be tweaked in order for it to happen. I had a deep ‘knowing’ that my calling wasn’t about just helping people MARKET their small businesses, but also helping them get out of their own way, giving them permission to succeed, and then all the tools to do so.
Do you get referrals from people or services? I sure hope you do! Yet, you may find that your initial conversations with these referred prospects are taking too long. It can be a very time consuming process. That’s why it helps to set up a system and put everything into your marketing materials, making the conversation so much quicker. This is a list of what you need to shorten these calls: Written interview with yourself which includes answers to frequently asked questions and explains your packages and/or programs.r
Today’s tip is about the discipline to implement more in your business. I hear from a lot of entrepreneurs, and I have been hearing this for eleven years, “Fabienne, I know what to do. I’ve got a lot of ideas, but I just don’t seem to have the discipline to put them all in place. What do I do? How do you do it? How do these successful business owners do it?” And, my answer always is, “Think about the word ‘entrepreneur.’”
Here’s your weekly tip for client attraction, getting more clients, making more money, multiplying your business. Today it’s about how to scale your business. The way to make a lot more money in your business, more money than you’re making now, is to add more value to even more people’s lives and when you do that, you make more money. It’s very simple but it’s not always easy. It’s common sense – you make more money by working with more people and you do that by adding more value.
There was a time (many say it’s still going on now) that networking was about entering a large crowded room of people you didn’t know, all dressed in stuffy business attire and your goal was to walk away with as many cards as possible, exchanging them frantically and promising to “do lunch”. And then, you were supposed to follow up and make the sale.
Do you ever find yourself being afraid of marketing in a BIG way for fear of growing too big and too fast? Two clients this week expressed worry in marketing their businesses. Not because they were worried about NOT getting clients from the Client Attraction techniques we’re implementing together. Actually, it was the OPPOSITE.
When you find yourself putting off making your follow up calls, there is probably some type of fear at work. Maybe you fear being rejected, hearing the word “No” or feeling bad when someone doesn’t want to do your program. I understand why you could feel that way, but here’s what I want you to think about. I’ll make it really, really simple for you. First, there’s a reason that you are doing what you are doing for a living. What is that reason?
Accept change because if you want to get more clients and you want to make more money and you want to play a bigger game and you really want to leverage and multiply your business and breakthroughs, then that means something needs to change. But here’s what I’ve learned in my life so far is that we human beings are not wired for change. If you think about the body’s ability to keep the body temperature the same and the saline content in your blood the same and the water the same and if you think about your pH level, it’s always about balance. It’s always about keeping the status quo.
“If you wish to be wealthy, then act to create real value.” — Ralph Marston An aspect of setting yourself apart from competitors is the value that you add to your services, without wanting anything in return. Competition within one’s industry can sometimes be fierce. Once you’ve determined what you offer that your competitors don’t, it’s time to start adding value to your clients and create a relationship they’ll be crazy not to continue (and tell others about). And this doesn’t have to drain your resources.
Here’s your weekly strategy tip for getting more clients, making more money, scaling your business and really just multiplying your presence and your income and sharing your – as I call it – sharing your brownies in a big way.
Today’s strategy tip for multiplying your results in your business, is about getting you to be a much more productive in your market so that you make a lot more money. I was just on the phone with a client of mine yesterday, a Sapphire client who lives abroad, and we were talking about bringing in lots of new revenue in the next quarter, and we started talking about, “What is it that you do now that creates really good results?” I wanted her to see that she creates some of the best results in terms of more clients and leverage and more money in her business from very specific things.
When talking about what they do for clients, most people end up talking about the PROCESS of what they do, not what they really DO for clients, both in speaking to them and in written communication to them, i.e. their marketing materials. There’s a huge distinction there, and that distinction is costing them (and perhaps even you) lots of potential new clients.
As your small business grows beyond the start up phase, you become very busy. You calendar is close to being full or is jammed. This may lead to thoughts like, “How long can I keep doing this?” You look into the future and realize you probably won’t be able to grow beyond the hours in a day, feeling stretched into the next three to five years. Yet, you still want to grow your business and work on client attraction. How do you make a shift in business growth like this?
Sometimes you have a rare opportunity to meet someone who is an opinion leader in your line of work. This person may be a high-profile leader in your industry who inspires you. When you meet at a big conference or other event, you want to stand out and be remembered. How can you make the most of your time together? Recently, I had this opportunity. At a big conference, I was able to meet face-to-face with someone I had followed for a while and admired greatly. Here’s how to network with opinion leaders and what I did to make the most of this situation.
I’ve discovered something really interesting in terms of human behavior over the last few years. I’m shocked to notice how often people stop themselves by using excuses for not doing something in their business, and in their lives. The thing is, they’re not even aware of it. Here’s what I mean… People SAY they want something very badly, that they want a change, and theoretically, that they’d do anything to get it.
People always ask me, “How do I get results from the things that I’m working on?” How are you able to produce so much? Do you know the number one how do you get results? By doing the work. You have a lot of access to knowledge, perhaps my knowledge, stuff you get on the internet, at the library, other people that you’re working with, and there’s a lot to get done if you want to grow your business.
There are so many differing opinions on how to set your pricing you could drive yourself crazy if you listened to everyone. But, I want to tell you how I did it so you can use this simple method to see how it will work for you. When I was first starting out, I didn’t know what to charge. I decided to look around and do a bit of research to see what other similar services were charging. After I collected enough information, I picked a price that was basically in the middle of all the fees I learned about. Really scientific right?
If you are familiar with my methods, then you know I always recommend networking groups, and BNI in particular. This powerful international group helped me learn how to network and fill my practice quickly by meeting lots of new people and gaining referrals.
To keep track of what days are meant for what in your calendar, you need to figure out how much business development time you’ll need, how many client days you’ll need and how many “off” days you’ll need, including vacation time. I recommend buying a laminated year-at-a-glance calendar and designating each day’s “purpose” with a colored sticker (mine are blue for client days, red for business development days and green for free-days, vacations and weekends) similar to the Excel spreadsheet I created for the “Be sure to take time off” section.
When you first start out in business, you may feel you don’t have all the answers. That’s more common than you can imagine. However, that is no reason not to start sharing what you know with clients and recognizing the unique angle you bring that no one else can. You are ahead of others.
Free programs, both teleclasses and live workshops, are one of the best ways I know to build your list, provide value and establish the Know, Like, and Trust Factor. Putting together the programs is relatively simple. Yet, there are two key factors to keep your eye on: 1. How much information should you share for free? 2. Are you attracting new people to achieve your list building goals?
As business owners working to get new clients, we've all heard it. You're in the closing part of the conversation and your client says those fateful words, "I can't afford it." For some owners, this is the worst case scenario because you feel stuck when your potential customer uses this reason not to work with you. There are many variations of this excuse which may include: - That's a lot of money - My sister needs my help - I have a mortgage to pay - My son needs new tires - Let me look over my finances, etc.
When it comes to list building, joint ventures can deliver the growth you are seeking. Students often ask me how to reach out to potential partners. A lot depends on who they are and the level of business success they have achieved. I recommend a different strategy for partners who are in a similar place as you versus partners who are more advanced. Joint Ventures with Similar Business Size.
I often talk about the value of free tele-classes and how they offer a number of marketing benefits. - Building your list by offering something of high-value for free - Giving prospects a sample of you and your information, which works on the Know, Like, Trust Factor - Providing a great selling opportunity for your products or services to an interested audience There are several ways to run a tele-class, but for this post, I’m going to share two options that work best for me. 1. Lecture-Mode
Ok, you’ve picked your topic for a free teleclass and you’ve written up your program notes. That’s a great start. You know you will be sharing information that your prospects and clients really want to hear. Make sure you don’t give away the farm by focusing on “what to do”, and not giving all the details on “how to do it”. This strategy will get attendees excited to want to know even more.
As you know, I encourage my clients to make the important shift from trading hours for dollars to offering packages. This is a key step for achieving your financial goals more quickly. It also simplifies your billing and fee collection when you sell packages vs. counting up the hours you worked and sending invoices. But letting clients know about your changes takes a bit of finesse. This announcement can be a delicate communication that needs to be handled in the right way.
As a business owner, you are looking to attract clients all the time to keep your pipeline full. Everyone has prospects who don’t sign on right away. These are leads who expressed interest at some point. Maybe they spoke to you at length about your services, or you had a “get acquainted” call with them. For whatever reason, they didn’t sign up at that time. You can reach back 12 months to build this list. I call these leads “low hanging fruit” because you know they have some interest so they are easier to “pick” or reconnect with, and often some will become clients.
This week’s strategy tip will help you get more clients, make more money and scale your business much further is about delegating and delegating effectively. If you want to grow your business, and you’re at a point where there’s just no more you to go around and no more time to go around, then you need to delegate. That makes sense, right, because otherwise you become the bottleneck in your business. Everything has to go through you to get approved or to get done, and if there’s no more time and no more you to go around, then it slows things down massively in your business.
I’ve mentored a few already-successful solopreneurs recently who walk the line between ‘high-achiever’ and ‘overachiever’ and let me tell you, there IS a difference. You’ve heard me say many times that I work best with high-achieving go getters who know exactly what they want (usually it’s more clients, more in-come, with more time off to enjoy it all) and who say to me, “Fabienne, show me how to do it and I’ll do exactly what you say.” That’s the kind of person who sees results.
As your business starts to build, responding to email inquiries can become a problem. There are just so many of them! You might think this is a good thing, and to an extent it is because emails are part of client attraction. But you need to learn how to efficiently handle, sort, and respond to numerous emails.
The only way to make sure that you always have a full practice is to always market. And the best way to do that is to make all the pieces of your marketing pie run on a system, like a well-oiled machine that doesn’t need you to be there the whole time, just once in a while to make sure everything’s going smoothly. As clients get to know me in our one-on-one private coaching, they tend to see how fanatical I can be about systems. I’ve created systems for EVERYTHING, probably because I’m not a very disciplined person by nature. (And I know I’m not the only one.)