Fear – A Barrier To Service!

When was the last time you felt fear about something in your business? Have you ever really thought about where/how that might be holding you back? One thing you need to know is that we ALL feel fear about one thing or another but, as Susan Jeffers writes so eloquently ……’feel the fear and do it anyway’!

Most often you will read articles about fear and how it gets in the way of your success. My approach is different in that I want you to reframe that – think about fear and where/how it gets in the way of you serving the world! Isn’t that why you got into business in the first place – to be of service?

In the work I do with my coaching clients, I hear about fear all the time, ALL THE TIME. This is a huge issue with women entrepreneurs and, while I realize that there are strong feelings about the fear of success – I want you to think about this differently.

When my clients tell me they have to get ‘psyched up’ to make a ‘sales’ call, again I recommend they just reframe that whole experience. It really is about being of service – not being ‘sales-y’. Listen, no one likes to be SOLD – I don’t and you don’t. So, just get that whole concept out of your head.

Instead, remember all the reasons why you are in business – keep in mind the solution and the transformation that you provide to people – and know that, for the most part, you are the best kept secret in the world. And that’s why you need to get on the telephone to talk to people – that’s why you need to get out to networking events – that’s why you need to be speaking at public events – that’s why you need to write articles with great content – that’s why you need to be a guest on a radio or T.V. show. That’s how you are going to grow your business and make money, too.

In the midst of all the marketing frenzy, we tend to lose sight of our ‘why’ and, instead, get caught up in all the ways to grow your business to 6-figures and beyond – we get caught up in the sales tactics and techniques. Of course you need to learn all of that – but until you get past the basic fear of speaking to people about how you can be of service, you’re not going to get anywhere near making a sale anyway!

FEAR ———-BRINGS ON HESITATION ————LEADS TO FAILURE

I learned this from my mentor, Lou Tice. Fear brings on hesitation which leads to failure. It’s that simple. I want you to think about all the ways you can be of service to people – based on your area of expertise. Seriously. Make a list – right now! (helping them to grow and lead happy lives – or helping them to create beauty in their own backyard – or helping them to strengthen their relationships)

Now, make a list of all your (so-called) fears that are getting in the way of you serving people and helping them get past their pain – just how real are these fears anyway? (The acronym for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.) One of my clients just had a major breakthrough when it came to getting paid what she deserves for a speaking engagement. Her fear of asking for the fee she deserved was getting in the way of her phenomenal teaching when it comes to reducing stress in your life. (Who does NOT have stress in their lives right now?) Now that she has just been contracted at a fabulous speaking fee, her self-confidence has increased, her determination to get her message out in a big way is at an all-time high and, most importantly, people are now going to get the information they need to reduce stress and expand their lives!

Isn’t THAT what it’s all about? So, your assignment today is to reframe those fears – refocus on the transformation you create – and get out into the world and be of service!

 

What is the biggest fear getting in your way today? Tell me about it……

Please share your thoughts!

Pat Mussieux is fast becoming regarded as a highly valued Canadian mentor for women entrepreneurs taking her own business from zero to a multiple 6-figure home-based business in less than 4 years. Much of her success can be attributed to her expertise in marketing, mindset and money!

Pat Mussieux is a business coach, author, speaker and radio host. You can reach her at http://www.wealthywomenleaders.com

How intuitive are you? Take this short quiz to find out!

 

 

 

Please rate your intuitive abilities in each question using a scale of 1-10 where 1 is strongly disagree and 10 is strongly agree:

1. I have a good appreciation of my talents, needs and wants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. I sense danger or threats often before others do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. I notice sudden changes in body sensations like butterflies in my stomach, tension in my shoulders, prickly hands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. I sense when people are deceiving me or lying to me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. I get flashes of insight and inspiration that seem to come out of the blue. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6. I pay attention to my dreams, coincidences and patterns for intuitive clues. . . . . . . . . . . . .

7. Other people describe me as intuitive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8. I recognize opportunities that knock at my door. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9. I don’t feel compelled to rationalize my sense of ‘knowing’. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10. I am confident in my ability to take risks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Now add up your answers for a total score out of 100:

Scores between 80 -100: You’re an intuitive being who not only believes in the power of your inner wisdom but you walk the talk – you trust your gut!

Scores between 60- 80: You generally trust your gut but occasionally forget to pay attention to the clues around you. Put post-it notes in conspicuous places to remind you stay alert to your quiet inner voice.

Scores between 40 -60: You’re not actively using your intuition and may not wholly believe in your ability. Journal successful decisions when you followed your gut instinct, and track spontaneous physical sensations that occur during the day. Practice this affirmation: The answers to my success lie within me.

Scores lower than 40: You are on a journey of self-discovery. The world is your oyster! To enhance your intuitive abilities, read books on intuition, practice accessing your inner wisdom for everyday decisions and move toward using intuition for bigger decisions as you become more confident.

Click here to downlaod: How intuitive are you – a short quiz

Leadership Insight Inc.  | 888-878-5913  | www.leadership-insight.com

©2012 Leadership Insight Inc

3 Marketing Pitfalls You MUST Know

In the 20+ industries that I’ve coached people and the businesses I’ve grown in one capacity or another the common thread is that all businesses are created, developed, and run by human beings. Yes, it’s true! This makes many aspects of business absolutely predictable, because much of human behavior is predictable. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you’re not unique and special and wonderful, but you are unique and special and wonderful and…somewhat predictable.

This is good news because as a result there are some “truths” in business, one of which is that to be successful in business you must be a marketer FIRST. Now I didn’t say a salesperson-there’s a difference. Marketing is all about creating relationships- ideally lasting relationships. Creating sales or registrations out of a relationship where a consumer feels like they know, like, and trust the company or person they’re working with is a natural result-it’s never forced. We must be marketers first to serve our clients, to be of high service to them. What if someone really needs your skills, talents, or product and can’t find you? What if what you have to offer is just the perfect asset to make someone’s life easier so they can go and make more of a difference in the world?

Take a look and see if you’ve dealt with, or are currently dealing with, any of the following in your marketing strategy. What marketing strategy, you say?  Well….keep reading.

1. Using Marketing as a Band-Aid

When business owners get concerned about the well being of their business, they often turn to adding additional advertising, giving out special offers, or cutting rates/prices. Now while none of these things is inherently “bad,” when you come from a place of trying to stop the bleeding rather than growing your business intentionally you devalue your brand. Often businesses end up throwing money away and leaving themselves in a worse position than when they started. Sometimes you’ll get a “special offer” from the yellow pages or a company claiming they can help, but “you have to let me know right now or I can’t give you the offer!” Do NOT fall for this trick. It’s slimy and deceptive and just not true. Any company that won’t let you think over an offer carefully before accepting it is a lousy company to work with. When you have a strategic plan for your business and your marketing, you remove a lot of the panic and urgency and the sense of being un-grounded that comes when you’re constantly flying by the seat of your pants.

2. Hiring too Soon

Outsourcing marketing can be a wonderful thing, freeing you up to be more creative and concentrate on serving your clients. However, if you don’t have a clear idea what you want to accomplish and who your ideal client is before you go looking for marketing help you can be putting yourself at risk for a lot of frustration and wasted time. Ultimately the buck will always stop with you, not the marketing company. And, most marketing companies can’t be all things to all people-some specialize in social media, some in strategy and brand building, some can give you great copy writing but others may not. It’s worth the time and energy to go as far as you can to get clear on your goals and your target market before outsourcing, and doing the homework to make sure the folks you’re working with can deliver on what they say.

3. Failure to Launch

You want to be ready for your customers, right? You want to make sure that they know you’re qualified and producing a great product or service. That being said, do you really want to spend a ton of time, energy, effort, and money on developing a new product or service that you’re not sure your clientele wants? You don’t have to develop out your idea all the way before you begin to market it and see if there’s an interest in what you’re offering. Give yourself enough lead time to test market, get the word out, and see if there’s a response. As a rule of thumb, you want to develop out your idea about halfway—the benefits to the client and your marketing message, a plan for the logistics to deliver the new product or service, and a plan/schedule to market what you want to offer. Start getting the word out, and if you get a response put your logistics plan into action. You’ll make sure you’re ready for your customers, but also that you’ll HAVE customers.

About the Author:

The Artistry of Appreciation

People do business with you or with your company because they know you, they like you, and they trust you. No matter how much you pay a marketing company or an advertising agency, although they can certainly help you with this, there is one thing you can’t replace and you can’t completely manufacture: your reputation. After all, so many of our customers come from word of mouth referrals-as much as 70%  if some recent surveys are to be believed. You don’t have to be a politician to know how important your reputation is, it matters whether you’re in business for yourself, working for a large corporation, or if you’re a teacher, a doctor, or delivering newspapers. And one of the most powerful tools you have to create your reputation in the best possible way is how you appreciate people.

We are in a relationship, whether we like it or not, with our customers and clients as well as the people who work with us in some capacity like our employees, our colleagues, our service providers and so on. Every person we interact with interacts with hundreds of other people if not more given the power of social media, so it has become even more important that we focus on working with people who are good for us, and making sure that we are good for them. So what are some practical, simple ways that you can build your goodwill, your reputation, and your business?

1. Ol’ Reliable Greeting Cards

You did it for birthday presents when you were a kid and it’s even more valuable now. Sending a personal card and note through regular snail mail stands out in people’s minds and also stays with them long after you’ve sent the card. The card itself serves as a physical reminder of you and your business, and how you take personal interest in your clients. If you want to go the bonus round, send birthday or anniversary cards too! Even if you haven’t been in touch with someone lately, sending a card is a great conversation opening, even if you just send one to let that person know you are thinking about them.

2. Shout Outs

There is no such thing as too much acknowledgement. If you notice someone you’re connected with has an event coming up, they’ve hit a milestone, or you just want to share what you like about them with the world, consider giving them an unsolicited shout out in social media-and make sure that you “tag” that person so they can see it. Your thoughtfulness will not go unnoticed. This is also a great way to get to know someone you’ve wanted to connect with more. We all want to know that we make an impact, and this is a simple and easy way to let someone know that they are heard.

3. Keep Appreciation Present

We can get busy and forget things, it happens. Schedule an hour or two per week in your calendar specifically to put your appreciation practices present, and watch it come back to you multiplied!

 

About the Author, Tina Dietz

Tina Dietz is the owner of Tina Dietz Business Development and the inventor of the Success Funnel System™. With a mission to kindle 10,000 Thriving Businesses, Tina has served clients in more than 20 industries internationally from solo entrepreneurs to the corporate level, and she speaks internationally on topics that impact small businesses.

Thanks for taking the time to find out more about me, now let’s talk about YOU. Ready to Thrive? Find out more about what Program or Service would be right for you, or Contact me with specific questions or to book a session.

Don’t kill the Message

Developing your marketing message is so critical that if you do everything right but get this one element wrong, you will confuse your audience and find yourself floundering in every direction but the right one. Here are the steps to build the right message.

Who’s hearing it anyway?

The first rule of any marketing is to know who you’re aiming your message at. If you don’t know or can’t pinpoint a single large group of similar minded people, then you can’t build an effective message for them.

So stop telling people in your elevator speech (the short introduction that you do at business meetings) that you work with everyone and start narrowing down a group of people who have a homogeneous reason for being together (ie. Entrepreneurs, dentists, new moms, Realtors etc.)

Why should I care what you say?

Why anyone would care about a message is because it provides a solution or an insight into a person’s problem (pain). Having said that, even if your message is about your pain but that pain is not in any way related to theirs, your message is dead in the water. This is like that girlfriend who is always talking about her problems but never ever once asks about yours. It’s interesting to play voyeur into her life and listen for a short while but you quickly tire and lose interest. You are much more into meeting friends who want to talk about you and your problems along with theirs. Don’t be the selfish girlfriend in your messaging.

Don’t assume my pain.

Basing your message on your target client’s pain is aces. It’s a spot on strategy. One warning though— what if the pain that you think they have is your assumption only. An example of the wrong message based on the wrong assumption was when an ad agency kept pitching me during my time as a marketing manager, a campaign that was built around an awareness problem when we had almost 100% awareness in the market! Clearly their wrong assumption was not only bad research on their part but also teed us off to no end because it wasn’t even positioned as an assumption. The lesson for you in this is to ask ask and ask again your ideal clients what their pain with respect to your expertise is. Never assume and always use their words when describing the pain—not yours.

Change me over.

As a client in pain, I’m interested in how you can help me—but even more important than that, I’m interested in how you’re going to change my life and my business. This transformation piece is really key in how you convince people to work with you. Here’s my elevator pitch that speaks to this—

“I help overwhelmed and exhausted entrepreneurs make a marketing plan to get 1 new client a month”

That’s the transformation-taking clients from presumably no clients a month to 1 every month.

From the elevator to the net.

Your message is so important that it’s the one thing that is consistent between your elevator pitch to your website copy to your keynote title to your blog content. It is the same captivating transformation message that you broadcast on all frequencies and channels 24/7 constantly.

Figure out the right messaging—talk in their words about your client’s pain and how you transform lives and you’ll become a marketing gold medal winner who will attract clients like cheesecake to PMS’ers.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

Turning Dreams Into Reality!

Do you have a dream – for your life, for your business? I dream all the time – the downside, in some cases, is that I did not put a time frame to each dream. I was in Chicago this week and finally got to visit Harpo Studios – a long-time dream of mine – the sad part was that Oprah was no longer there!

Have you had that happen with any of your dreams? The reason I want to write about this is because, sadly, I have spoken with many entrepreneurs who have not created a dream for their business – let alone their life!

Summer is right around the corner! Are you going to let this precious time frame speed by without bringing your dreams into reality?

Don’t let that happen to you this year. Here are some simple steps for turning your dreams into reality.

HAVE A DREAM!

Schedule some time, right now – today, to sit down and start with pen and paper. Write out the dream for your business and for your life. (and please do NOT buy into that ‘truth’ that no one does business in the summer!) If you have a partner and a family, plan this activity for the weekend and do it together – make it fun. If the thought of coming up with a dream for your life seems overwhelming, start with the dream for your summer – both on a personal level and for your business. (One of my clients, a lawyer, began this practice 2 years ago after realizing that a full summer went by, for her and her children, and they had not planned a single thing……a single adventure…..a single memory! This one change has made a huge difference in her life as a single mother running a successful law practice.)

Last summer, I heard so many entrepreneurs talking about the fact that summer was just around the corner and they were whining already about the ‘lack’ of business that would be happening ……because ‘everyone’ goes away. Are you kidding me? Everyone? Seriously? I ramped up my marketing and increased my business by 1,000% in one summer month. Yes, you read that correctly. I had a dream…..and I had a plan!

ATTACH THE VISION!

A picture is worth a thousand words. This is fun, whether you are doing it alone, or with the family. Grab some magazines, a piece of Bristol board, some tape and scissors – and get going. What is the dream for your business? – grab photos of your ideal client (name ‘her’), picture the balance in your bank account (I tape a receipt from the ATM machine with the balance on it that I WANT to see), visualize your summer with friends and family, for your vacation….and so much more.

NOW – GRAB THE CALENDAR. Simply print out 3 blank calendar pages for the months of June, July and August. Start to move the dream thoughts over to the calendar and turn them into scheduled events. If I had done that with the visit to Chicago and Harpo Studios 25 years ago when I first had the dream of going there to meet Oprah, it would have been a different outcome than this past week when it actually happened……only Oprah wasn’t there! (It’s ok – I saw her LIVE in Toronto just a few weeks ago!) You must attach dates to the dreams/goals – the likelihood of anything happening is increased significantly.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. There is no sense is making this overwhelming, especially if this is a brand new exercise for you. Simple is best! The key to creating a change, and living your dream, is to begin today!

Conclusion:

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.”
Goethe

Pat Mussieux is fast becoming regarded as a highly valued Canadian mentor for women entrepreneurs taking her own business from zero to a multiple 6-figure home-based business in less than 4 years. Much of her success can be attributed to her expertise in marketing, mindset and money!

Pat Mussieux is a business coach, author, speaker and radio host. You can reach her at http://www.wealthywomenleaders.com

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