Thursday, May 25, 2006

Knowing What Makes Your Ideal Clients Tick

Knowing What Makes Your Ideal Clients Tick
By Fabienne Fredrickson

Many self-employed professionals THINK they have a clear idea of exactly what their best clients are all about, but often, this is just demographic information (male/female, size of company, geography, etc.). In my book, that’s simply not enough information. You’re just skimming the surface there.

If you want to start attracting your ideal clients in droves, it’s time to do some serious drilling-down to find out as much as you can about that target’s critical problems. Without knowing their critical problems, challenges, issues and stumbling blocks, you simply won’t be as Client Attractive. The good news is, it’s relatively easy to find out everything you need to know about them.

Put yourself in their well-worn comfortable shoes, completely, and then ask yourself these questions:

  • What is it that keeps them up at night worrying (as it relates to what you do)?

  • If they were to “pull their hair out” about something, what would it be?

  • What is the biggest struggle they encounter on a daily basis?

  • What is the biggest obstacle they deal with?

  • What is their biggest money/time leak?

  • What is the one goal that seems unattainable to them?

  • If they wished they could learn how to do ONE thing and one thing only, what would that be?

  • What is the biggest improvement they could make in their lives/business (as it relates to what you do)?

  • And finally, what would they do ANYTHING and pay (relatively) ANYTHING to solve/get rid of/achieve?

Let me give you a personal example of why this works in helping you become more Client Attractive. When I was simply a dime-a-dozen business coach helping everyone—corporate types, entrepreneurs, sales professionals, and solo practitioners—get better in business (I felt I had to do this in the beginning), I had a difficult time getting a hold on a marketing message that would fit ALL of them.

My message was weak and diluted. Some clients wanted to work on time management, some on achieving sales goals, some on staffing issues, some on selling their music CDs, some on marketing and getting clients.

Although I was pretty good at coaching in these different capacities, what I truly enjoyed the most and got the BEST results with was coaching the sole practitioner who needed more clients. It came naturally, I could do it in my sleep and I had a ton of personal experience with it myself, having done it twice successfully, in less than eight months each time.

It’s not until I answered the above questions that I really got clear on who my best client was and how to help them. This changed EVERYTHING for me. I was then able to steer all my marketing to that type of person and their problems. Client Attraction became a lot EASIER for me at that point because clients starting coming to me!

Your Assignment:

Answer every one of the following questions as if your business life depended on it. (Hint: it does.)

  • What is it that keeps them up at night worrying (as it relates to what you do)?

  • If they were to “pull their hair out” about something, what would it be?

  • What is the biggest struggle they encounter on a daily basis?

  • What is the biggest obstacle they deal with?

  • What is their biggest money/time leak?

  • What is the one goal that seems unattainable to them?

  • If they wished they could learn how to do ONE thing and one thing only, what would that be?

  • And finally, what would they do ANYTHING and pay (relatively) ANYTHING to solve/get rid of/achieve?

Once you answer these questions in depth, you’ll have a very clear direction of how to position yourself in the marketplace and a way of speaking to your prospects that will have them saying, “WOW, that’s EXACTLY what I need, I want to work with you!”

If getting a handle on WHO your ideal clients are in the first place is an issue, you’ll want to get yourself a copy of the Client Attraction Home Study System™. All the time grids, tools, and strategies I’ve developed and used successfully over the years are all there for you to use right away, so you can start attracting lots of clients fast. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ will save you LOTS of time in filling your practice quickly and consistently. You can get it at www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com.


© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Client Attraction Should Be Your First Priority (Unless You Want To Go Broke)

Client Attraction Should Be Your First Priority
(Unless You Want To Go Broke)

By Fabienne Fredrickson

Let’s face it, most people put marketing on the back burner, something they get to only once they’ve put out all the fires that need to be put out, once they answer each and every e-mail in their inbox, once they’ve sent every client what they promised to send. Yes, it’s really important to do all of these things; however, you’ve got to realize that if you don’t MAKE the time for your Client Attraction (i.e., Marketing), then you’re simply not going to attract all the clients you need. Make sense?

The good news is, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Over the years of coaching thousands of self-employed professionals to attract more clients, I’ve created a few systems to keep you on track and make Client Attraction a priority. What we’ve got to do is have you clear the decks and get rid of the “leaks” in your day.

How much time per day should you really allocate for marketing? I recommend my clients spend up to 4 hours of marketing PER DAY the first 6 months to a year in business, or whenever they need a new boost of clients. Many people gasp at that number when I first share it with them, because they usually spend no more than 4 hours per MONTH, if that. No wonder they’re having trouble attracting new clients!

First-time clients tell me they just don’t have the time to devote that many hours to marketing. Well, since I’m always trying to find solutions to problems, we have to look at what’s taking up your time now and there are usually several non-essential things that are eating up your time. I call these the “leaks” in your day. Here’s what I mean: if you’re spending your valuable time working on non-business items during the day, then you may want to consider putting a “pause” button on these for the first 6 months of working on this Client Attraction System™.

It might mean stepping down from that Board of Directors position that doesn’t really serve you, taking a leave of absence from that time-consuming project that isn’t giving you a return on your time investment, not going to the grocery store during the day, and just deciding you will go to the gym before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m. every day, instead of smack in the middle of your workday.

Remember, it’s much more difficult to attract new clients when you’re not out there sharing with people what you do; networking, writing newsletters, articles, sending mailings, following up with potential clients, asking current clients for referrals, or working on presentations or seminars.

OK, then, so let’s get really clear on what your day should look like. During the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (or whatever you consider your regular work hours, I’m not picky about that), there are only 2 things you should be working on:

  1. Client work (the stuff that actually makes you money)

  2. Client Attraction and marketing (the stuff that gets you clients)

Everything else has to go (for now) or can wait until after 5 p.m. I know, this is drastic to some, but it just has to be something you strive for, at least for the short term.

After 6 months or a year, when you start seeing consistent results in your Client Attraction, you’ll be able to decrease the number of hours you spend on marketing each day and reinstate some of the things you enjoyed doing beforehand, but had to put on pause for awhile. (However, you might just be so happy to focus only on Client Attraction and client work during the day that, as for many of my private clients, you’ll decide never to go back to the old way of doing things.)

Your Assignment:

Clear the decks. If you know you need 4 hours of marketing per day (that’s what I scheduled per day to fill both of my private practices to capacity in less than 8 months each), then you’ve simply got to make room for it. Your business—and livelihood—depends on it.

Take a pad of paper and write down all of the different things that take up your time every day. Include every curricular and extracurricular activity. Be a hard grader! This is not the time to be forgiving. We’re looking for change, not excuses.

Once you’ve done that, underline or check off the things that can go for at least the next 6 months, to give you the time and space to make your practice what you want it to be: FULL.

Then do it. Make a commitment to eliminate the things (for the short-term) that eat up major amounts of time each day and week. Now, don’t get depressed. Remember, this is not forever; it’s just for right now, a few months, until you get all the clients you need. Then you can slowly start adding things back in. I did.

This mantra kept me going for the first 6 months: “A strong focus now creates a different future later.”

Want more of the tools that I still use today to keep making Client Attraction a priority EVEN while I have a full practice? It’s all outlined in the Client Attraction Home Study System™. All the time grids, tools, and tricks I’ve developed and used over the years are all there for you to use right away, so you can manage your time and start attracting lots of clients fast. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ will save you LOTS of time in filling your practice quickly and consistently. You can get it at www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com.


© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

One Secret To Dramatically Increase Referrals (and Get More Clients)

One Secret To Dramatically Increase Referrals (and Get More Clients)
By Fabienne Fredrickson

To dramatically increase referrals, it’s important to educate the people you consider personal advocates (those who know you, like you, trust you, love you, and want the best for you), and let them know what you’re up to and who your best clients are.

If you’re just starting out, it’s a letter of introduction; if you’ve been in practice several months or years, write an “update letter” on how your practice has grown or new services that you provide.

The fact is, most people who are your personal advocates will be happy to help (people LOVE to give referrals and to help a friend in business, especially when the person is a trusted friend). It makes them feel good, yet most of us somehow feel that we’re being a burden on our network when we do this. The good news is, it all depends on how tastefully it’s done.

In starting both of my private practices, I sent “warm” letters of introduction letting my friends and family know what I was doing and asking them to think of me when they saw or overheard a particular situation relating to my coaching.

Both times, I received clients right away, and both times, friends also referred people as long after the fact as 6 months to a year after receiving the letter. One referral came 3 years later and it came as a direct result of sending my warm letter of introduction.. It feels awesome to get those phone calls from people you don’t know saying they’d like to work with you.

This will be one of your most effective client attraction tools, and best of all, it’s relatively no-cost to you!

I sent it to everyone I knew, about 10 to 20 a week. I hand-wrote a couple of words at the top to make it more personal. (“Hi Mary! It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. Would love to catch up over a cup of tea. I’ll call you this week. Best, Fabienne.”)

That following week, I would call the person, set up a meeting for breakfast, lunch or tea, get caught up on their life and talk to them about my new business, asking them if anyone they knew fit my ideal client profile.

The result? Word spread and I received a number of my first round of clients and referrals this way. The idea with this letter is to keep it consistently going out to people in your network. The first time around, in my nutrition business, I sent 250 introduction letters out at the same time. You can also send the letters to five or ten people per week, it’s up to you.

In doing this, you actually set yourself up for getting that first client, that new client or that referral you didn’t know was waiting for you.

Client example:

A client of mine dragged her feet with this idea at first, thinking that it was too sales-y for her personal style and that she wasn’t going to get any leads or new clients that way.. After some coaxing and coaching, she started the process of sending out letters of introduction.

She was absolutely shocked at the results: new clients started coming in and her friends, former colleagues, school friends, and family were the ones referring them. She was thrilled and years later continues to update her personal advocates on what she’s up to, using her update letter.

Your Assignment:

  • Create and send a “warm” letter of introduction as an announcement/update of your practice to contacts that you already know.

  • This includes everyone (your family, friends and colleagues, past clients and acquaintances), EVERYONE.

  • Keep it friendly, as well as educational, but definitely NOT sales-y.

  • You may write a handwritten hello at the top of the page to make it more personal.

  • Follow up one week later with a phone call and invite people to join you for a conversation, either in person for a casual meeting or over the phone.

  • Describe your Ideal Client and ask them if they know someone who might fit that profile.

  • If you have been in practice several months or years, write an “update letter” of how your practice has grown or new services that you provide.

You too will be shocked at how quickly you get new clients and referrals using this simple system. It takes a bit of work upfront, but you’ll be singing all the way to the bank!

If you’d like to see the EXACT letter I used (and got a ton of clients with), pick up a copy of the Client Attraction Home Study System™. The letter is right there for you to use on page 91 and will save you LOTS of time and effort. This tip itself will bring you new clients, as will the other hundreds of low cost Client Attraction strategies. Pick it up here: www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com


© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

To Get More Clients from Networking, Pretend It’s Your Party!

To Get More Clients from Networking, Pretend It’s Your Party!
By Fabienne Fredrickson

Serious and consistent networking is one of the best ways to jumpstart your client base very quickly and to continually bring new prospects and referrals into your pipeline. But, admit it, it’s sometimes very intimidating (if not downright frightening) to network alone, even for an extrovert like me.

There are a few different types of professional networking events, one of them being the “free-for-all.” That’s the kind of networking where you’re basically thrust into a roomful of people who seemingly know each other and are supposed to introduce yourself. Ouch! That’s not always easy, even if you feel like a born networker.

A tactic I use when I’m feeling really overwhelmed by a roomful of people I don’t know is that I pretend it’s my own party. That’s right, as if I’m the one who organized the shin-dig in the first place.

If you know me personally, you already know that I’m a pretty social person and I LOVE to entertain. That being said, I’ve thrown hundreds of parties since my early twenties and I’ve had many occasions to feel what it feels like to be a host.

A host:

  1. is in control of the situation

  2. is confident

  3. knows most everybody

  4. has the right to ask if they don’t know you

In throwing cocktail parties and barbecues over the years, I’ve experienced more than a few times someone in my kitchen or living room that I didn’t know, usually a guest of one of my guests. I usually feel really comfortable going up to that person and saying, “Hi, I’m Fabienne. We haven’t met yet. What’s your name? Who did you come with tonight?” with a smile. I used to call this my ‘Ultimate Icebreaker,’ especially when I was single. :)

Taking that as a cue, when I get slightly shy in a large overwhelming networking situation, I shift my way of thinking about the event and pretend it’s my OWN party. Then I do the same thing, using my ‘Ultimate Icebreaker.’ It always works and I’m never nervous once I get started!

The best part of it is, sometimes, the person I walked up to and started the conversation with often DOES feel like it’s my party, or at least that I’m really confident. I guess that’s not a bad thing for attracting clients.

Your Assignment:

Pretend it’s YOUR party and that will somehow make it much more OK for you to approach strangers at a networking group. Then, use my Ultimate Icebreaker:

“Hi, I’m so-and-so. We haven’t met yet. What’s your name? Who did you come with tonight?” with a smile.

If you’re not sure where to start with networking to get clients in the first place, check out The Secrets of Master Networkers Manual™. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to get clients from networking, and pull clients and referrals in easily and consistently. Get it today at www.SecretsofNetworkers.com.


© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Determine the Viability of Your Target Audience BEFORE You Begin Marketing

Determine the Viability of Your Target Audience BEFORE You Begin Marketing
By Fabienne Fredrickson

You’ve heard a hundred times before how important it is to have a plan for who to market to, an ideal client profile or target audience. In my book, it’s one of the most crucial things to put in place for attracting clients like crazy, because if you don’t know who you’re talking to, you won’t know what to say.

The question you now have to ask yourself is, “Have I chosen a viable target audience?” meaning, is it actually worthwhile to market to these people?

You can have all the focus, drive, good intentions to market to a group of people, but if they’re not easily reached in large numbers and inexpensively, if they don’t congregate often or they’re too difficult to locate, it’s going to make your Client Attraction attempts much more difficult.

Here are some questions to ask yourself (be a hard grader):

  • Can you find them easily?

  • Is there a “list” of these people somewhere—an association of them, support groups, alliances, for example?

  • Are there enough of them? Even if your target audience is small in the grand scheme of the population, there still needs to be a massive number of these people for you to stay in business.

  • Do they have a problem worth solving?

  • Does this problem hurt enough?

  • Do they have the ability to pay for your services?

Your Assignment:

Once you’ve gotten clear on a target audience or a niche, it’s important to ask yourself the hard questions listed above. Take out a sheet of paper and really answer these. If the answers are repeatedly “no,” then consider looking for another niche. It’ll make the whole Client Attraction process much easier in the long run.

If you’re not sure where to start with fine tuning your target audience in the first place, check out The Client Attraction Home Study System™. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to stand out in the marketplace, pull clients in easily and consistently, and exactly what to say to turn them into paying clients. Get it today by going to www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com. You’ll also get hundreds of other ideas and resources to help YOU become a Client Attraction machine like thousands of my previous clients.

© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

How to use your VOICEMAIL to get new clients, effortlessly!

How to use your VOICEMAIL to get new clients, effortlessly!
By Fabienne Fredrickson

One of the key things that you can do to PULL new clients in that most people in business do not do (especially when they’re working from home) is have an outgoing message on your voice mail or answering machine that describes EXACTLY what you do, especially when it’s your home phone at the same time.

The idea here is to USE your voicemail, the one that your friends, colleagues, family members, leave a message on, explaining what you do. (Of course, I recommend having a separate phone line, but if for whatever reason you don’t do that at first, use this method.)

So, instead of saying, “Hello, it’s Mary, leave a message,” (this DOESN’T get you clients) you can say, “Hello, it’s Mary of so-and-so business, helping (insert target audience) who struggle with (insert common problem) achieve more (desired outcome). Visit us at blankblankblank.com”

Then, you can list your website or e-mail address and your tag line, or invite them to visit your website. What we’re looking for is a CALL TO ACTION, whatever the most requested action (MRA) is going to be for you: to sign up for your newsletter, visit your website, call for a get-acquainted session, or email you to set up an appointment.

There are lots of different ways you can use your voicemail outgoing message as a way to get new clients. Remember to keep it relatively short or clients will not want to call back.

Your assignment:

Create an outgoing message that can also act as a marketing tool. Include your tagline and e-mail address if it is easy to remember, direct callers to your website, and make sure to list any upcoming workshops you are promoting.

Worksheet 33 in the Appendix of the Client Attraction Home Study System™ will give you the exact voicemail script I used for YEARS to attract new clients, and will give you a worksheet to help you get started. You can get yours here: www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

If you’re ready to take a no-excuses approach to getting lots of clients, you’ll definitely want to check out The Client Attraction Home Study System™. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to stand out in the marketplace, pull clients in easily and consistently, and exactly what to say to turn them into paying clients. Get it today by going to www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com. You’ll also get hundreds of other ideas and resources to help YOU become a Client Attraction machine like thousands of my previous clients.

© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Get Your Email Signature File to Get You Clients

Get Your Email Signature File to Get You Clients
By Fabienne Fredrickson

It’s always important to educate the people who know you about what you do. What I’ve noticed over the years of teaching people how to attract more clients is that they don’t use ALL the marketing real estate they have in a way that will get them clients. That might be the case with you too, but we’re going to change that today when we talk about using your e-mail signature as a Client Attraction tool.

Get your email recipients to take ACTION by enabling the “signature” feature in your e-mail program. This feature allows you to create a short message that goes out at the bottom of every e-mail you create or reply to. The message should be relatively short, but compelling enough to get them to take action.

It should contain the basics, like your name and the name of your company; however, I always recommend adding more. It can contain your tagline, Unique Selling Proposition or Competitive Advantage. It should contain your website address (if you have one). It does not have to contain your e-mail address since that will be in the header of your e-mail anyway, but it’s always safe to add it. Also, make sure to add your phone number, if that’s a way you like people to reach you. Here’s one of my email sig files:

:)

Fabienne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert
Creator of "The Client Attraction System(tm)"
More clients, in record time… Every time
info@ClientAttraction.com
If you need more clients, visit: http://www.ClientAttraction.com
for free articles, compelling client testimonials and info on private coaching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your assignment:

You can use your e-mail signature to get people to call YOU to work with you. It can become a valuable Client Attraction tool for people who are emailing you for the first time and don’t know much about you. Instead of signing your e-mails yourself, you can automatically invite people to sign up to your newsletter, to visit your website. You can put your guarantee there, or a special workshop that you are about to give. Anything that you would like somebody to hear about, you put in there in your e-mail signature.

If you’re ready to take a no-excuses approach to getting lots of clients, you’ll definitely want to check out The Client Attraction Home Study System™. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to stand out in the marketplace, pull clients in easily and consistently, and exactly what to say to turn them into paying clients. Get it today by going to www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com. You’ll also get hundreds of other ideas and resources to help YOU become a Client Attraction machine like thousands of my previous clients.

© 2006 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System™ and www.ClientAttraction.com, the proven step-by-step program to attract more clients, make more m’oney being self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all. To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.