You didn’t, did you?
Of course not.
Yet how much extra time do you give clients?
Spend on Facebook?
“Tackle that email” first, instead of your VIP project?
If you answered yes, you’re burning up $100 bills every day.
Last time we talked about being in business to be liked.
As long as you have a business mentor who keeps you on track – you’ll be OK.
If you don’t, here are 5 more tools that will help you stay liked and stay solvent.
1. Raise your Rates. You don’t have to tell me how much you’re charging. I know it’s not enough. Practice saying the new rate out loud, to friends, until your voice doesn’t wobble. A colleague was in a $10K sales mastermind in Spain. You know what they told him? “If they don’t throw you out of the office, you’re not asking enough.”
1A. You know why the gurus charge $22K an hour? Protection. If they didn’t, they’d be mobbed. Good fences make good neighbors. The right rates keep you prosperous, and bring the right people.
2. Don’t mistake business for friendship. In these days of “relationship marketing.” It’s easy to make that mistake. Especially for women. Joanne, a coach, realized she was treating all her clients like houseguests, catering to their every need. When she realized she’d rather be respected first, and “liked” second, she eventually had a whole new business. Spell out exactly what you will do in your contract, and have a phrase ready for every boundary you set. Keep it in the THIRD PERSON. “There are 2 sessions per month and one group call. There is no roll-over.” “The fee is $1,200 a month.” Not “my fee” but “the fee”. “It’s 10 minutes to the hour. Time to recap.”
3. Protect Yourself. Clients don’t mean to be grabby. They’ll just take what you’ll give. Remember Carol King? “They’ll take your soul if you let them. So don’t you let them.”
4. Create excellent packages with mouth-watering names so people clearly know how to work with you. If you are hiding behind unclear or unappealing packages, you are hiding. Stand out. Name those packages. Make future clients feel comfortable and welcome.
5. You have too many things on your to-do list and no time to build your business. I am quoting Eben Pagen, whom I admire, when I say that it’s not time management you need, it’s Energy Management. You are giving your all to the trivial stuff. It’s maddening. Take your laptop to a café to work on your most important project – the one that will bring you more business. Dis-able your email and turn off your phone. You know how good it feels when you throw out 10 lbs. of old files? Amazing, right? That’s how you need to feel – every day. That’s when your business will soar. That’s Energy Management.
Once again, you can have a good time, you can have wonderful clients, and you can make a lot of money.
There’s a light at the end of your tunnel.
And…
2 spots just opened up in the Private Fast Track Program for entrepreneurs who want to reach that light this year. Contact me if you know that’s you.
