You must let go to grow

Over the past 6 months, I’ve been “letting go” en masse. Books.  Marketing homestudy courses I once gobbled up but will never look at again.  Clothes. (85% of my wardrobe?  Gone.  No joke.)  More books.  Stuff.   Jewelry. (This is really saying something, as I do get attached to my bling!)  This past weekend, we took our couch down to the curb.

The shedding has been more than physical, too.  I’ve let go of people, projects, relationships.  Hardest of all has been to let go of certain thoughts about myself that haven’t served me for years.  (Being really vulnerable, here.)

Straight up: it hasn’t always been comfortable. Watching all of that stuff go out the door has been exhilarating on the one hand, and also a little sad.   But the process has absolutely transformed my business and my life.  In clearing my space, I have made room for new opportunities to come in and I’ve made a lot more mo-ney. Most importantly, I’m creating an environment that supports my vision of what I want my life to look like.

One of my mentors said something recently that really shook me up.  He said, “Your environment is stronger than habit.” When you think about the pull your habits can have over you, it’s pretty shocking.

Here’s the hidden truth in that statement: the only way to create lasting change is by changing your environment. We’ve all had the experience of making a change only to slide back into past patterns (i.e., habits).  The only way around this is to change your environment.

So my coach’s request to you is this: Think of a change you’d really like to make in your life or business. Even better if it’s something that you’ve tried to change in the past and failed. Then ask yourself this question: “How can I create my environment so that this change is inevitable?”

It might mean hiring a coach to hold you accountable.  It might mean investing in a program.  It might mean teaming up with a friend and making a pact: “If one of us slides on this, we owe the other $20.” (This suggestion comes from entrepreneur Eben Pagan – I love it!)

No matter what, creating an environment that supports lasting change will absolutely involve letting go of something. You’ll know what it is.  Be good to yourself and let go of it quickly, without thinking.

Get support if you need to.  Any sadness you feel (or worry about how someone else will feel) will quickly be replaced by feelings of joy, expansiveness, and the expectation of something great.  It’s on the way!

1 Quick Tip To Authentically Raise Your Rates By 20-50%

So do you dread hearing the words, “So what do you charge?”

Across the board, solo professionals struggle with charging what they’re worth.  Why?  For one thing, mo’ney is one of the most sensitive topics out there. It’s a little odd that we can spend years getting trained in the best schools in the country, yet nobody really teaches how to set (and get) the right fees, let alone how to raise them.

“The right fees?” you might be asking.  “What the heck is that?  And sure I’d like to raise my rates, but how?  My clients can barely afford me now.”

If you’re hearing “I can’t afford it,” all too often, or constantly get asked for discounts… or your clients say things like, “Gee, that seems like an awful lot to pay for an hour of your time…” it can be all too easy to cave in and believe those statements.  But the thing is, none of it is true. And with one quick and easy tip, you can eliminate these sticky situations 90-99% of the time AND give yourself a generous raise to boot.

The tip is to focus on results – that is, the results your clients get from working with you.

If focusing on results is new to you, you’re definitely not alone.  While things are starting to shift, unfortunately, our culture has been firmly rooted in the “dollars for hours” model for well over a hundred years. Before starting our businesses, most of us entrepreneurs spent time on the job – doing what?  Trading dollars for hours.  (Notice the language there – “spending time at a job” – i.e.,  the dollars for hours model.)

So don’t be surprised if your potential clients come to your get-acquainted calls focused on time.  And when they’re focused on time, “the price for an hour-long session is X” is always too high.

Luckily, the old dollars-for-hours thing doesn’t apply when we’re talking about transformative, soul-based or healing work. Quite simply, it’s not about the time!  And by gently guiding the conversation, you can shift your client to what really matters: her transformation – i.e., the results she’ll get by working with you.

First, find out what your client really wants. Whether you’re aware of it or not, your clients never hire you without a specific outcome in mind.  Specifically, they always want one of these things (or some variation thereof)…

To make money

To save money

To save time

To save effort

Become more comfortable

Attain better health

Achieve greater cleanliness

Get rid of their pain

To be popular

Remember these from last time?  They’re the universal psychological motivators. No matter what your client shares about a particular situation, hidden (or not so hidden) inside will be one of these things.  Your first order of business is to uncover it.

Next, find out WHY it’s important to her. We all want things for a particular reason.  What’s important about what your client wants?  What will change for her when she gets it?  In order for your client to happily accept the fees that you really want, you must get to the bottom of her why.

As you’re exploring this territory, beware!  To borrow some wisdom from Mark Twain, when a man buys something, there’s the reason he tells his wife, and then there’s the real reason.   You’re looking for the real reason.

Find out the true VALUE of that result. Specifically, what’s the value of the result to your client?

For example, let’s say that you’re a web designer.  You create gorgeous websites that perfectly capture the essence of your client AND the message she has to share with the world.  What’s the value of that to your client? You can bet it’s pretty high, or she wouldn’t be coming to you.  What’s more, the site you create will generate business for her.  Not once, but over and over and over again.  Big-time value.

On top of all that, don’t underestimate the challenge of finding a great web designer who is easy to work with AND is in alignment with her values.  (When I was looking for my designer, one of the things that terrified me was the prospect of spending all kinds of time trying to find “someone.”  Not even the “right” person – just someone whom I could trust to do the job!  Sheer terror, I’m tellin’ ya.  And yes, I got lucky!)

I think you can see how this all adds up!  All of a sudden, it’s not about time.  When you focus on results, you can easily give yourself a raise of 20% or more.

Remember, the focus on results starts with YOU. Your energy and how you show up in a potential client conversation will absolutely be mirrored back to you.  If you’re not crystal clear certain of the results you create, your client will never see the value, either. You’ll both be stuck in dollars-for-hours mode… undervaluing your gifts… and you’ll both miss out on the transformation she wants and that YOU want to give.

Does “the money conversation” with potential clients leave you tongue-tied?  The Abundant Business Homestudy System contains a simple outline to help you authentically steer your clients in the direction of how you can help them, including specific questions to uncover what they really want and what it’s really worth to them. Get yours here.

- – >http://marketinggoddess.com/system.html

© 2009 Elizabeth Genco Purvis.  All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article on your website, blog or in your own ezine? No problem! But here’s what you MUST include:

Elizabeth Genco Purvis, “The Marketing Goddess” teaches spirited solo business owners and conscious entrepreneurs how to attract an abundance of clients, income, freedom and satisfaction in their business while staying true to their values.  Visit MarketingGoddess.com to claim your copy of “Grow Your Business With Spirit And Soul,” a 7-part audio workshop with everything you need to begin attracting more clients right away.

The secret to 20k in 1 week

This week I’m celebrating 2 significant events in my life and business.  The first is the completion of the 1^st draft of my next graphic novel, The Kiss. I had that initial spark (of an idea) that would become this book back in September 2007!  Now almost 2 years later, it’s finally off to my editors for their feedback.  (The book will be available on Tor.com in 2010.)

A lot of writers get nervous about sending their work off to their editors and stay nervous until the edits come back.  There’s a whole section in Anne Lamont’s classic, Bird By Bird, where she describes this anxiety.  When I read that section, back when I did not have anything published, I consciously made a different decision: to always welcome feedback from people I trust (i.e. not just anyone), because it gives me the opportunity to serve the story and my readers.

Because I only work with people who know their stuff, I always learn something new, tips and tricks and techniques that I can take to the next project, that makes my stories better.  They’re always things I never would have seen on my own.  Working with smart collaborators on my stories is like Masterminding with mentors and colleagues in my business – an absolute must.

I’m also celebrating my first $20k week in my business - that is, the first week where I’ve brought in revenues of $20,000.  Yep, “in this economy.”  (Aren’t you just sick of that phrase? I know I am.)

I’ll reveal more of how I made it happen a little later on, but for now, here are the 2 critical pieces of the puzzle, which you can implement in your own business right now if you haven’t already.

One, I offered something that my clients really wanted, valued and were willing to pay for.

Two, I made a conscious decision and acted on it.

All too often in business we fall in love with our ideas.  Sometimes we try to juggle and balance multiple things when what we really need to do is let go.  (If that’s you, believe me you’re not alone! It’s a classic entrepreneurial bad habit and it used to be one of mine.)  Thing is, not letting go of ideas that don’t work is lack-based thinking. Yuck!

To be successful in your business, you MUST focus on serving your clients. What do your clients really want that you can provide?  If you don’t know, it’s time to find out.

Lastly, I want to point out that you don’t need a list of a zillion people to create this kind of success for yourself.  I made my offer to a group of about 35 people.  40% of them took me up on it. Why?  Because I saw a need and filled it.

I share this success with you not to brag, but because it so clearly demonstrates the simplicity of  success. All too often we want to make things complicated.  Making things complicated is a form of resistance, and resistance is just a form of hiding out. And when you’re hiding out, you’re not helping anyone.

What do your clients really want?  How can you help them with that? I invite you to revisit this question this week.  Let Spirit guide you to an answer… and then, take just one action to help more people in this way. As always, bright blessings and massive success to you…

To Help More Clients (And Make More Mo-ney!), You MUST Meet Them “Where They Live”

Ever wonder why you’re not reaching more people, and when you do, why nobody’s saying YES to your services?

You can have a great idea… then spend hours, days, weeks, months, even years implementing it, and when you finally get it out there, nobody buys.  It’s heartbreaking!

I often see new entrepreneurs juggle a bunch of different ideas, and tie themselves up in knots trying to make them “fit” into some “big picture”… only to end up with a flat, bland, and even convoluted message that their clients can’t understand. (Believe me, I’ve done this myself!)

What’s the problem?  In both cases, it’s what I like to call “Stuck In Your Own Head” syndrome – i.e., you’re stuck in your perspective, and ONLY your perspective.  Trouble is, your clients are stuck in THEIR own heads. It’s a classic case of same planet, different worlds.

When I say stuck, I mean stuck – it’s a sure bet your potential clients are stuck with a problem they desperately want to get rid of, and the ramifications of that problem are swirling around in their heads, day in and day out.  That is a huge opportunity for you – if you approach it right.

To help more clients (and make more mo-ney in the process!), you must meet them where they ARE: in their world, not yours.  Here’s how.

Focus on what your clients REALLY want. Would you like to know the secret of what your clients really want?  (Hang on to your garters, as my mom would say – I’m about to tell you!)  Your clients really, truly want one or more of these things…

To make money

To save money

To save time

To save effort

Become more comfortable

Attain better health

Achieve greater cleanliness

Get rid of their pain

To be popular

This list is from one of my early copywriting mentors, David Garfinkel.  They’re the universal psychological motivators that are the root of buying and selling, going back to the time of the cavemen.

Focusing on what your clients really want often poses a challenge for soul-preneurs^TM because it often involves letting go of our way of seeing things, and that can feel like we’re giving something up… namely, our vision.  (Pretty big stuff – no wonder it feels traumatic!)  But it doesn’t have to be this way.

As transformation professionals, or change agents, we know that the surface problems are just a symptom of something deeper. For example, the root of most mo-ney problems is low self-esteem and low self-worth.  On one level, people with mo-ney problems know this, even subconsciously.  But what’s the front-of-mind, up-all-night kind of problem? Mo’ney!

Once you meet your “peeps” (clients!) where they truly hang out, front-of-mind, you can guide them to life-altering transformations – that’s where your vision, and the deeper work, comes in.  My colleagues Sharla Jacobs and Jesse Koren of Rejuvenate Training call this “walking through the gate.”

Once your client walks through the gate of working with you, a whole world of transformation awaits them. But they won’t take that walk with you unless you enter the conversation already going on in their heads.  And that means getting out of your own.

The great news is, chances are very good that your work already satisfies at least one of your client’s deep desires. Once you have that, it’s about communicating in a way that reaches them.

Use their own words. This one’s critical.  How do your clients talk about their problems?  What words do they use to describe what they want?  Are you using their words?  If not, you’re missing out on connecting with them and helping them.

Luckily, finding out how your clients really speak is easy: simply listen.  Pay attention in your sessions to what your clients are saying and how they say it. Because I’m a writer, I love to “get it in writing” which is another reason why I survey my peeps so often.  Then, pay attention to the words YOU use, taking care that they’re in alignment with what your clients need to hear in order to reach them.

Soul-preneurs^TM often say to me, “But Elizabeth! I don’t help my clients make money, find love or improve their health.  I want to help them with X-Y-Z.” And my question to them is, “Do you want to help people and make a difference?”

If your answer is yes, you must meet your clients where they live. Just a few tweaks can bridge the gap between where you live and where your clients hang out… and serving more of them, more often, with more joy and for more mo’ney.

Need some help meeting your clients where they live?  The Abundant Business Homestudy System contains simple systems to help you uncover exactly what your clients want and how you can help them. Get yours here.

© 2009 Elizabeth Genco Purvis.  All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article on your website, blog or in your own ezine? No problem! But here’s what you MUST include:

Elizabeth Genco Purvis, “The Marketing Goddess” teaches spirited solo business owners and conscious entrepreneurs how to attract an abundance of clients, income, freedom and satisfaction in their business while staying true to their values.  Visit MarketingGoddess.com to claim your copy of “Grow Your Business With Spirit And Soul,” a 7-part audio workshop with everything you need to begin attracting more clients right away.