Continuous communication with our
prospects and clients is a must.
When we regularly communicate
and are speaking to them about their
greatest needs, interests and wants,
we are fostering relationships and building trust.
And relationships built on trust lead
to happy clients and great referrals.

But many business owners struggle
with sending regular value-added communications
to their list.  They don’t know what to talk about,
when to communicate, or through what form
(written word, audio or video).

It feels difficult to keep providing meaningful
communications month in and month out.
Yet content (free and paid) is the lifeblood
of your business.

Here are 4 easy steps to stay in touch
with your list on a regular basis:

1. Think of 4 things that your target market
struggles with most.

2. Write down as much as you can about:
-what their problem is,
-why they have it,
-what they have tried,
-why certain solutions don’t work,
-what the professionals are saying, and
-what they need to do.

If writing is difficult for you, use whatever means
is best for you – you can record it, speak to your friend
while recording, have them take notes, etc.
When writing or recording, don’t try to say
the right things, don’t try to say it in a marketing way.
Instead speak as though you are having a conversation
with a friend.  That will help the information to flow freely.
You can wordsmith it later.

3. Create 1-3 articles for each topic.
By taking what you have written,
you can edit it to 350-750 word articles.

4. Create a telecall for each topic.
If your business is on the internet
and if you have remote clients, teleseminars
and webinars are a must IF you REALLY
want to grow your business.
It will propel your business exponentially.

If doing teleseminars scares you,
that’s o.k. It scares everyone.
Push through it and do it.
The more you do the easier it becomes.
If you do this, you will be at more of an advantage
than 95% of your competition.  Is pushing through
your fears worth it?

Here are some other ideas on how to nurture your market:

- Every week send a success tip.
- Every month, do a newsletter with an article (or you can do it twice monthly)
- Every month do a telecall- On the telecall promote your group program, one on one program or workshop.
- Every month send the teleseminar replay and remind people of your upcoming program

It’s all about continuous, valuable communication
to develop relationships over time.
If you implement just some of these strategies,
within one month you can touch your list 5 – 15 times
and give value EVERY TIME.

By following this model, you have 4 months
of communications (amazing!).  At the end
of the four months you can repeat the cycle,
or by then, you will probably have even more things
to talk about.  This is a very worthwhile process.
And the more you do it, the easier it gets!

Give it a try and post your comments here!

To your success, Kim

Then when I ask people why they do not have a more concrete plan of action,
they often say they don’t know how to create one, it feels too overwhelming, and
they don’t know where to even begin.

When most people think of a business plan, they think that it has to be a lengthy detailed document with great levels of detail and business ‘stuff’ that they just don’t know much about.

So then they avoid it all together.

There are really only a few critical areas to consider when creating a plan of action for building your business on a solid foundation of success. You can start by thinking through these areas below and jotting down ways to complete these action steps. Then get to work! Some action in this area is better than no action. And the more you work these areas, the better you will get and the more you will grow.

The 7 components of a business plan are:
1. Have a vision – Know where you are going. Think about, and WRITE DOWN, how much money you want to be making, how do you want to spend your days, who are you serving, what products and services you want to create at what price points, and through what sources will you generate your income. Then review it regularly, study it, dream about it, ‘get it in your bones’.

2. Have a target market identified and accessible – What population of people do you think about serving when you think of your business? Where can you access them?

3. Create your brand – Is your website, colors, logo, picture, messaging, free offer congruent with you AND your market? Will your ideal client land on your website, read your messaging, and see your special offer and feel like they ‘belong’?

4. Create your infrastructure – There are a few essentials to getting started successfully in your business, such as a website or webpage that represents you and your business and resonates with your audience; a list management service; a special free offer that is compelling and has a perceived value; a way for people to sign up so you can get their contact information.

5. Generate awareness and grow your list - This is one of the most important steps you will take in your business. The strength of your list is the strength of your business.

6. Create free and paid products and services – For a successful business, you need FREE and PAID products to do two things: 1. attract people to you and keep them involved in a relationship with you until they are ready to become clients. 2. generate income.

7. Create a communication plan – A communication plan is WHEN you will communicate, HOW you will communicate, ABOUT WHAT, and for what PURPOSE.

At first glance, how are you doing in these 7 areas? I enourage you to think through these foundational areas and create your business plan to incude these critical components. Then you will be well on your way to building a solid business.

Do you have a business plan for your business? If not, you can download one here:

The more our business is ‘relationship based’, the more our prospects and clients will need to get to know us before they will do business with us.

So how do we do allow our prospects the opportunity to get to know use before they buy our products and services?

By providing tips, tricks, strategies and resources in the form of ‘education-based communications.’ By speaking to them about their greatest needs, interests, and wants,we develop relationships that lead them to become our clients.

Content creation can be a real struggle for some people, but it doesn’t have to be for you. In the past I’ve suggested that you start building your content creation muscle by writing “tips.”

A tip can be as short as a 150-350 word ‘mini article’ that offers value in the form of strategies, resources, tips and how to’s that adress your target market’s needs, interests and wants. Tips can also be thought provoking and inspirational.

Tips are welcomed in your prospects’ and clients’ email boxes because they are quick and easy to read and provide value. And getting into the habit of writing success tips will make your other writing projects easier.

Here’s a simple way to format your tip:

Open by addressing the problem.  Say that you have 1, 2, or 3 tips, tricks, strategies to address the problem (mention the problem) and provide a solution (mention the solution).

• propose solution/thought/perspective #1
• share one comment on that solution/thought/perspective

• propose solution/thought/perspective #2
• share one comment on that point.

• solution/thought/perspective #3
• share one comment on that point.

Close by reiterating that implementing these tips, the reader will eliminate their problem (mention it) and gain the solution (mention it). And viola! You have a tip!

But here’s even more good news.

By using this model, you can create a variety of other products on different topics, both large and small. If you want to create larger products like special reports or audio trainings, you can add additional solutions/thoughts/perspectives, and go deeper into each of them.

For example, you can create three tips on a particular topic such as stress reduction, weight loss, goal setting, communication, improving your golf game, or making money, add an intro and a close, and make it a valuable special report.

Take that same information and record it and you have an audio product.

Get started today creating content and writing your tips!

If you struggle with staying in touch with your prospects and clients on a regular basis, join the club.

I hear from my clients that this is one of their greatest challenges. They worry, “Once I get a potential client on my list, then what?”

To address this concern, I encourage my clients to provide ‘tips’ in various forms (written word, audio and video) to their prospects and clients.

Tips are short ‘snippetts’ of information that provide value and are related to your target market’s greatest needs, interests and wants.

Tips are welcomed in your prospects’ and clients’ email boxes because they are quick and easy to access and provide value. And getting into the habit of creating success tips in various forms (written word, audio and video) will make your other projects easier.

Here are some ‘tips’ for creating your ‘tips’. 

1. Remember, a success tip focuses a particular problem and provides a simple solution.  Simply put, it gives VALUE. It is not an advertisement and is not full of fluff.

2. Ask yourself, “What sort of tip can I offer to help people? What are they struggling with and what solution can I provide?”

Here are a few suggestions:

- reducing stress

- staying healthy

- controlling your thoughts

- being a better communicator

- eliminating conflict

- closing a sale

- being more organized

- setting goals

- providing better customer service

3. Format your tip like this:

- open with a short paragraph that addresses a problem.

- offer a solution (one, two or three brief points  o address the solution), and

- close with a reference back to the problem and how using these tips are sure to help.

4. Put it into your email system, and send it to your list as a free gift.

5. Send one every 5 – 7- 10 days, and you will be offering your prospects and clients amazing value, plus you will be building strong relationships!

6. Place your tip on your blog site and you will have new content there on a regular basis.

So today I would like to offer you a challenge.
Are you up for it?

Today I challenge you to be conscious of your thoughts all day,
and only focus on one thing – THANKFULNESS.

No worries,
fears,
anxiety,
stress,
anger,
impatience,
intolerance,
judgment
or the like TODAY.

Nothing but THANKFULNESS.

So when a family member makes a digging comment
or your best friend cancels
or small children are running rampant in the house
or the stuffing doesn’t turn out the way you expected
or your favorite football team loses
or your siblings bicker
or someone forgets the dessert
or you drop the bag of flour all over the kitchen floor…

Be aware of your thoughts,
remember your challenge for today
and be THANKFUL.

So make this day
be filled with
THANKFULNESS and JOY
and nothing less.

Are you up to the challenge?

Blessings to you!

Kim and the Ready2Go Team

P.S.  Like this post?  Please offer a comment.

Education based communications, which are communications that provide knowledge and information, are the most effective way to grow your list and keep your prospects interested and engaged, and ultimately convert them to clients.

There are three types of communications that you can offer to your target market to attract, nurture and convert them to clients.

If you identify the topics that your target market is most interested in using these three categories, you will never run out of things to say to your prospects and clients!

And how would that feel?! Pretty good, huh?!

So let’s take a look:

1. Core topics are those that are at the top of your prospects’ list of needs, wants, interests and concerns. They are the topics that keep them up at night, that they are researching the internet,talking to their friends about, seeking answers to, and spending money on. You do not have to specialize in all the core areas on interest, but you want to specialize in some.

For example, say you are a relationship/parent coach. You have determined that your target market’s greatest needs are:

* Effective communication and conflict resolution

* Being in alignment when parenting

* Keeping their romance alive

* Managing finances and preparing for college/retirement

Given these needs, you may determine that you feel confident to coach them on the first three areas, but do not feel best equipped to coach them around their finances.This is completely o.k.

You have two choices – you can choose to not offer coaching around that topic OR you can bring in an expert to team with you in that area.

2. Complimentary topics are those that your target market have an interest in, but are not at the top of their list.

For example, you may be a weight loss consultant who can help people with their greatest issues of:

• The constant up and down battle, the frustration that come with it, and the hopelessness that follows
• How to eat properly, read labels and count calories
• Giving them the accountability they need to be successful

However, they may also be interested in cooking classes or healthy recipes. So this can be a complimentary topic that you speak on IN ADDITION TO the core topics.  Again, this can be something you speak and teach about, or bring in someone else who is an expert.

3.  Nice to have topics are those that your prospects and clients are interested in, but will not feel drawn to as strongly. These are the topics that they will invest in if there is nothing else currently pulling at their time and attention.

Be careful not to put too much of your effort here by creating products, services or education that do not create the ‘pull’ that you need to attract, nurture and convert your prospects and clients. These topics are completely o.k., but should not be your primary communications, or product and service offerings.

One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make when communicating with their target market is that they do not have a pulse on the needs of their prospects and clients. They cannot identify the core, complimentary, and nice to have topics, and therefore they often teach on what they ‘want’ to, instead of what their market ‘needs.’

If you are struggling with getting your prospects to respond to your offers, give yourself an honest check, asking which of your products, services and communications fall into these three categories.

Take some time to write down the core, complimentary and nice to have topics for target market. It will help in creating your communication strategy.

Here’s to your greatest success!

We are pulled in many directions feeling like we have to implement every strategy that crosses our path.  Audio, video, twitter, facebook, linkedin, blogging, article marketing, teleseminars, webinars, live events, and membership communities. Wow, it makes my head hurt! And these are only a few of the MANY strategies that are suggested we implement in our businesses!

The good news is it can be a lot easier. And one of the things that will make it a lot easier…
right away…is having a little help. So instead of focusing on 20 or more strategies to grow our business, it is helpful to know that there are only 7 foundational areas of business growth.

Those 7 foundational elements are:

1.  Setting the foundation – crystalize what you want
for your business
2.  Creating your brand – what do you want to portray
to the world
3.  Building your infrastructure – website, free offers,
email system, etc
4.  Target Market – identify, understand and access
your ideal market
5.  Generating awareness – get out to your market
and grow your list
6.  Product and services – create free and paid
products and services to attract new prospects, nurture
relationships, and generate income.
7.  Communication plan – plan when you will communicate, about
what, using what formats, and for what goal.

Out of my own desperation and exhaustion I’ve created another way  to help make doing business easier for me.  It has brought me so much clarity which has turned into such great success, that I put it into a weekly action plan called One Step Forward To Success.

It’s a step-by-step, weekly action plan that takes you through the exact actions
you need to take to build your business in the most productive, results-oriented,
and profitable way possible.

And I’m so committed to helping you be successful, I am offering this program for free.
To get your free weekly action plan, go to http://www.TakeOneStepForwardToSuccess.com

At the end of the day,
people want to do business over the internet
with people they have a feel for -
people they can trust.
They want to know there is a real person
on the other end that cares about them
and their issues.
And teleseminars and webinars
(plus other audio and video training)
are a great way to do that.

Here are several important tips
to consider when incorporating
these types of trainings
into your business:

1. Keep in mind that it is always best
to speak to your market
about their greatest issues
and needs. Giving them a SOLID
(and that is the key word)
sample of you, your teachings,
your philosophies, and your solutions
to their needs will draw them to you.
And you can easily do that via
informational teleseminars
that lead them into the next phase of
engagement with you.

2. Not sure how to create a teleseminar?
Here’s what you do:

-Write down your target market’s
key areas of concern.

-Write down two to three solutions
to those key areas of concern

Here’s an example:

As a marriage coach of parents
with young children, your clients
mostly deal with:
- effective communication skills
- conflict resolutions skills
- keeping the romance alive
- co-parenting skills

In the teleseminar, you will cover
each of these topics briefly by talking about
a few things your prospects
and clients can do to address these areas.

For instance:
- for effective communication,
you talk to them about the importance
of their words, tone and body language.
- for conflict resolution,
you talk to them about active listening,
paraphrasing and clarifying questions
- for keeping the romance alive,
you talk to them about what’s realistic
to expect, the different phases of marriage,
and how to date each other again etc.

- Outline your presentation with
main points and sub-points

Obviously, you cannot go into great depth
within one hour, so you give them a way
to get much more information and
greater support from you in these areas
through your other offers.

3. Use this information and format
to create your teleseminar by delivering
a nice balance of information, combined with
questions, time for reflection
and time for sharing.

4. Use graphics where ever necessary as it
increases retention – HUGE!

5.  Create a compelling title.
For example, a title like
“From Smoldering to Smoking -
4 Simple Secrets to Put the Romance
Back in Your Marriage” will probably get
your target market’s attention.

6.  Create compelling copy to attract
their attention (use a copywriter
if necessary as it is ALL ABOUT
getting your prospect to your event).

7.  Practice, practice, practice.
Nothing takes the place of preparedness.

8.  At the teleseminar, let them know
how you want them to engage with you NEXT.
They don’t know unless we tell them.

I hope you find this information helpful. Tell us about
your experience teleseminars and webinars.