Online Oppie

Well I think I've just about seen everything now - there is a company in the USA that is an online op-shop and worse I've already found something I want on the first page!

Its a basic twist on the time honoured tradition of sending your tat and junk somewhere so some else can claim your tat and junk.

Givmo have just taken the concept of an online op-shop …. online.  

So if you got something you want to ditch, you simply put a photo of it up on the Givmo website.  If someone wants it - they simply contact you - pay the postage and you ship it to them.

To be honest I've never been much of an op-shop gal - I only ever seem to find junk in there and it always seems to take forever to trawl through everything on offer.  But I do like this online concept because it has categories - I don't have to trawl the whole shop to find the one gem I'm looking for.  And it doesn't smell bad - op-shops often have an odd smell that I'm really not fond of.

It is also a great environmental idea because it reuses things rather than recycling them or having the need to produce a new one.  I am a bigger fan of not having the thing in the first place, but even I manage to amass a heap of stuff I don't really use or want.  I sometimes marvel at the way it gets in.

Many benefits with the Givmo concept includes a $1 donation to a charity of the month - with this month being the World Wildlife Fund which is doing great things in the protection of animals - so overall it gets the Mz Margz tick of approval.

So if you need to clean out that office and make some space in your business or life - then maybe this is for you.

The cynic in me of course would point out that the time it takes to get the item to the post office is more hassle than the drop to an actual op shop - but I guess it is just another way of looking at a time honoured tradition and a different take on something that works incredibly well in the real world - so why wouldn't it do well in the online world too.

You can read more here

Now for the big question - does my friend really need the fake grass that goes around the kitty litter tray to stop her cat spreading kitty litter all over the house???  It seems I can get a specially designed, fit for for purpose fake grass mat on Givmo - who'd a thought there was even such a product!  Bet I can't get that at the Daylesford Vinnies!

An Innovative Way to Get in Front of Clients

I had to smile today as I enjoyed my green tea and a scan through my emails.  I love when people start taking innovative actions when times get tough.

Humans never move when they are comfortable but watch them go when times get tough.

I loved what we can learn from an innovative way hotels are getting more guests in beds.

As it gets harder to sell hotel beds as less people travel the globe due to factors such as technology advances bringing people together virtually, a greater consciousness of the ecological damage the travel industry brings to the planet and overall the financial crunch means less spending in general.

So hotels are needing to get smarter.


We can learn a lot from this industry because therapists have exactly the same problem hotels have.  At the end of each day, any beds not filled are never available to sell again on that day.  Yes they can sell tomorrow’s beds, but today’s beds are never available again.

Treatment rooms or consults are the same.  If you didn’t fill yesterday’s diary - the opportunity to get revenue from those spots has gone.  So watching the way hotels think and market is a good habit to get into.

Springwise had a link to a service that scans twitter and picks up on destinations people have mentioned in their tweets.  The hotel sends those people some local area knowledge or a discounted room offer to that twitter account. 

Some hotels are reporting a 9% uptake on their direct twitter offers.  This is huge as most direct campaigns would celebrate if they got a 2-3% response.

Why the big difference?

They are adding value, saving their customers time and solving a problem for their clients. 

In some instances they are solving a problem before the client even thought too hard about fixing it.

This is marketing genius which you can replicate on a smaller scale.

It's our equivalent of dropping a flyer on the bedside table of someone who is about to get out of bed and complain of an ache and pain or emotional deficiency.  They are delivering a solution at a time of pain. 

Humans are lazy creatures.  

In most instances if a suitable solution comes their way at a price and service level suitable to them .... they will most likely take it.

The reason this campaign by hotels is working is because this is very targeted marketing.  The hotel knows its customers well and presents only one solution to their problem - a room in a hotel in the city they are visiting in the near future. 

Its your classic WHO & WHAT situation.  They know WHO their customers are and WHAT those customer want.

These hotels are getting under the noses of people solving problems AND saving them time.

How can you do that?

If you are very clear WHO you work with - simply figure out where your people are hanging out - what their problems are on a daily basis and get yourself, your message and your offerings in front of them, at a time when they are thinking about their problem.

People with a certain problem start seeking solutions in similar places

The golden question to answer is .... where do your people hang out????


But an even better question is ..... who else has my people?  This is the question the hotel has answered - they have figured out that their customers tweet their travel plans out to their network. 

Do people tweet or facebook their problems on a daily basis - YOU BET!  If you exactly solve their particular problem, then a simple google search to see if that person has a public profile and you could drop one of your flyers in the post to them.  It can be that simple.  If you are really brave you could make the offer directly in the post they've made - but truly I find that a bit intrusive.  You must discern what's the right level of contact for you. 

People leave clues everywhere - you need to get your intuitive super power glasses on and start seeing those opportunities everywhere.

It is so much easier to sell something to someone who wants what you’ve got.  You’ve just got to get very creative about figuring out where the problem YOU solve occurs in THEIR life.

For instance, if a child is having a hissy fit on the supermarket floor and the parent looks up and sees a flyer on the notice board for a hissy fit behaviorist or a golfer walks into the club room from a round of golf and finds a person who can improve their swing by loosening up their muscles - I reckon they will be pretty interested in at least hearing about your services.

Where are your people and what are their problems?

12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers in a Natural Therapy Context

I was on a great call today with Jay Conrad Levinson.  He is the genius who coined the phrase “Guerrilla Marketing” back in the ’80s.  He has sold over 21 million books during his highly successful career.and his books are “must have’s” on any small business bookshelf.

Image Credit

So does he sell apes?

No, that would be silly :-) 

Wikipedia describes the concept of guerrilla marketing as an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget.

Levinson used the concept of guerillas (rebels who live in the mountains and use unconventional methods to get their political message across) as a really clever way of describing marketing done at a base level often using free or low fee tactics to get your message to the world.

It was nothing short of sheer brilliance as it tipped the marketing world on its head and he has helped many people all over the world embrace marketing.


Something he shared today made me just about fall out of my chair! 

Why?

Well because it’s the exact opposite of what you might think for natural therapists.

In fact, I’m so excited I’m going to write about each category so you can really get why this information was so mind-blowing for me.

Natural therapists think they are bad at marketing or not designed for business.  

Well, this list turns that theory on its head.  If one of the greatest marketers in the world is right (and why wouldn’t he be) it seems we have every ability to be awesome marketers – we just gotta stop believing some of the misinformation we have been given by well-meaning “business experts”. 

For instance, I had an awesome woman in my Sore to SOAR group this month who had been told by many reliable sources that her business ideas and concepts were basically “rubbish”.

This made her “think” she was not good at marketing.

As it turned out she had an incredibility distinctive way of getting her message out to the world.  To date, she just hadn't found the right person who was prepared to look beyond the obvious and be prepared to help her find her unique voice.  I was honoured to be that person and I’d have to say I was pretty blown away by how creative she was once she got the hang of it.

The sad thing is she is not alone. 

Success stories abound in our industry when we figure out that standard conventional business theory won’t work when applied to something as “tactile” as a natural therapy or coaching business.

This is why Jay Conrad Levinson’s method’s changed the world ….. simply because he found another way to give people confidence and take actions that would achieve results when applied in unconventional ways. 

So I was really excited when on today’s call he shared the following twelve traits he has observed in every successful Guerrilla Marketer he has worked with.

My elation was because of course most of my people do the first eleven really well – its only item 12 they aren’t so hot at! 

12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers

01.    Patience

02.    Imagination

03.    Aggressiveness (never give up)

04.    Sensitivity

05.    Embrace change well

06.    Educators

07.    Generosity

08.    Energetic

09.    Constant Learners

10.    Love people

11.    Maintain Focus

12.    Action oriented

This blog post does an excellent job of describing Guerrilla Advertising.

I'm so excited about this list that I’ll be breaking down each point on my blog.  I believe it is important that you get that you are ALREADY a great marketer – you just need to find a patient person who will help you roll your message out your way and stop you listening to the crap most of those "pointy-toed business coaches" deal out of textbooks.

When Jay Conrad Levinson came to Australia, I got to queue up and say hello.  When he kissed my hand it made the wait worthwhile!

Should a website be a crucial part of your business?

There has been an election declared in Australia this week and already we are hearing politicians do what they do best = answering questions with questions.

So in answering the question – should a website be a crucial part of your business?

I’m going to ask you an even deeper question before I start to go down the website burrow. Not because I’m avoiding the question but because you need to ask yourself a more important question before you even consider a website.

A client was reflecting on a question I asked them at the start of their coaching program recently. They said it really slapped them around the ears because it was something they hadn’t even considered.

It’s the same question you need to ask yourself before you decide if you need a website or not.

The question is ........

“how big do you want your business to be?”

This is a really basic question every therapist needs to ask themselves before they consider building a business or a website but it rarely gets asked let alone answered.

If you don’t know the answer to the question or if you haven’t even considered whether you want small, medium, large, grande or the super size me option – you are going to be constantly setting things up that won’t work for your business further down the track.


Two truths to be aware of:

1. You won’t know exactly how big you can go until you start getting a few runs on the board in your practice - I recommend set up to be big at the start just in case things take off... then - at least you are ready.
    
2. Each year the landscape will change from where you thought you were going 12 months earlier as your business knowledge and confidence grows.

The other truth is - Size does matter!

I was chatting to a friend this week who has just set up a beautiful property to host retreats here in Daylesford. He is already starting to note some differences in the way organisers get people booked onto retreats. He has noticed I am having far more luck getting people on my retreats than people with a small database or no a database at all.

I just laughed and said “size matters” ....... referring to my database.

With both of us coming from the lurky murky world of musicians we had fun creating several colourful analogies around the size matters discussion. But the conclusion drawn was that my dream to have retreats this year is being met by a database that was created eight years ago.

This is where the decision on the size of business starts to cascade downwards because even though I do sign people to my database at live events, the biggest number of "stranger" sign ups come from my website.

The strangers start to become friends and  magic happens

The decision eight years ago to firstly have a website and secondly have a database that actively collected the data of visitors on the first day that website went live ..... is now rewarding me generously.

At the time I made that decision I never dreamt I would be this far down the track but I had a big dream that I knew would need big support and set my website up accordingly.

Before you start the "oh but its alright for her, she's a rock star" routine - just know that my database started with ten people (mostly friends and family) and was decimated at one stage when I had to resign the database to my new shoppingcart system. I have grown my database from scratch twice.

Getting the formula right from the start will mean your website can begin to work for you in the future, often without you knowing its working.

For instance I have been working with a client who is putting together a brilliant free program to attract people to her website. She has 52 different topics she is going to address in a give-away program and needs 52 resources to put links to on her website.

As I went through my little black book of clients and contacts – I could only give her people with a strong website presence and a strong, clear WHO & WHAT that clearly fitted under each of her 52 different topics, simply because her information is only going to people on the web.

She fits the “super size me” category which is aiming at an international audience and as it turned out I could only give her people with a similar vision. The bottom line was that the ones who made the list have a strong web presence and have paid to learn from me so they know how to be set up to attract easy referrals.

There were some really good people who got left off the list because they made didn't make it easy to be referred, simply because they had no website or their message was murky which made it impossible to fit in one of the 52 categories. They are talented gifted people but they have limited themselves by being afraid to learn about how the web can help them now and into the future.

Some of you will be surviving without a website

All I can say is well done if you are. BUT the challenge is going to come when you want your business to not only survive but thrive.

So if you are the type of therapist who will be happy in a word of mouth practice maybe working a couple of hours a day, don’t want people to easily forward your information to others, don’t want people outside your circle of influence to find you, don’t want ideal clients to come to you from other suburbs or states or even different countries and only want to earn a meagre living that will see you standing by a massage table until you retire or your body gives up on you – then you might get away without having a website.

However, if in the future you want to teach workshops, do retreats, run teleclasses, be steadily keeping in touch with people who have seen you in the past and have the potential to return again in the future ..... I’d say start learning about the Internet yesterday.

If you want to have any ability to walk away from your treatment room and be creating product and passive income (money you earn without having to be there) – then you definitely need a website now.

In fact these days I believe everyone needs some web presence even if it is just a one page document with your name and phone number on it – so people can at least find you when they do a basic search.

People do survive without a web site, but the web allows you to quickly get to a bigger audience AND it allows you to get that audience on your database. Then if you are committed to keeping in regular contact with those people, eventually a percentage of those people will buy something from you.

However, its not a case of build it and they will come. I’ve heard it said that it takes around eleven “touches” for people to trust you on the Internet and eventually to get to a point where subscribers will buy something from you.

That means at least eleven newsletters, or offers or free product or information before they trust you enough to either work with you or buy from you.

The reality is - if you aren’t in the race you will quickly get forgotten.

Another scary fact is if people don’t hear from you at least every two months, then most will forget you – no matter how good your service was for them.

So getting a website is only the first step in a long corridor of doors that need to be opened and strategies that need to be put in place. My Practice Building Success System steps you through many of these processes – you can find out more here.

Its not just about the website

The key point you need to understand is that websites no longer stand alone these days.

Many experts are now stating that a blog is more powerful than a website, not for the number of followers you get but for the way the information can be searched and used in many different formats.

I heard a rumour from a reliable source who stated that the calculation that goes into how search engines rank your website will include how many blog posts you push through to social media sites like Facebook and then how many relevant comments you get from your friends.

So your web presence now must be part of a marketing system that includes a blog, social networking, regular newsletters and keep in touch strategies that keep you in the memory of your people.

To be honest all this stuff is doing my head in trying to keep up with it all, but its just something we all have to come to terms with.

The blessing is that the technology is getting much simpler and cheaper to use. So there really is no excuse. If you aren’t on the net and you aren’t gaining knowledge in this area, you stand to be left behind in the future.

I’m so convinced of the power of a website that I’ve set up a small e-course to help you understand more about websites. it will cover the truths you need to understand, the interconnectivity you must have and the important things you need to be aware of BEFORE you start spending your valuable time and money creating a website. There will be no charge for this information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you would like to join the website e-course, simply send a blank email to this address: info1749-536514@autocontactor.com

You might like to read a blog post I did last month that tells you how to get a web presence for lo or no cost here:

You can leave a comment below:

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches of 2010

I did a great teleclass this week with Kendall SummerHawk and Richard Shapiro and they shared what's Hot and What's NOT in niches or what my system calls YOUR WHO - the group of people you market to, so you can easily get more clients and make more money with love.

I was very interested in what they reported on the call from their research because I've found what they reported to be true from my own experiences and those of my clients.

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches at the moment are products and services that meet needs in:

1. Small Business owners and Entrepreneurs

2. Marketing (Anything that genuinely helps people get more clients)

3. Relationships

4. Executive Coaching which is industry focused

5. Health, Wellness and Beauty

Their research, drawn from their experiences with clients and industry sources, has shown that people continuing to offer products and services in these five areas are doing the best out of everyone, even in a diminished economy.

Then they listed what areas are not doing well or are swamped with people offering vague results to people who don't want or need or won't pay for those offerings.

What's NOT HOT is

1. Life Balance

2. Services to teachers

3. Vague services offering more confidence, more joy

4. Mom-prenuers because they tend to spend money on everyone else but themselves

I was really interested to hear their findings because I've noticed very similar things. All the people I see that have been able to keep going and keep their businesses alive and often thriving in the last 12 months have been active in the top 5 categories WITH a highly defined WHO & WHAT.

Kendall and Richard said the real achievers are combining the top 5 to make powerhouse niches - the example they gave was a beauty therapist who offered high end beauty services to small business owners.

There are people who are doing well in the What's NOT HOT list but in general I find those people have specific products that solve very specific problems - one client had great luck getting into schools - others report its just a dead end because of time and budgetary constraints on the teaching industry in general. So if you are doing well in those areas - don't stop - if not maybe try to figure out how you can fit what you are already doing into the What's Hot list.

It was a great call and a warning to those who continue to offer flakey bakey service offerings to people who don't want and need what you have on offer.

Success awaits those who are prepared to own a niche, be shameless in their want and need to be successful and who are willing to do what it takes and take the actions that put you in front of your audience.

Have You Got A Media Policy?

“Free publicity” are two words that string together almost as well as ‘Free lunch” BUT media can be a lot of work so being prepared is a good thing.

I am often approached to speak or comment about Tree-Change or in my instance the Dark Side of Tree-Change or Sea-Change Adventures. I’ve done brief interviews on Current Affairs TV programs and some of the big newspapers and a little bit of radio.

It all sounds great but....

I can’t say I’ve got a lot of direct clients from this activity but what it has given me is a lot of recognition. I was stunned the first time I mentioned my media when I was speaking and someone from the crowd came up afterward and said they saw the program and they hadn’t immediately joined the dots on me and the program that featured me, but during the talk they did. Suddenly I went from nobody to someone in the blink of an eye and it made for an easy conversation with a total stranger and further established me in her mind.

I have found media gives you credibility and recognition on many levels. Placed in a strong WHO and WHAT situation I have seen clients inundated when their message hit the right spot at the right time. But if you aren’t certain the placement is going to give you new opportunities or recognition or leverage you can use later, then it’s the old story – you might be better to spend that valuable chunk of time at the beach.

Get a Plan

What I’m saying is that like everything in business – you need to have at least thought about it before you plunge in without a plan.

The thing most forget is that media takes time and time is the one thing most people want more of – so to waste your time doesn’t make much sense. You will be interviewed and often a photographer will be sent to film you. The average investment of time is about 30 – 40 minutes for the interview and 30 minutes for the photos but one photographer took over two hours to get the photos and kept me in one pose for over 10 minutes while he got it just right. The photos turned out brilliantly but in hindsight I might have been doing better work on my business somewhere else.

The media is highly alluring and reporters on deadline can be highly demanding and are skilled at pushing you in the direction they want you to go in.

Get Organised

I believe having a media policy in your business right from the start will keep you clear and concise and a good media kit wins the hearts of journos and saves you a heap of time.

I am being featured in a Tree Change story in a couple of weeks and the video below shows a short snap of what you go through to get ONE photo. This was a fun and easy shoot down at The Boathouse on Lake Daylesford but it took about 30 minutes to get that ONE photo and you have to be ok with a camera very close to your face. PLUS I won’t know which one they use until I pick up a copy next week so media also includes a HEAP OF TRUST – but that’s a whole new blog post!

Another Tough Day at the Office

The Importance of Being Media Ready

I had just come off my weekly Teleclass to my clients in London and it was 9.15pm at night. I was washing up the last of the dishes from the celebration of Australia Day with 15 friends in my back yard.

As I was reflecting on just how blessed I was to have friends who fill me with such joy …… when I was startled by the shrill sound of the telephone.

It was a reporter from the ABC in Brisbane apologetic about the time and date but asking for comment for tomorrows breakfast news. Someone has released a study on seachange and treechange and she wanted me to comment.

This is just a valuable example of how important it is to be media ready. The media have no shame as to how and when they will contact you and when they get you on the phone in these odd circumstances, they want your opinion NOW. This is the power of a strong WHO and WHAT and is what happens when your website its keyword rich with the topic they are looking for.

If you haven’t encountered the media yet, what I have found to be most common is that they will tell you their name and the media outlet they are from. Immediately after that they will rocket straight into what they want from you and what their story or article is about.

The big thing to remember is that reporters work to tight deadlines and are constantly stressed and time poor. The easier you can make it for them, the more chance you have of being called for other stories.

Media such as magazines or specialty interest stories have wider deadlines but radio and general news want your comments NOW.

The answer is to have general comments prepared and ready and to be clear which side of a story you are on and be very willing to add value where you can.

To deal with the NOW situation, I recommend the following, assuming you feel comfortable about the story and wish to be quoted.

1. Take control immediately and turn the tables and start asking as many questions as you can think about on the spot about the article or the story they are proposing.

2. Always keep a pad and pen by the phone and scribble down as much as you can

3. Don’t feel pressured to give an immediate response, buy yourself some time by simply asking them to phone you back.

4. Go immediately to your office space or a quiet space

5. No matter what is going on in your life, focus into the NOW moment

6. Quickly decide one or two points you want to get across that relate to the story.

7. When the reporter phones back, be clear and concise with your answers, keeping your comments as relevant as you can to the topic

8. Try to add value to their story and if possible try to give an opposing point of view or a different take on the story

9. Then shamelessly self promote your media inclusion to anyone who will listen!!!

The media are simply looking for content and if you can quickly get to the point they will love you.

BUT be warned - the media can make or break you and you have to be prepared and willing to accept the consequences if they do a bad story. I had an instance where I got a small inclusion in a story about the dark side of seachange and a reader took exception to my circumstances and wrote a damming letter to the editor which got printed the following week. It was so bad my friends encouraged me not to read it and to this day I haven’t but the story itself got me a lot of recognition I could never have achieved on my own.

So tread with caution but also know free pr and free media is one of the quickest ways to get recognition and your name out to many for free.

So you will hear me on the ABC in Brisbane tomorrow commenting on recent research that says Treechangers and Seachangers are changing their behaviors because the nature of some popular destinations like Byron Bay have become over populated. I quickly chose to take the stance that people moving to a new place will always seek things that are known to them and will still seek places like Byron or Daylesford because we have culture such as cafes and restaurants that will help them acclimatize. There were a thousand takes on the story but that was the one I chose after a long busy day.

The golden rule of media from my rock and roll days was: any news is good news and it generally is, so get yourself media ready and get that message out to the world.

Then afterwards you self promote and ensure you are even more ready for the next call.

Is your business suitable for the pen or the pot?

As I stood viewing the myriad of community notices on the gigantic notice board at the Hepburn General Store last week, one rough hand written notice jumped out.

Firstly it horrified me. Then it got me to thinking further about the deeper message for small business owners that was imbedded in this hastily written give away.

When I was a small child the chickens down the back in the hen house where my only pets. So I was always sad around Christmas time because they “went on holiday”.

This holiday always coincided with me being taken to my grandmothers for a special treat. Now here’s the thing - when I’d get home the chickens had packed their bags and “gone on holiday’ - leaving the hen house silent and empty with feathers all over the back lawn.

I always imagined they were having a nice time because they inevitably never came back and a few weeks later the cycle began again as 12 little fluffy yellow peepers were collected from a local farm.

You can imagine my horror when I joined the dots on the holiday lie and our Christmas dinner offerings!

The fate of my chicken friends all came flooding back as I read the sign at the Hepburn General Store:

TO GIVE AWAY = ROOSTERS
(for the pen or the pot)

As I walked the two blocks back to my house my mind began to think through the “pen or pot” analogy and why it was so relevant for business.

The reality of being in a small business draws many parallels to the harsh reality of life in the country.

In a small business if we don’t serve the needs of those around us we can quickly find ourselves in a pot of boiling water.

However, if we do serve well and can creatively communicate our message out to a group of people who want and need our services, then we will live a long prosperous life.

Roosters are like natural therapists. They walk a fine line because just like roosters a big new batch of therapists roll out of the teachings schools each year. Sadly only a small percentage will survive.

The big thing roosters and new therapists have in common is that they look similar, they talk the same and they do similar things. Until they develop a point of difference they are dispensable.

Most flocks only need one rooster because they start fighting for domination.

However, the one who gets chosen for the pen is NOT usually the one who fights the best but the one who has the best personality and can show it.

Foxy the Rooster dominated the hen house on the edge of my property for many years is a grand example.

Foxy was a stunning looking rooster with a flowing auburn bouffant mane. He kept the gals happy, crowed with great gusto and bore a striking resemble to Tina Turner in the way he would strut around the Hen Hilton.

But a dark cloud came over the pen one when day two voices started to crow…………

Foxy had bred a rival and this interloper was now brave enough to start showing his true colours and he was starting to unmercifully beat up on Foxy.

Foxy who was getting on in years now became frightened, and cowered in the corner whilst this newbie took over his “rutting and strutting” duties.

BUT because Foxy had served so well and was so full of personality it was the interloper who was removed unceremoniously from the pen, placed in a cardboard box and delivered to a local farm to take his chances in the pen or pot race.

Foxy recovered in minutes and was back in the role of "Prince of the Pen" and reigned supreme for many years to come.

Foxy was a winner on five levels because he:

1. Delivered on his promises and could be relied upon by all in his kingdom

2. Built relationships in and around his pen (we all loved Foxy)

3. Was not afraid to show his vulnerable side (he was a real wimp)

4. Stood out from the crowd with his beautiful auburn coat of many colours and consistently and clearly churned his message (crowed all hours except dawn)

5. Outsmarted the competition by simply being his wimpy self but his heart and authenticity saved him on many occasions.

Therapies can learn a lot from Foxy!

By being authentic and real, figuring out what makes you unique and then standing strong in your message and your ability to clearly communicate that message to others will help you stand out from the crowd and show how different you are from the competition.

Even if you are a wimp cowering in the corner, these whimpy virtues can be enough of a difference todetermine your entry to the pen or pot.

In business things can move quickly. Technology changes, trends change, new laws can impact or even just keeping up with your every day marketing AND seeing clients can become exhausting.

But if you have built strong relationships with your clients you will find they are loyal so long as you keep giving and improving your service to them.

One way of standing out from the crowd is learning to speak in public. In fact it’s imperative to your success. The gentle art of creating good stage presence in fact saved Foxy’s life on every level.

I am running a f*r*e*e Teleseminar

Wednesday 11 August 2009 at 8pm (Melbourne Time)

to promote my live event called Your Next BIG Leap which commences in 10 days.

There is only ONE seat left for the live event - jump in here if you want to jag it

BUT there is a heap of space on the free teleclass for everyone so jump in here and register now so you get the workbook and the audio recording.

Catering for the Over 60's Niche Market

Again this month Springwise, the future trend ezine for entreprenuers, has come up with a great retail concept for the Health and Wellbeing Industry.

A shop in Lyon France is catering exclusively to people over 65 and are offering products and services that keep them well. In the past many shops catered for this market but were focused on fixing problems that already existed like providing walking frames or particular disabilities.

With the aging baby boomers staying “weller” for longer, there is a huge opportunity for health and wellbeing practitioners in small businesses to provide positive service experiences for people who want to stay healthy and happy for as long as they can.

You can read more about the store here

Wellness Becomes Mainstream

For some time now I’ve been banging on to therapists about how natural therapies are going to become more and more mainstream as time goes on.

Once upon a time natural therapies were for hippies in white flowing dresses or wildly esoteric people who “grew their own” and were considered quite mad by the mainstream.

Now the mainstream are beginning to understand that natural therapies can not only “fix” whatever is wrong with them, natural therapies can in fact stop them getting sick in the first place if they eat well and have treatments that reduce stress and promote wellness. Gosh – we’ve known this for such a long time. We are early adopters but the mainstream is slow to catch on. Look at how long it took for the mainstream to believe the world wasn’t flat when Christopher Columbus first started touting his “weird” theories.

I read an article today about one-stop shopping for wellness in South Africa. They have set up a wonderful environment where you can buy your groceries, visit the natural medicine dispensary and pharmacy; and have a spa treatment & purchase eco friendly health and fitness products all in the same warehouse type structure. There is already a shop in Richmond Melbourne that has a few of these aspects all under one roof but on a smaller scale.

If natural therapists don’t start embracing these big money themes we will end up with the same fate as the local corner store with big one stop shops knocking out the little guy.

Now it is time for natural therapists to stop thinking like “flat earthers” and stop marketing their businesses like they have done in the past. The hippies loved all the angels, butterflies and stars we so love to put on our marketing but these images & mindsets will alienate the mainstream because they are used to being influenced by more contemporary marketing.

Now is the time to start thinking how you can best market your business to the mainstream.

You can read the article here

Does Clean Underwear Make a Difference on the Highway of Life?

As a youngster it was imperative that I had clean underwear. In fact life seemed to revolve around underwear. It was either being washed, hung out to dry, ironed (seriously), put away, put on or being scrutinised for its suitability.

This has to be life’s number one learning lesson and it is a lesson that makes no sense what so ever...........or does it?

I got Mum a gorgeous Mothers Days card one year that said on the front –
Mum where would I have been all these years without you?
The inside said: probably driving down the highway of life in dirty underwear!

If Hallmark are in on the act, then perhaps there ARE lessons to learn from dirty underwear?

It got me to thinking about the connection between business and having clean or dirty underwear and its significance in our small businesses. There are a lot of comparisons that can be drawn between wearing underwear (clean or dirty) and having a small business:

• Like underwear we need to have a lot of different selling points
  
  
• We need to stand out in the crowd to be chosen at all
  
  
• We need to appeal in different niche markets and appeal to different people
  
  
• Others judge us when we are really just doing our best with what we’ve got
  
  
• Some things are out of our control
  
  
• If we stretch too far – we end up on the scrap heap
  
  
• We are constantly finding new ways to feel fresh at the end of long day.
  
  

The list could be endless when you start to think about it. Due to the seriousness of this issue I’ve decided to have a poll and see what you think.

So if you have ever been bailed up by the dirty underwear police at a crash scene or can find a business case or comparison for clean or dirty underwear – please leave a comment and vote in the poll.

How to Get Known as an Expert = FAST!

Welcome to 2008 – this is my first blog post since returning from the USA and you never know I might even blog a few posts on what I learnt in waist deep snow. But for today I’m on about forums.

Just when I thought my day was totally full and no room left for one more single marketing activity to do in my small business – I learn I’ve now got to be out there commenting on the forums all around the world. This doesn’t please me as I spend most of my life in front of a computer but it seems forums are yet another (very good) way of getting known in this virtual world we now live in.

If you have been doing my 90 Day Challenge or the Full Practice Building System, you will know how much importance I place on having a strong WHO & WHAT. Knowing WHO you work with and WHAT you do for them is imperative to building a strong practice.

Forums are where the rubber hits the road when it comes to WHO & WHAT because all you need to do is identify a few forums that gather together in your WHO market and you just go on and answer their questions or comment on what they have written. The trick is to be discerning and as always make sure you are adding value. Never just go on and get into a thread because you can. Only get on a thread if you can add value or give a constructive comment or answer a question or you are just like a large percentage of the rest of the world who are wasting their life commenting on forums.

Forums are one way you can quickly become known for your expertise as you start to jump in and comment on things you know something about. This last comment assumes you know something about something but it does seem ok if you know something about anything – there will be a forum for you.

So I figure if I have to do it – then you guys can at least know what you are not doing. You need to search for forums in your area of expertise and the best way to do that is a website called http://www.ning.com/home/

On the first page I visited there was a choice between the Occult and Pagan communities and The Fairy Society. Somewhere between those two there are currently 8.097 other social communities so you won't be spoilt for choice.

You could spend all day in these forums so please just don’t forget all the other marketing activities in your marketing train!!

Getting A Natural Therapy Practice Known

Question

How does one get an unknown therapy known and trusted?

Answer

There is no simple answer to this one apart from saying “commitment and a lot of hard work”.

Trust in any relationship is gained over time and a natural therapy practice is no different.

You have to be walking your talk all the time and making sure you are projecting the right image and message to people constantly. This is part of your brand and it’s not just about logos and the colours you use – it’s about everything you do.

Getting known is about going out there and wearing down your shoe leather and shaking a lot of hands! Therapists generally hate this part but to be known, people need an opportunity to get to know you. The only sure fire way to do this is by going out and meeting people.

My system has various ways in which you can do this and I recommend you try them all because you could just find out you enjoy doing something that you initially hated, like public speaking did for me. Initially I was absolutely petrified of talking in public but after forcing myself to do a few talks and learning some of the tricks of the trade, I now love it. Actually I hate myself for agreeing to do it until I’m a couple of minutes into the talk them I love it once I get going.

Choosing a strong WHO and WHAT (who you work with and what you do for them) speeds the process up because all your time and marketing activities can be done to a smaller group of people which results in a higher take up rate. It also sets you up as an expert in that particular field which makes it really easy for others to understand what you do and how they can refer others to you.

What I recommend is that each month you do at least

2 x Speaking events to your target audience

2 x Networking events or functions where your target audience will be

1 x Newsletter to your database (tell me you have one!)

4 x Approaches to a strategic alliance (someone who can pass clients to you)

And each quarter do some sort of grassroots marketing campaign

Follow up all your leads and contacts and ensure they get on your database because your database is your friend!

Maintaining Work Life Balance in a Small Business

Question

My main focus is to get experience and immediate income by offering massage and life coaching from various areas, ie gym, healing centre and day spa. Eventually I want a spiritual healing centre. Am I doing too many things?

Answer

This is the classic catch-cry of people in their own small business. It comes down to being able to maintain a healthy worklife balance. I don’t believe there is such a thing as “too much” when starting out to grow your practice, so long as you look after your own health and don’t burn out!

The more you are in action getting clients, the quicker you will fill your practice.

The beauty of my system is that even if you end up in the wrong place initially you will learn and understand how the system works under any conditions. So the experience you gain now will set you up for future projects. When it comes to having your own centre you will know how to fill it quickly by simply returning to what you have learnt in this set up phase. Use this time to get out there and test the market and learn.

A word of caution is to stay focused and not spread yourself to thinly and be trying to work out of too many different places at once. Even if there are no bookings, it is important to be on the spot ready for non-booking walk in clients. If you are in too many places you often miss the opportunity to fill with walkins. For instance if you are at the gym and have no clients, put a sign at the desk in a plastic holder that says “free 15 minute neck and shoulder massage”. That will give you the chance to persuade the recipient of the neck and shoulder massage (who just happens to be in your target market and niche) to take up a 2-4-1 offer with you.

Any news is good news when setting up a new practice – the worst case scenario from giving away those 15 minutes is that the member now knows there is a good massage therapist at her gym! Obviously when you have bookings you bring the sign in.

A-boards at the front of the building also work well with these types of offers but just make sure you find out the rules from the local council – don’t get fined for illegally placing an A-board!

Choosing the Right Business Name

Question

I am looking for a name for my business and all I can come up with is names that are already taken or are very corny. Is it important that the name of my business communicates clearly what niche I am aimed at (so that my target market knows I'm the one for them) or can I go for something either a bit more subtle (just because I like the name) or a bit more generic (in order to keep my options open)?

Answer

The Abundant Private Practices system really encourages you to make your practice all about you and be coming from your heart, this is key to your success in that your integrity and passion for your work come through your business. However, that is only true of the vision, mission and values of the business.

The next thing you need to understand is that your practice then becomes all about the client! In other words you need to let go of things you like, anything quirky, inside jokes or things you understand but the rest of the world doesn’t because you are going to confuse people. The name of your business is really important on two levels

1. Your business name needs to describe clearly what you do or at least describes it in conjunction with a tagline.

2. When people type a search string into a search engine like Google, the closer your name fits with words in that search string, the more chance you have of coming up near the top. This is invaluable if you have a website and these days a website is pretty much a given.

The clearer your business describes what you do, the easier it is going to be to get clients. Sadly this means that sometimes the name could be very boring or you could get very clever like the door company did that named itself “Well Hung Doors”. I love this business name because it totally describes what they do with lashings of humour. With a name like that though you better not get some boring person to come to hang doors that doesn’t have an ounce of humour. Your name needs to match the vision, mission and values of the company.

Therapists love to come up with exotic sounding names from Sanskrit messages or terminology from their modality or names like “Flowing River Sunset Rhythms” but unless you take river cruises with live music, this is probably not going to identify you as a natural therapy business that can sort out someone’s sore back – Julies’ Back Massage Service, although a bit boring, will work better to attract clients. If you can give your card to a 15 year old stranger and have them understand what you do, then your business name has hope of being understood by the general population. There is elegance in simplicity so keep it simple and obvious.

Anther key thing to consider is names that rank alphabetically in advertising etc – it’s always good to be at the top of an alpha listing, hence one of the reasons why I called my business Abundant Private Practices :-)

Getting Clarity on your Niche and Target Markets (the WHO & the WHAT)

Hi Mz Margz

I’ve been working through the 90 Day Challenge and the question raised about the choosing a niche or target market (WHO and WHAT) brought me to a question of my own, which I have been thinking about for some time.

Question

Currently I have narrowed my niche down to women in transition and I think that's still pretty broad.

Answer

Yes, I think you would find it easier if you defined which group of women or what their transition is. Perhaps both, for instance women transitioning to a new career or working women transitioning to motherhood – it just makes it a little clearer who you work with.

Always remember that you are only going to market to this group, you will still see women outside the group but your marketing dollars will only go on one specific area. The concept around having a specific niche is that when you say what you do, the person you are speaking to will be in three categories:

1. Is interested in what you do because they are in your target market and need and want what you are offer and therefore they will ask for more information



2. Has no interest in what you do but knows someone who would be (can refer others)



3. Has no interest in what you do or doesn’t know anyone who does – so stop wasting your time and start talking about the weather!

In your preferred niche for instance if you were talking to a man don't automatically assume they won’t be interested because even though they won’t personally use your services they have wives, mothers, sisters, friends who could need what your service offers.

A short talk by Mz Margz on the benefits of choosing a strong WHO & WHAT



MP3 File