We Are What We Repeatedly Do!

I was asked for my opinion of what the following message means

OK - here's my best interruption at 7AM in the morning.


We Are What We Repeatedly Do ........ it's along the same lines as:

"‘You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.'
Jim Rohn"

But because likes attract, eventually the bigger number of people will outweigh the smaller number of people, unless we do something to change the odds and change the mix of people we hang out with.

This article that I found on google goes deeper into the "average of five people" topic - you can read it here

So, if we hang out with people who are constantly striving to be better, who are honest and true - then we will be that too because who we chose to spend our time with, influences who we are.  If we hang out with a bunch of crack addicts who don't respect themselves or others and steal from and abuse others to feed their habit, then, if we don't stop hanging with them, we will eventually become like that too.

If we want to be poor we should hang out with people who are poor and have a negative poverty mentality, then eventually we will become that too because there are immutable laws that say "likes attract and negativity will always pull you downwards".

If we want to be rich, hang out with people who already have money because their actions, thoughts and deeds will be different to the people who are poor.

Same with weight loss - if you want to lose weight - hang with people who are skinny because their actions are different to people who are fat.

So if we are what we repeatedly do in the above examples - if we repeatedly hang with the crack addicts because we grew up with them and went to school with them and feel some sort of guilt if we don't - then by repeatedly ignoring the warning bells and still hanging with them - then despite the good we hold within, eventually bad will "out average" the good and we will find ourselves in trouble with the law.  Then we end up in the criminal justice system surrounded by more crims and we spiral downwards.

If we repeatedly ignore health warnings, those actions will eventually see us ending up sick.

If we want something in life, but don't take the steps toward it, we will not get want we want.

So for instance an Olympic athlete repeatedly gets up each morning and does their training - if they do it enough and have the right mindset, eventually they will make the team.  If they repeatedly lie in bed or keep the thoughts they were bought up with that say "you will never amount to much", then they won't make the team.

Going up to the olympics we often see someone injure themselves just before they get on the plane to go.  If we went down the burrow, despite their best training schedules and despite their talent, they will often be repeating a family mantra that says "something always goes wrong" - or "I'm not really good enough for this team" and bam by "doing" that thought, they attract an injury that will make those thoughts come true or they will over train despite being told to rest and hurt themselves on their very last session.

The people who hit the winning tape are the ones who are the best at repeatedly doing ALL the things that are best for the outcome they desire.

Same with people who are sick - often they don't follow to the letter what their health professionals tell them and wonder why they don't get well - what they are doing becomes what they are.

How often do we see people told to rest and they think better of that advice and do the opposite and wonder why they end up back in hospital.

If we repeatedly do negative behaviours that don't support our dreams - we won't get our dreams

If we repeatedly do the positive things that support our dreams and set our goals and do ALL the behaviours and actions that will get us to those goals, then eventually we will get what we want.

However, this applies to everything including our thoughts, so if we let negativity into our thoughts then we become those negatives - hence why it is so important that our thoughts, actions and deeds are in alignment.

Have a read of Keith Richards bio "Life" and you will understand why they became the Rolling Stones - in the early days all they did was play their guitars and live the life of a rock star - they literally slept with their guitars.

Bands that make it tour constantly - they just "DO" so often that eventually become what they want to be.

While watching the INXS doco recently it was plain their success comes down to the number of gigs they did.  Most bands fail when they stop repeating the one thing that will make them successful - playing!

No one would go through the poverty and loss those guys did in the early days, but they just kept doing it way beyond anything anyone else ever would put themselves through.

I heard Bono tell Elvis Costello once:  "For anything to be really amazing, there has to be a long obedience in the same direction."  You can read about that interview here

What I think he was trying to say was that you have to obediently do the right things over and over again for many years to get something amazing.  He was talking about how The Edge had the luxury of not being in the limelight so much so was able to just play guitar all the time whereas he doesn't feel he is as talented as The Edge because Bono was pulled off track by the political "earth saving" stuff. 

Let me know what you think "We Are What We Repeatedly Do" means below.

Are You Using QR Codes?

QR Codes are all the rage - this article from Mint Social Media here outlines why you might want to include them.  With 50% of people now using smartphones to look up data as they are out and about - it makes sense for a natural therapy business to begin to use the QR code technology.

A QR code, even though it looks a bit ugly is just like a barcode, similar to the technology you are associated with every time you check out electronically at a retail store or supermarket.  These days most smart phones have the technology to read a QR Code and as they scan the code, your information appears on their smart phone.  It's so simple it just could work!

It takes the digital and print worlds and melds them beautifully into something that could bring people to your door really easily.

Of course this type of technology will work best if you have a strong WHO and WHAT statement for people to attach to.  For instance, if someone is sitting in a cafe with a sore shoulder and your print brochure clearly states that you deal with this.  If the potential client is in pain, they can see you are just around the corner and you make it easy for them to come and see you - whammo - you will definitely be happy with the ease at which clients can book in with you.

In fact one of my Sore to SOAR participants gave out her brochures at the event and she was using a QR code on her brochure.

She has a spa in a tourist destination and the QR code technology makes it ideal for people who see her brochure, can scan the code and then go straight to her website via their smart mobile phone.

All her contact details come up and they can immediately phone her to see if she has any times left in her booking system.

You can see how powerful this would be for a solo operator who combines this technology with an online booking system.  They could potentially go into a treatment with a space not sold and come out to have the diary spot full, payment taken and the client sitting in their waiting room ready to go.

Very powerful stuff when you get your head around these new technologies.

The codes are easy to get - simply type "QR Code Generator" into google.  

There are many free options for creating the codes.  Then you enter the information that you wish prospective clients to see - not forgetting of course how they can get in contact with you while they are on the go, and then simply download your QR Code image to include on your brochures and business cards.

There are some great pros and cons for QR Codes discussed here

Then once you have one its simply a matter of deciding where you are going to put it - maybe on your A Frame - on the magnetic signs on your car - on a t shirt that you make your kids wear everywhere.  Your creativity is the only thing that limits you when deciding on where to put these codes that anyone with a smart phone can scan.

Have fun!

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?

The Price of Perfection

Perfection is a wonderful thing when harnessed properly.

For most however, it is the personal curse they carry that stops them achieving all they could.

Perfection in and of itself is fine. Whilst standing alone it does not harm. Its when it gets between your ears that the problems start arising.

Perfection is the best friend of the “little voice” - that one that keeps telling you that you aren’t good enough.

So often I witness people who want something to happen really badly, but they spend so much time and energy waiting to get something perfect before they release it. What inevitably happens is that the project either stalls or they sabotage their success by creating a diversion around the release of their project.

Once sabotaged, it will never get to see the light of day, nor will it ever get to the right people to stamp their approval of perfection on the project.

I’ve seen people make themselves physically sick so they don’t have to go on stage. I’ve seen people manifest family disasters so they don’t have to release a project. I’ve seen people just disappear off the radar because their need for perfection overcomes their ability to deliver the so called levels of perfection they have set for themselves.

This behaviour is bogus because in business its not up to you to determine what is or is not perfect.

The people who are going to BUY what you are creating are the ones who determine whether it is perfect or not.

It becomes a very simple equation. 

If your customers buy your product or service or book a treatment with you and they don’t complain or they rebook or they buy something else in the future. Then your offering was perfect because it met their needs.

In business the only way you can figure out if your product or service offering is perfect - is to release it.

So why keep persecuting yourself trying to make everything perfect, when really you aren’t the best person to sit in judgment. Wouldn’t it be better to just get that product out to your customers and if it falls short of perfect, you can always tweak it until it is.

Some of the best things I’ve ever created took two or three goes to get right. It was the testing and tweaking and feedback that came from my customers that invariably created the perfection.

Of course I’m not asking you to put anything sub-standard out into the marketplace. All I’m asking is that you at least let it have a chance to be seen by others.

So what are you waiting for - get that thing out that you’ve been waiting to get perfect - dust if off - get it to a “good enough” standard and release it.

You might be surprised how perfect the imperfection in that action really is!

GET YOUR COPY OF MY NEW FREE REPORT

Getting started is the hardest part of growing a small business - the euphoria of being your own boss, doing it your own way and being able to run your own ship quickly wears off when you realise your great ideas and methods aren't manifesting the same glory in your bank account!

I created the NO GO to GET GO Fast Track Guide as a way for you to understand the types of actions you need to take in the early days.

All too often we have these great ideas and expect the Universe to pour people through our front gate and have them hammering the door down to work with us.  Unfortunately this is rarely the case for someone who has never had a small business before.

The sadder news is most give up even before they get a decent head of steam up and are left feeling like a failure.

The saddest news here is that these people often have the most amazing gifts of healing to offer the world, but their fears of being seen, judged or fear of success (not failure, we can all do that well but the thought of actually succeeding is new to many) and it stops them from achieving their dreams.

I am SO serious about people getting the right information at the start that I've filled this free report with the exact information that has kept me in the game.  When I started I didn't have a system and I wasn't appearing in the places I needed to appear.  I spent my first six months sitting at home developing brochures (which rarely bring large numbers of clients), developing logos (which is part of your brand and rarely brings clients in the early days) and I also spent a lot of time working on my website (needed but won't bring a bunch of clients hammering on your door the day it goes live).

I was gutted every time I spend months working my heart out only to find it didn't bring any results!  I just didn't know the RIGHT things to do in the early days!

Little did I know the three activities I was focusing on were the three worst things I could have done.  You can imagine how stunned I was when someone told me you could still get clients without the three things (logo, brochure and website) that I had spent most of my time, energy AND MONEY developing …. but sadly bought me NO clients.

So the NO GO to GET GO Fast Track Guide has ALL the information you need to understand before you go out into the world of small business.  What it's not is a where to put your brochures type of document - this one gives you - for free - the actual strategies that will work for you.  When you realise where you need to spend the MOST time in the early days, you will be much more productive in your early marketing attempts and when you understand which activities actually get you the clients - then you can just focus on them in the early days.

Don't be tricked by the simplicity of the material - once you are established you will understand the gold in this report - for now - just do what it says and watch your business change!

So - you've got nothing to lose - its free - its string free - no ra ra - simple concepts - in simple plain language - I urge you to read it cover to cover and then sign up for my 90 Day Challenge and then really get serious about growing that business that is currently living in your heart and soul!

What You Need In Place When A Big Online Opportunity Comes Calling

Many experts and online entrepreneurs dream of the day when someone with a big fan base or database mentions them or promotes them.

Few are ready for what might occur next.

This week a client released her first product and the night before it was released her WordPress site got hacked. When she phoned up the people at the help desk of the company who hosts her site she may have well of been speaking Swahili.

They a) couldn’t even see the problem and b) even if they could – they would have had no idea how to solve her now massive and stressful problem.

When big opportunities come our way – we must have good systems in place and be ready for the onslaught of visitors.

I have an even sadder tale to tell – I remember I had something going off one time = people were hitting my site AND purchasing AND my scummy hosting provider automatically shut my site down because my plan ran out of bandwidth. It ran out because abnormal numbers were hitting the site.

At the time I didn’t even know what bandwidth was, but I suddenly became very aware of the consequences of not having enough because people stopped buying!

When you consider that you pay for a service that allows people to hit our sites, you might expect that they might give you some time to sort the problem out before shutting you down.  Most will send an automated reminder to tell you that you are nearing your limit and if you are getting loads of visitors, that little extra you had up your sleeve is gone in 5 minutes due to high visitor numbers and BANG they shut you down!

So to make the most of the dream of hundreds of people visiting you and your website – this is the minimum you need in place to ensure you don’t get shut down or that your system doesn’t fold under pressure.

Back up – Back UP – BACK UP!

A hacked or attacked website usually means one thing – a complete reload from a clean source to ensure everything has been removed. If you don’t have a backup of your current website files (yes including that small change you made yesterday that took hours to complete) then you may need to re-write the whole site! OUCH!

I have all my files on my GoDaddy* server, on the hard drives of my TWO Macs and then use Dropbox to store all my hard drive files using cloud technology. Total overkill *yes* but it means I can access my files anywhere in the world that has the Internet if I need to reload my site.

Extreme perhaps – but you will thank me the morning your site gets hacked and now looks like a porn site and you are due on stage in 30 minutes to sell a big event and your website is the point of entry for the hundreds of people in the room.

Pay for unlimited bandwidth

I still don’t know what bandwidth is, but I don’t have to care because I’ve got the problem covered - again GoDaddy* sorted that for me. All you need to know about bandwidth is that you need a lot of it if you do get a rush on your site so it won’t fold.

My best advise is to pay the price for an unlimited service and never worry about it again!

Get reliable hosting

Use a company to host your website that is available 24/7 AND their staff are experienced.

I have the GoDaddy* unlimited bandwidth and website package. They promise to fix your problem on the first call and have 24/7 support staff who have always fixed my challenges in one phone call.  There are many other great suppliers you can use – and these days the cost is very low – it truly is a case of invest before you need it.

Who ever you use, make fine sure they are set up to handle big volume traffic – and be aware most hosting companies are set up to take the traffic like you might expect the local hardware store to generate. Ensure all your suppliers can take a worldwide online product or event release.

Its also good policy to have some of your eggs in one basket.  Most tech companies will start blaming each other when you have multiple suppliers.  There are pros and cons from having one supplier host everything - but when there are problems it is nice to know a) they see how everything is functioning together and b) they can't blame third parties and c) you won't end up the one with a massive problem and no idea how to solve it.

Capture those hot leads!

Have a way to capture visitors to your site by way of a free product or offering that collects their email address so you can stay in touch once the hoop-la dies down.

These days just offering a newsletter isn’t enough – you need something unique and appealing to your target audience and you need to be able to follow up. People don’t start to purchase until they have had at least 7 “touches” from you. If you haven’t friended them or collected their email address you can’t touch them again – the magic is in the follow up.

Stay tuned

Be around to respond quickly to queries or problems that come up – just before an event or product release is not the time to take that vacation or go sit on a mountainside to chant.

Use companies who already have big name clients and are used to high volumes.

You MUST HAVE a good customer relationship management system (CRM)

OK so you’ve got it all down to date – you have a robust website that will take whatever is thrown at it – you have a free product and the visitors are sucking it up like ice cream on a hot day and BANG! Your CRM tells you that you have reached your capacity and it has stopped letting visitors sign for your free program.

When this happens anyone who comes to your site will visit and go and you have no way to stay in touch with them in the future – in fact you won’t even know who came by!

Mail Chimp is an excellent free service that allows you to store up to 2,000 people for free. Those numbers make most people think its "enough", but when you consider at any given time there are millions of people on Facebook and there could be millions watching an ad roll past and decide to click on it, then 2,000 people simply isn’t enough.

You are going to fold pretty quickly if your system won’t allow those people to give you their email details so you can stay in touch with them in the future.

I have a system called Infusionsoft and a package that starts to tremble at 500,000 people – no that’s not a typo that’s half a million people securely stored before it even starts to get antsy.

There are many other great CRM systems out there but always be certain you can talk to someone who can answer your questions very quickly. Always check their customer service hours and rates before you sign up.  Some now charge you big bucks if you want to speak with them – they have you over a barrel if something does go wrong and this then becomes an expensive mistake on every level.

Don’t just sit idol

Be promoting the event yourself, just don’t sit back and leave it to the promoter – help the promoter promote you by promoting them! It’s a win for everyone if you do.

Ensure you are wired to stay in touch

Link up your Facebook, twitter, newsletters, blogs etc to your website (tell me you have those!) – we want to create as many opportunities for new people to interact with you as is humanly possible.

Are You Mobile Friendly?

High numbers of people now view your website via mobile phone devices or iPads - make sure they can see you and not just a jumble of rubbish that they will click out of fast.

You have 10 seconds or less to impress

Stats show you have around 10 seconds to interest and hold the attention of a new web site visitor. Ensure your site is ready to serve immediately – that your core message is communicated within the first 10 seconds - hello and welcome – is not a good opening – they need to understand immediately what’s in it for them to stay.

If you fail to captivate and capture that 10 second opportunity you can be assured it will be a lost opportunity unless you can figure out how to get them back.  Think about it, why would someone return to anything that failed to appeal the first time - this really is the time to get it right the first time.

Form meaningful relationships

Then once all these wonderful opportunities are harnessed – you need a way to go back and form meaningful relationships with your new Facebook friends, Twitter followers or newsletter subscribers - or by whatever means you have captured them. Again if you want to keep these new people in your circle of light for the next few years, you are going to have to start reminding them who you are and how you can serve them …. without scaring them away with hard sell tactics.

If you've built it - they can come!  

Great opportunities need to be taken seriously and you need to take yourself seriously.

If you want to be seen as an expert and present yourself to the world as someone worth working further with, you need to be ready, have invested in systems that not only work but will take the load.

Now is not the time to rely on free services that are patched together with band aids.  If you want people to take you seriously, you need to take your  IT seriously and learn what you need to do to be successful out in the big wide world of the internet.

All too much??

Best book a complimentary session with me if this overwhelms you but you know you need to get this right.  Not being ready for opportunites can cost you in SO many ways.  It may be the one time in your whole career where you have the world come to your doorstep. You need to be ready to offer a big slice of home made cake and a big soft comfy sofa to sit your guests on.

Most fail to offer their internet friends and visitors even the most basic of hospitality and wonder why they don't stick around for a chat.

Show em you care, form meaningful relationships and give extreme value and they will stick around for a very long time ….. and isn’t that what we are about – being of service to others for a very long time?

*GoDaddy’s CEO has taken a lot of flack from PETA over the elephant shooting incident. I don’t condone the shooting of anything, but sometimes things get so far out of whack I can at least see why it is necessary to protect villager and their food supplies. You can read his response on his blog and discern if his product is right for you. As for the racy ads – well those women have choice and they are being well paid for the sponsorship and why should the guys always get these highly paid sponsorship deals – again discern if this is right for you.

A New Way To Voice Your Business

Technology can be a great friend to us in business.  This blog post was written or rather spoken into speech recognition technology and then edited.

As this technology becomes easier to use it makes posting a blog a really simple exercise.

All you need to do is simply talk what you want to say and the technology transcribes that into text for you.

I downloaded a free Dragon Dictation app to my iPad - pressed the red button and the inbuilt microphone picked up my voice and the software converted it (mostly OK) to text within seconds.

I just spoke into my iPad and then e-mailed the document to my main computer for editing - how cool is that!

You can edit in the app screen but I think its always a little easier to do it on the big screen.

What I find though with my funny Kiwi accent is that it can sometimes get the words horrifically wrong but I figure I was going to be typing it anyway and that can be fraught with error!  Plus I always find it easier to edit text that has been written for me, rather than writing it from scratch and then editing it.  After I email the text to myself, its simply just a matter of going in and editing something that is already 90% written.

I could see how technology like this could really help you if you are a two fingered typist.  It would help you do things a lot quicker and also be able to get the message out faster and in your unique voice. 

I think it's brilliant and as time goes on the technology will get better and I'll learn the words it has trouble with and adjust the way I speak.  With each step forward it will mean less time at the screen, less time at the desk and more time having fun at what we love to do, which is helping people.

You can also use the technology to do posts to Facebook.  That's really easy - press the red button - state what's on your mind - edit from the iPad and press the share button.  You would of course need to be connected to the internet to have it post, but the software runs on mobile phones as well.

I daresay there's lots of ways you can use this software and I'd have to say wow - pretty cool - pretty fun!

The only downside is that it just records in short bursts and so you have to record little bite sized chunks and send them through.  I'm sure there's a paid version somewhere that will allow me to make longer recordings, but until it totally frustrates me, I'm happy working one paragraph at a time!

Are you the irritating or cool kid on the facebook block?

This cracked me up today when I received it from Tina Forsyth in Canada. She is promoting social media training and one of her people wrote this to her:

"This [video #1] really resonated with me I am in that social media car right now. I thought my GPS was programmed then disaster struck. Those storms we've all been having knocked the satellite out of orbit and my GPS has crashed. I started off following people I tried engaging with them but its like I'm that irritating kid all the other kids hide from. Tina and Lena, I really need to be one of the cool kids and master my social media online - will you both help me?"

There were long periods of advanced "uncoolness" for me when I was a child and this funny but very true observation really resonated with me.

As a quiet observer of social media I've seen a lot of "suckiness" - "trying to push into the cool gang" - "try hards" and "skites" - the latter we were never allowed to attempt as kids - over tooting your own horn was seriously frowned upon.  As I've grown up, I've come to realise a bit of shameless self promoting is definitely ok when you really have something to celebrate..... but everyday - pleeeazzee!

Social media to me seems to imitate life - the internet in general is amazing in the way it does this.

Yesterday a friend was sharing the massive cull she had in her 5,000+ facebook list stating she couldn't be meaningful with that many people. I'd confess I don't know this person well but she sure went up many notches in my eyes with that one simple post.

As I sit looking in, I see yet again how being in your truth shines through and how having the guts to cull your list when everyone seems to be racing around friending everyone in sight and liking for the sake it, is the flavour of the day.  Their shallowness shows in these activities as much as they would if you ran around a cafe shoving business cards in the face of total strangers.

I've had a few of those float through my life over the years in many different guises.

When I was playing in bands you used to get it a lot - people loved to hang with you just because you were the band.  They never got to know you or figure out who you really were, they just wanted some of whatever they thought you had, to rub off on them.

At one point there were so many people in the band corner where we used to sit between sets, that the band couldn't even get in!  Curious because they were the worst seats in the house and you couldn't actually see the band properly from that corner anyway.  The actual band members eventually had to sit in the kitchen because there was no room for us.  The band corner was still pumping though, but they hadn't noticed to actually BE with the band you would need to move to the kitchen, but they could go to work the next week and tell all their mates they were in the corner "with the band".  Such is rock and roll!

But the people who truly were "with the band", were the ones who helped us pack up two ton of equipment at midnight and load it into the van in the rain, or consoled us when we bombed - those people's names I remember years on.  In fact I can remember every line on their face, every challenge they encountered and every tear they shed, because they just weren't there in the good times, we had a two way relationship and we were there for each other for the long haul.

It may take a little longer but being yourself, building meaningful relationships and speaking your truth, not just what you think everyone wants to hear will bring much longer term results.  I'm starting to observe a lot of people culling their lists - not just facebook but all lists.

Infusionsoft my new CRM system recommends culling your list every six months.  That was a very hurty place for me considering how hard I worked to build it.  But I figure they know more than me, so I've been putting pressure on my list to see who remains standing.

Remember that old saying from the 60's - it always had an accompanying butterfly picture :-)

If you love something
Set it free ........
if it comes back its yours
if not it was never meant to be

In a three month period I have lost a few, certainly not as many as I expected which is lovely but curiously the ones who left had never actually transacted anything major with me.  My new CRM system tells me a lot about people and guess what - most of the people who flew the coup were all the ones who had floated in, picked up the free stuff and left when the pressure went on.  So very rock and roll!

The other few were people who came on early in my ramblings and my message has changed and no longer serves them because they aren't therapists.  The rest have stayed put, I guess because the message is still meaningful or I've done things in the past that allow me some slack.

I've come to the conclusion, whether its business, life or facebook - shallow relationships don't always create long term gain.  It seems to me there will always be a place for smaller groups of loyal people, and from my experience, they are the coolest kids on the block!

Teleclasses Add Value on SO Many Levels

What are Teleclasses?  Quite simply - learning on the phone!

These days the technology is simple to use and generally free of charge, so starting out is very easy.  It's like anything - the more you do them, the better you get at them.  So I just encourage people to start somewhere and then figure out the finer details once they are confident in delivering their messages over the phone.

Teleclasses have been around for ages but they are still not widely used by therapists and I really want to change that, simply because teleclasses are such an easy way to get your message to many more people.

The benefits of teleclasses are wide and varied but here are Top Ten I love the best:

1.  Amazingly cheap (no room hire or travel costs)

2.  Convenience (you don’t need to leave home)

3.  100% efficient use of your time (no need to factor in traffic or public transport)

4.  Location friendly (you can do them from home or the office or the beach!)

5.  You can work with a greater audience because it is not location specific - you just need a phone or broadband.

6.  Classes are recorded so your participants can listen again until they fully grasp the concepts

7.  You can sell the recordings on your website or create CD’s and create passive revenue streams

8.  You only need a landline telephone

9.  No fuss  - you can do the class in your pyjamas if you like

10. Its fun and easy!

Anyone can do it - well almost anyone!

If you want to know more about teleclasses you can go here 

I run regular classes so you may wish to jump on board and learn how and then start to find the benefits of running your own teleclasses for your community.  Click here for details of the next class

How to build your authority on-line

The fabulous Gihan Perera gave a wonderful list in his weekly newsletter today of the things you need to have in place to build your web presence.  Gihan has shared so much valuable information over the years and I can personally say, he is spot on with everything he recommends.

This an an excerpt from Gihan's article "How to build your authority on-line"

"Don't start with social media - that's the third step in the process.

The first step is to build a high-quality Web site, which identifies your ideal site visitor and their key problems, and leads them to the solutions you offer.

But that's just for starters. Many people won't find your Web site first - they will find you on-line in other places. So build up a body of work that demonstrates your expertise and authority. In particular:

• Publish a high-quality e-mail newsletter every week or two weeks (or every month at worst).
• Post regularly to your blog.
• Write high-content articles that address your market's problems, and publish them on your Web site, blog and article directories.
• Write a special report or "white paper" discussing the key problems of your target market.
• Create short, high-quality educational video clips and publish them to YouTube.
• Publish a regular podcast, which is an audio newsletter.
• Create short, high-quality educational slide shows and publish them to Slideshare.com."

This is only a brief overview. If you'd like more details about this process, you can learn more from Gihan's generous gift of a chapter of his new book "Fast, Flat and Free: How the Internet Has Changed Your Business".  You can download a chapter for free here

Getting Good Habits Right From The Start - Further Thought on Discounting

I'd recommend you don't discount to people who you have already "trained" to pay your normal fees.

Its going backwards when you do that - however I would encourage discounting to get people through the door to experience you.

Getting more clients is easy if you are meeting and introducing people to your practice in a meaningful way.

Each time people have the opportunity to meet and relate with you - the more chance you have of them becoming a client.

Its why in the early days my system recommends 2-4-1 sessions.  For a new therapist (and sometimes the not so new therapist) it is pretty scared to ask for business in the early days so offering 2-4-1 sessions gets you in the habit of re-booking a client.

How You See Yourself Is How The World Sees You

 

If you think cheap - the rest of your world will think cheap too.

What goes on in your head is the biggest key to your success.  If you get your thoughts right at a very early stage of your business growth, that is what will manifest for you in the future. 

Offering 2-4-1 sessions sets in your mind that people are going to come back to see you.  This may sound too simplistic but I have found, if you set good habits into the complex pathways of your brain in the early stages of anything - you create a good habit that never needs to be adjusted.

If you don't get in the habit of having people return to your practice time and time again - you are going to have an uphill battle filling that practice.

If you start constantly discounting in the early days you set the thought in your head that people will only come if the price is cheap enough. 

In fact, price has very little to do with why people will book a treatment - but if YOU think that's the reason why they come .... of course that WILL be the reason whey they come.

The Pro's and Con's of Discounting Treatments

I'm often asked if discounting treatments is a good way to build a practice.

Like everything involved in running a small business, there are pro's and con's to everything.

Lets start with the logic of discounting.

Before you rush out and send out a discount voucher to current clients (people you have already trained to pay your full price), maybe consider what you are building first.

I encourage people to get the foundations right in their business first, then build on top of it.

So if you are considering discounting, you need to go back to your Decide Dream Believe statements and look at what you were dreaming of creating in the first place.

Are You Samey or Are you Different?

You need to ask yourself how you are going to position yourself in the marketplace.

Do I want to build a K-Mart type operation or do I want to build something more boutique like and specialised.


So many therapists think that if the price is cheap enough, then people will book a treatment with them.  However, there is much more to why people book a treatment than the price.

If you want a K-Mart type solution, you are setting yourself up to work long hours and people will expect the cheapest prices from you.  They will also expect that discounted price as they consume the purchase - so they expect to walk in at all hours, get what they need and pay a cheap price for it.  Not exactly a great recipe for success in a small service based industry.

However, with a more boutique style operation, the owners encourage a more specialised and attentive service, you need to book early and you can expect to pay for that higher level of service.  Bed and Breakfast type operations are a good example of this.  They often have fewer rooms for sale, but you pay more for them and you get more personalised attention, like the owner greeting you and a personally cooked breakfast.  In a cheaper hotel chain situation, you will be presented with a bain marie full of eggs cooked hours ago and some crispy fat soaked bacon which was also usually cooked by the least qualified cook in the kitchen, because its the easiest meal to prepare on that mass level.

So your very first step in considering discounting for your practice is to consider - are you offering a fully personalised service that offers a lot of personalised attention and deserves to be well rewarded, or are you just happy to churn people through quickly at a lower rate.

On a "personalised and different" level, you need to see less people at a higher rate, and at the "samey" end of the business you need to see more people to meet your financial targets.

I find most people have never even considered the "Dream" aspect of their practice, so you might like to go to my Easy Solutions for YOUR Success website and download the Two Hours of Complimentary Audio and a Workbook on this topic.

If you don't have the basic foundations discussed in this workbook and a clear understanding of what you are trying to create in place, you will simply be chasing your tail trying to lure people in with K-Mart style offers each week.  Once you differentiate on price, you will be constantly competing to have the lowest price in your marketplace.  That gets tiring and expensive because it requires a massive advertising budget to keep the masses aware of your constantly downward spiralling prices.

You end up with an un-abundant practice, simply because people who buy at discount generally shop around and do not stay loyal.  If you go the K-Mart route, you will be constantly trying to rope new people in to cover the ones who are buzzing off to the person around the corner undercutting you by $5.

You will have figured I prefer the hi end, hi price, hi service end of the market, simply because that is the recipe for a fully abundant practice.

But its up to you how you go about setting up your practice, but please get the plan set out first, then go and decide how you discount your services.

No Need For Remote Areas To Miss Out On Natural Health

There are so many different ways we can connect with clients these days.

Many people shun technology and I often hear “I’m just not technical”, or “computers just don’t work for me”.  These limiting beliefs are often programmed in at a deep level but they really just come from a negative past experience.  Someone just told you, “you were useless at technology” or that you would “just never get it” and that limiting belief has served to stop any exploration of technology.

I have found with a patient teacher and the right knowledge, most people can master their fear of technology and once over the hump, often take it on in a big way.  Many make up for the lost time and really enjoy the experience, simply because it opens many doors.

I was interested to read this article on Springwise, showing how western medicine are using technology to serve remote areas.  

http://www.springwise.com/health_wellbeing/onemedical/

Allowing people who would normally have to travel thousands of miles to get seen and heard, to have a consult and access to information online, will make seeking professional advice a whole lot easier.

Most certainly it isn’t ideal, and yes, having someone drop in on them personally would be wonderful, but I’d like to bet that a large percentage of “non physical” issues can be helped through this medium.

So why not consider if there are parts of your business that could be done with a webcam.  Do your clients always have to travel to your office?  Could you save them and you some time in their day?

I’m not suggesting for one moment that personal interaction and human touch should be dispersed with.  But with time being the #1 thing people want more of these days, embracing technology not only allows people access to services they could not normally reach, it also saves time, energy and money when used well.

Molly Carlile on The Circle

My dear friend and colleague Mz Molly Carlile was featured on the morning TV show The Circle recently speaking about her new book "Sometimes Life Sucks When Someone You Love Dies"

 

Molly is a grand example of someone with a congruent message.  That means that everything about her and her message fits together in one stream lined package.

Molly spent many years on the wards as a pallative care nurse.  She has helped literally thousands of people pass from this life.  Whenever you sit down for coffee with Molly you can bet the topic of conversation goes to death within 5-10 minutes.  She is passionate about the topic of death but not in a morbid way, but in a way that educates and gives people permission to feel safe about the topic.

Already she has done SO much to change the way people deal with a process we will all inevitably go through but weirdly know little about.  She is making it safe for people to talk about the topic and helps them deal with their fears and curiosity in an open and frank way.

Over time her message is morphing and she is really focusing on helping young people understand the process of death and not be fearful.  She is using the performing arts as a great way to get her message to more people.

Strong messages open your world up to new and exciting ways to market your business or your products and services.  This week the play Molly collaborated on with renowned actor and playwright, Alan Hopgood will be the feature of the International Hospice and Palliative Care Awareness Day event, Four Funerals in One Day at BMW Edge, Federation Square on September 28^th 2010 at 7pm

You can book here if you would like to attend

If you would like to hear more about what Molly does, she was my guest on a Mosh Pit call - you can listen here

Imagination in Business

As I continue to break down the benefits to therapists of the 12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers shared by Jay Conrad Levinson, the inventor of Guerilla Marketing, he placed imagination at number two spot on his list.

I was SO pleased to see it even hit the list let alone rank so high because I believe healthy doses of imagination are vital to a successful marketing campaign. 

At Disney the people who imagine up all those wonderful theme parks are called "Imagineers" and I think every business owner should study Imagineering before they set out in business.

"Disneyland will never be completed as long as there’s imagination left in the world”
Walt Disney

Walt Disney was well aware that anytime someone's imagaination was switched on, there was something that could be improved on or done better.  In business if we have this focus, then every day will be an adventure.

The very first time I visited Disneyland I was blown away by the details and by how much thought had gone into this magical kingdom. I can still remember floating through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and seeing a tiny little dog in one of the scenes and his tail was wagging.   Even though he was made of bits of fabric glued together and he was a small and an insignificant part of a very big production, he was still given personality and movement.  Thirty years on I can still imagine him in my mind, eyes sparkling and tail wagging and all because someone was given permission to imagine him into life and then animate him.

Bringing the ordinary to life for people has to be one of the greatest gifts we can share.

It's the same in small business.  Sure we have to do certain things in a regimented or even some times boring way but because we are our own bosses, we have permission to apply imagination to everything we do.  We can bring ordinary things to life in the way we teach, in the way we share or in the way we run our business.  Every day is a new opportunity to be innovative or to improve on some aspect of our business, or our marketing or our message to the world.

I've always put my message out in a quirky non standard way and I've found the more off the wall I get the more responses I get.   My How to make Your Duck Boogie anti-Christmas newsletter got the best response and sign up rates of all time.  You can never be sure why this sort of thing happens but I'd like to guess that it stood out from all the plastic christmas wishes people were sending at the time.

When you let your imaginination out to play regularly I find it makes the day go faster and it helps you stand out from the crowd AND it allows the fun in.  I can't tell you how much fun I had creating that duckie newsletter - matching the pictures to the duckies circumstances made me laugh till my sides hurt.  Quirky stands out but it also brings joy and helps you be remembered.

On his teleseminar Jay was talking about how it used to easy - we could put an add in the Yellow Pages and off we'd go, instant business success.  But today in the fast and wild world of social media you have to be different to get noticed.  People notice positively when you have the guts to turn up as yourself and show you are imaginative, creative and unique.  They also notice negatively if you take the easy option and just copy something.  They won't say a lot but it gets noticed.   

These days its all about how you stand out and how you show up as yourself.  So have the guts to get the glory by using your own imagination.

Most certainly keep an eye on what is happening in the marketplace and see what your competitors are up to.  But don't just copy them, add your slant to it, show your own opinions, come up with your own ideas and set free the ideas and thoughts that are currently locked in your imagination.  You might like what you find when you do.

Jay Conrad Levinson is coming to Australia for a short teaching tour in September 2010 – you can find out more here

Healthy Marketing TeleSummit

I am going to be appearing at the Heathy Marketing Telesummit on the 14th September and it was wonderful to interview the creator of the program Krishna Everson. You can listen to the interview here:



The Heathy Marketing Telesummit will see ten marekting experts interviewed over six weeks and there will be a heap of great marketing ideas and concepts shared, all for free, to help natural therapists grow their business.

I trust you will be able to join us and in particular listen to my segment on the 14th of September 2010 (whihc of course will be FABULOUS) where I'm going to be talking about Making Your Story Your Glory.

You have to register on the website so you will receive all the information regarding the calls and how to get on them.

Hear you on a call soon! 

Don't forget to register at the website www.HealthyMarketingTelesummit.com

Patience is a Virtue

There is a saying that has been dated back to the thirteenth century:

    “Patience is a virtue,

    Possess it if you can,

    Seldom found in woman,

    Never found in man”

I could also add rarely found in people starting out in marketing!


Why is patience so important when marketing your products and services?

I was on a great teleclass recently with Jay Conrad Levinson, the genius who coined the phrase “Guerrilla Marketing” back in the 80’s. On this recent call Jay shared 12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers.

His #1 trait was patience.

Many would think there would be many more fancy things he could have thought up to place in the #1 spot but I also believe patience is the number one thing you need when growing your natural therapy business because patience and persistent consistent action brings results in every other area of life ......... so why wouldn't it bring success in marketing.

I encourage my people to start doing good things like blogging and setting up their website and regularly doing newsletters very early in the set up of their practice.    I get VERY frustrated when I go back to them a few months later and ask how they are going with those tasks only to hear them say that they gave up because they thought it a waste of time because no one was reading them.

One client was recently featured on a two hour radio program.  Was her website finished, did she have a free product to offer the listeners to encourage them to visit her site?  Did she have a blog so people could get a sense of her opinions and methods? No, so all she could do was hope they would write down her phone number.  People will remember a catchy website name but they have little hope of remembering a phone number so her wonderful piece of free publicity was limited to people with a pen and paper close by.

Another client was recently telling me how her partner had read the single blog post one of my old clients had put up and it changed his life in that instance.  Imagine if he had kept up the posting, he might by now have changed many more lives with his words.

You can see why I get frustrated when people lose patience because they end up losing patients.

These stories highlight the need for patience.  It is also based in the beautiful words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.

Marketing is all about the first step, not the staircase.

Most who are starting out want the big sweeping staircase from Gone with the Wind but the reality is that most don't have the budget to purchase one step, let alone the whole solution.  That is where Guerrilla Marketing hit the spot for so many people because it offered low cost ways to get your message out and gave many of us the faith to stay in the game because Jay's methods worked for so many.

The staircase appears after you have patiently worked your strategies for a long time and been patient enough to test and measure your results, tweaking as you go and eventually working out what it is you like doing and what it is your clients like receiving.  I’ll give you a hint – when those two things are the same, magic happens BUT it takes a little time, effort, energy, frustration and feeling like you are wasting your time to get to that point.

But if you don’t start you will always be struggling to get your message refined enough for people to want to listen to you.

Marketing is not a short term fix.  You can’t write one newsletter and expect miracles.  I’m not saying that won’t happen but in my experience it takes a little while for you to find your voice and find out what does resonate with your people and what does get them commenting and letting you know they are reading.

For a long time I also thought no one was reading until I started to speak to small groups and associations.  Then people would start coming up to me and talking about small things I had written in a newsletter that had helped them or had inspired an action that helped them move to the next level.

If I hadn’t been patient enough to keep writing even when I thought no one was listening, then for sure I would have given up and those people wouldn’t have had that small success or small step up that made a difference for them.

Jay shared on his call a strategy that is key to Guerrilla marketing and that is the concept of getting known.  He shared the importance of getting known by forming interactive dialogue not monologue with your audience.  The Internet creates so many ways you can interact with potential clients but most still aren’t making the most of it because they run out of patience and stop the activities that could result in many more clients being attracted to them.

During the call Jay also spoke of a survey that was done that calculated how many times it took for someone to experience your marketing message before they bought something.  The magical answer that this survey came up with was nine times.  I’ve heard some experts say it takes eleven touches before someone will move from apathy to “purchase readiness”

Each one of these “touches” or “experiences” of you or your products and services moves the potential client one step closer to purchasing from you.

But here’s the thing – there is another crippling piece of information that goes with being patient – you must also be consistent in getting your message out or people will forget you.  I have heard it said that if you don’t keep in touch with your people at least bi-monthly they will forget you.

It stands to reason then that if you only have one post on your blog, have sent a couple of newsletters and meant to get around to building a website and people can’t easily find you, then you are going to struggle.

If you are prepared to get into the game for the long haul, these are the things you will need to have on your to do list:

• Send out your newsletter each month
• Post to your blog at least once a week
• Spend 15 minutes each day on social media sites
• Create a free e-product to give away on your website that gives people a taste of what you do
• Speak to people in your target market, it can be small groups to start with at least twice per month
• Submitting articles to websites or media once a month
• Make contact with an important person in your industry (at least one per week) and then make it easy for those people to send you clients
• Arranging small workshops so people can understand how much you know about your preferred topic and get to know a little more about you.

Most certainly the most powerful way I know of connecting with people is in person so that puts speaking right up on top of the list of things you patiently need to be delivering to people.


If you take these type of actions, eventually people are going to notice you and then guess what?  Your business will start to get traction.


Natural therapists are some of the most patient people I have ever met.  They will sit for hours listening to people’s stories, taking case notes, being there for their clients at all hours of the day and night.


So why not move some of the traits of patience over to your marketing and start doing all the actions that are necessary to grow your business.

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:

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