The Path to a Successful (Hopefully ;-) Telesummit

Well, it is about time that I hosted my very own telesummit.  For those who don't already know, a telesummit is simply a series of interviews that are related to a single topic.  It's really a fancy name for a live interview series.

I am going to launch the "Give Yourself a Raise" telesummit on June 7th and it will last for at least 5 days.  I have just started outlining the program and have sent the first invitations for speakers this weekend.  So far, so good.  I have sent out 4 invites and all four have agreed to participate with one having to double check her schedule when she returns home from vacation.  Not a bad start.

I've done an interview series before, but it was not a live series.  I simple recorded all of the calls and packaged them into an information product.  This will be a bit more "scary" and a LOT more fun.

I am going to continue to share details as the event gets closer.  If you are interested in holding your own telesummit then keep returning to this blog so you can see how it progresses.  I would also love your feedback if you've done your own telesummit in the past.

My goal is to have between 10-12 excellent speakers who can share practical tips on how small business owners like you can "Give Themselves a Raise" with marketing and mindset tweaks.

I have a list of about 20 people who I will approach.  I shouldn't have to go out to everyone before the event is full, but it's always a good idea to have some back-ups in case people cannot, or don't want to, participate.

That's it for now.  I just want to give everyone a heads up and I will keep posting as everything moves forward.

Peace
Tom

Happy Easter

Hope your Easter Weekend is the Best!

I had a great time hanging out with family last night and celebrating my grand nephew Tristan's 3rd birthday in addition to having a great honey baked ham Easter Dinner!

I hope that you've been having a great weekend whether you've been celebrating Easter, hanging out with friend and family, working, or whatever else you've been up to.

Peace

Tom

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What do Fee-Setting and Ice Cream Parlors have in Common?

Business success relies on being creative and flexible. Even comparing coaching and consulting fees to an ice cream parlor can increase you income if you know what to look for. Business and marketing tips come in all flavors so pull up a stool and let me show you what fee-setting and ice cream parlors have in common.

Ever walk into an ice cream parlor and want a single scoop of your favorite flavor? Imagine you walk in and all they have to offer are triple scoops? They even have your favorite flavor, but the only way that you can have it is to buy a triple scoop.

Maybe it’s hot outside and you want to walk around without having ice cream pouring down your arm and onto the sidewalk. Or maybe you’re in a hurry and you only have time for a single scoop. You might be saving room for something else to eat a little later.

We could go on for quite awhile as to all of the reasons you may prefer a single scoop of ice cream over a triple or even a double scoop.

This seems so elementary that we probably couldn’t even IMAGINE an ice cream parlor that would be short sighted enough to offer only triple scoops to their patrons.

But let me ask you another question. Are you doing the same thing to YOUR market? Are you offering nothing but triple scoops when, clearly, many prospects would just like a single scoop?

People want a chance to get to know, like and trust you. Some just won’t be prepared to jump in and snatch up a triple scoop. Perhaps their schedule doesn’t permit it. Or they want to enter your program gradually. There’s a host of reasons that you should create multiple offers for your market.

So what do you do with these people? They might turn out to be your ideal clients, but if you don’t have anything else to offer them then you’ll never know.

Whether you are a coach, consultant, holistic service professional or any other fee-based solo-preneur, you can always create multiple offers for your prospects and clients.

Here are a few ideas ranging from free to full-fee:

• Newsletter and ezines
• Tele-classes
• Tele-seminars
• Information products
• Published books
• Group coaching programs
• Packaging your services into 2-3 tiers

For coaches, one of the quickest tweaks that you can make is creating what I call a split fee.

The typical coaching model may look like:
4 calls at $400 per month

But how about this:
4 calls at $550 per month
2 calls at $300 per month

You just increased your hourly income with both offers and created a new option for your clients that’s less of an investment of time and money.

Frankly, you may find that most clients opt for the higher of the two, but having options means that they feel in control of the experience.

If you’re interested, I go into much more detail about creating multiple solutions for your market over here:

http://chargewhatyoudeserve.com/products/audiocoach.php

Remember, not everyone who walks into your ice cream parlor is looking for a triple scoop!

3 Steps to Increase Your Fees with Confidence

As a service provider it’s critical to remember that your market is investing in YOU, not in your actual service. Yes, they want results from the service you are providing, but ultimately they are investing in you because of the relationship and trust you have developed.

There is an awful lot of pressure if you feel the need to sell everyone you meet the first time you meet them. This is an unnecessary and often fatal mistake that many business owners make.

Here are some steps to take when building your business and selling your services so that you can have the highest profits and best client relationships.

1. Always build a relationship FIRST.

Most people will need to have contact with you between 5-7 times before they actually make a purchase. That means that a chance encounter at the grocery store or meeting potential prospects at networking events will not always lead to a sale on the spot. But this is easy to remedy with a good follow-up system. One of the easiest ways to keep in touch and build that relationship is through an email delivered newsletter – also known as an ezine.

Whenever you meet a potential client you should ask for their contact information and offer to send them some free tips related to your business. These tips are easy to deliver in a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter. This way you are providing valuable information, staying in touch and building a relationship at all times.

2. Create multiple offers

Let your market get to know you before they invest at the highest level. There are many ways for you to allow people to engage with you without having to invest thousands of dollars for your private work. You can start a blog or newsletter, create a simple information product, start group coaching and training events, write and self-publish a short, but informative book, etc. The idea is to create just a couple offers that will funnel your market down to working with you at increasingly higher levels.

An example would be: prospect signs up for your newsletter, they purchase a digital information product, you follow up with a phone call and offer your private consulting or coaching services. Because you’re allowing your prospects to get to know you one step at a time, it makes the sales process much easier.

3. Ask for the sale

When it comes down to brass tacks, you won’t ever make a dime in your business if you don’t ask for the sale. One of the biggest mistakes that I see service professionals make is always delivering free information and never asking for the sale. They expect their prospects to ask THEM to work with them, but this rarely happens in the real world. This doesn’t mean that you have to be pushy. By building the relationship like I described above you can have a natural, low-pressure way of attracting new clients. Keep in mind that if somebody is reading your ezine, blog posts, articles, etc that means that they WANT your help. It’s your responsibility to offer it to them.

3 Quick Tips to Charge What You Deserve

I realize that one of the most important parts
of your business is attracting quality, ready
clients who are willing (and expect) to pay you
what you’re worth.

Here are three quick tips to help you attract
more clients and charge what you deserve and
get it.

#1: Define your niche and increase your visibility

It’s very important to take a stand and pick a
niche that you want to play in. Once you do this
it is very easy to be seen as a “go-to” person in
your marketplace. Sending out regular press releases,
submitting articles to ezinearticles.com, and holding
teleseminars with business owners who already serve
your ideal market are just a few simple ways to
increase your visibility and expert status.

#2: Outline the value that your programs offer

You need to define programs in a way that makes people
want to BUY from you, not THINK about buying from you.
Focus on the value that you have to offer your clients
and where they will be if they do NOT hire you.

The “when” and the “how much” should come later. Let
these be minor details to cover after your prospect has
already decided to begin working with you.

#3: Stop trading time for money

You HAVE to shift out of the “time for money” business
model and start focusing on a “value for investment”
model if you ever want to charge what you deserve and
get the best results for your clients. As long as you
are stuck in the time for money mentality you will
never be able to fully express or share the true value
you have to offer your clients. This is an unnecessary
shame.

Tip: Stop naming your coaching programs with a time and
dollar amount.

No more “60-Minute session for $125″ and “90-Minute
session for $175″!

This causes potential clients to instantly compare your
valuable service to other, totally unrelated services
they’ve bought or considered in the past.

To learn how to price your programs for maximum profits
and create compelling, near impossible to resist offers,
check out the upcoming teleclass series that I will be
holding.

Cheers
Tom

P.S. I would love to hear from you so be sure to chime in
and leave your comments below!

Quick Tip to Charge What You Deserve