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© Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 1 A Simple Client Attraction Guide By: Mike Rafati Connect With Mike: http://www.incrediblefrog.com http://www.MikeRafati.com LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook All content © Mike Rafati 2016. Please do not copy, edit, reproduce or sell any part of this ebook. Send your feedbacks and questions to [email protected] © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction:........................................................................................................................................................4 STEP 1: GAIN CLARITY & CREATING A COMPELLING VISION ................................................................5 STEP 2: BUILDING THE CLIENT ATTRACTION FOUNDATION ......................................................................6 Define Your Target Market and Their Needs ....................................................................................................7 Define Your Authentic Niche .............................................................................................................................8 Build a Brand.....................................................................................................................................................9 Ideal Client - Who Is Your Ideal Client? ............................................................................................................9 Authentic Message..........................................................................................................................................10 STEP 3: DEVELOP YOUR SERVICES & PRODUCTS .................................................................................11 STEP 4: SET BIG GOALS ...............................................................................................................................11 STEP 5: PICKING MARKETING STRATEGIES & TACTICS ...........................................................................13 STEP 6: DEVELOP A CLIENT ATTRACTION SYSTEM ..................................................................................14 STEP 7: MONITOR RESULTS AND STAY FOCUSED, BUT FLEXIBLE .........................................................15 © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 3 INTRODUCTION: This e-book is for visionary entrepreneurs and heart-centered business owners. It is designed to help you attract clients, market your expertise, and create your dream business. It will benefit all coaches, consultants, trainers, counselors, healers, and other conscious professionals, who are starting their business, struggling to grow, or lost their passion and excitement about their business. Attracting clients and marketing your services and products are frustrating for many heart-centered entrepreneurs. Even if they are passionate about their business; they may not be attracting clients and getting the results they want. In this short eBook, I am going to help you realign and focus on what’s important to you, plan for your dream business and create a fulfilling business that you enjoy. For more information please visit: http://www.IncredibleCoach.com or contact Mike Rafati at [email protected] TIP #1: Many entrepreneurs suffer from perfectionism, and they hold back. For example, here is how they think: “I must finish this class, task, or …, in order to get started.” “I need a business card or a website to get started.” “I am not ready yet, what if I fail? What if I make a mistake?” “I don’t know enough; I need to learn more.” “Why would anyone work with me? I cannot charge for this …” © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 4 STEP 1: GAIN CLARITY & CREATING A COMPELLING VISION Your dream business starts with your thoughts, and your success and happiness are more about you than the marketing strategies or tactics you use. Nothing can grow without strong roots! Most heart-centered entrepreneurs start with their passion and a deep desire to create their dream business; however, they lose their motivation and alignment as they get involved in building their business. Consequently, most entrepreneurs work very hard but they are unable to build their dream business. Ultimately, the ones that succeed end up creating another job that they feel unsatisfied with. There are only a small number of entrepreneurs that successfully create a dream business that is fulfilling and financially rewarding. Creating a fulfilling and financially rewarding business is only possible when you are passionate and have a compelling vision that drives you to do whatever it takes to make it. You can only create a fulfilling business when you stay aligned with your purpose and values, and stay connected to your passion. Tap into Your Potentials Although entrepreneurs focus more on new marketing strategies and tactics, they often overlook their potentials, strengths and mindset While, clarity about your dream, purpose, passion and vision, or lack thereof, can help you build your dream business, lack of clarity, limiting beliefs, mental blocks, bad habits, and low self-confidence will only TIP #2: CREATE A BIG cause frustrations and misalignments which will VISION - We all have big discourage your clients from working with you. visions but afraid of The key is to gain clarity about what you want to do, where you want to go (your vision) and the purpose of your journey. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved expressing it. What is your big vision for your business? You must define it for yourself and write it in Page 5 Another important factor in building a fulfilling business is to know your strengths and identifying the experiences and skills that can benefit you in your business. Starting and growing a business requires hard work and a strong desire to push through difficulties. Otherwise, you’ll stop pursuing your dreams as soon as you hit the first bump on the road. Here is how you can get started to gain more clarity about your intentions, passion, and purpose: TIP #3: You are the X Factor in your business. People come to you to work with you. Your business is about you first and then about your services. Your authenticity, energy, and intentions show up in your interactions with your clients, and so does your confusion and lack of alignment. So, be present and fully express yourself. 1. What’s the purpose of your business? What do you want to do? 2. What’s your vision? What’s the outcome that you expect to achieve? 3. Why is this business important to you? What is your motivation for doing this? Is it your dream? Are you passionate or you are just doing it because you need money? There is no right or wrong answer, but knowing your motives will help you plan better. 4. List your strengths, weaknesses, experiences, special skills, and knowledge? What do you know and have that will help you do this? What’s missing? 5. What’s holding you back from starting or expanding your business? What is stopping you from getting out there and sharing your message? What are your fears? What do you need to do to move forward? STEP 2: BUILDING THE CLIENT ATTRACTION FOUNDATION Most entrepreneurs, particularly heart-centered business owners, suffer from one or more of the following: • • • • • • They They They They They They start with a broad target market and they are unwilling to narrow it down. are chasing clients and work with anyone that pays them. don’t know enough about their client’s needs are generalists and lack an irresistible offer or solution lack a strong message lack goals, effective strategy and focus to attract their ideal clients. It is extremely difficult to develop a good marketing plan and create an effective client attraction system without a strong foundation. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 6 Here is what you need to clearly define to get started: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Target Market – who are your clients? Authentic Niche - Decide on your niche and unique selling points. Ideal Client - Who are your ideal clients? Develop a Brand – Build a core message. Authentic Message – why should they work with you? What’s the benefit? Don’t get discouraged if you have a difficult time clarifying your target market, niche, brand or anything else. Do your best, get help, but most importantly, get started. You’ll learn more as you engage your clients. Marketing is a process that consistently has to be refined. Define Your Target Market and Their Needs Let’s get clear on who you want to serve and why. Your target market is the group of people that you want to serve. You may think your services are suitable for anyone!!! However, your services are more appealing to certain groups of people. Your Target Market wants to work with you, because you understand what they need, and how to help them solve their problems. Therefore, you need to clearly understand your client’s needs and wants. That is why you are in business and they come to you. Imagine, you want Chinese food, would you look for Italian restaurant? The same concept is true about other businesses. A career coach is appealing to people who are looking to change or advance their career. A commercial real estate agent is appealing to people that are looking for commercial property and not residential and so on. To define your target market Start by answering these questions: Who do you want to work with? Who do you want to serve -- individuals, businesses or both? List the groups that you are most passionate about. Use the following criteria to narrow them even more: • • Demographics (age, gender, income,) Geography (location, country, state, and city) © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 7 • Psychographics (lifestyle, interests, and attitude) What do you know about them? What do you have in common with them? What keeps them up at nights? What do they need? It is ok to identify multiple segments that you want to work with. But, start with the group (segment) that you know and have the best solution. Here are the last criteria you need to consider before picking your target market, the best group (segment) is: • • • Big enough to support your business Easily accessible Able to pay for your services Define Your Authentic Niche Niches are confusing to many entrepreneurs. There are too many definitions for a niche out there. Here is how I want you to think about your niche. Your niche is where your services (solution/offer) and target market’s needs intersect. Your Authentic Niche is a very specific service that you offer to your market. In another words, your Authentic Niche is the specific service (your gift and expertise) that you offer to solve your client’s problems. Clients value experts with specialized services more than generalists. Experts focus on solving deeper and more difficult problems. While generalists may identify deeper issues and problems, they lack knowledge and expertise to provide solutions and solve those problems in the same manner as the experts. For example, a coach can coach anyone about anything; however, a career coach has more in-depth knowledge of his client’s needs and challenges and can offer better solutions to those professionals in transition. The same goes for other specialists. A commercial real estate agent knows more about commercial properties, a web designer knows more about designing a website, and so on. Your niche will also help you to differentiate yourself better by setting you apart from other service providers (generalists). The more specialized you are, the more valuable you will become and your knowledge and expertise will allow you to relate and communicate differently. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 8 Additionally, you will gain more visibility in your specific field because people rely on your expertise more and more. For example, what types of cars grab your attention? Most people either see the unique cars or the cars that they are planning to or want to purchase. The same is true for service professionals, people notice and get attracted to the information and service professionals that are relevant to what they are interested in. TIP #4 - Keep in mind that you don’t need to stay a specialist in one market forever. You can always use that success as a springboard to jump into other markets. Finally, specialists make more money and receive greater financial rewards. Specialists are perceived more valuable than generalists, due to their in depth knowledge and expertise. Build a Brand Building a brand helps you differentiate in the mind of your clients and partners. People remember brands more than they remember services or products. Branding is a process and goes beyond the color of your logo, business card or your website. For the time being, start by creating a core message that you can communicate with your audience. For entrepreneurs and solo-professionals, their brand is the same as their personal brand. You are your business. Therefore, you can use your personal story, why you do what you do and your vision to create a powerful and memorable brand message. Ideal Client - Who Is Your Ideal Client? Most clients work with you because of the benefits they know they will receive from working with you; however, your ideal clients fall in a different category. There is a perfect match - a very special connection between you and your ideal client. They prefer to work with you and you do your best work with them. You both energize each other and enjoy working together. They make you feel great and spending time with them feels more like playing than anything else. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 9 Ideal clients pay you well with no questions asked. They know they are receiving a great value and a high return on their investment. They understand and value your contribution and they believe you deserve what you charge for your services. Client Attraction Message - What do you tell your clients? What do you tell people when they ask you “what do you do?” Particularly, what do you say to attract your ideal clients? Authentic Message Most professionals answer by saying what they have been trained to do, or have gone to school for. For example, I am a coach. I am a therapist. I am a consultant. However, we forget to tell people how we benefit our clients. You want to go beyond labeling what you do. What you say shows your clarity about what you do and how your clients benefit from working with you. It shows how much you understand your client’s needs and pain. Also, it shows the level of your confidence and credibility. Your goal is to get your prospects to say, “Oh WOW! Tell me more!!” Here is how you create your message: In the message you want to tell them • • • • • Who do you serve? What their needs are? What you do to solve their needs? What’s the result? What they gain or benefit? How do they feel by working with you? Here is an example: I work with ___________ that are suffering from (or frustrated with) ____________ assist them by ____________, so they can ______________ and feel _________. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved I Page 10 STEP 3: DEVELOP YOUR SERVICES & PRODUCTS If you are starting your business, you may not have a product. Therefore, you need to package your services in a way you can clearly explain the benefits and market to your ideal clients. Also, you need to be clear about your enrollment process and what your clients will receive. Finally, you need to pick a relevant and memorable name for your services. You can clarify your services by creating a process or system and defining a set of deliverable and benefits that your clients will receive. Also, you can increase your value and differentiate your services by providing workbooks, checklists and other tools that guide and support your clients. Delivering one-on-one services is difficult, but you can make it easier and profitable by building a solid enrollment and delivery process. Furthermore, you can turn your services into products and programs when you are ready. Products and programs are easier to market and sell because they are tangible and clients know what they receive. The biggest challenge with selling services is the way clients tie your services to your time and your hourly price. On the other hand, most clients perceive the value of programs and products differently. STEP 4: SET BIG GOALS It is time to set financial and marketing goals Goal setting, and particularly achieving your goals, is very important. Goals are what you want to accomplish. Goals clearly define what you want to do and the deadline by which you want to accomplish it. Many entrepreneurs work hard but have no direction. Just wanting to make money is not a goal. You need a direction to know where you are going and a vision for your business that motivate you. Goal setting helps you identify where you are, where you want to go and the timeframe for what you want to achieve in your business. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 11 In my opinion, the process of goal setting should be simple and goals must be achievable. I know many people who spend a lot of time on setting their goals but don’t follow their plans to achieve them. The best way is to set SMART goals. SMART goals are: TIP #5: Some professionals ignore their strengths and try to do something totally new only because others are doing it. For example, they may try social media when they are really great at networking 1. Specific – Get as specific as you can about what you want to do and by when. Use numbers to be real specific and dates for your deadline. For example: “I want to grow my list to 5000 by June 30.” 2. Measurable – Make sure you can track your goals. For example, you can track how many people have signed up in your list every week. 3. Attainable – You should stretch yourself but set goals that you can achieve. For example, it is difficult to build a list of 5000 people in a month if you are starting your business but it is definitely possible to do it in 12 months. 4. Realistic – Do you believe it’s possible? Be honest with yourself. If you don’t believe it you cannot do it. You can only expand your list to 5000 if you believe you are ready and it is possible to build and grow your list to 5000. Otherwise, you’ll be fighting with yourself along the way and most likely you’ll give up. Start with something you believe is possible. 5. Time-bound – Set a specific date. You need a deadline to motivate and help you track your progress. Are you ready to set your goals now? I suggest you decide on your 5 year vision and set your 3 and 1 year goal. Also, create a one year financial goal. Focus on one big goal that you want to achieve and tie it to your financial goal. Finally, create a 90/7 day plan. Set your goal for the next 90 days and pick up to 3 strategies to achieve your goals. Make it simple. You don’t have to achieve 20 goals to be successful. Focus on one big goal and 3-5 objectives. Follow a 7 days action plan and monitor your progress on weekly bases. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 12 STEP 5: AUTHENTIC MARKETING STRATEGIES & TACTICS Let’s define the strategies and tactics first. Marketing strategy is how you are planning to achieve your big goals. Tactics are what you will do to implement your strategies and plans. TIP #6: Start with 1-3 marketing strategies and become great at it. Each strategy requires your resources to work. You can always add new ones or find help to manage some of your work. For example, if your goal is to reach 100,000 people, you may decide to use speaking as the strategy to reach more people and decide to join more podcasts and telesummits to implement your strategy and speak to larger audiences. You should always choose your marketing strategies and tactics based on your strengths. You’ve identified your strengths in step One. If you are good at networking and writing, go to networking events and write blogs and articles. You must always learn new strategies and tactics. Certain strategies are more effective than others. your skills. So, continue learning and building Here is a list of marketing strategies and tactics you can use to create awareness about your offerings, establish relationships with your potential clients, and create trust. Marketing Strategy Marketing Tactics REFERRALS Word of mouth, refer a friend COLLABORATION/JV List building event, Webinars SPEAKING Public speaking, Podcasts, Webinar, Teleseminar, Telesummits DIRECT CONTACT Sales Calls, Email , Newsletter, Email marketing NETWORKING Events, Social Media, Groups, Forums EVENTS Conferences WRITING Content Marketing, Books, Reports, Articles, Blogs, Guest blogs, eBook © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 13 Marketing Strategy Marketing Tactics INTERNET MARKETING Social Media, Webinars, Telesummits, Email marketing, Content Marketing, Podcasts, Blogs, Guest Blogs, List building, and… ADVERTISING Google and Facebook ads, Newspaper, mailer, inserts, postcards, … STEP 6: DEVELOP A CLIENT ATTRACTION SYSTEM “The Know, Like, and Trust Factor” The goal of a great client attraction system is to create visibility, attract clients, and generate leads regularly. Additionally, you want to engage, build relationships and trust with your prospects, and convert potential prospects to clients. The core and the foundation of a great system are your target market and niche, which is what you’ve defined on step 2. People that know, like and trust you will do business with you. So, the core of an Authentic Marketing system is you! If you are like most service entrepreneurs, your clients will engage with you before signing up for your services. So, the most Authentic Marketing Strategies and Tactics are those that allow you share your gift and engage with your prospects directly. There are many marketing strategies like speaking, networking, Web, and others for connecting with your target market. Always, choose marketing strategies and tactics that position you in front of your ideal clients. You want your prospects to know, like and trust you. Thus, choose the marketing strategies that your clients would best respond to. Also, always use your strengths and start with strategies that you know and like, while learning others. © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 14 STEP 7: MONITOR RESULTS AND STAY FOCUSED, BUT FLEXIBLE It is important to track your plans and stay focused on your goals. You should make changes and adjust your strategies and tactics as needed. Running a business is like playing a game. Don’t get hooked on the strategies. Detach yourself and focus on the results you want to create. TIP #7: Detach from the HOW and only focus on WHAT you want to create. Detachment allows you to be more flexible and make better decisions. You don't have to defend your decisions instead, you can focus on what works. Listen to your heart. You will know what to do. When doing business feels tough and stressful. It is time for rethink your approach and realign. It is important, to be honest with yourself and follow your heart. Your emotions tell you everything. You'll know when you are afraid and when you are being stubborn. You know when your ego is talking and when you are on the right path. Trust yourself and move forward. Take baby steps and enjoy the ride. Yes, enjoy the process or find something else that you enjoy more! © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 15 About A. Mike Rafati: A. Mike Rafati helps conscious entrepreneurs and business professionals to follow their dreams and create the fulfilling life and business they desire. Mike has a passion for entrepreneurship and draws from his 25 years of business and marketing experience, along with his own personal journey, to help conscious entrepreneurs and business owners shift their mindset, own their brilliance, make a bigger impact and generate more money doing what they love. Working together, Mike brings a new empowering vision to his clients to show them how to customize an effective marketing system based on their strengths and channel their energy towards strategies and activities that create greater results. He is the creator of Incredible Coach, IncredibleTalks, Authentic Client Attraction, Marketing Breakthrough, and MFactor. In his free time, Mike enjoys walking by the ocean, watching sunsets even on cloudy days, reading great books, discovering new restaurants and experiencing great food, having deep conversations, and exploring new places © Mike Rafati - Incrediblecoach.com - All rights Reserved Page 16