We’re currently two-thirds of our way through our 90 Days - Get More Clients Coaching Program.

This program has specifically provided participants with a step-by-step framework to allow them to grow their business. Over the next few weeks, participants will be stepping up to the plate and presenting their business to other members of the group. 

As part of their presentation, they’ll include all of the information that I’ve provided to them over the past eight weeks in our training webinars.  For me, this is such an important part of the learning process that is often forgotten. Asking participants to use all of this information and present it back to the group further embeds the learning process, and reinforces how you can use the information and make it relevant to you.

One of the areas that we have been looking at continually through this process is that of their ideal clients.  Understanding who your ideal clients are is something that as a business owner you don't want to take lightly  , and I thought it might be nice to do a refresher and look again at who your ideal clients are…

1.  Make a list of all of your clients and note down some things about them.  For the activity, let’s focus on the demographic profile of your ideal clients.  Start with looking at questions like: What they do, how much they spend with you, what you like about them. Are they all from a certain industry or profession?  Are you passionate about their issues or challenges?

Then look at the psychographic profile of your ideal clients.  What are their beliefs, their attitude, what do they think about, how are they feeling about their current situation.  How do they make decisions?

2.  From this list, look for what patterns are occurring and who is sitting in the top 20% - is it professional woman who run their own small businesses; male engineers; contracts with government agencies; new mums; start ups etc. 

3.  Focus your efforts on this top 20%.  Research this group and find out more about what they need, what issues they are facing, where they hang out, are they willing to spend money on services and products?

4.  Now armed with this information - ask yourself: How can you reach them?  What can you do to be more visible to this market?  Once you research your market, develop your message and be clear on what you can do to solve their challenges.  You can begin to write articles, speak at their industry conferences, and become the go-to person for these people.

Your challenge is to spend your time focusing and working with this top 20%, let go of the other 80% and watch what happens to your bottom line and to your own passion and excitement. You will find that your message becomes more clear, and your clients will better understand what you do and how you can support them.

To further support you learning transfer, feel free to share with me your responses to these questions.

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This week I was reminded about how important it is for us to really focus on and believe in the H.C.I.S.Y Business Model. The How Can I Serve You business model has slowly been coming to the surface now for the past few years – finally!  It may be the model you already follow or it may be the model that you are moving into.  Which ever it is – Welcome!

It hasn’t always been this way, and I remember when first starting out in business nearly twenty years ago, how an ‘expert’ made me feel wrong for wanting to focus on my clients success, rather than the money I could make. 

In this particular business training course, we were asked the reason why we were in business.  Most answered that they wanted to make money, whilst there were a few of us who actually spoke about our passion for being in business and the difference we felt we could make. 

It’s seems strange doesn’t it that you would want to be in business to make a difference and add value to others! 

At the time, we were almost laughed out of the room, and told that we probably wouldn’t be in business for long.  So I started to wonder if my focus needed to change.  After all, he was the ‘expert’ and we had all paid a lot of money to be there that day. 

Against my ‘inner judgement’, I took his advice and started to focus on the sale, the money – and it did start to work (for a while). But it was a hollow win. I stopped being excited about my work and it started to feel like a chore, a job. The freedom that first drove me to work for myself was taken from me, and the passion was being constricted.    

After a while, I decided that trusting myself was more important and bringing back the passion into my work was going to be the focus. You see, we know that being the best you can for your clients and supporting them well, that the money will come.

And I was reminded of this again earlier this week when on a call with Guy Kawasaki, who wrote the book Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions.  On this call, he said, “Money is a natural outcome of doing something well, so focus on your passion when building your business.” 

It’s so true, don’t you think?

Are you in business and following your passion?  Or are you doing what you think you need to do to make money?

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you don’t want to be making money (otherwise, there will be removalist trucks at your front door before you know it!).  I’m just saying that when you focus on serving others, delivering results, and being passionate about the value you add – then the natural outcome will in fact be financial success…

What are your thoughts?  Do you engage in the H.C.I.S.Y Business Model or are you stuck in the outdated W.I.F.M Model

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When you first started your business, did you make the same mistake that I made?  Did you feel you   had to take on every new client who approached you?  I did!  When I started, one of the strategies I thought would build a successful business was to see everyone as a potential client.  I would chase them until I became exhausted.  It didn't guarantee me new clients, my bottom line didn't grow, and my business wasn't successful.  Something had to change. 

I knew what I wanted to create, but at that time I didn’t really know or understand how to create it successfully. It took me time, and a high level of commitment, but after reading, studying, and being mentored, I knew I had the skills and knowledge to build a business that I would be proud of.  A business that would be successful! I realised that it took focus and persistence, because building a business is a marathon, it’s not a sprint.

Over a period of time, I developed a formula that worked for me. I called it my Success Formula.  It goes like this:

Make a Decision + Stay Focused + Be Persistent = Success

So how does this look in reality?

Make A Decision

So, you’ve blocked out your 2011 planning time, begun to thrash out your goals and intentions for creating the best business year yet.  Research has been completed. You’ve worked with your business mentor or advisors around how to stretch yourself further, and achieve these goals.  Now it’s time to make a decision! 

Ask yourself:   Are you excited by the goals and intentions you have set?  If yes: 

Have you stretched yourself?  If yes: 

After intensive research, are you willing to back yourself?  If yes:

Are you willing to make the decision that these are your goals for 2011?  If yes:

It’s time for you to commit to this decision.

Now if we go back to the very first question around being excited by your goals – if you answered ‘no’ to this question, than its back to the drawing board for you.  Keep working on your goals and intentions, until you feel the excitement, until you know internally that the goals you are setting will set you on fire.

Okay, now you’ve made the decision, what’s next?

Stay focused & be persistent!

As mentioned earlier, building your successful business is not a sprint, you want to treat it as a marathon.  Don’t make it hard.  If you read anything about successful entrepreneurs, you know that in most cases they persist when others give up.  Now that doesn’t mean at times you may need to change or modify your decision, but what you want to do is make the necessary changes, get back on track, and continue to be focused and persistent.

When working with my mentoring clients, and step up their marketing efforts – by doing research, developing extraordinary products and services, and focusing in on their target market.  Often what I will begin hearing from them is “Deb, you are relentless, and this is a lot of work.”  And they're right, but this is business, and this is the legacy they are creating. 

When you put the right work in, focus and stay persistent, results will happen.  If you’re not sure what the next step is for you and your business, why not check out my Marketing Blueprint Workshops.  What’s the worst thing that could happen?  You could come away with your 2011 marketing plan.  Remember all it takes is making that decision.

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I always believed that being a member of the Royal Australian Air Force gave me a great foundation for my life, both professionally and personally.  The things I learnt from my time in the military have been invaluable to my business success.  The expansive skill set of strategic planning, competitive intelligence, decision making, leadership development, high standard enforcement, and innovation in execution are just a few of the skills that I walked away with.

When I first started out in business, I looked at the skills I had, but then quickly realised that to be effective, I needed to translate them from a military context, into a context that would provide me with the greatest value to my business.

I am reminded of these skills whenever the end of the year is upon me, as I normally will spend the last couple of months of the year planning and preparing for the next year. 

Here are three of the skills from the military that I find most useful for my business:

Intelligence:  In the military, there is always a systematic and ongoing analysis of competitors.  Understanding and reviewing the intelligence of your competition allows you to stay alive!  So when was the last time you spent time studying your competitors?  Do you know who your top five competitors are and what can you learn from them?

Action Step: Before now and the end of the year, take time to identify your top 10 competitors.  Use the questions set out in my previous article – Competition is not a Dirty Word and diligently work through these questions, so you have a better understanding of what your competitors are doing.  Use this information to either make changes to what you are currently doing or allow it to show you that what you currently do is cutting-edge. 

Planning and Preparation:  The military are known for their comprehensive and structured planning – which they do very well.  Not only is the planning  comprehensive, but it is timely and well executed.  There are only 64 days until 2011 hits us – have you begun to put together your strategic plan for 2011?  What are your goals and targets?  Have you started to develop your 2011 Marketing Plan?  Remember that 90% of all small businesses don’t have a marketing plan in place.  Make sure you are one of the 10% that does.

Action Step:  Block out time between now and January 1st to plan for 2011.  If you're not sure what you need to do here, now is the time to identify the specific type of support you need to help you develop your plan.  Get clear on this, and 2011 will be your best year.

Leadership Development:  The value of a great military leader was more than just what they did, it was how they did it, how they made decisions, lead their teams and presented themselves overall.  Many had to learn to be great leaders, and often in very trying circumstances.  I often find that when working with SME’s, they either don’t understand or don’t see the importance of being a strong leader.  But I would like to challenge you to think about this differently, whether you are a solopreneur or have a small team, your leadership skills and development is vitally important. 

Action Step: Please don’t make the mistake of not seeing yourself as a leader.  Take time to create a vision of the leader you would like to be and see the impact this can have on your business.

I look forward to hearing how you plan to spend your next 64 days.  Feel free to let me know.

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I was reading a report last week that said that only 10% of small businesses in America take the time to properly develop a marketing strategy. It made me think that if this was happening in the US, I’m sure the figures would be similar regardless of where you are in the world. Why is it that you may start a business, but decide not to put a plan into place of how to grow your livehood? If you were heading out on a road trip to a new destination, my guess is that you would have some type of map, whether it be a GPS, a list of directions or a good old-fashioned map. It just makes sense to know where you’re going!

Often when I begin working with my mentor clients, and we begin to speak about their marketing strategy, they overcomplicate the process and aren't quite sure what this needs to look like or be for them. And, I need to let you know that in some cases, these are woman and man who have been in business for five or more years. Now, I'm not saying this to make them wrong, but I wanted to highlight the fact that it's not just a challenge for those who are new to business. As you will know, I’m a big believer in using the “KISS” principle. Keep it simple (stupid) and make it practical, so that you firstly, develop the strategy, and secondly, make sure you implement the strategy.

Having a marketing strategy in place is good business sense, and as I mentioned if you need something simple, than please make it simple. My request is that you take the time to develop this strategy, so that it helps you grow your business, helps you increase your sales funnel, boost your client list, pay your bills and most importantly bring you back to the reason you are doing what you are doing.

Let’s take a look at two simple steps you can put in place to begin developing your marketing strategy for 2011. (Yes, I do mean 2011, because it is coming fast!)

Step 1 :

Develop your strategy .

a) Be very clear on who your ideal clients are. I’m going to presume that since you have been reading my newsletters you are clear on who these people are. If you’re not sure, then take time to re-read this article. If you haven’t done so already, take the time to work through my latest report on “How you can identify your ideal clients.”. If it has been over 2 months since you subscribed, then you may want this updated report to work through .

b) Look at what you can do to take your solutions from ordinary to extraordinary. As there are so many small businesses out there, you may not be getting noticed, because you seem just like everyone else. Take a moment, ask yourself and be really honest here with your answer; “What do I need to do to make my service extraordinary?” If you’re not sure, ask those people around you that you trust, ask some of your most valuable clients – find out and listen to what people are saying to you. The answers you receive may require you to re-think your current business strategy. But don’t despair, because I know this will be worth it; especially if you can offer a product or service in a way that nobody else can, your competition can become redundant. And I heard this saying recently and want to share it with you: When it comes to your prospects, don't be a choice - be the choice.

Step 2:

Develop your plan

a) Block out some time, and begin to develop your 12-month plan that fits in precisely with your strategy. To achieve your goals for the next 12 months - what are the strategies you need to put in place each month and how are you going to track them? Here are a few ideas to begin thinking about: email campaigns; advertising campaigns; public relations campaigns; your live events; keynote speaking; training webinars; etc .

b) Once you have developed your 12-month plan, and broken it down into monthly targets, break it down further into what you will need to do weekly to meet your overall goal. Then each week, block out some time to evaluate what happened the week before; what you will be focusing on this week and what is coming up the following week. It’s like your road trip, you know where you are going but if something comes up unexpectedly, you are prepared to meet this current challenge or issue.

Let me know how you go with this. If you’re still not sure what you need to do here to begin, then you won’t want to miss out on October’s Business Building Blocks webinar – this is exactly what we will be working on. So get the jump on your competitors and join our call.

And one last thought - activity breeds activity Tweet

Who are your ideal clients?  Do you think knowing who your ideal clients are - is important to your business success?

Would love your thoughts, so please take a moment to share!  Not sure who your ideal clients are - then download my report of "Identify your ideal clients and what your profits grow.'  Tweet