Is This You?

Are you working harder than ever, yet it seems your business is standing still? Perhaps you also feel overwhelmed and underpaid?  Well, you can tap into the latest internet tools to increase your income AND reduce the number of hours in the office.

If you’re a self-employed consultant, coach, trainer, speaker, author or therapist, then you’re the kind of client I work best with. Most of my clients work from home offices and take pride in delivering a first class service to their clients, often travelling around the country to do so.  They may be sole-traders or owner/directors of their own small business and have been established for at least a couple of years, steadily building a client base.  What they all have in common is that they are independent, professional service providers.

• “Most of my business so far has come from word of mouth referrals but lately they seem to be drying up. My clients aren’t the type of people who go to local networking breakfast meetings.  What kind of marketing should I do to find them?”
• “I seem to be spending too much time on LinkedIn and Facebook! While it’s great to be able to connect to so many people, I don’t understand how to make online networking bring in new clients.  It all seems very confusing.”
• “I’ve been in business for several years and love being a coach and trainer.  But I’m starting to get fed up and feeling shattered with all the driving and long days away from home.  I see other trainers are selling ebooks and other products on their websites and want to be able to do that too.  The problem is that my technical ability is quite limited – and so is my budget.”
• “My website is about 5 years old and has been very disappointing in terms of the number of people phoning to ask about my consultancy services.  I paid a lot of money to have it designed and can’t afford to just scrap it.  I keep hearing that the internet is the way forward, but don’t know what I should be doing, or how to get started.”
• “I’m feeling totally overwhelmed and don’t know which way to turn! Apparently I should be sending out a newsletter, blogging, podcasting and twittering to help my business grow.  Where can I learn how to do those and how on earth am I supposed to fit everything into my already busy day without staying up all night?”

The clients who have the best results from working with me tend to share many of the following character traits:

• Willing to learn – want to be able to use new tools & techniques
• Open to change – are naturally curious to explore new ideas
• Very knowledgeable about their field – have done the studying & always stay updated
• Ready to do the work – recognise there’s no such thing as a ‘quick fix’ or ‘magic pill’
• Set high standards for themselves – want to get the best possible results, not settle for second best.
• Prepared to invest in their business – take responsibility and put in the necessary resources because success is important.

Now that you know the kind of clients I work with, the issues I help them resolve and what my clients need to do to ensure their success, click on this link to learn more about “What to Expect“.