Sandra Martini's Success Strategies

You're never too busy to. . .

When was the last time you took time to simply celebrate? You see, last week was a busy one in my business -- two team members were down with the flu, three Done 4 You clients had big (and hugely successful, I'm happy to say!) launches, and I had a record number of "Get Acquainted" and "SMAC" coaching calls. While in the throes of such incredible busyness, you realize just how valuable your team is and I want to take today to celebrate MY team -- all they've done, and continue to do, for me and all they've done for our "Done 4 You" clients.

For those of you who have ever scheduled an appointment with me or sent a general inquiry, chances are you've spoken or emailed with Gina. Here's a great picture of her with her fiance Marty on Cape Cod last summer.

And there's Heidi. . .who thinks nothing of checking emails at 10pm "just in case you need me". Don't worry! I'm working with her on boundaries. She sent this gorgeous picture yesterday with the note "Why would I want to work anywhere else?" -- rather than a government cubicle in Washington, DC or IBM, Heidi now sits in front of her orchid garden and looks out over her yard in South Carolina. Why indeed. . .

Thank you Gina and Heidi for all you do! Thank you also to the rest of my team (who you'll meet in future issues of this ezine): Lynda, Carol, Fran, Cosmin and Casimer. When was the last time you celebrated those who make your life easier in a million different little, and not so little, ways?

Why more clients may not be the missing piece of the puzzle

How many times have you thought “If only I had more clients, all my problems would be solved”?

Most businesses – regardless of whether micro, small or corporate giants – have found themselves believing that all their business problems would be solved if they could just get more clients.

True?

While you’re most likely squirming in your chair anxious to shout a resounding “YES!”, chances are you know me well enough to know the answer is “It depends”.

You see, it depends on whether or not these phantom, soon-to-be-real clients are your ideal clients and whether or not you’re offering ideal products and services.

Let’s break that down. For purposes of this article:

“Ideal clients” are those clients who make you smile when you see their name on caller id or in your email box. The ones who appreciate the value you bring to them, happily pay you on time and refer others to you.

“Ideal products and services” are more than products and services which your ideal clients want and will pay money for. They’re also the products and services which make you money.

Without the right clients (ones you enjoy) and the right products and services (ones which add, not subtract, to your bottom line), simply “selling more” doesn’t matter and can actually have the wrong effect on your business, and sanity.

Make It Real: My Request to You

Ready to figure out where you stand?

1. Write out your ideal client description – who is she (or he)? What do they do? What do they love? What keeps them up at night? Give them a name, hobbies, what do they read? Where do they vacation? Do they have children? What do they spend their discretionary income on? Create a person, find a picture which represents your ideal client and post it where you can see it every day.
2. And now for some math – KNOW, don’t guess, how much PROFIT (not revenue) you make on each and every product or service you offer. If you haven’t done this before, you may be surprised to learn that some of your products or services are actually COSTING you money.
3. Review numbers 1 and 2 above and see where they cross – which of your highest profit (also known as “gross margin”) products and services are ones your ideal client wants and is willing to pay for?
4. Have lower profit products or services that aren’t “loss leaders” as part of your marketing? Now’s the time to either raise the price, bundle them in a different way so they are profitable or let them go.

Once you’ve done the above, you’ll be able to assess whether what you really want are MORE clients or the same clients arranged differently in your funnel.

After all, it’s not about you working 24/7.

For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at http://www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.

Are you paving cow paths or creating super highways?

I’ve noticed a trend with my clients: they’re either struggling to make low 6 figures (say up to $200,000) or they’re at the million dollar mark and beyond.

Why the marked difference in revenue?

In focusing on the struggling 6-figure entrepreneur, the answers are as simple as they are complex:

1. Many are “stuck” in the $50,000 - $80,000 revenue range – after all, this is what they previously thought was a “good” income from a, dare I say it, J O B and so is what they’re comfortable with
2. Most haven’t yet learned how to leverage themselves and so are trying to do it all themselves without benefit of a strong infrastructure
3. and that leads me to. . .many entrepreneurs become loyal to their team members and either don’t require them to upgrade their skills as necessary or keep them long after it’s time to part ways
4. The concept of passive revenue and “making money while they sleep” is exciting, but most entrepreneurs don’t take action on it CONSISTENTLY and
5. last, but certainly not least, many entrepreneurs make it MUCH harder than it is by not incorporating simple systems which make it effortless.

To paraphrase Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”

So what’s a struggling 6.5 – 7-figure-wannabe-entrepreneur to do? 

Brain pathways to success by Bonnie Hutchinson

I watched a video of a brain in action and it’s expanded my mind.

Imagine your hands with your fingers spread apart, with the fingertips of your two hands reaching toward each other. Imagine moving your hands together so the fingers are interlocking.

That’s kind of how the video of the brain looked.

First we could see pathways in the brain – it looked like a complicated three-dimensional road map with many pathways crisscrossing.

As the camera zoomed in even more, we could see the little net-fingered brain cells moving constantly – busy mind! Then we watched as two brain cells “talked” to each other – like little fingers waving to each other. And then, in one instant, they interlocked, and became a single pathway.

There is one difference between interlocking fingers and interlocking brain cells. When our fingers interlock, we can move them apart. But once brain cells have such frequent contact that they connect, they are permanently interlocked.

When two brain cells talk to each other frequently, they create a pathway. These brain pathways are not just mental connections, they are physical connections. If the pathways are used often, they become roadways and then superhighways of repeating thought patterns. These show up in our lives as beliefs, recurring emotions and habits.

Membership Forums: Marketing Mess of the Week

Membership forums...a frequent benefit of continuity or membership programs -- you know, a program where you pay $X per month (pricing varies greatly depending on program host) and typically get a couple of phone calls, a membership forum and other benefits (all dependent on the program host).

So, I was reading some posts on one of the paid forums I belong to (as opposed to free forums such as YahooGroups or GoogleGroups), noticed something and then hopped over to some other forums I receive as benefits of different programs.

The trend I noticed, and kept noticing?

Social Currency More Than Just a Fad

Included with the current social networking and Web 2.0 craze is a resurgence of the concept of "social currency".

I first heard the concept described as the "whuffie" factor from Cory Doctorow several years ago.

When cut down to its barest essence, I think of "social currency" as essentially the trust and personal connection you create with people when you do things for the better good, or in service of others.

Building social currency equates to taking people on the journey of first being a disinterested prospect (MAYBE they've heard of you), to wanting to know all about you, to then becoming a client and, if you've done your job well, a passionate advocate.

You see, it's not money which makes the world go round. . .it's relationships.

Building them with your prospects and valuing them with your clients -- above all else -- is the mark of a successful business leader.

For some, increasing your social currency is as simple as getting up every morning -- it's who you are naturally as people and business owners. For others, it's a great lesson in self-awareness and how you treat others (Scrooge is a classic example).

Make It Real: My Request to You

Here are a few ways you can earn social currency with your prospects and clients:

1. Let your guard down and be open and honest with everyone, especially if you've made a mistake -- after all, we're all human and mistakes are gonna happen.
2. Listen to what your clients and prospects are telling you -- if not by their words, then by their actions.
3. Remember that less is not always more. Treat your clients and prospects as you want to be treated, or better.
4. Be client-centric and develop all of your programs, products, calls, etc. from a place of being of service to your client first and foremost.
5. Look for ways you can contribute, just to help someone out or provide info without expecting anything in return, and act on them.

Earning social currency goes far beyond providing good customer service. It's a way of being which shows your clients and prospects that you care about them and connect with them as people, not just as a revenue source.

How full is your "wallet"?

For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at http://www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.

Marketing Mess of the Week: Why Won't You Let Me Give You Money?

I was recently out on a site related to feng shui (a hobby and great love of mine) and wanted to purchase a new crystal for my office window.

After clicking NINE different links, I finally got to the shopping cart only to find that there was no "checkout" link.  When clicking to "checkout", the site kept bringing me back to the product description page.

Now it only took about 3 tries for me to get that things weren't going to change and start to hunt for a phone number to call and order this $16 crystal.

No such luck...another site with no contact information on it.

When all was said and done, I left the site grumbling, frustrated and having spent well more than $16 of my time. . .and without the crystal.

Somehow I don't think the business owner intended this to be her clients' experience.

Whenever you create a new product or service, be sure to walk through the steps you're clients will experience as if you were one -- even better, ask your mother (or someone unfamiliar with what you're doing) to order the product WITHOUT you standing over her shoulder.

Is the experience simple?  Or are you frustrated by the amount of time and energy it takes?

Test, modify and test again until the process becomes effortless. :-)