SoloSavvy Blog for Solo Entrepreneurs

Extend Your Range of Products to Keep Your Clients Engaged Longer

Fabienne Fredrickson — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:30:53 +0000

The Client Attraction System came out of the need for my clients to fill their pipelines and build a full business. This worked great for a while and as you know I still sell the Client Attraction System.

However, as my own business grew and time passed, my clients wanted more. Their needs changed as their businesses developed and grew beyond the first stages. Clients needed time management skills and help with passive and leveraged income. While there are plenty of other coaches out there who teach this, my clients wanted this from me, Fabienne.

If I were to ignore this area and not provide materials for the next stage of business, I would be missing a huge opportunity. It’s like leaving money on the table. In addition, many of my clients enjoyed being a part of the Client Attraction community and I wanted to find a way to extend the time they could stay with me and get their needs met. So, I started creating programs, materials and workshops to address the needs of people who had moved on to the next phase of business development.

Be conscious of what new learning you need as your own business grows. Chances are, what YOU need is something your current clients will also need later. As you keep track of what you’re doing next in your own business, new ideas for services will often present themselves. Another way to think about this is to pay close attention to what clients ask about. For those who have been with you for a while, their needs will change as they grow. Lastly, you can always look to your competition to see what they are offering and how you can create your own, improved version to meet your clients’ needs and keep them with you longer.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Have you noticed anything missing from your product and service offerings? What have clients expressed an interest in? Stay open to opportunities to create materials for the next level your clients will need. This will help you keep them in your community longer and deter them from seeking help from others.

How to Maximize Your Facebook Business Timeline

Michele A Scism — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:30:58 +0000

Did you know that Facebook has created a new resource center with lots of great hints and tips for getting the most marketing oomph out of Facebook. The Facebook Marketing Center is a treasure trove of information on getting the most from Facebook and has videos, white papers and articles, and social media blueprints covering how to maximize your reach on your timeline, how to use Facebook insights and other tracking features, and how to incorporate Facebook’s new premium features into your marketing plan. I was very impressed with all the material and resources available to you.

To give you a sampling of the quality of information there – here are some of Facebook’s basic tips for getting the most out of your Facebook business timeline. This information was in the section on using the new Result Generator — but the hints apply for any Facebook page.

Redesign your Page using the features from new Pages such as your cover photo and pinned posts to effectively express your brand identity. Post once per day. Make sure that your posts are limited to 90 characters, and that your profile image scales well from 180×180 to 32×32 pixels. (The reason why you want your post to be under 90 characters is that is what shows up when they are shared — you can of course write longer posts – just realize that they won’t all show above the fold). Also, note that the profile image size has changed slightly – for most sites this won’t matter – but it is worth checking our profile photo to see how it looks.

Use bold visuals. Grab your audience’s attention by using simple images with highly-saturated colors to stand out against the site’s white/blue background.

Photos and videos drive twice the engagement. Engaging content is an effective way to drive more stories into news feed. Photos should be uploaded to a Facebook album for best quality and should not contain text overlays. (Make sure that in addition to posting videos to You Tube, they are also going to Facebook.

Mommy, I Want to be a Monkeytologist

Michelle Shaeffer — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:30:03 +0000

At 7 years old, my daughter has decided her life path. She will become a “monkeytologist” and live with monkeys in the African forest.

What did you want to be when you were 7? I wanted to be an astronaut. And yes, the 7 year old in me is very anxiously awaiting the success of Virgin Galactic’s space travel. Then I wanted to be lawyer, a college teacher, and get into politics. Not quite the path I ended up taking. But remember how much fun it was to dream as a kid?

At some point, many of us stop dreaming. We accept that life is what it is and we’ll get a job, go to work every day, and take home a paycheck. Even when we launch out into our entrepreneurial adventures many of us end up creating a job for ourselves. (And I don’t know about you, but some days I work for a seriously crazy boss lady named Michelle…)

If you could turn things around right now, what is it that you really want to do? What is it that makes you feel alive and like you’re doing exactly what you were created to do or be?
Can you start moving closer to that now?

Maybe you aren’t ready to leap 100% into it, but can you just do one thing to move closer to it?

One of my favorite quotes is “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Dr. Harold Thurman

Just a thought I’ve been pondering a lot lately… how about you?

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5 Ways to Get More Out of the New Timeline Pages

Michelle Shaeffer — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:30:37 +0000

Are you trying to figure out what to do with that new “timeline” layout that’s taken over your Facebook page?

Never fear! Here are 5 easy actions you can take to leverage the new features we’ve been given by the Facebook overlords.

1. Use a Great Cover Photo

Make your cover photo attention grabbing and interesting. Consider changing it occassionally to keep it fresh.

Just touch the image with your mouse and a “Change Cover” option will show up in the bottom right corner. Click that and choose your new image. Dimensions are 851px by 315px.

What can you do with it?

Share photos of yourself/your business:

products or portfolio shots

speaking on stage

working in your office

with a client or group of clients

with a coach or your mastermind group

out networking or attending live events

Use a custom image collage or custom image:

you can create one yourself with a tool like http://pixlr.com

use a collage of your fans created with http://myfbcover.com/apps/texteffects/ (scroll down on the page to see it)

find a talented graphics designer or virtual assistant to create one for you

2. Fill in Your “About” Box

If your page isn’t connected to a place, you’ve got about 165 characters here and if you put in a URL with http:// or www. at the beginning it will show as a live clickable link.

Tips:

Keep it short and simple

Don’t use a bunch of buzz words or industry jargon

You CAN use a call to action in this box (such as “like my page to…”)

If your page is connected to a place, you won’t get to customize this space. It will automatically show your address and contact info. Just make sure it’s accurate and up to date.

3. Take Advantage of the Featured Boxes/Tabs

Instead of “tabs” we’ve now got boxes. Only four will be featured on your page but you can see all the boxes on any page by clicking the small arrow on the right:

Change the box positions to feature the ones you want noticed. If you have a great custom tab promoting a free opt-in gift, upcoming event, or sale you may want to feature it. You may also want to make some boxes not show up when someone first lands on your page (for example, if you’ve only got a few fans, you can hide the “like” box while you grow your numbers).

Just mouseover the box you want to move and an editing pencil icon will appear. Click that then click to swap it with the box of your choice.

4. Star & Feature Your Best Credibility Builders

With the two column layout of our pages, we can now “feature” some posts to make them show up as one column, stretching across the page.

Just touch your mouse over the status update, and you’ll see a star and editing pencil icon appear in the top right corner. Click the star icon to feature it.

5. “Pin” a Welcome or Offer on Top of Your Page

You can “pin” the status update of your choice to the top of your page for up to 7 days. You could use this to share a short welcome message or feature an upcoming event.

And there you go! 5 ways to get more out of your new Facebook timeline.

Got more time? Check out the “Milestone” feature and add important events in your company history — awards, honors, etc.

What do you think of the new timeline? Love it? Hate it? Still deciding?

No Opt-In = Lost Opportunities

Marty Marsh — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:30:39 +0000

If you don’t have an opt-in form on your site, you will have no opportunity to communicate with the vast majority of your visitors ever again.

Most visitors to your site will likely only visit you once and if they don’t buy on that first visit — and it is highly likely that they won’t — you must have some way of continuing to communicate with them so they’ll think of you when they are ready to buy.

You must have an opt-in form on your site situated prominently so site visitors will join your list. The usual place for it, and this is where folks have been trained to look for it, is in the upper right quadrant of your site. In fact, you should place this opt-in form on ALL pages of your site, as you never know where someone will land when they arrive at your site. This is especially true if they’re coming in from a Google search.

These days, people aren’t likely to join your list if you just ask them but they will join if you offer them a reason to do so. Like an ethical bribe. A special report or an ebook that will solve one of their more pressing problems.

Every reputable email service provider — autoresponder service — will provide the code to place on your site. You can have no excuse, get that opt-in form on your site now.

Benefits of Hypnosis and Famous People Who Use It to Succeed

Nan Akasha — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:30:29 +0000

High Income Hypnosis ™ is a powerful, yet gentle tool that create true, lasting change.

There are so many benefits to Hypnosis, from emotional stress, to making money, to healing your body, losing weight and getting past fear… the list goes on and on. Mate the power to overcome your brain, and it can happen INSTANTLY!

Overcome POVERTY MENTALITY… to embracing a wealthy mindset.
Focus, inspiration, excellence

EINSTEIN used Hypnosis daily to relax and think… his power. He even created the Theory of Relativity while under Hypnosis!

Sir Winston Churchill used hypnosis to handle stress, stay awake as Prime Minister during WWII.

John McAfee used hypnosis to help his employees excel.

Thomas Edison used self—hypnosis on a regular basis… he invented the Light bulb and more!

Andre Agassi tennis star worked with Anthony Robbins, Utilizing NLP and Hypnosis.

Phil Jackson, coach of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers believed in using hypnosis with his basketball teams, including Michael Jordon, Kobe Bryant, and Shaq O”Neal.

Kevin Costner, actor, got a Hypnotherapist to help him get past seasickness when filming “Waterworld.”

Jackie Kennedy Onassis used hypnotherapy to deal with grief and pain, due to the many tragedies in her life.

Henry Ford (1863-1947) car manufacturer.

Goethe (1749-1832) writer and scientist

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) inventor.

Mozart (1756-91) composed the opera Cosi fan tutte while in hypnosis.

Celebrities like Ben Affleck, Britney Spears use hypnosis, and Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Ellen DeGeneres, Ashton Kutcher and Charlize Theron quit smoking through hypnosis.

Top players on Wall street, Silicon Valley, top millionairess and players have all used Hypnosis

Finally I thought this story was super compelling:

Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). Used hypnosis to overcome a deep crash after his first Symphony completely failure. Criticised heavily, he struggled compose, and finally stopped trying altogether. He sank into a deep depression which lasted for three years.

“Something within me snapped,” he said. “All my self-confidence broke down…. A paralyzing apathy possessed me. I did nothing at all and found no pleasure in anything. Half my days were spent on a couch sighing over my ruined life. My only occupation consisted in giving a few piano lessons in order to keep myself alive.”

Finally, Rachmaninoff went to see Dr. Nicolai Dahl, who happened to be a pioneer in the field of hypnosis.

“My relatives had informed Dr. Dahl that he must by all means cure me of my apathetic condition and bring about such results that I would again be able to compose.

“Dr. Dahl had inquired what kind of composition was required of me, and he was informed, ‘a concerto for pianoforte,’ for I had promised this to people in London and had given up in despair the idea of writing it.

“In consequence, I heard repeated day after day the same hypnotic formula, as I lay half asleep in an armchair in Dr. Dahl’s study: ‘You will start to compose a concerto – You will work with the greatest of ease – The composition will be of excellent quality.’ It was always the same, without interruption.

“Although it may sound impossible to believe, this treatment really helped me. I began to compose at the beginning of the summer. The material grew in volume, and new musical ideas began to well up within me, many more than I needed for my concerto….

“I felt that Dr. Dahl’s treatment had strengthened my nervous system to a degree almost miraculous. Out of gratitude I dedicated my Second Concerto to him.”

Over 100 years ago Rachmaninoff composed his Second Piano Concerto, one of the most beautiful, moving pieces of music ever written. THANKS TO HYPNOSIS!

Learn From the Facebook IPO

Justin Krane — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:30:52 +0000

Timing has a lot to do with the Facebook IPO

Attention business owners! Looking to sell your company? Not sure when the right time is to sell? You might want to use the upcoming Facebook IPO as an example.

Facebook will have a potential valuation of about $100 billion. To put this in perspective, Google was valued at $33 billion when it came public. Groupon was valued at $12.8 billion when it went public. So the Facebook IPO at $100 billion?! Is that insane or what?

Facebook also is selling right at the time when their business is maturing. On Monday, Facebook disclosed that its profit declined from their last quarter in 2011 because they spent more money and had some “seasonality” in their advertising revenue.

Facebook still has major growth potential but pretty soon its growth will have to start decelerating. It happened to Amazon, Ebay and Google, and it will happen to Facebook.

So what you can learn from the Facebook IPO?

Sell your company as your growth is peaking, just before it hits full maturity. Buyers need to feel that there is still an upside to what they are buying. Otherwise they won’t buy your company at the price you want.

Don’t be the only face of your company. If you are, your business won’t be worth as much when you are no longer there. Facebook has a smart team of executives who are running the show. It’s not just Mark Zuckerberg.

Even if you have no plans of selling your company today, at some point you might want that option to sell. You need to start planning 3-5 years before you want to sell. Although Zuckerberg didn’t start Facebook to make money and take it public, several early stage investors wanted to cash in on their investment. They even sold their shares privately in a secondary market. My guess is that they laid the groundwork for the Facebook IPO a few years ago.

Think about what you can do to consistently grow your company. Imagine yourself ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, when your company goes public. Game on.

Easy 3 Step Decision Making Process

Michele A Scism — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:30:21 +0000

I admit, at first I wasn’t sure I had a process (decision making comes very naturally to me). But, it occurred to me that I do in fact have a process — and I’m going to share it with you.

Step One: Gather Information

Before you make any decision, you need to get the information you need to decide. In the case of choosing a seat on my Southwest flight – I needed to know whether the flight was full or not so I could decide whether to take a seat where I might be stuck in the middle — or take a seat on the aisle. The best strategy depended on how many people would eventually get on the plane. So, I asked the stewardess — she said the plane would be pretty full. In your business, this fact finding stage can take days (or weeks) or just minutes… The key here is to gather the information and then move on to the next step…

Step Two: Interpret the Facts Now that you have the facts you need – it is time to interpret them so you can make your decision. In the case of the airline seat, the interpretation was easy – I couldn’t count on having the seat next to me empty – so I chose my seat accordingly. The pitfall with business decisions is that sometimes we let our decision making be clouded by doubt and fear. Don’t let those emotions in. Make your decision based on the facts as you see them.

Step Three: Look at the Opportunity/Options and Decide. You’ve looked at the options – now it is time to stretch your imagination and see what choices you really have. Now is the time to make a decision. If you’ve done steps 1 and 2 – you should know the right choice. Make it and start implementing.

Use a Support Team to Concentrate Your Power

Kelly Eckert — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:30:53 +0000

One of the fastest ways to get unstuck—in anything—is to ask for help. As long as the person you’re asking for help is positive and encouraging—not a yes-man, just not a naysayer either.

When I say anything, I mean anything.

Writer’s block? Brainstorm ideas with a friend.

Overwhelmed by too many ideas and no focus? Flesh them out with a colleague to gain clarity.

Trying to decide what to make for dinner? Ask your friends what they’re making.

Struggling with a business plan? Get help with the marketing research or the writing.

Always trust your own intuition. You’re not asking anyone else for the answers. You have the answers. You have all the pieces to the puzzle. You’re just asking for help organizing the pieces and putting them together.

There is rarely a huge benefit to doing anything completely alone. Sure, you get to make all the decisions and take all the credit. But calling in the troops, getting help from your support team, you’ll expand your horizons, increase your creativity, clarify your ideas, and be moved to action. The right support team doesn’t dilute your power. The right support team concentrates your power.

Two Simple and Effective Ways to Run a Successful Free Teleclass

Fabienne Fredrickson — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:30:37 +0000

I often talk about the value of free tele-classes and how they offer a number of marketing benefits.

Building your list by offering something of high-value for free

Giving prospects a sample of you and your information, which works on the Know, Like, Trust Factor

Providing a great selling opportunity for your products or services to an interested audience

There are several ways to run a tele-class, but for this post, I’m going to share two options that work best for me.

1. Lecture-Mode

This type of call gives you the opportunity to share a lot of information about a particular subject. Naturally you want to choose a hot topic that will attract lots of listeners. Remember to consider what your prospects and clients want versus what you think they need.

From a technological stand point, you actually select “lecture-mode” on the conference call website’s dashboard. This allows you to speak while everyone else on the call can only listen. It actually blocks people from speaking and interrupting you.

When I run a tele-class, I prepare my whole program in advance, typing out what I am planning to say. This way you won’t forget to say anything which can easily happen in the moment. Being organized will make a big difference in how you come across to your callers. Prepare enough material for at least an hour. My classes often run for 75-minutes.

Sometimes I open the line to allow for callers to ask questions directly. Then finish up with a strong offer for one of your products or services.

2. Question and Answer Call

To run a successful Q&A call, you’ll need a good number of callers on the line. Otherwise it might not be productive. Only a certain percentage of the callers will be willing to ask questions. So, to ensure a successful call, you need to know you can attract a good quantity of attendees.

If you want to try this and are not sure how many people may attend, you can “prime the pump” to encourage callers to ask questions by starting with questions that came in from the web. If needed, you can even create a few questions that you want to answer so you are sharing a particular type of knowledge to set yourself up as an expert.

Again, the program can run for 60 to75-minutes. And you’ll wrap up the call with a strong offer.

If you can give a speech or presentation in front of a live audience, the teleclass will be a piece of cake.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

What do your prospects and clients really want to know more about? Come up with three topics that would work for a teleclass. Then choose one and write up your presentation. Decide on your offer and give yourself three weeks to promote the call.