Get More Clients Online

Why your clients aren't buying from you....yet!

Are you ready to take your business off the sidelines and get it out there in a big way so you can serve more people, make more money, and create a bigger impact?

Chances are you've tried blueprints, templates, and paint-by-number systems but you never get the results you were promised. All you end up with is frustration, confusion, and disappointment.

Don't give up!

The solution to your problem is so close to you, you probably can't even see it, and my friend Nancy Marmolejo has what you're looking for.

What is that solution?

You.

Join me as I interview online visibility strategist Nancy Marmolejo for our August 2010 OnlineBizU.com Members-Only Call as she shares her secrets to make your business distinctive, incomparable, and incredibly profitable. She calls it your "Profitable Essence" and it's revolutionizing businesses all over the world.

As an early adopter of social media and a respected expert in the field, Nancy discovered some disturbing facts that few are talking about. The biggest shocker: who's making money online and who isn't.

It's not about who has the biggest numbers of followers or which Twitter apps you're using. It's something far deeper than that.

On this exclusive interview, you'll discover:

• Success secrets for any economy - specifically how your Profitable Essence is the safety net to keep your business fresh, relevant, and in demand

• 3 tell-tale signs that your Profitable Essence is NOT in gear and what to do about it

• Creative strategies to offer the most value to your prospects so they say YES and happily invest in your services

• How learning more tactics based on someone else's success is NOT always the solution for you. (If you've invested over and over in blueprints and "paint by number systems" but still are struggling, then this is the missing piece!)

• The 5 things prospective clients want from you TODAY and how knowing your Profitable Essence can make you the obvious choice, aka "The It Person" in your industry!

• How to be HAPPY for your competitors' success and use that to fuel more interest in YOU and what you do

Plus real life success stories, valuable resources, and much more!

You'll also get a valuable handout to assess your current situation and provide you with exact steps to take to tap into YOUR Profitable Essence.

You'll discover how to focus on what you do best and activate a landslide of success!

I can't wait to introduce you to Nancy if you don't already know her. She's already made her mark on the online world as a noted visibility strategist and heart-based entrepreneur.

Members of OnlineBizU.com can get the details to join us for this call here.

Not a member of OnlineBizU.com?  No problem! Join OnlineBizU.com and you can instantly access the call-in details for this month's Monthly Expert Call!

About Nancy Marmolejo

Nancy Marmolejo teaches entrepreneurs how to break the cycle of struggle and mediocrity and emerge as confident, sought after, profitable business owners. Using her signature Profitable Essence^(TM) system, Nancy's clients learn to connect their authenticity and talents with what will make them the most money. Her approach is a blend of expert strategy, intuitive insights, and high octane creativity. With over 100 media credits to her name and numerous business achievement awards, Nancy is a respected expert with a loyal following from around the globe.
 

Participants live on the call will get live consulting and support and their questions answered! Session is recorded and transcribed for members of OnlineBizU.com.

You don't want to miss this!

Treasure Hunting for YOUR Profitable Essence

by Guest Blogger Nancy Marmolejo

We humans are a funny lot. For whatever reason, the things that come easiest to us get dismissed as unimportant. So many of us have it instilled in our beliefs that something is only valuable if it’s hard to attain.

This shows up in business all the time and is one of the main blocks keeping you from discovering your Profitable Essence.

Your Profitable Essence is the unique blend of talents and skills you have, done in your special way with your signature mark, that is directly tied to how you make money. It’s the ultimate “ah-ha!” in your business. “Oh, so that’s what I do!!!”, I often hear my clients exclaim.

In order to get closer to your Profitable Essence and really claim it as your own, first you need to do a little Treasure Hunting. This is about looking into your amazing skills and talents and finding what makes you absolutely incomparable.

Super talented, multi-faceted entrepreneurs are sometimes the toughest nuts to crack when it comes to discovering their Profitable Essence. These are the folks (and maybe you can relate to this) who are good at LOTS of things, but have trouble narrowing it down to a few strong results.

What’s important is that you go through all the wonderful things you do and pull out the true showpieces. Imagine walking into a room full of stuff… and the treasures are hidden in the clutter. No wonder people’s eyes glaze over when they hear you talk about your work! There’s just too much to process and nothing to anchor the focus on.

It’s time you do some Treasure Hunting in your business. To help you get started, here are a couple questions to ask yourself:

1. What are the things you do remarkably well, your true genius work?

2. What types of amazing results do your clients get from working with you?

3. Look at everything you’re currently offering your clients. Which of those things feel like “shoulds” and which truly delight you?

4. Think of your worst client ever. What happened? Where was the mismatch? This is a really good one for outlining what you do best and who you best work with.

If you spend a bit of time reflecting on those, you’ll start to see patterns emerge. Those patterns will be the map to your treasure!

Now is the time to drop mediocrity and step towards having a business that is nothing less than remarkable. Tapping into your Profitable Essence is a start that can lead you to ultimate success in your business.

Check out Nancy's upcoming teleclass for members of OnlineBizU.com on August 17: "The Secrets to Success in Any Economy: How Finding Your "Profitable Essence" Can Save Your Business, Restore Your Morale, and Make You the "It" Person in Your Industry", found here.

About Nancy Marmolejo

Nancy Marmolejo teaches entrepreneurs how to break the cycle of struggle and mediocrity and emerge as confident, sought after, profitable business owners. Using her signature Profitable Essence^(TM) system, Nancy's clients learn to connect their authenticity and talents with what will make them the most money. Her approach is a blend of expert strategy, intuitive insights, and high octane creativity. With over 100 media credits to her name and numerous business achievement awards, Nancy is a respected expert with a loyal following from around the globe.

How to Brand Myself on a Limited Budget

Q:  How can I brand myself on a limited budget?

Bob Medak
StormyWriter.com

A:  Hi Bob--

You're definitely in the right industry (writing) to help brand yourself pretty easily. Here are the 4 best, most inexpensive ways to become an expert in your industry and thus begin the branding process:

1.  Determine what you're best at. Once you determine what you do best, it becomes much easier for your prospects to understand that, as well.  Here's an article I've written that will help: 10 Key Questions to Ask to Unlock Your Expertise

2.  Develop an authority web site.  Content is king online, and providing useful info that helps your target market solve their problems will go far in developing the like, know and trust journey with your prospects.  This article will help you:  10 Steps to Creating a Lead-Generating Authority Web Site

3. Create a Unique Selling Proposition for your business that makes you stand out.  Being able to succinctly articulate what you do and what makes you different is key in branding.  This article will help you:  How to Create a Unique Selling Proposition for Your Online Business

4.  Begin to share what you know.  The quickest way to do this is by writing articles and syndicating them on various article banks across the Internet.  I've written a number of articles on the topic of article marketing, but one to get you started:  How to Write Articles That Will Increase Traffic to Your Website

OnlineBizU.com's Branding Expert, Samantha Hartley, offers a free online brand assessment, which you can access here:

You might also want to check out our members' only call on Aug. 17th with visibility expert Nancy Marmolejo on the topic, “The Secrets to Success in Any Economy: How Finding Your "Profitable Essence" Can Save Your Business, Restore Your Morale, and Make You the "It" Person in Your Industry”.  You can join OnlineBizU.com here to get access to this call.

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

3 Secrets to Overcoming Your Fear of Self-Promotion

You've got your online business up and running at last, and now comes the part you love to hate--promoting yourself.  This is a huge stumbling block for many online business owners, especially those who are introverts or who may have been in a supportive or back-end role in a company and made the magic happen behind the scenes while the limelight fell on their supervisors or other more outgoing colleagues. 

Think about the people in your company who were promoted or left for a better position.  Were they always the "best person for the job?" Perhaps, but probably not.  What they were good at is consistently being the best at the process of getting the job, even though there were others vying for the same position with more experience, greater skill, or greater knowledge (perhaps that was you!).  Many highly qualified and very smart workers are passed over every day for promotions they deserve because they haven't figured out how to promote themselves within their own company.

This fear of self-promotion follows many service business owners into the self-employment world, as well. However, the reality of owning your own business is this:  If you don't toot your own horn, no one else will.  Waiting around for recognition or to be noticed for your skills or talent doesn't work when you're self-employed.  In fact, it's a sure way to quickly run your business into the ground quickly.

So, if you're an introvert or someone who doesn't relish giving yourself regular accolades, how do you learn to promote yourself without feeling that you are bragging or selling?  Here are 3 tips to help you overcome your fear of self-promotion:

1.  Take stock of what you do well and your accomplishments.  Sometimes your gifts and accomplishments are apparent to everyone but you.  It took me awhile to figure out that I had a unique talent in finding tools and resources to automate a business because I thought everyone could do this.  What kinds of compliments regularly come your way?  What have you accomplished that you shrug off as "no big deal?" If you're having difficulty compiling this list, ask trusted friends or colleagues to help you out.

2.  Use your gifts (writing, researching, organizing, listening) to your advantage.  I've never been comfortable at telling people what I can do, but have no hesitation to demonstrate to them what I can do.  This means that I use writing to my advantage to create authority websites full of content useful to my target market, regularly repurpose my content in various mediums all throughout the online world, answer questions on forums and discussion lists frequented by my target market, hold teleclasses or speak at events where I can teach others what I know, and ask lots of questions both when I do a complimentary "get-to-know-you" session as I decide to whether to take on a new client and when I attend in-person networking events.  For networking events, it makes much more sense to me to ask "How can I help you?" rather than starting a 10-minute monologue about how great I am.

3.  Find someone who is doing what you want to do and copy them. Rarely do I come up with an original idea.  I'm ALWAYS modeling what I'm doing based on what someone else has done but adjusting it appropriately for my style and my business. Because I'm a great scanner (easily pick up and retain lots of ideas) and love to find new and innovative strategies, finding great models to emulate is fairly easy for me.  If I really like what this person is doing and think that I can learn much from her, I pay for access to that person, typically through some type of coaching or mentoring program. If I'm unable to get access to someone, I get as much exposure to her as I can in other ways, like by subscribing to her ezine, blog, social networking updates, or enrolling in her teleclasses.

Promoting yourself may mean that you have to force yourself out of your comfort zone, but you can successfully learn how to do this with authenticity and integrity.  Try these three strategies in your business and watch your self-promotion confidence muscles develop and thrive!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Internet Marketing Automation Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals create prosperous online businesses that make more profit in less time by teaching them how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise, and get found online.  Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==>
http://www.TurbochargeYourOnlineMarketing.com.

How to Stand Out: Differentiate Your Business with Authenticity

I had lunch several years ago with a colleague in a networking group. We talked about many things and were trying to get to know each other so that we could better understand what might make a great referral for the other. One of the things he told me caused me to chuckle because it was so true, but it seemed to surprise him somewhat.

He told me that he liked my website because I was straight-forward, to the point and I just "put it all out there". By that he meant that I outlined what I do, how I do it, the benefits of what I do, and that I let the visitor decide to either buy into it or not. Most surprisingly, I didn't seem to have any attachment to the visitor's decision either way. I didn't waste any time trying to convince visitors that I was always the right choice, regardless of circumstance. However, if the visitor does "buy" into what I'm offering, they have ample opportunities to get on one of my lists and/or purchase something from me.

My response to his observation was that, as a small business owner, I had the responsibility of discouraging as many people as possible from wanting to do business with me. I know this philosophy sounds crazy, especially in this day and age of a downturned economy.

Here's my belief: I'm not out to sell my services or my products to the world, nor do I want to sell my services to everyone. I only work with clients who meet my ideal client profile and only market to those in my target market. Period. And, that's only a very small chunk of the world. Why?  Because I truly believe that there's enough business for everyone.

My business and my life are so much more fun and joyful when I work only with clients that I love. I do that through what I call the WYSIWYG approach, or "What You See is What You Get."  I am who I am and let that center of authenticity come through in all that I do--my speaking, my writing, my website, my coaching, my personal interactions.

If you don't "buy" into the business that is me, that's wonderful! You can continue your search for a coach/consultant/infomarketer that better meets your needs, and I still have room in my practice for clients that I'd love to work with. If you do "buy" into what I do and who I am, you're doing it because on some level, you're buying into "Donna the Person", and the good, bad, and ugly that accompanies that.

Now that I'm firmly entrenched in middle age, I finally feel that I'm fully coming into my own in all aspects of my life, and I have stopped running away from those aspects that I thought others might not like or might be offended by. Being myself for a living is so much easier than trying to live up to an image (or create an image) that doesn't really exist.

When working in higher education, I always felt that I was split in two halves, Donna the Human Being and Donna the Housing Administrator. Rarely did the two Donnas meet -- they were almost separate personalities, and quite frankly, Donna the Human Being (my true self) didn't really care for Donna the Housing Administrator at all.  It's no wonder I felt exhausted all the time in that job -- I was living two distinct lives, and one of those lives I really hated. The creation of my own business -- and my own set of rules -- has freed me to be me -- and probably saved me thousands in therapy fees..;->

My role model in life is the late Ann Richards, former governor of the great state of Texas. Ann was bold, brave, humorous, bright, and embodied the best in a Southern/Texas woman, and made no bones about that. Long ago I decided to embrace my being a "southern girl from the sticks" (English translation--lived in the country in a small East Texas town) rather than trying to make myself over into something more palatable to a wider group.

A former client used to get the biggest kick out of the stories I would tell her about living in a small east Texas town while at the same time telling me I needed to move away from there to a more civilized place. I told her if I moved, she would lose her great source of funny stories that she could incorporate into her speeches, and I would lose what makes me "me."

As a small business owner, how can you incorporate "you" into your business so that your ideal clients are naturally drawn to you? What natural gifts and talents do you possess but aren't willing to acknowledge? I strongly encourage you to tell your story--your parable of why you do what you do. Playing to your gifts and being who you are for a living is an extraordinarily rewarding way to run your business. Most importantly, it's what makes your business distinct -- and helps you stand out in a sea of small businesses.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:  Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers create profitable online retirement businesses by demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby boomer business online. Would you like to learn the specific Internet marketing strategies that get results? Discover how to increase your visibility and get found online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.OnlineBizU.com

7 Steps to a Money-Making Brand featuring OnlineBizU's Branding Expert, Samantha Hartley

7 Steps to a Money-Making Brand featuring OnlineBizU's Branding Expert, Samantha Hartley

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 2 PM Eastern

(F-R-E-E for members of OnlineBizU.com.  Not a member?  Join here.)

Too many clients, too much profit and too much joy in your business? It's rarely the complaint I hear. More likely, you're fed up with your marketing because people just don't get it.  If you struggle to....

• Differentiate yourself from your competitors
• Explain an unfamiliar service or product to your prospects
• Attract the RIGHT clients consistently, or
• Charge the prices you're worth ...

....then this teleclass is for you!

Participants will learn:

• Signs and symptoms that your brand needs help
• The 7 steps you need to take to create a compelling, profitable brand
• Why even one-person businesses need a REAL brand
• Why branding yourself is actually quite difficult to do on your own
• How elated, euphoric, relieved and fulfilled you can feel when you finally are clear on your brand!

Samantha Hartley of Enlightened Marketing works with successful, socially responsible small businesses that still experience peaks and valleys in their income. She helps them to increase sales without selling out. Samantha specializes in helping her clients identify and communicate their brand value so effectively that they work only with perfect customers, charge premium prices and enjoy healthy profits. As a result, they become more joyful business owners!  Samantha has helped hundreds of small businesses in the US and abroad to develop brands and marketing strategies. She offers marketing assistance for budgets of all sizes, including 1:1 consulting projects, home study courses, group mentoring programs, teleseminars and a free ezine.

How do I find Internet marketing clients?

Q:  I am in the traditional marketing field and want to learn Internet marketing to expand my service offerings. What is the best way to learn fast and find my first Internet marketing clients?
Lyn

A:  Hi Lyn--

The best way to start to find your first clients who need Internet marketing services is to begin to establish your expertise in the field by writing and talking about various strategies of Internet marketing that you use or with which you're familiar.  For example, what can you tell/teach potential clients about article marketing?  Social networking? Blogging? Pay per click advertising? Clients need to know and be convinced that you know what you're talking about.

There are a number of ways you can begin to establish yourself as an expert in these areas: 
--start to write articles about these topics
--conduct teleclasses on these topics
--blog about these topics
--create podcasts or videos on these topics

Secondly, create a couple of pages on your website that demonstrate your expertise in these areas and goes into some detail about how you can help clients achieve their Internet marketing goals.

Thirdly, I encourage you to join OnlineBizU.com, for a wealth of information about Internet marketing that you can apply to your business or to the business of your clients, or think about hiring me as your online business coach;)

Thanks for asking!

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Client Attraction: 6 Questions to Ask to Discover Your Brilliance

by Donna Gunter, The Online Biz Resource Queen (TM)

Sometimes it pays to be a "Jill of all trades" when you're a service business owner, but ultimately you probably discover that there are some things you like to do for clients better than others. Figuring out what you truly love to do in your work with your clients is key to your success -- and theirs. I call this process "discovering your brilliance" -- discovering those gifts and talents you bring to the table that really make your heart sing. Determining your brilliance is a very effective client attraction device and is instrumental in helping you fill your practice.

Do you just absolutely love anything to do with online marketing? Is it writing and editing articles that floats your boat? Do you love to get home offices in shape?  Is designing one-page websites what really turns you on? Is there no better tax forecasting bookkeeper in the world than you? Is anything related to ebook graphic design something that will really make your day?

The key to success in a service business is to lead with your gifts -- with your brilliance. My personal gift is marketing strategy, although I never realized it until after I started my business. In my former career in college student housing, we referred to this as programming.  Imagine my surprise when I finally connected the dots and realized what I had learned about marketing along the way!

I know this is my gift because when I'm involved in marketing activities, time seems to disappear. Several weeks ago I was so deeply engrossed in some marketing activity that I completely forgot to call my virtual assistant for our weekly appointment. She called me to make sure everything was ok, as I don't typically forget to call her. I could really relate to time flying when I was having fun!

Here are 6 questions you can ask yourself to get in touch with your brilliance:

1.  What is it that you do better than anyone else in the world?

2.  What's your purpose -- for what reason were you put in this world?

3.  What causes people to seek you out regularly?

4.  For what do you want to become known as the "go-to" person?

5.  What kinds of things do your friends and colleagues tell you that you excel at?

6.  What activity engages you so fully that time seems to slip away unnoticed? Pay attention to these moments, as they're a great indicator about what you find easy, effortless, and fun.

The answers to these questions will help you determine what you enjoy and makes you unique.  What naturally happens when you discover your brilliance is that clients are attracted to you for your skills in that area of brilliance.  Get in touch with your brilliance, and see how that will make your practice prosper!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To claim your FR*EE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at OnlineBizU.com. Ask Donna an Internet Marketing question at AskDonnaGunter.com.

Finding my target market

Q:  Who could be the target client for online VA and IT support services?

Thanks!
Soha

A:  Hi Soha -- Almost any small business owner could be the target for VA (virtual assistant) or IT (information technology or computer) support services.  The key to success in providing either of these support services is to decide to specialize in a target market, like coaches, financial planners, attorneys, etc., and then become familiar with the problems, issues, and concerns of that target market so that you can market your services to fulfill some of those needs.  Additionally, you need to assess your skill bank and what you like to do so that you enjoy providing the kind service to this target market.

I'll use my business as an example.  I started a virtual assistant biz in 1999 providing broad administrative assistance (secretarial and clerical tasks) to my clients.  I quickly discovered that these things bored me out of my mind, and what I enjoyed most was helping clients with marketing. Moreover, I discovered that my background in higher education administration was a perfect paring for targeting the personal and business coaching community.  As I got deeper into the marketing field, what I most enjoyed was helping clients with their online and Internet marketing.  Fast forward to 2008 and now a segment of my business provides online business management to select coaches and consultants.  If a client is seeking more general administrative services, I either work in concert with another VA that the client has chosen, or simply refer the client out, as I don't provide those services.

Here's an article from the blog that may help you in figuring out your target market: How to Find Your Niche, Determine Your Ideal Client, and Target Your Market.

If you need additional help, I suggest you check out the resources available at  my online business coaching membership community, OnlineBizU.com, or think about hiring me as your online business coach;)

Thanks for asking!

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.

Where do I start with my marketing?

Q:  Most of the people teaching and using Internet marketing all seem to have had extensive marketing and business experience before starting. What's the best place for a true beginner to start? I just started a weight loss coaching service, but there's so much conflicting information about how to grow my business as  true beginner. What do I do?

Trenia

A:  Hi Trenia--

I don't know that everyone has had extensive marketing and business experience before starting.  What I do think is true is that they have the ability to watch and model what techniques and strategies work for someone else.  There's really nothing new under the sun and no new ideas.  It's all just a matter of finding the successful model that feels right for you and following that example.

In terms of getting started, here's an overview of the model I use:

1.  Figure out your target market.  Check out the free teleclass I'm doing on that subject here, How to Find Your Target Market:  6 Steps to More Clients (and More Profits) Than You Ever Imagined.
   
2.  Determine what makes your services unique and different from all the other weight loss coaches out there. Here's a link to an article I wrote on that very subject: 10 Key Questions to Ask to Unlock Your Expertise.

3.   Buy a domain and create a web site, or a one-page squeeze page site at a minimum. 

4.  Create a client attraction device, as described here in my article, Grow Your List with an Effective Client-Capturing Device, and give it away on your site.

5  Start sending out articles and email newsletters to your list. Here's an article telling how I do it that went out in this week's newsletter:
Article Marketing:  Your Article Writing Campaign Timeline 

If you need additional help, I suggest you check out the resources available at  my online business coaching membership community, OnlineBizU.com, or think about hiring me as your online business coach;)

Thanks for asking!

Got an Internet Marketing question?  Ask it here: AskDonnaGunter.com.