Get More Clients Online

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.

Storytelling: A Powerful Marketing Strategy for Your Online Business

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

Before the advent of pencil and paper and writing, ancient peoples depended solely upon storytelling to pass along the history of their families and tribes from one generation to the next. Of course, it was an imperfect method, as we humans tend to skew a story from our own perspective and add details and nuances that weren't present in the original story.  However imperfect or exaggerated or simply untrue the stories might be,  we all live in countries where stories shape our history.  Here in the U.S., we were all regaled as children with stories of Paul Revere's ride through Boston alerting the residents of the coming of the British, or if you were a Texas kid, of the defeat of Santa Ana in San Jacinto after the tragic loss of life to the Mexican army at the Alamo.

I've always reveled in stories.  One of my favorite pastimes as a child was to hang out with my mom and aunts for the "adult conversations" that weren't really suitable for children's ears. However, I refused to leave no matter how strongly I was encouraged to go and play outside.  I just wanted to hear the stories of the "good ole" days" (i.e. back in the olden days, as I gleefully referred to those times) when they were growing up or when things were different.  Hearing stories about them in different contexts than how I knew them shaped both my personal history and my family history and connected me to them in ways that I still value to this day. Of course, I l also overheard much family gossip, but that, then is another story..;->

You can create the same kind of connection to your customer base by telling your story or the story of a successful client. Stories help people create visual images of what you're trying to get across.  I'm apt to remember the story and the image it created much more easily than a bunch of facts or theories or statistics that just make my eyes glaze over.  When I was a contractual trainer for a virtual assistant training company, I often told stories to illustrate the points of a particular class.  About a year after one student completed this program, she told me that she often thought of the story I told of how I successfully set boundaries with my "doubting mother" in the startup phase of my business. My student was struggling with the same issues of doubt in her family as she started her business and used my story as a guide for her to set boundaries with them to keep herself sane during this very crazy period of her life.  You simply never know how powerfully your story will impact others.

In the teleclasses and coaching that I do, I often tell my story of the scary and stupid way I started my business -- a way that defied all professional advice and a way that I wouldn't recommend to any of my clients  -- but I succeeded despite myself. I had quit my full-time job without any savings, filed for divorce, put my house up for sale, sold my major possessions, loaded the car up with my dog and relocated halfway across the country, moved in with my mother back into my childhood bedroom, withdrew money from my retirement account to get me through the first few months, and set up shop in my mother's garage. I was just a failure waiting to happen, but I didn't fail, amazingly enough.  I use this story to illustrate the point that no matter what the odds, if you want to start a business and be successful, you can do it --and I'm living proof that anyone can do it -- and if you don't have all of these risk factors staring you in the face, you stand a much greater chance of success than I ever did!

Share all of your stories with your clients--the good, the bad, and the ugly.  It will make you much more human and much more approachable with your clients. A coach with whom I have done some training, Chris Barrow, shares the story of his devastating bankruptcy when he was thought of as one of the most successful financial planners in the UK. I admire Chris for sharing the failures in his life and business as well as his successes--it lets me know that he's human and he can easily relate to whatever I'm going through at any moment in time.

Come up with a fairly short, 1-2 minute story statement of how you got to where you are today and how that impacted why you do what you do.  Make it interesting, share the ups and downs and put your stories on your website, on your business card, in your brochure, on your blog, and incorporate them into your elevator speech.  I guarantee you'll start developing fans right away!

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.

Marketing My VoiceOver Business

Q:  How can I most efficiently market my voice as a service for web site owners to have their text recorded by a professional?

Cliff

A:  In terms of online marketing, the best way to do this is by case studies and examples.  On your website you'll want to talk about how your client had a particular problem with some aspect of his/her audio/video production and how hiring you helped them overcome that hurdle and created different results -- more sales, bigger audience, etc.  When I visited your site, I see that you have lots of examples of your work and you seem to be very talented, but your testimonials are on the weak side.  While they sing your praises, they say nothing about how the service you provided resulted in better results for your clients and how those results were measured.

Your website visitors want to see concrete examples of how you've helped others, and how your help put your clients into a better situation so that they (your visitors) can see themselves in that situation and envision hiring you to make their lives/businesses better.

You also need to convey the benefits of professional voiceover -- why should they hire you instead of doing their own voiceover?  And, what makes you unique/different/special from all the other voiceover talent out there? Where in their businesses (under what circumstances) could someone use voiceover other than for standard commercial-type scenarios?  For example, do you do podcast or teleseminar intros when a program is recorded and distributed?  Audio versions of ebooks?  Camtasia video demos?

Don't depend on your target market to figure out how to best use your services -- you need to take them by the hand and show them.

Happy marketing!

Warmly,

Donna

How Do I Differentiate Myself?

Q:  How do I differentiate myself in a market that may have become saturated?

James

A:  Many people mistakenly think a market is saturated when it's really not, as they have become more attuned to paying attention to the players in a particular marketplace more than the average consumer.  Since I coach online service businesses, I'm going to orient my answer toward that type of business.

The key to differentiating yourself is determining what you do differently or better than your competition.  For example, in the big Internet marketing world where there's more competition forming every day, my distinction is working only with service businesses to help them sell their services, and leaving the "start an Internet business and get rich quick" info and strategies to anyone else who wants it. 

If you're a financial planner in a sea of financial planners, perhaps you focus on divorced women who want to plan a secure financial future for themselves.  If you're an attorney in a sea  of small business attorneys, perhaps your niche is developing intellectual property agreements for businesses interested in licensing their knowledge or training. If you're a business coach, you may focus on coaching dentists to make more profit in less time. See the direction I'm headed here?  Remember the Domino's Pizza difference --they initially conquered the differentiation issue when, in the sea of pizza parlors, said that they would deliver a pizza in 30 minutes or it's free.

If you're having difficulty determining your "Domino's Difference",  here are links to 2 articles which may help you:

10 Key Questions to Ask to Unlock Your Expertise
How to Create a Unique Selling Proposition for Your Online Business

For more help, I suggest you check out the resources available at OnlineBizU.com, or think about hiring me as your online business coach;)

Good luck in your journey!

Donna

10 Key Questions to Ask to Unlock Your Expertise

Many business owners wrestle with this notion of "expertise", feeling certain that they don't know enough to be looked upon by anyone as an expert. I avoided that expert label as well for my first 5 or so years in business, despite being very good at what I did.  I was always comparing myself to other "experts" in the field and felt myself falling sadly short on the experience meter of what I thought an expert should be.

As I reflect back on those early years, I now have to laugh at my lack of self-confidence.  The only thing holding me back from declaring my expertise was me.  Granted, I have run into a few nay-sayers over the years who have belittled my lack of experience in their industry and refused to talk with me further because of their skewed perceptions of my abilities.  However, I've come to realize that many of those types of people are bogged down in their own fear, and it is easier for them to criticize others than to take any action to move themselves forward.

I also held myself back by filling my head with the "ought-tos" -- someone else is doing this certain thing, and I "ought to" be doing it as well.  Or, I was encouraged by well meaning friends that I "ought to" go in this direction instead.  Or, I let myself become distracted by the BSOS (Bright Shiny Object Syndrome) and head in a direction that I would later end up regretting.

I wish I'd had someone early who could have really helped me determine my expertise in my particular industry. After many wrong turns and hitting alot of dead ends, I've devised this list of questions to help you determine your expertise and help you stand out from your peers.

1.  What comes easily to you?  I always viewed the stuff that came easily to me as stuff that everyone knew and was good at.  I made the mistake many people make -- because it comes easily to me, it must be that easy for everyone.  What comes easily to you, may, indeed come easily to others, but by and large that's not the case. Don't dismiss all the skills, talents, and abilities you have that seem to be innate -- they are a vital key in excavating your expertise. 

2.  What are you good at doing?  Look at your skill set and how you spend your time.  What kinds of tasks, activities and experience are you good at doing?  Make a list of those for this discovery process.

3.  For what reasons do people ask for your help?  Over the years, people have sought you out for your help and experience in certain areas.  Why did they come to you?  What did you offer to them?  What benefit did they gain by getting your help?  What results did your assistance help them achieve?

4,  What have you achieved based on what you know?  Don't overlook any of your experiences, as they may provide valuable clues to help you in this journey.  Your achievements could include awards or accolades that you've won, or could simply be accomplishments that you've achieved for yourself, your business, your life, or for your clients.

5.  What are you naturally drawn to learn?  You've been learning all of your life, and some subjects are naturally more appealing to you.  Some are so appealing that you learn about them just because you want to -- there's no other reward or economic payoff for you.  What kinds of information do you soak up like a sponge?

6.  What parts of your past work/volunteer experiences have been most enjoyable?  We've all held jobs that we loved and others that we regret ever taking.  What parts of your work experiences or volunteer stints did you like the most?  Did the enjoyment come in the tasks performed or from the people with whom you worked or the environment in which you worked?

7.  What kinds of tasks do you complete in which time flies quickly?  Have you found yourself doing something and before you know it several hours have passed?  Those are the kinds of tasks to note in this question.  When time passes effortlessly because you're fully engaged, that's a sure sign that you love whatever it is that you're doing.

8.  What have you spent lots of money and time on getting good at?  Your employer or friends or spouse may force you to spend time learning things you don't really want to learn as a  condition of your employment or because your want to be a good friend or a supportive spouse.  Aside from those, on what do you spend your time and money to learn more about?

9.  What major obstacles have you overcome in your life?  Sometimes stumbling blocks and obstacles and low points in our lives offer the greatest learning experiences. In my mid-30s I ripped apart my life and moved halfway across the country and started all over again as a single divorced woman with no job -- I had only the dream of becoming self-employed.  I glossed over that part of my life and didn't share that story for several years because I was embarrassed about my failed marriage and ashamed of the fact that I had to move back in with my mother for a short while to get back on my feet again.  It took me a long time to realize that this experience of building a new virtual businesses from my small, rural East Texas hometown using only connections made online and Internet marketing strategies wasn't simply a survival strategy -- it was an example of how I could teach others to do the same.  How can your obstacles serve as teaching moments for others?

10.  What would you be doing if money were no object?  If you were to win the lottery and then do the world tour with your new-found wealth, eventually you would return home and realize that you need to be doing something to fill the endless days.  Shopping on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills like Paris Hilton is sure to grow old fast. So, how would you spend your time day-to-day?

Your knowledge, likes and dislikes, and life experiences are all valuable keys to help you unlock your expertise.  Learn to value these experiences and realize that there are others who desperately need what you know and will benefit from this expertise.