Are you leveraging your time to create new products, build credibility, increase visibility and make more money? Or, are you spending time on necessary, but non-revenue related tasks?

In this new year, vow to optimize your time to grow your business and your visibility.

Outsource

To optimize your time, focus on doing only that which you alone are skilled to do.  Outsource the rest. As a solo entrepreneur or small business owner, one of the best ways to do this is by hiring a virtual assistant or VA.

Sarah-Leah Gootnick, founder of Secretary in Israel helps entrepreneurs optimize their time. "We enable small business owners to spend their time on revenue generating activities (i.e. meeting with or marketing to new clients), as they outsource their administrative tasks to our college-educated, American virtual assistants," says Sarah-Leah. These activities include, but aren't limited to:

• Appointment Scheduling               
• Billing                                           
• Blog Updating                              
• Card Sending                               
• Data Entry                                    
• Email Checking                            
• E-Newsletter Sending                   
• Gift Sending                                 
• Invoicing                                      
• Letters Mailing                             
• LinkedIn & Facebook                  
• Researching                                  
• Shopping Cart Updating               
• Handling To Do's                         
• Transcription/Typing                     
• Travel Plans Coordinating             
• Voicemail Checking                      
• Web Site Updating                       
• Writing and Editing

VAs also offer a wealth of time-saving resources to their clients. Sarah-Leah shares 3 here:

1. Sign up for a local or toll-free number such as RingCentral.com, Kall8 or Onebox.com. They offer a variety of features that can keep you working efficiently.
2. Have your voicemail transcribed.No need to waste time transcribing messages yourself and possibly missing info or losing time. Consider YouMail, PhoneTag or SpinVox.
3. Use an online To Do list. Remember the Milk integrates w/ your Gmail Calendar.

Simplify, Organize, Plan

The impact of how we use time isn't just immediate, it's eternal. The decisions you make today to do, or not do, something will impact your future forever.

In her new book, Secrets of Simplicity, Mary Carlomagno, author and founder of organization company Order. quotes Henry David Thoreau: "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity" in her beautiful book Secrets of Simplicity.
 
Mary notes: "Getting organized takes just minutes when you regularly schedule time for it. Planning ten to fifteen minutes at the beginning and end of each day for organizing yourself will give you time to tidy papers, wrap up projects, and the like. This process provides closure to the day and brings peace to the beginning of the next."

In her book, Mary also cites a unique Illumin exercise to gain clarity on how you can maximize the time in your life.
 

Start Managing Your Time Today

As CEO of your business It's important to remember that YOU need to take control of how you spend your time. Allowing other people to dictate how you spend your time enables them to achieve their goals, but doesn't help you achieve yours.

Create a plan to stay on track, eliminate confusion and procrastination to attain your goals. 

As a consultant to women in professional and service businesses, one of my primary objectives is to explore your greatest asset--YOU--because therein lies one of the big keys to your success.

This exploratory process reveals hidden assets (I call "gems") that can be used in your branding, marketing, product offering, bio, presentations, writing-and more! Your gems create uniqueness and contribute to your competitive advantage.

YOU are your company's greatest asset. Optimizing your tangible assets (like degrees, certifications) and intangible assets (like personality, style, and experiences) can set you apart from the competition and contribute to your business' success.

Assets that enhance your business and your brand include your:

• Personality
• Knowledge
•  Life experiences
• Industry expertise
• Philosophy or believes
• Skills
• Style
• Accent
• Talents
• Passions
• Degrees
• Certifications
• Creativity
• Spirituality  
• Wisdom    
• Intuition    
• Opinion      
•  Sex Appeal
• You're a woman
• How you relate to people
• How you think

Get creative, look at trends, think out of the box to leverage your assets. For instance, think of...

• Creativity not just in the artistic sense, but in how you solve problems, provide solutions or see opportunities where others don't.
• Relationships not just as external, but internal such as spiritual connections and how this manifests itself in your business or with your clients.
• Sex appeal as an opportunity to spice up what may typically be considered a bland market.
• Leverage being a woman owned business. Many companies are now encouraged or required to hire minority and women-owned businesses.

Own them, flaunt them! Owning your gems can set you apart from the competition. Identifying and leveraging these gems can also make the difference between charging middle market prices, or premium prices.

Essentially, how you manage and leverage these assets to grow your business is as critical as how you manage your financials.

These gems are part of your competitive advantage. Not taking time to identify them can make the difference between simply owning a business or owning a business that is extraordinary.

What Are You Denying?

Most of us have qualities or assets that we've hiding from or denying, perhaps for most of our lives.

Often, it's not until later in life, or when we're faced with a professional or personal challenge, that we see or acknowledge what we've been denying.

Frustration Leads to Revelation

A few years ago I confided in a lifelong girlfriend about some career frustrations. Being very process oriented and inquisitive about what motivates and drives people, I naturally wanted to understand the "why" of what I was tasked to do at work. This wasn't appreciated by my current boss. Also, I was always thinking of how we could do things on a bigger scale. That didn't go over well either.

My girlfriend totally called me out. She said, "Margaret, you're a curious thinker and you're a big thinker. You think about possibilities and see a bigger vision. Not everyone wants that."

The "Ah Ha!" Moment

That was my "ah ha!" moment. I knew she was right. I was a big, curious, visionary thinker. I like to know what makes people tick, what motivates them, why they make the decisions they make. It is so much a part of my make-up that there was no way I can suppress it, even if I tried. I knew then I had to be in a business where I could leverage those assets and where the people I worked with would appreciate them.

My business, Illumin, is founded on the very assets that weren't embraced in my former job.

Denial Leads to Low Self-Worth

Ignoring or denying our assets, skills, talents, experience, personality in our business leads to low self worth (including boredom, frustration, depression) and sense of purpose.

When we embrace our unique qualities and accept them as assets, rather than hurdles, we can create businesses or find careers that are more meaningful, and ultimately, successful.

Put Your Personality Into Your Business

Two women who do this beautifully are Judith Steinhart, EdD and Nina Kaufman, Esq. Both women use their natural appreciation of humor to help their respective clients deal with serious topics.

Judith Steinhart, EdD, nationally known health and sexuality educator and writer uses humor to ease clients into serious conversations, but she didn't always. "At first I thought I had to be absolutely deadpan with little affect to be taken seriously as a professional. Then I realized I could be more relaxed and take some risks with humor and I still am taken seriously as a professional."

For example, in a formal setting with a large audience, Judith will deliberately walk up to the microphone and, instead of tapping it before speaking, she'll look at audience members and say in a gentle voice, "Test. Test. Testicles." A humorous approach that helps reduce audience tension and creates a common bond.

For Nina Kaufman, Esq. award winning attorney, columnist, blogger and speaker of Ask The Business Lawyer it took believing in herself more and letting go of the need to be the "buttoned-up" stiff, lawyer. Once she did this, she could embrace her love of humor to create a business she loves. "Not until I stripped away the layers of fear and low self-esteem could I then embrace my love of humor as a vital and fun part of my business. Now, I'm enjoying my days and life more, and my clients enjoy the process more."

Be Bold. Be You.

It's likely that you're in a field that has thousands of competitors. How do you create a business and a brand that stands out from the rest?

Put your personality into your business. Take a risk, do something different. Be daring. Be bold. Be you.

After all, isn't that the whole point of being in your own business?    

#10   S-t-r-e-t-c-h!

As entrepreneurs we have a choice. We can set small goals that will keep our business running as is or we can set transformative goals that allow us to stand out from the competition, give us greater visibility, expand our client reach and generate more money. All it takes is the desire to create a successful business and the willingness to stretch out of your comfort zone.
 
Below are a few suggestions on how you and your business can go from ordinary to extraordinary by stretching on a regular basis. Your destiny--your success--is waiting for you on the other side of discomfort, "the burn", and even the fear that comes from stretching.

Commit to Ongoing Self Discovery

Self-discovery can be uncomfortable or downright painful. Perhaps you aren't used to focusing on yourself, sharing your life stories, or revisiting the past. Yet it is through such exploration that you reveal who you really are, discover what motivates you, remember long forgotten passions, and unearth experiences and skills that would benefit your business.

I truly believe that self discovery helps build a strong foundation for business.  Therein lay the gems of your business that reflect your core competencies, your unique product or service offering, your marketing and your USP--your unique selling proposition. Stretch and rediscover to fully understand what makes you tick so you can build a business that is juicy and exciting.
 

Focus On Business Transforming Activities

Stretch by taking transformative actions on a regular basis.  Transformative actions:

• generate greater visibility
• generate more revenue
• generate more interest in you or your company
• position you as a thought or industry leader

 Write your "To Do" list for the day or week then go through it with a highlighter.  Highlight only those tasks that meet one or more of the criteria above.  Work on no more than two business transformation activities a day. Multitasking doesn't make a great business. Focus does. Focus on activities that position you as the "guru" or your company as an industry leader or innovator.
 

Do Something That Scares the Hell Out of You. Repeat.

We all come up against things in our business that sends us running in the other direction.  For me, it is public speaking.  Despite this fear, I know that getting in front of groups to share what I know about business is exactly what I need to do to gain visibility and grow my client base. Consequently, I have signed up for Lizbeth Phelps' Inspired Leadership Training. When I'm finished with that challenge, I'll be on to my next one. What are you afraid of that you know will help grow your business? Commit to tackling it today! Once you have, go after another goal that scares you.

Nely Galan of gaLAn entertainment said it perfectly at the recent Make Mine a Million Conference in Newark, NJ, "I commit to growing everyday, by any means necessary." Nely's enormous success is living proof of her drive to stretch, learn and grow daily.
 

Set the Goal, Make the Plan,
Then Forget About the Outcome.

No one captures this better than Nike with their slogan, "Just Do It." Set the goal, and then start taking action towards it today. Now. You may not have all the answers on how to do something (launch a business, create a new program, land that big client, etc.) but unless you start to move in that direction, nothing is going to happen (Newton's first law).  Stop ruminating over how you're going to do something, and just get started. Keep your eye on the goal, do periodic course checks and corrections and keep moving forward. Ask yourself regularly, "Is what I'm working right now taking me closer to my goal?"
 

Feel the Burn

If you're not feeling any discomfort, you're not pushing yourself.  Much like running or exercising - you know you're pushing yourself when you move into the 'discomfort zone' - and that is when you make the most gains.  Mohammad Ali said 'I run until it hurts - that is when I start to train".  Push the envelope, stretch to be as big as you know you can be-feel the burn. Pushing through discomfort gives you the confidence to know you can take on bigger challenges in your business, and life.
 

What Do Guts Have to Do With It?

Owning a business takes courage. It means pushing through the status quo, leaving the "safety" of a corporate job and testing yourself--or your big idea--to see if you're up to the challenge.  It means stretching to overcome failures, face success and move into the future that awaits you. It takes guts.
 

• It takes guts to do self-discovery work and find out you are as brilliant as everyone says.
• It takes guts to own what you're good at and build an amazing business.
• It takes guts to make a prospect call because that client just may be interested.
• It takes guts to introduce yourself to a new person at a networking event as he or she just may be your best client, future business partner or soul mate.
• It takes guts to let go of past failures or pain and live into your future because you success or joy might be waiting for you there.
• It takes guts to act without knowing the outcome because that means you're willing to let go of control and let the world conspire to help you.
• It takes guts to think big, act big and look fear of success in the face.
• It takes guts to ask for what you want or need   because you just might get it. Then what?

 
Set Yourself Up

Stretch by making a public commitment to something big, even if you don't feel like you're ready for it. Pitch that "ideal" client, set a date for your seminar, launch your website even though it still needs "tweaking", start writing thoughts down even though you "have nothing yet to say", invite a prospective strategic partner or mentor to lunch. Get over thoughts such as "I'm not ready," I'm not big enough for them to be interested in me," or "This could be better". Make a public commitment to something that you must do to move your business forward. One of the success factors of Weight Watchers is the public commitments people make to losing weight. Do it today.
 

Act As If

Many years ago, I produced a very high profile fundraising event. I was scared to death as I had never done an event of this caliber before. Any mistakes would be highly visible since the event principals were very prominent--former President and Mrs. H. W. Bush, diplomats and corporate VIPs. The event was hugely successful and afterwards a colleague commented on how comfortable I appeared interacting with these VIPs. I cracked up and told her I was scared to death and terrified the whole time.  She was shocked and asked how I did it. I said I didn't have a choice. I had chosen this challenge as an opportunity to grow and now I had to "act as if" I could do it,. I had to psych myself into that new role and had to reassure others that I was good at it-scared to death as I was. It's the, "Never let 'em see you sweat" approach and act as if everything was under control.
 
Below is a great quote that I have on my desk and in my bedroom. I invite you to cut it out and hang it in a place of visibility in your home or office. Act as if you can. Act as if you are. Act as if you already have...and you will.

 "When its time, get moving. After you've reflected and meditated, waited, prayed, and reaffirmed, act. Act on your instincts. Act without delay. Send the letter. Make the call. Pack the box. Issue the invitation. Get on the play. Act already! Act with your own best interest at heart. Act in accordance with your most closely held values. Act mindfully. Act on behalf of the very young or the very old or the very needy. Now and then, act half your age. Act out in your own living room, act up in public. Strut around and act as if you own the joint.

Act like the woman you've always wanted to be-and don't be surprised when suddenly you are!" - Author Unknown

#9  Raise Your Prices

In my experience, and almost without exception, entrepreneurs I speak to or work with have under priced their services. One of the keys to raising prices is to feel confident about the expertise and value you deliver to your customer. This comes with uncovering, owning, leveraging and marketing your assets-experience, connections, expertise, education, training, resources, brand--so that you are set apart from the competition. It doesn't matter whether you're just starting out, or have been in business for several years, it's the quality of the product or service you deliver, not tenure in your business.
 
There are many ways to increase your pricing and most will elicit little, if any, major adverse reactions from the "right" customer. Below are just a few examples of those ways.

Own Your Value, Charge for Your Value

How you price your product or service is directly related to how you value yourself, your knowledge, your expertise and your contribution to your client.
 
As women, we often take for granted just how much we know. When I work with a client, I always uncover knowledge and expertise that the client has either dismissed as irrelevant, didn't realize she was using in her business, forgot she had, or thought of as "it's just what I do."  Not leveraging or ignoring your assets-skills, experience, knowledge, education, training-is like throwing money out the window. The greater your inventory of assets, the more you can charge. But you need to uncover, acknowledge, own, leverage and market them to do so.
 
In addition to working with a consultant to identify your assets and value, tap into clients, vendors and partners. Ask them what they feel your greatest assets and skills are and what they most value about working with you. Leverage that in your marketing and your offering.
 

Raise Your Prices

Here are a five situations in which raising your prices is a no-brainer:
 

1. If you've never lost business because of your pricing. If this is the case for you, then it's time to raise your prices. Raise them to the point where you start to lose jobs. (Yes, you read that right!) As a business owner, your job isn't to provide a product or service to everyone who needs it. Your job is to offer a great product or service and sell it to those who can afford it so you can generate revenue, pay your bills, reinvest in your business, and create the life you want.
2. If you're a relatively new business and your sales are flat or diminishing anyway.  If you're still new (or for that matter even if you're a couple years old), and you're not generating significant income, raise your prices. The odds are no one is going to notice anyway. If you're new and feel that's why your prices should be lower, you're wrong. What matters is the quality of product or service you offer, and your value to the customer, not the length of time you've been in business.
3. If you're in a crowded market and you're priced in the mid to lower end of the market.   Let's say, for example, you're in coaching, accounting or financial services and your rates are highly competitive with similar businesses. Consider raising your prices to separate yourself from the pack. Don't you find that you're typically more interested in the provider who is higher priced? A universal truth in the psychology of pricing is price=perception. Higher rates=higher quality product or service.  
4. If you repeatedly hear customers make comments like: "Wow, I didn't expect to get so much X (information, value, service, advice, work, etc.) for what I paid." Or, "You gave me so much more than what I expected."  If clients are always telling you how much you give them (a.k.a., giving away), raise your prices. Believe me, if you're giving your clients that much value, they'll continue to buy your product or use your services.
5. If you're targeting corporate clients, but charging like a new or small business. Corporations have larger budgets for such services as executive coaching, sales or technology training, business consulting, or communications programs, for example. It's critical you charge accordingly. Lowball pricing can be a red flag causing the prospect to think your product/service can't be of much value. If you're playing in the big leagues, price for them.

 

Refine Your Offer

When I started out, my service offering was huge which, frankly, gave me a lot of anxiety (how was I going to provide all this and be good at it?).
 
By listening to clients, strategic partners, and friends much light was shed on what they experienced as my strengths and value. When someone mentioned that my process really empowered clients and quickly led them to a greater revenue generating position, I knew she was right and that this would be invaluable to the right customer. I wanted clients who knew time lost meant money lost, and that money wisely invested in their business would have a good return.
 
What came of that conversation is what I have today-a much more refined offer primarily focusing on service businesses. I also increased my hourly rate by 60% while increasing my client base.
 

Repackage Your Offer

Most businesses offer services that can be broken down into individual services or bundled to create a more enhanced offering. By breaking down an existing bundled product or service, you can charge higher prices for the individual components or services. Conversely, by bundling, you can create different levels of offerings such as a "Premium Package."
 
The value of offering packaging (consequently pricing) options is to appeal to a broader array of clients and their diverse needs and to cross- and up-sell your product or service. One client may be ready, willing and able to pay for the bundled platinum product today. Another client may not have the resources (time or money) to commit to a full packaged solution yet, but would like to get started by buying some of your product or service in a more incremental way.
 

Leverage Your Experience

Specialists who have advance training should be charging more for their expertise. Examples of this include MD, Ph.D., JD, MA/MS/MBA, and industry specialists. If you've trained under "the" guru in your industry or field of practice you should charge more for that experience and knowledge.


I love working on pricing with clients so I want to share a few other comments about pricing and fees. If you're an Illumin client, you'll know these have become mantras.
 

Never quote a price "on the spot."

This locks you into a number even if you clearly state that number you've given is "approximate".  If you go back to the prospect with a higher quote after you've had an opportunity to scope the job, you will either have a disappointed prospect ("In our conversation you indicated it would be around $2,500 not $3,500!") or one who thinks you don't know what you're doing.

Don't Negotiate on Price.
Negotiate on the Deliverable.

If a client tells you the price is too high, ask them what their immediate needs are so you can accommodate the deliverable to those immediate needs. Scale the deliverable, not the price. You're not on sale.

Stop Giving Your Services Away.

As women, we are generous, caretakers, givers. This is often the very reason we're not making the kind of money we should or we go out of business so quickly. Our "reasons" are many: "they're a friend"; "its my husband's best friend's cousin"; "I do this in my sleep, it's no big deal"; "It doesn't take that much time"; "I'm not that busy anyway"; "I like giving back to X".  Here's the deal. Your time is money. Your expertise is what makes you money. If you're always volunteering or giving your time and expertise away, you'll be out of business quickly. At the least, you won't be making much money. If you want to give back, pick one or two causes and charge everyone else.

You can always make a monetary donation after you've earned money.  You cannot if you are out of business.

#8 Make Yourself Visible

No matter how amazing you or your product or service offering is, your business cannot grow unless you create some visibility and buzz around it. This means showing the world that you exist, sharing your expertise, getting clients to talk about you, staying connected to your niche, leveraging relationships--and more.

To do this, you'll want to always be in front of clients--past, present and prospective. Consistency is key. Commit to at least one visibility activity a week. More if you can. Realize it takes time for people to get to know you, and to appreciate and value your expertise. Stay at it! Your efforts will pay off. Below are just a few ways you can show the world you have something amazing to offer.

Writing & Publishing Articles

In Strategy #3 of Illumin's 10 Easiest Ways to Grow Your Business I mentioned the power of writing. Share your expertise. Write articles that provide information that your clients can use such as guidelines, resources, links, best practices, templates or solutions to common industry problems.

In addition to distributing your articles to your client base through Constant Contact or similar email marketing software, submit them to article distribution sites such as Ezine Articles or Article Hub where they can be picked up and published by other websites, newsletters, trade or industry publications, and more. The key is to share your expertise and get your name out there.

If you need a little help getting started, tap into these two great resources. Instant Article Templates makes writing fun and easy, while guiding you to construct a clear message and relevant content. If you're not sure your headline has punch, try Headline Analyzer to gauge your headline's impact.

The beauty of writing articles is that they can be "reinvented" many times over. David Bernstein of Able Press puts it this way, "When you write an article, use it and reuse it -- serialize it on your blog, excerpt it in your newsletter, read it as a podcast -- reinvent it for different mediums, and for different client types. It's not necessary to write something new each time you need to provide a new piece of  content."

Blogging

From a business perspective, blogging is a way to let others benefit from your expertise. It's also a way to create momentum in and around a project, group, product or cause. The way people generally find out about a blog is through links or word of mouth--blogging is very viral.

If you want to start your own blog, try SquareSpace or WordPress. For recommendations on how to write great blog copy, check out Copyblogger. This site is chock full of easy to read wisdom and resources. Should you wish to convert your blog to audio for podcasting, check out Talkr. It's free.

If you don't want to create your own blog, but prefer to contribute to someone else's, try to find one that targets your market niche. For instance, if you're passionate about organic, sustainable or "green" products consider blogging on Treehugger. To find a blog that targets your industry or interest, check out Technorati.

Joining Social Networking Groups

There are many social networking groups. Join those that your target market uses or that have mass appeal such as the larger sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Ziggs or Digg. Social Media, based on the six degrees of separation theory, enhances your online presence, supplements your marketing, raises your visibility, and increases your prospective client reach--exponentially.

In addition to the many better known sites, consider your college alumni website or a site like Classmates.com. Don't forget about  social networking sites that target your hobby or passions like JANERA.com if your passion is travel and social change, for example. If you're targeting a specific demographic, consider demographically focused networks like The Femme Network that connects women virtually through sites such as AdFemme, Marketing Femme, Femme Moms, to name a few, as well as through events.
 

Public Speaking

Public speaking is a very powerful way to share your industry expertise. Physically get in front of as many people as possible to talk about your business or share your knowledge. Consider volunteering to do this at professional or industry events, your local Chamber of Commerce, through your place of worship, or other places where people gather to work, learn or socialize. Consider conferences where subject matter experts give keynote speeches or run breakout sessions. If you can get paid for it, even better! Doing these types of events allow prospects to get to "know" you, get a taste of your style and expertise, and thus makes it easier for them to buy from you.

If you want to fine-tune your speaking or presentation skills tap into Larina Kase, PhD of PAS Coaching.

Hosting Workshops & Seminars

If you're trying to convey a large amount of information to customers, consider offering a workshop series or one day seminar. The value of doing them is multifold; 1.) greater ROI (return on investment) of your time, 2.) increased visibility; 3.) increased word of mouth, to name a few. One of the best ways to make a seminar or workshop successful is to fully engage the audience. Stay away from lecturing. Make  seminars and workshops fun and interactive as participants retain more through actual engagement and on-site application. If you've been writing articles, consider creating workshops from that content. Don't overload the participant. Coming away with even 2-3 key nuggets of valuable information makes customers feel that their time and money were well spent.
 
If you're interested in learning how to lead great seminars and workshops, check out Lizbeth Phelps' Inspired Leadership Training.
 

Attending Networking Events

Leverage your memberships at professional associations as well as social or philanthropic organizations. You never know what someone may need or whom they may know. There are a plethora of organizations out there. The key is to find those that your prospective clients and strategic partners attend.  Gotham City Networking is a fabulous resource that lists many of the most active networking groups in the New York City area. Also, check out MeetUp for entrepreneural or niche networking meetings in your region.

We've all attended events that we felt weren't the best use of our time. Choose carefully which ones you'll attend as you're spending valuable resources--your time and money.  Make it a goal to leave each event with at least one valuable takeaway that you can follow up on. That could mean contacting a prospect(s), sending a thank you note to the host or a speaker on your stationary, or applying the wisdom or inspiration of a guest speaker to your business. All of which raises your visiblity that much more.
 

Be sure to diversity your activites. By gaining visibility in a variety of communities (online, newsletters and networking, for example), you reach a broader audience and larger prospect base resulting in even greater visibility.

Remember, stay at it, be consistent and diversify your activities. It will pay off!

#7   Identify Customer Motivators

My husband and I started looking around at cars almost a year ago knowing that our son's baby gear would soon overtake our 4-door sedan. The new car would really be for my son and me. Cars aren't of great importance to me, they're merely a "vehicle" to get me from point A to point B. However, since this would be "my" car and we were spending a lot of money, I was striving to get both what I wanted in the car--various features, as well as what I needed--space.
 
Through this process I observed how sales people worked with us and how identifying very critical information--customer motivation and the bottom line--was not addressed.

Find the Client's Trigger Points

Why is the client considering your product or service? Most buying is based on one or more of these emotions:

• Pain - feeling of stuck or overwhelm, don't have answers, or know where to find them
• Fear - of making a wrong decision, the unknown, being "found out", losing control
• Pleasure - desire to feel good, to do good, to reward oneself or others

Clients may have one or more trigger points. The more trigger points you can identify, the greater your opportunity for a sale. For us, the purchase of a new car was addressing the pain of being in a car that was becoming cramped with baby gear and encroaching on our son's space which we felt was dangerous - fear.

Is the Purchase a Want or Need?

Appeal to both your customer's wants and needs to increase your rate of success. Often clients don't know what they need, but they know what they want. Customers often justify spending money, or spending more money, than they may have budgeted for, if they are emotionally (want) triggered, rather than intellectually (need) driven. Once you uncover what they want, you can show them how it can be applied to what they need.

Strive to get a clear understanding up front of what the motivation is behind your customer's want in purchasing your product or service. Ask questions to determine which emotion(s) is motivating the purchase. In our case, we already owned a car so it wasn't a need. We could have worked with the space limitations. Rather, it was a want driven by my husband's desire to drive to work. We both wanted our son in a safer car, and I wanted more leg room and storage space.

Offer Benefits, Not Features

Look at your marketing--websites, brochures, advertising and collateral. Are you offering benefits or features? Because most purchases are driven by emotion--pain, pleasure, fear and want--we are usually seeking an emotional salve. The more ways you can articulate benefits that meet these emotions, the greater the chance of a sale.

In our case, we wanted the benefits of an easy to clean interior, warm bums in winter, easy entry into our narrow garage, and legroom. The features that provided that were leather seats, heated seats, power fold side mirrors and more cubic inches interiorly.
 

Know Who the Real Client Is

Do you have a product or service that is intended to be used by one demographic, but is often purchased by another? Men's retailers are a great example. The product line is designed for men, but marketing will target women since wives and girlfriends often buy for their guys.   

Find out who is the real client, or user, of your product or service. If you're selling services to corporate clients, should you be targeting the manager who is experiencing the day-to-day challenges of a problem or someone more senior who has the ability to approve the expense, or is responsible for the revenue for that division--or both?

During our car hunt, most salesmen addressed my husband regarding the car. What a mistake! Since the car would be "my" car, the decision of which car we bought would ultimately be mine.  

What's the Bottom Line?

As customers, we all have a bottom line. It could be financially based (need), emotionally based (want)--or both. Your goal is to uncover your client's bottom line and provide solutions to meet that bottom line as painlessly as possible. In order to do that find out what the customer is willing to negotiate or compromise on in fulfilling their ultimate need or want? Where are they not willing to compromise? When the bottom line is met, customers often find rationale for spending more.

My husband and I had a set budget for our new car, yet we spent $5,000 more! We didn't get a car with leather seats, power side mirrors or heated seats. But we did get a car that was a lot more spacious. We passed on the other features. Why? Because we wanted the benefit of more interior room. More space was our bottom line.

Getting to the Bottom Line

• Ask probing, open ended questions. Also, don't be shy about asking the client what is their bottom line. Is it emotionally driven (pain, pleasure, fear)? Is it a want or a need, or both? Is it financially driven?
• Listen to what is being said, and not said. Listen for intonations that express joy, anxiety, frustration, excitement, enthusiasm and hope.
• Watch facial expressions and body language. They are key indicators of what is resonating for the client or not.
• Do prospect and client surveys to elicit wants and needs in a non-confrontational or anonymous way.
• Run focus groups that are fun and engaging to elicit direct feedback on client's desires and wants, on where clients would negotiate on your product, or not.

#6   Find Strategic Partners

You've honed in on your market niche and you're feeling great about it. That's half the battle in starting and evolving a business. Now that you're feeling confident about your offer and excited about marketing and selling your product or service what are you going to do to raise your visibility and reach more prospective clients?

Remember what was written in 10 Easiest Ways #2 about the role of CEOs? As the CEO of your business your job is to, among other things, develop business relationships that will enhance your core offering, raise your visibility, and impact your bottom line. You will be leveraging these relationships for their audience reach, their reputation and their particular offering. That's where Strategic Partners come into play.
 
Strategic Partners...

• Expand your business' visibility
• Expose prospects in other markets to your offering
• Provide cross marketing opportunities
• Provide cost sharing in promotional or marketing activities
• Provide complementary products/services
• Generate revenue through affiliate or referral programs
• Serve as oft needed resources for your clients

Where to Find Strategic Partners

Competitors

Competitors need not be adversaries. There are many ways "competitors" can work together for the greater benefit of both parties. Ask probing questions to clarify a competitor's product offering or niche. You may find that you share a product, but not a market segment or share a market segment, but offer complementary products.

A few months ago I met a wonderful woman who does business coaching, Maren Perry of Accomplishment Coaching. Though seemingly overlapping businesses, I probed further and discovered that Maren has a background in the arts (dance and theater) while my background is business and nonprofit. Moreover, Maren offers coaching; I offer consulting--there are subtle yet important differences. I knew right away that Maren might be a better resource for some prospects that come to me with an arts background. This was an opportunity to create a referral relationship and provide a solution to clients who may be better served by the other's expertise.

Complimentary Businesses

They're all around! Who is in your world that offers a product or service that compliments what you do. A great example of this is Ladies Who Launch an organization that provides workshops and networking to support women in realizing their dream businesses. Participants who complete the Ladies Who Launch incubator program are so pumped up by the experience, they are ready to take the next steps to design or expand their businesses. Because I help women entrepreneurs design their business platform and strategies, Illumin is the natural next step for incubator graduates. In fact, I have worked with both workshop leaders, and participants of this wonderful organization.

Your Clients

I feel very fortunate being able to work with truly amazing and smart women. In addition to the joy I get from working with these women, I am so impressed by their talent, expertise and offering that I have used their services to help build my business and expand my client reach. Such a relationship leads to us supporting and promoting one another's businesses. When designing the Illumin Accelerator Workshop I tapped into Illumin client Beth Turano of Chrysalis Training. Beth's expertise is in delivering training programs that are both fun and provided impact. Her input was invaluable.
 

Your Vendors

What suppliers or vendors are you using with whom you have, or want to have, a great relationship?  If your vendor is working with you, it is likely they are working with other clients like you who may be targeting similar customers. Speak to your vendors-your printer, website or graphic designer, lawyer, accountant, copy writers or other people you work with to do co-marketing or mention you to their clients through their newsletters to raise your visibility. Ask if you can put a flyer or postcard in their shop, or your logo or a link on their website. MaryJo DeFranco, graphic designer and owner of a Signal Graphics store graciously displays Illumin business cards on her counter.

Your Business Consultant or Coach

If you are working with a business consultant like Illumin or a coach, consider asking her if she has interest in a strategic partnership with you. Even if you are a consultant or coach yourself, recommending someone who may have more expertise in a particular area will be appreciated by your client. After having personally worked with my marketing coach, Dr. Larina Kase, I knew that she would be an excellent resource for Illumin clients seeking advice on public speaking, writing, publishing and gaining visibility.
 

Your Industry

Go to industry events, conferences, networking events, support groups, conventions, etc. with the intention of finding more than customers. Seek out people who may be interested in partnering with you. The industry events I attend focus on the areas of empowering women, women business owners, business in general, marketing and networking. These events provide a plethora of potential strategic partners as well as prospective clients.
 
Opportunities to raise your visibility, build referral relationships, and leverage other's expertise or niche offering is all around. Be open to them; ask other business owners if they would be interested in discussing strategies that could be mutually beneficial.

You'll soon see how developing strategic partnerships and leveraging relationships can help you expand your network and take your business to a whole new level.

#5 Define Your Niche

Defining your niche creates opportunity. Niche does not mean small, it means serving an underserved market. As you can see with the Illumin clients mentioned below, niche businesses can have a broad appeal to multiple client sectors. Being a niche provider can position you as "the" expert in your field resulting in greater customer appeal, increased visibility and higher pricing.  
 
Trying to find or define your niche? Below are a few questions to help you hone in on your potential niche market.

What Keeps Recurring?

Are your clients repeat purchasers for the same one, or few, products or services? That could be the key to your niche. For example, if you offer coaching to corporate executives from a variety of industries and your background is in retail/wholesale, you may find that you attract most of your clients from that industry. That's your strength. That's your niche! Consider letting go of working with executives in other industries so you can focus on becoming "the" expert in that one industry. This also helps you in streamlining your resources and networking efforts, and it creates a stronger referral community for your services.

What Are the Wants, Needs or Desires of the People Around You?

The great news is that you are probably already connected to a community that could be your niche market. Where do you spend your leisure time? Who are the people you associate with? What are your industry, organization, or club memberships? Where do you volunteer? What people or communities are you already involved in that would be interested in your specific offering? The saying "start where you stand" applies. Look at where you are and the needs in those communities. They could be the answer to defining your niche.

For example, as a physician, Dr. Delia Chiaramonte saw first hand the need for unbiased medical support for patients who were confronted with major medical decisions. As a result, she founded Insight Medical Consultants offering professional consulting and advocacy in such areas as cancer or aging parent care. She has become "the" go-to expert for patients and their families seeking outside expert medical advice, guidance and support.
 

What Do Your Customers Really Want, Need or Desire?

If you have a good relationship with your customers, speak with them directly. Ask them what they love about doing business with you. Is it the product, the atmosphere, the resources, the attention? What want, need or desire are you fulfilling that the competition isn't? It could be a particular service, the way you make customers feel, the environment you create, your easy going nature, the way you empower your customers, or your unique approach to solving client problems.

As the founder of The Leisure Link, Alison Link, Ph.D., helps individuals overcome challenges during times of transition, in the day-to-day of the workplace, communities, prisons systems, educational institutions and more, One of only a handful of people who do this today, Alison is fast becoming "the" guru on the impact of leisure--or lack thereof--in today's society.

Where Do You Spend Most of Your Time?

Don't be surprised if you find yourself spending more and more time on a particular product or service in your business. Like water flowing down a mountain you, too, will wind up focusing on the path of least resistance in your business. More often than not, this will be what you do best and love to do most. It will be the area that gives you the greatest joy, where you work most authentically and most powerfully.
 

A clearly targeted niche will make your sales and marketing efforts more impactful. Your newsletters, collateral, media, website, speeches, advertising, workshops, seminars, press releases, etc. can be based on providing information and solutions to your target niche's needs. Your weekly writing about client experiences, requests or comments  will help you gain even more clarity on the unique needs of your customer and the solutions you can provide them.

Building any business is an ongoing and evolutionary process. Embrace defining and refining your market niche as part of that ongoing process.

Be open to the change that could set you apart from the competition.

#4 Focus On What You Do Best

Focusing on what you do best, aligning your passion and your values with your goals, and working authentically results in a business that will continue to be inspiring for you and alluring to your clients.  By doing so, you exude natural positive energy and exhibit greater confidence--compelling attributes that will have clients coming back for more. Who doesn't want to be around someone with great energy and great self-confidence?

Three Questions to Clarity

Answering three important questions and finding the common thread among them will result in a business you love and will keep you naturally focused. It will highlight your uniqueness and help set you apart as an expert enabling you to charge more for your product or service.
 

What Do I Do Best?

Whether you've been in business for a few years, or are just starting out, one key to success is to keep doing and developing what you are already good at, what you have a natural aptitude for. Just like the musician who focuses her practice on a specific instrument each day, you will want to focus your practice on refining your specific skill or product.  

If you're not quite sure what you do best, here are some questions that will help you gain clarity:

1. What skills do I repeatedly use?
2. What environments do I most enjoy being in?
3. What tasks or projects give me the most satisfaction?
4. What skills do people often compliment me on?
5. What am I repeatedly asked to do because I'm so good at it?

The next step is to combine what you do best to create your unique business.  Illumin client, Marie-Claude Stockl, has created a business based on skills as a world renowned communications expert and avid equestrian.  Her company, The Horse Institute, offers corporate communication programs that have profound results using horses as the medium.

What Do I Love Doing?

Whether you've been in business for a couple years, or are just starting out, the key to having a successful business is to base it upon what you love doing-- naturally.  Not doing so results in the feeling of "pushing uphill," loss of inspiration, motivation and creativity.

Identify three activities that give you the most joy and fulfillment.  Activities where you become oblivious to time, engrossed in the moment, and are in a true state of flow.  Maybe its dancing, reading, working in your garden, traveling, meeting new people, photography, writing or volunteering.

Take Janera Soerel of JANERA.com.  This unique and brilliant business targeting global nomads marries her three loves: travel, hosting fabulous events, and being around interesting people.

What Are My Gifts?

What else about you makes you so uniquely you? What characteristics would your co-workers, spouse, friends or family say is "so you."  What comes naturally and intuitively to you? Perhaps you're great with children, you're always ready to seize an opportunity, you're an adventurer, or your highly intuitive.
 
Illumin Strategic Partner, Kathy Davison, PhD, founder of Tonic Capital leverages amazing intuition and an ability to analyze situations quickly to help businesses and their leaders release blockages.
 
What are your top three gifts?

Hopefully, by answering these questions you'll be able to see the amazing possibilities for a business that is uniquely yours.