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The Power of Vulnerability

I recently made a trip to Connecticut with a small group of people from my mastermind group to meet with our coach. As usual, it was a fabulous meeting, with lots of insights, learnings, breakdowns and breakthroughs…including my own. My coach has says that when you have a “breakdown” you can expect a big “breakthrough” is on its way, and I can attest to the truth in that adage.

At my request, I ended up participating in a “hot seat” which means our coach, in front of everyone else in the room,focuses on something in your business (or in you) that has you stuck. It was a very powerful and moving experience, and I remember thinking I can’t remember ever being that vulnerable in a very long time.

When I returned home, a few days later, somehow a TedTalk by Dr. Brene Brown appeared on my Facebook page and I thought not only is it serendipitous, but a powerful, powerful message that needs to be shared.

It’s about 20 minutes long and I strongly urge you to make the time to watch it. It’s truly amazing and totally worth the time to watch it!

Mandy works with talented, bright, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. And who would like to overcome their fear of sales, change their mindset, increase their self-confidence, and create a step-by-step strategy for taking their business to the next level. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own. Mandy offers one-on-one coaching and consulting, as well as facilitates workshops and teleclasses and speaks on a variety of topics.

Get a copy of her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

Are You a Three-Bagger?

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It’s no secret that I have high expectations of myself, my clients, my family and particularly my sons. I find myself more and more often in a conversation with my eight-year old that goes something like this: “Why can’t I wear sweatpants to school?” “Well, because I think sweatpants are for around the house or for sports practice.” “But everyone else wears them to school, why can’t I?” “Because I think school is a place where you show respect including dressing in a way that represents that, which is the same reason I don’t allow you to wear t-shirts with a lot of writing on them.” “That’s just a dumb rule and makes no sense, when everyone else does it.” “Well, I’m not responsible for everyone else, I’m responsible for you. And trust me; you don’t have to be like everyone else, in fact did you know that winners do things differently?”

And it’s true. Winners in fact, do, do things differently. Have you ever seen a three bagger at the grocery store? You can always find the bagger who puts everything into one bag, and sometimes there’s the bagger who organizes things into two bags. But have you ever seen a three bagger who can manage and organize your groceries among three different bags? They are rare-but I’ve seen them. And they are winners-willing to do what others aren’t willing to do. And do you think they are going to stay in that job very long as a three-bagger? Of course not! They are winners and will be promoted and have the opportunity to move along very quickly in their careers.

It’s a fact that successful entrepreneurs and top money earners are people who’ve decided to make it happen, regardless of the effort that was required. Because willingness is everything, doing whatever it takes to become a success. One of my favorite quotes is by John Assaraf, “If you are interested, you’ll do what’s convenient, if you’re committed, you’ll do whatever it takes.”

So as you think about your life or business, what have you NOT been willing to do in the past?How will you change that to reach your vision and full potential? Is how you are acting or behaving now, getting you closer to your big goals? If not, what are you willing to do, let go of, or act in spite of fear? Are you willing to move, to let go of someone or something? Willing to invest in yourself, willing to stretch beyond your comfort zone?

Think about it. Are you a one, two or three bagger?

Get a copy of her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

Are You Creating Compelling Marketing Messages?

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Do you wish your marketing materials were “pulling” clients towards you? Do you wish you could turn more prospects into clients? Do you wonder if your website copy is speaking to your ideal clients? If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you are going to want to spend some time focusing on your marketing message. Having a compelling marketing message is the entire foundation for your ability to attract new clients.

What’s a compelling marketing message? It is a way of describing your business in your website copy, in your marketing materials, or on your business card, that when an ideal client sees, hears or reads about you, they will say, “Oh my gosh, I need to work with this person”. Or, “Wow, you are exactly what I need, can I get a card?”

Have you ever come across a person’s website where it felt like they were talking directly to you? That it described your pain, struggles and challenges to a “t”-and was so on target-it almost made you cry? I certainly have and then I said to myself, “I must work with that person, because they understand me EXACTLY and can solve my problems”.

When you can get your clients to self-select and self recognize that you are the person, the ONLY person who can help them solve their problems then you have created a compelling marketing message! People must be able to recognize themselves in your message so they will say, “Oh my gosh, I’ve GOT to work with her/him”.

What are the mistakes your clients are making? Can you describe the mistakes your clients are making? These may be the ones they aren’t even aware they are making. Write down the top 20 mistakes your clients are making. This is where you can start to develop messages from this list. I’ll guarantee most of your competitor’s marketing messages are about themselves and the features they offer to their clients. By creating messages that incorporate the mistakes your ideal clients are making, you are talking about them-your clients rather than about yourself.

Next, you need to get clear on what results they receive when they work with you. Write these down-because it’s all about RESULTS. You want to get really specific about what results you get for people. Look back at clients you worked with in the past and identify what results they got from working with you. Or call a couple of your best current clients and let them know you are updating your marketing materials and want to get more great clients like them. Ask them what results they’ve gotten from working with you.

One of the mistakes that entrepreneurs make when they look for more clients is to tell people about what they think they do, instead of telling them about the RESULTS they will receive by working with them. Many times, business owners make the mistake of describing “what” they do rather then leading with the solution that they provide.

After you’ve interviewed current or past clients and come up with a list of results you’ve provided,you can then begin to create your marketing messages based on the results and solutions that your current clients say you provide. Be sure to write these in the language that your ideal clients used. Don’t try to use jargon, or turn it into “prettier” language. If you want to attract more fabulous clients like the ones you interviewed-use their language verbatim!

I challenge you to take a look at your current marketing materials and website and ask yourself: Are your messages all about you and your services, or are they about your client or customers?Because in order to attract clients…it’s got to be about them!

Get a copy of her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

3 Steps To Determine What Makes You Different

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“What makes you different makes you special”
Unknown

In my initial meeting when working with a new client, I will often ask them what makes them different. What sets them apart from their competitors? Why should someone buy from them, rather than the other 100 competitors down the street? So many times, my clients are hard-pressed to answer this question. They haven’t really given it any thought as to what makes them stand out from their competitors.

There’s a marketing term called Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It’s so very important that you know, and can articulate what this is to prospective clients. Granted, we all have something unique and special about us, it’s what makes us human beings. But you must be able to share with a perspective client why your services, or product, or offerings are better than your competitors. Why should they buy from you?

Imagine this: Your perspective client is looking on the internet for someone to help solve their problem or help them with their pain. This person is the ideal client for you, you can absolutely help them. But how in the world are they to differentiate between you and your competitor if it’s not clear to them what makes you stand head and shoulders above your competitor. How will they ever possibly choose you?

So how can you create a USP, which will ensure your marketing drives more results? This can be done in 3 easy steps.

1-What are the 3 biggest benefits that your product or service offers? Remember, this is not about the features of your product or service-this isn’t about offering the best service, or the fastest or best quality. This is about what benefits you provide for the customer. What’s the end result that they desire when they buy the product or service you offer? What pain are they looking to alleviate with your product or service. Write down the 3 biggest benefits you offer your customers.

2-Be unique. What is it that your product or service offers that is a “gotta have right now”?And not your competitor’s…Make sure when you create your USP statement, that it also creates a desire and urgency. What are the most frustrating things your customer experiences when working with you or your industry in general?

3-List the 10 things that make you different from your colleagues or competitors. This is a great tool to then give to perspective clients to help them understand what differentiates you from others. Give it to your existing clients to help them understand what sets you apart. They can use it as a referral tool when talking about your products and services with others.

Once you have created your USP, make sure you are using it in ALL of your marketing materials, website, flyers, brochures, your elevator pitch, and sales copy. And be sure you can clearly articulate your USP when talking to a prospect, referral partner and a current client!

Get a copy of her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

Positively Change Your Life in 12 Minutes

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This Tedx video featuring psychologist Shawn Achor is so powerful! We believe we should work hard to be happy, but Achor suggests we perhaps have that backwards. Plus, he offers several scientifically proven tips to positively effect our brain in only 21 days! I urge you to take 12 minutes and watch this powerful video!

httpsv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJsdqxnZb0

Mandy works with talented, bright, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. And who would like to overcome their fear of sales, change their mindset, increase their self-confidence, and create a step-by-step strategy for taking their business to the next level. Mandy’s clients receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own. Mandy offers one-on-one coaching and consulting, as well as facilitates workshops and teleclasses and speaks on a variety of topics.

Get a copy of her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

Struggle is Optional…

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I’m not sure if it’s my Germanic heritage, or just the way I’m wired, but I’ve always thought, “If things aren’t hard or a struggle, they’re just not meaningful”. I also believed that if things came too easily, they wouldn’t last, or people would say, “Oh isn’t she so lucky”. Or, “did you notice she served salad dressing out of a bottle?”

I believed that if I took the “easy way” I wouldn’t get credit for the outcome or recognition for how HARD I had worked. My belief system was such that struggling, whether it was with a project in my business, or learning a new piano piece, or making dinner for a dinner party ALL from scratch, was a good thing.

You know the old adage, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. I once had a boss who loved that quote-and used it constantly. It was in the newspaper business, and believe you me, there were a lot of struggles- particularly since I worked in the advertising arena and revenues were plummeting.

I had a coach several years ago, who recognized this belief system in me and said to me, “You know, Mandy, struggle is optional; it doesn’t always have to be so hard”.

This subject really came to light for me the weekend right before Valentine’s Day. I realized I had not come up with a plan to create about 40 homemade Valentine’s cards for my children’s classes. “Come up with, you ask?” Why yes, even though I am NOT the arty-craftsy mom, I have always believed it’s VERY important that you must make homemade cards for Valentine’s Day. I had done so with my older son for nearly seven years and was very proud of that fact. I really believed that buying Valentine’s cards was “the easy way out”.

So now, it was Saturday, and Valentine’s Day was on Tuesday and I was out of time. I had a lot on my plate that weekend, basketball games, swimming lessons, birthday parties. I could not figure out when we were going to have time to make these cards, when my husband said, “Just go to the store and buy some cards”. And so off I went.

And in that store was when I had my transformation! The card choices were minimal, now that it was three days before Valentines. But they were only $3 a box! And up until that point, I had not only spent a lot of time on making “The Great Valentine Card”, I had spent a lot of money on materials-certainly more than $3. So I bought three boxes, headed home and my kids were thrilled to have Cars 2, Star Wars and Hello Kitty cards! And all my boys had to do was write the receiver’s name and their name on the cards-twenty minutes max and we were done!

This was when I REALLY embraced that struggle is optional! That most of my struggles if not all of them were controlled by me! So this past week, I have really looked at other areas where I realized it doesn’t have to be that hard. That if we occasionally have take-out during the week, it doesn’t mean I’m still not committed to putting healthy meals on the table for my kids, or when I’m stuck on a business issue, stop struggling and ask one of my many colleagues if they have a solution to my problem.

I challenge you to look at the places in your life or business where you struggle, and try to see areas that you may be imposing a “this is the way it has to be”, or an “I can do this on my own, I don’t need help” attitude. I’m strongly urging you to embrace the notion that struggle is truly optional.

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