This week it is B, and I’ve got a lots to explore with you.  Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

While everyone’s lives have been directly or indirectly affected by the big C, this week’s letter is B, so today I’m referring to Breast Cancer, because September is Breast Cancer awareness month.  I’ve also known a number of friends diagnosed with breast cancer.  I’m also mentioning this today because it’s a good idea to know your “why”, or Big reason to be in Business.  For some it may because of a charity you support or other benevolent fund, which will help keep you motivated.  You’re in this world to help others, so if you have a big why, this will pull you though the rough times, and motivated to keep you aiming high and big!

Have a think about this.  Maybe your why is to Be your own Boss?  For your family, for Better Balance, to be Busy doing the work you love?

So what stops you from being successful?  Are you a bully? No, not to others, to yourself.  You know who I mean, that inner voice that talks to you all the time, those words that if you said them out loud to another, would be considered downright rude.  It is often that negative voice that is attached to the past, but keeping you there.  What negative things do you say to yourself? To get you started here’s a few common ones – I’m boring, I’m too shy, I’m not good enough, I’m not pretty, I’m not exciting, I’m not ….. The Bully often shouts when you risk growing.  The authentic self, who you really are, is a whisper. You have to listen carefully (which is hard when the bully is browbeating you) to hear that small voice within.  In order to stop the bully you first of all have to be aware of it. And then shut it off. Not easy, but it is possible to reframe who you are now.

Marketing

Marketing is the act of letting people know you exist.  So what marketing materials do you use to get our message out.  Relying on only one, would be risky.  Using many methods will increase your results.

I recommend that you treat your holistic practice as a Business and would set aside some time to focus on your marketing materials.  Now, you don’t have to wait to they are all perfect, being busy can too easily become procrastination – putting it off making it perfect.  So this week I want to look at your basic marketing materials:

What does your Brochure say about you?

If you haven’t looked at your promotional Brochure for a while, have a look now with fresh eyes.  Are their any typos? Is it clear, or confusing? Would you Book an appointment? And is that what you want the reader to do? Is it clear what is the next step?

Next have a look at your business card?  Does it have all your contact information on it (that you want). My local health store has a loyalty card – yay, and when I wanted to check if they had my favourite brand of toothpaste, I realised there was no telephone number on it!!   So check J

Think about the benefits of what you do?

When you talk about what you do, what you are, in terms of your therapy, (like, I’m a Kinesiologist, I’m a Reflexologist) you’ll often lose people.  I’m sure you’ve seen it.  You’re talking to someone at a networking event or party, and you start to explain what chakras are, what meridians are, zones, and you can see it, the person listening hasn’t connected.  You see what you’re talking about is more around the features of what you do.  It’s like an architect talking to you about pencils and paper, CAD, plans, drawings, etc.  Not very interesting really.

You have to talk about the benefits to the person.  Things will get much easier when you talk about how the other person benefits.  So when the architect talks about the wonderful homes he’s designed, how he was able to capture the beautiful scenery from the sitting room window, the delighted customers who are so happy with their house, he’s talking about the benefits.  Think WIIFM – what’s in it for me – the reader/listener – why should I listen?

Yes, you can talk about features, but only once you’ve connected by talking about the Benefits.

And finally, my last B for this week is Blogging.  Blogging is a great way to create a website quickly and easily.  You can even have a blog, created and hosted for free!  Visit blogger.com or wordpress.com, and create one today.

Yes, But ….. Sounds like a bit of hard work. I know you’re busy!  However, these blogging sites are the best way to have a presence on the web, fast, for free, and you don’t even need any design or technical skills.  It’ll be done. And that trumps everything J

Imperfect action, Beats inaction.