Posts Tagged ‘Business Strategy’

Why your mindset can interfere with your marketing and cost you money

Posted in "Fly on the wall" coaching moments on 01/17/2012 05:45 am by Therese Skelly

It should be so simple……

We know what to do.

It’s not rocket science.

There is a ton of free information about how to do it.

But very often we don’t, or can’t…at least not effectively.

I’m talking about Marketing here. But not the tactical parts….the “I can own my stuff” or mindset part. I call that the Inner Marketing piece.

Because our mindset interferes with our marketing. It’s as simple as that.

Let me share a story with you. This is a true story of a friend of mine who for the sake of anonymity is a service provider. She’s got a heart of gold, is super talented, very spiritual, and makes almost 6 figures. She has big goals for herself and her business. But she also works seven days a week, very often Christmas and every holiday, and has a business model that if she doesn’t work, won’t get paid.

While she loves her business she’s working at trading dollars-for-hours, scrambles to get clients, and is at risk of major burn out.

Because I love my friend and want to help her get past this stuck place, I said to her: “Hey…let me help you. Why not first raise your rates?”

“I couldn’t do that, what if my existing clients got mad? And in this economy no new ones will pay a higher fee.”

OK I say, “Well then how about you create a boot camp because there’s a huge need and you could serve a large number of people quickly.”

“No, that won’t work because other people in my industry are already doing that.”

I know (still working the idea machine for my seemingly stubborn friend) “how about if you created DVD’s because you are so good at what you do and this way your time will be leveraged.”

“What, me get in front of the camera? I’m not comfortable with that.”

So my suggestions of owning your value and leveraging your time and talent got shot down because this very driven professional had mindset blocks that basically kick her butt and keep her hostage to staying in the box she’s in. And it breaks my heart because I see it every day.

We all have these to some degree. I know I have wrestled with these demons in my business and if you are like most people and haven’t yet gotten the success or money that you desire, it would behoove you to shift your focus AWAY from “I just need to do more marketing” and move it to “I absolutely am willing to commit to doing the work on ME to discover and release any blocks that would prevent me from moving forward.”

Here’s the thing….marketing and the concept of this is SEXY! Every day entrepreneurs are waking up planning on how to market better. But how many of those people then take it to the next level of questioning where they ask themselves, “Who do I have to become to make this marketing work?” The numbers drop significantly at this point! Doing the mindset work isn’t necessarily like getting a root canal, but it can be hard at times. Liberating yes, but it takes courage.

So if you have ever felt discouraged because you have bought the blueprints, paid for the mentoring, purchased more than your share of info-products and still can’t seem to make it work, my goal is to show you that there is a way to make all the pieces fit together. But you have to be willing to do the work on the INSIDE to have your business become one you’d love….and be profitable.

Yes, maybe it’s not just that you are marketing incorrectly….maybe it’s your mindset that is causing the breakdowns. I shouldn’t use the word ‘maybe’ because it’s more likely than not that if you are not having the results you desire, that’s a huge part of the problem.

So how do you know you have some mindset blocks? Answer the questions below to see if even some things you never would have connected as being related to your business may be part of why you are not seeing the level of success you desire.

Undercharging

Do you feel guilty for charging the fees you do?
Would you like to raise your rates but can’t?
Are your clients shocked at how low your rates are?
Do you sometimes resent your clients because you know you should be getting more $ for the work you are doing?
Are your expenses climbing but your income declining?

Chronic over-giving

Do you feel you have to give more than you receive?
Are you always the one jumping in to help?
Is letting others help you a bit of a challenge?
Do you feel guilty if you get something first, before you give?

Undervaluing your skills or worth

Do you have a hard time thinking of yourself as an expert?
Do you feel like asking others for support is “bothering” them?
Are there people in your life who see your brilliance more than you do?
Do you take for granted the work you do because it comes so easy?
Do you ever doubt if you aren’t quite ‘good enough’ in some ways?

Sabotaging patterns

Do you find yourself procrastinating at times?
Are opportunities falling through the cracks?
Is there clutter and chaos in your life that slows you down?
Do you experience high and lows?
When a really good thing happens, do you then experience a breakdown sometimes?

So you see yourself in some of these items?

The place to start is to be committed to doing whatever it takes to become the person your business needs you to be. Imagine that your little business is just sitting there waiting for you to step into your greatness so it can grow and flourish. It’s like its job is to call forth in you more of your powerful self. (Crazy? I think not!)

The places where we break down are really the opportunities we have to grow and transcend the limitations that hold us back. But our tendency is to run from these cuz they are not pretty and sure don’t feel good at times!

Step 1 is to decide to face whatever you need to.
Step 2 is to make an honest assessment of what’s the block.
Step 3 is to be fearless about seeing where it comes up and why.
Step 4 is to see the gift in this.
Step 5 is to begin to lean in to dissolve the hold it has on you.
Step 6 is to make new choices and take different actions.
Step 7 is to repeat over and over and over!

 

But the biggest step of all? Probably would be to get a trusted guide who can walk you through the process because frankly most of us don’t want to and subsequently can’t see these things in ourselves. That’s why my clients are willing to fly in to Phoenix for a VIP day with me because they are sick of the holes in their lives and business that the mindset blocks cause.

My hope is that you’ll be all about changing from the inside out. If you are ready to partner with me for more support, let’s set up a time to chat about it because I hold a high vision for you and your business and want to see you get there.

Who you are NOT being is just as important as who you ARE being in business

Posted in Business Strategy, Charging for your services on 10/25/2011 04:45 am by Therese Skelly

Not sure what’s in the air these days, but I’ve been getting BUSTED by some men in my life! (Not dating wise, but on the business front, LOL!)

It comes from my renewed commitment to really uplevel my game. So between attending the David Neagle event and joining the local Glazer-Kennedy mastermind group, I recently encountered 3 men who showed me some places where I was holding on to some old, limiting beliefs and where my mindset wasn’t serving me.

It has caused shifts in my mindset and awareness, and it comes from a bit of butt kicking by some folks who saw something that was in my blind spot. Of course I have to laugh, because isn’t that what I teach? Yeah. That’s how it goes. You move forward, and then there’s more to see and be.

I’ll tell you my story about discovering something that I was working so hard to NOT BE and the cost of that and how it came out in my Mastermind meeting. Then we are going to look at your life and business to see who you are being, or not being. Why? Because if you aren’t putting yourself out in the world in the biggest way possible, you are losing business, money, and all that goes along with it. You can’t expect to hide out and be on top of your game if you have a business that sells YOU as part of it.

Here I was, all prepared to tell my mastermind peeps what I’d done with some new leads, and what I had planned for the next quarter of 2011. But even before I got 10 minutes into my hot seat moment, they noticed something and called me on it. Ok, gotta say that I was a bit embarrassed because this was such a HUGE blind spot for me, but I don’t pay to be in this group of super-marketers to have ‘em take care of my feelings and play nice! I pay to get the truth and their expertise, so when all of them pointed something out….I listened.

Let me tell you a bit of back story first –

In my time being in this business, I have encountered some amazing coaches and mentors. And there have been some that do business in a way that makes me sick. Who they are on the outside is nothing like who they are in reality. And what happens? Clients get hurt. People are lied to. Money is lost. Now normally I’m very positive and see good and light in all, but in the case where people are being exploited, it makes me nuts! So I think I have turned into the caped crusader of the anti-sleazy marketer. Don’t quite have the cape and all, but it really feels like I’m on a mission to be real, tell the truth, and legitimately do what I can do to support people versus just make empty promises.

But what I didn’t know is just how much energy I have around this. Sure…my ‘good guy’ colleagues and I often talk about how we want to create a new wave of trust and credibility in the internet marketing world. But little did I know that how I saw it and how my Mastermind peers saw me with it was a big difference!

As I was sharing with the Mastermind Group, they stopped me in my tracks and said this:

“Therese, do you know how much time and energy and conversation you put into NOT being a sleazy marketer? Do you see that you are missing opportunities because you are NOT wanting to be ‘like them’ and so you don’t stand up?”

Dang. I had to admit they were right.

Basically they pointed out that by NOT being “like them,” I’m also not owning marketing my own stuff because I’m so careful to NOT be like that and offend anyone.

Wowza. I had no idea that the thing I was running from was very likely influencing the success I can achieve.

You see, you can’t fight against something while trying to bring something else in. I could take the lesson from Mother Teresa who said, “I will never fight against war, but will certainly stand for peace.”

This is what surprised me….I’m a marketer. And a sales person. And I love those two things and embrace them. But trying so hard to convince myself (and ultimately you) that I’m NOT like person x is really not the best use of my energy.

So it got me thinking that while I always encourage you to be more of you and get that brilliance out in your business, there may be some under currents of not wanting to be something that is playing out.

Maybe you have the same story I do of not wanting to be seen in a negative light. Or maybe it’s just not owning something you should be owning for yourself.

Let’s dive a bit deeper and look at this one.

Mindset 101 – your beliefs are running your business (and life) and if you don’t make them conscious, it’s very often like you are sitting in the passenger seat and not driving in the direction you want to go.

Let’s just see how much ‘charge’ you have from some of these statements. Related to your business, you’ll want to fill in the blank:

“I would hate if people thought ___________________________ of me and the services I offer.”

“What I don’t want people to see about me is __________________________.”

“Secretly what I’m afraid about in my business is ______________________.”

“If my potential clients knew ___________________ about me, they might not sign up.”

Ok, kinda hard questions. But in order to make it through this entrepreneurial journey, you must be willing to do the deep dive into what’s really going on inside. Or you will be a victim to the unconscious drivers and motivation.

When you answered those, did you come up with much intensity? Meaning, if it’s a reasonable thing like “I’d hate if people think I am a fraud” and you felt relatively neutral with it, you are probably fine. We all have some degree of nature that wants to look good and have others approve of us. But if you had that same “Oh no…what if they thought I’m a fraud” and you noticed that it is a HUGE emotional reaction, very likely you are over-reacting and so holding back. Ask yourself these questions:

“How am I holding back?

“What am I NOT doing because of the fear?”

“What’s the cost of these thoughts in terms of me being able to market and sell myself?”

I want you to get real with yourself. Make this stuff conscious so you don’t have to have your mastermind partners show it to you! But actually, that’s the work I do with my clients day in and day out. Showing them the places where their mindset is not supporting them.

And I use tools like the WaveMaker, EFT, NLP, and the work of Byron Katie to help people shift this. But the first piece is awareness. You can’t change what you don’t know. So I’m going to challenge you to be on the look-out for anything you are running away from, giving energy to NOT being, and holding back out of fear.

This week watch you words. Notice your energy. See if you are a caped crusader for something and really look at what’s underneath that to see if it’s affecting your business or marketing in a negative manner. And know I’m here for you and want to help you get clear on what you own, and what you dump! Week two of the Blind Spot To Brilliance program is where we really dive into this Inner Game work. There are a few spots left, so check it out if you can see that you may need some mindset ‘massaging’ shall we say.

Peace and Blessings!

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