The Phenomenon: 5 Wisdom Nuggets to Shift Your Business into Abundance

Posted on March 24, 2009
Filed Under Articles, Coaches, Miscellaneous, Success Tips

by Alicia M Forest, MBA
Multiple Streams Queen & Coach

After attending a great conference put on by Brian Sachs, Dan Kennedy, and Bill Glazer, I came home with a pad full of notes, a ton of business cards from some really fantastic fellow entrepreneurs, and more than a few shifts in my thinking that I thought I’d share with you in this issue.

1. Attend conferences with the intent to come home having earned back the cost of the conference in business.
I’ve written before about the importance of attending in-person events that make sense for your business, and the return on investment that you have the potential to get from meeting your clients, colleagues and prospects in person, but I hadn’t thought about it in these terms before. And with a nod to Bill Glazer, allow me to put a bit of a different spin on it.

Attend conferences with the intention of being aware of opportunities where you can help other people and watch for the ROI down the line.
For example, one attendee wasn’t sure how to get her direct mail pieces printed and sent, and wasn’t sure if she needed a virtual assistant, so I gave her a few recommendations and explained the role of a VA and how it might and might not apply to her particular business. She was very appreciative, asked for my card, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing her in the Client Abundance community soon.

Another attendee wanted help with a new piece of software, so I introduced him to another attendee who offers support specific for that software. Another attendee is a student in a certain area of study so I introduced her to a master teacher in that same area of study.

Only one of those three examples might lead to a direct client or customer for me, but what I did was build good-will equity by making valuable connections for others. Now, I didn’t seek to match these people up (and I only knew one of them previously); the connections came about naturally, but I can guess that the results of doing so will mean money in my bank some point down the road. And I’m sure you’ve already guessed that the money isn’t why I do it.

So, if you have the intention of getting more from being at an event in the flesh than just sitting in an uncomfortable chair for hours on end and downloading information, then setting the intention that you’ll make connections that will more than pay for your ticket for attendance might even give you the permission you need to give yourself to go in the first place.

2. Follow the money.
This one was from Lee Milteer, a passionate speaker on peak performance. Follow the money. Don’t spend your time on things that aren’t going to bring you money, including people. When trying to decide the best or next course of action, follow the money.

We talk about this a lot in Client Abundance, that there is a faster path to money and a part of that is not wasting it on the time-sucks that aren’t going to bring you that money. It’s always good to be reminded.

3. The sale is 100% contingent on the attitude of the entrepreneur, not the attitude of the customer.
Another gem from Lee. I talk about this often with my clients when they are nervous about raising their prices or when they want to charge a higher price point than they ever have. You have to feel confident in your bones that the number you’re asking for represents the value of your offer. If you can’t quote your fee or your program’s fee without missing a beat, the problem really isn’t the price.

4. I’m the idea-creator, not the implementer.
This one was from Ron Ipach, who spoke on how to organize your time in and around your business so you can enjoy the lifestyle you want. I talk about outsourcing a lot, and encourage all my clients to hire help as soon as they can, if not before they really need it. And this really shed a light on the fact that as much as I do delegate, there’s so much more I can so I can focus on the work that only I can do.

So, my new mantra is that even if I think I can do it faster and easier, I’m not going to – it goes to my team.

5. Get paid to create products.
This was a pragmatic nugget, and something I do quite often. The basic premise is, find out what you target market wants, decide the format you’ll present it in, write the sales letter and post it, take registrations/payments, THEN create the product. Think about that for a minute. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

There’s a lot more I learned, and you’ll be seeing that learning being put into action over the next several months. In the meantime, I want to invite you to take one of these nuggets, implement it into your business, and let me know your results.

Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach(TM) teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit www.ClientAbundance.com