Solopros: Are You Busy but not Rich?

If you are a solopreneur, trying to build up a clientele, but not seeing the money flow in-read on.

This information could get the dollars flowing into your PayPal account.

It could save you financially.

I know I sure needed to be saved financially.

I knew I wanted to be booked solid as a coach, but the money was only trickling in from my 3 or 4 clients a week.

And it's not that I wasn't busy. In fact, I had been working feverishly for over a year creating websites, writing newsletters, and taking classes.

And even though I knew I was becoming an expert in my field, I still wasn't getting the money to flow in.
So, I started thinking; what do I need to do to get money coming in now?

Well, I wrote down all the stuff I did in a day and I saw an interesting pattern emerge.

I had been spending too much time doing "development" activities and not enough time doing the things that get clients to call.

When I looked at what I did--based on how far removed it was from giving potential clients a sample of my work and asking them to hire me-I knew immediately why I wasn't bringing in the money.

90% of what I was doing was what I would call 3 and 4 "degrees of separation" from closing the sale. Yikes!

So, I made a pact with myself. I decided to make sure I was spending AT LEAST 50% of my time doing work that was no more than 1 degree and 2 degrees of separation from direct marketing.

For me that was:
0 Degrees: Asking a potential client if they want to hire me as a coach By performing complimentary sessions

1 Degree: Offering complimentary sessions by:
• Passing out cards at events
• Follow up autoresponders to those who clicked through website
• Speaking
• Networking
• Sending Out Articles
• Optimizing website
• Buy Google Ads
• Sending out autoresponders/ezines to clients with offers of complimentary sessions
• Talk/ write personal notes to clients

1 Degree Make offer more alluring
• Create, Update, and Practice complimentary session
• Work on overcoming objections
• Focus on creating value for client

2 Degrees: Creating communication opportunities
• Finding speaking/radio gigs
• Finding networking gigs
• Writing articles
• Finding sites that accept articles
• Writing speeches
• Writing blogs
• Commenting on blogs
• Talking in discussion groups
• Promoting products

3 Degrees Lure potential clients
Creating confidence in what I offer
• Creating products
• Improving products
• Spiffing up website
• Improving copy
• Improving offer

4 Degrees Hone my abilities
• Take classes
• Receive coaching
• Coach

Now, I couldn't do EVERY thing I've listed in 1 and 2 degrees of separation, I would be totally overwhelmed.

But I did make sure that at least half of what I do falls in those two categories.

And believe me, that meant I had to revise my TO DO lists because I had been in 'development' mode for a long, long time.

And let me tell you it paid off almost immediately. Within 3 days of making this pact with myself, I booked 6 complimentary sessions, and got 4 new clients!

So before you throw in the towel on your coaching career, you might want to put your TO DO list to the test and make sure that most of what you do is in the 1 & 2 degrees of separation from closing sales.

It definitely helped me and my guess is it will help you.

About The Author-- Dr. Lauren's wisdom as coach, speaker, and writer has been featured in REDBOOK, FIRST FOR WOMEN, and FITNESS magazines. To learn more about how Dr. Lauren can help you use intuition and luck to grow your business, please click here

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