From the Wisdom Vault…

Struggling is a favorite pastime of human beings. With all our needs well met, we’ll still find some reason to struggle. When my clients say, “I’m struggling!” I imagine them up to their neck in a mud pit, arms flailing but not going anywhere. It’s a painful place to be.

Small Thinking
Being stuck is almost always about a limited perspective. Our thoughts betray us because we’re thinking small. It begins with all this agonizing over how?! And suddenly we’re locked onto a lose/lose point of view.

What would it be like to simply stop struggling? That’s right. Escape instantly out of the mud pit every time we fall in? It would be like having endless “get out of jail free” cards in the game of life.

Zoom Out
If I want to see something clearly, I back away from the details. I want both a new way to think and a renewed sense of direction. I like to get way back, beyond the 30,000-foot view, so I go to another dimension to look at my current situation.

Cosmic Thinking
I imagine that I and all the other between-worlds souls are sitting around planning my life. Contracts are being made with this soul and that one; people who will help me learn what I need to in this next life. We are smart. We know exactly the set of circumstances that will be needed to take me to this next threshold.

I ask myself: “If I designed this struggle, what is it exactly that I’m trying to learn now? What is in my thoughts or belief systems that is no longer in alignment with who I am now?”

It’s amazing how quickly this works. As soon as I believe that I created this hole I’m stuck in and I know the way out, then I can see the way out. And, if I need a hand to get out of the mud pit, my coach is always a great ally.

Try this cosmic thinking with yourself and with your clients. And if you need an ally, hire a mentor coach. A Jump Start session with Prosperous Coach Mentor, Sue Brundege is quick relief from “the struggle”!

Sue’s Success Secrets
This week’s question is:
When is it okay to advise a client?
Prosperous Coach Mentor, Sue Brundege answers…

To Your Growing Prosperity!

Rhonda Hess
Founder of Prosperous Coach

From the Wisdom Vault…

Are any of these statements true for you?

- “I start a lot of things but often don’t complete them.”
- “I open my email and before I know it half the day is gone!”
- “My schedule is so full there’s no time to develop my business.”
- “I work hard but not on what will positively impact my success.”
- “I end many days feeling guilty about what I did not accomplish.”

If so, you’re in good company. I hear these frustrations from just about every solo-entrepreneur I know. What you need are systems to keep your days flowing happily along.

Six Time Blocking Steps

Use this time-blocking process to get more done and have more fun in your business:

1. Spend 30 minutes each day planning.
Set a time slot at the end of each day to plan for the next. Choose 1- 3 high pay off activities to complete early in the day, so you make significant progress every day. Remember, a high pay off activity brings you closer to achieving your top revenue and developmental goals.

2. Make your calendar your daily guide.
Most people only put appointments and birthdays on their calendar. Try this — put all of your business tasks and timed goals on it as well. Time management guru David Allen says: “Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured in a trusted system outside your mind, or what I call a collection bucket, that you know you’ll come back to regularly and sort through.”

Whatever goes on your calendar is a sacred agreement with yourself. Sure, sometimes you’ll need more time or realize that there are more pieces to a project than you thought, so go ahead and move a few things ahead. The key is to review your open projects regularly and keep them moving forward. When you get into a good rhythm your calendar becomes an ally for your success.

3. Set specific days for coaching and times slots for clients.
In my practice, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are clients days. Two sessions before lunch and two after is a good pattern. Each client has their own dedicated time slot so that it’s easy to manage my schedule. When you have a full practice, this system makes it easy to stay on track. Why not start it now so that you’re set up for success?

If you have an open slot, imagine your ideal client is on their way and use the time for bite size marketing tasks to attract that client.

4. Block out several hours each week for project development.
The alpha waves are flowing in the morning — so that’s often the best time for writing articles and creating marketing campaigns, designing new products and services. Turn that dream for another revenue stream into reality!

5. Have set times to respond to emails.
Tim Ferris, in the 4 Hour Work Week, suggests checking emails only at noon and 4:00pm. Get your high pay off actions done first, and only then open your email. If you let email get the best of you, this one is for you. And have a standard of getting everything out of your court and out of your inbox every day or at least every week.

6. Set time blocks for Finance, Writing and Marketing

- Financial Focus Time
This is where you update your revenue and expense projections, pay bills, and input your bookkeeping into Quick Books. Of course, you could outsource most of this. But do stay in touch with your finances — it’s a prosperity principle.

- Wildly Creative Writing Time
If you publish an ezine or re-purpose articles into blogs and directories, a regular writing habit is critical. Ezines only work for you if they are punctual like a train.

- Magnetic Marketing Time
Plan your work and work your plan. If you market continuously and consistently, you will have more clients than you need. Plan a set of well-leveraged, repetitive approaches, some of which are high touch (voice to voice) and some that are automated internet processes. Add in some of your own products and you have the Magic Marketing Suite!

Do some of these things seem like drudgery to you? Reframe your thoughts about them. Make each aspect of your business a friend and ally. A smart colleague of mine, changed up to a fun attitude by giving her time blocks upbeat names like the ones above.

Now, start using this time blocking process and watch yourself accomplish more than you thought possible week after week!

Sue’s Success Secrets
This week’s question is:
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using other people’s articles in your ezine?
Prosperous Coach Mentor, Sue Brundege answers…

May your time blocking system bring you greater prosperity in your coaching business!

Rhonda Hess
Founder, Prosperous Coach

From the Wisdom Vault…

Articles, products, ebooks and books are great credibility builders. When your prospects read your insights, their perception of your value often increases significantly.

As you consider starting an ezine or are already publishing one, have you ever thought “I’m not a great writer and I don’t know what to say.” I thought the same thing when I began my coaching business. Now, I make a large percentage of my income on my writing and it attracts ideal clients to me. Who knew!

Writing is a gateway skill — a tool that, if honed, can make you wildly successful. So, if you are willing to improve your skills while you write, develop an ezine now for your niche market. It may attract more people to hire you than any other method of marketing. And this little effort now will pay you well later.

How can you make your ezine work for you? The trick is to treat your ezine like a long term asset for your coaching business.

The Ten Tips

For someone to open your ezine and read it through, the topic has to be perceived as valuable, brief and easy to read. For your ezine to be an effective marketing tool, you must do more than write it and blast it out to your list now and then.

Here’s how easy it is to make your ezine the fastest credibility builder and sales vehicle you have:

1. Be Consistent
Give your ezine a congruent look and format and post each edition to go out on the same day and time of the week. This one arrives at inboxes Monday at 4:00am ET. If you find it difficult to be consistent, make it a priority to get on track. The most effective ezines are delivered like clockwork. Weekly or bi-weekly editions are best for marketing. Don’t bother with less than once per month.

2. Stay Brief and Relevant
Include only one short article of 300 - 800 words. Make the topic bite- sized, timely and useful to your niche market.

3. Craft a Compelling Title
The title should make your prospects want to read it. Include the date and topic title on the subject line to increase open rates.

4. Connect with Your Readers
Show them that you understand what’s important to them. Think like a blogger and use very short stories about yourself as an intro to the topic. Then, connect it to the top challenges and desires of your niche market. Be authoritative while also relational. Avoid passive language.

5. Make it Easy to Read
Write short paragraphs with clever bolded subheadings. Use bullet points and numbered lists. Italicize or bold key phrases or sentences. Have it proofread with a test delivery before you publish.

6. Make it Easy to Act
Every ezine should have a call to action — a tip to apply or a next step to engage with you, the author. Make it simple to buy or enroll in a product or program. Include an easy Send a Copy to A Friend method so your list can grow with the help of your subscribers.

7. Market often!
If you only market once in a blue moon to your list, it will be a shock to your readers when it happens. It’s better to market something — a product, a teleseminar, or sample session — in at least one edition per month. Link to full details on your website.

8. Make Marketing Relevant
Make sure the topic of the article relates to what you’re selling so you lead your readers to take action.

9. Analyze Each Edition
Learn something new from every ezine you send. Monitor and improve open and click through rates. Use an email campaign company to manage your list. Aweber has a proven high deliverability rates, lots of simple educational tools, and costs $19.95 per month!

10. Never spam anyone!
Use a double opt-in system. Your homegrown list is always going to convert better than a purchased or borrowed list because the subscribers are pre-qualified. Provide an easy unsubscribe link (any reputable campaign company should have this built into the form).

And here is a bonus tip: Plan to re-use your articles by posting them in ezine directories, blogs, and other newsletters for your niche market. Make sure you have a compelling by line and bio with your website address and a copyright notice on each article. Then, repurpose your writing again into products.

For detailed support creating ezines, get the ebook Working Websites for Coaches.

Sue’s Success Secrets
This week’s question is:
Do you have any tips for ‘closing the sale’ with coaching prospects?
Prosperous Coach Mentor, Sue Brundege answers…

May your writing bring you greater prosperity
in your coaching business!

Rhonda Hess
Founder, Prosperous Coach

Take the
Money Mindset Challenge
See Details Below

From the Wisdom Vault

After you’ve poured hard work and dollars into your website, the last thing you want to do is have it sit there collecting cyber-dust.

You want your website working for you all the time as a dynamic online brochure and possibly as an ecommerce portal.

So pull up your site (or if you’re starting on yours now, take note), and run through this checklist to see if your site needs a makeover.

1. Does your home page:

- Clearly identify and pre-qualify your ideal clients.

When you address your niche market personally you help them feel like they have arrived home. Trying to address a large market or just anyone who comes to your site will make your site less effective as a marketing tool and slow your success.

- Convey how you understand their top problems and desires.

Specificity wins and generalities lose. When your prospects can tell that you know what’s up for them, you’ll encourage them to invest in your services more quickly and you’ll get more referrals.

- Let them see your sense of style.

There’s nothing better than a professional headshot and maybe even a 30 second audio or video clip of you to build trust quickly.

Audioacrobat is the simplest, most economical, service for audio/video.

- Give them a no- or low-commitment opportunity to experience you.

This is a must. Ezines are a brilliant way to give them value and stay in touch (but only if you send them out on schedule). Free reports, assessments — any free thing that allows you to capture their email address and follow up with autoresponders works as well. Aweber provides the best delivery for autoresponders and email campaigns.

- Invite them to take another step with you.

The call to action is critical. Make it hard to miss and direct. Sample sessions, upcoming programs, products — make sure these options are teased on the home page and fleshed out on a linked page.

2. Does your “About You” page work for you by:

- Telling them how your journey led you to coaching them.

Make your bio into an inspirational short story (500 words or less) with three or four titled paragraphs. Make every word relevant to your niche market.

- Building a bond of trust and raising your credibility.

Long and formal CVs will bore them. Instead weave your credentials and relevant previous experience into your short story.

3. Do you have a technologically savvy site that:

- Tracks where leads are coming from with an analytics program.

Google Analytics is easy to set up and provides lots of usable data that’s easy to read. Track online sales, pay per click or sponsored ads, or traffic from posted articles and reciprocal websites. Now you’re really making your website work!

- Automate processes with a shopping cart system.

This may be a phase two addition to your site. Add this when you are ready to sell products and group services, register people for programs, or offer an affiliate program. Professional Cart Solutions is a good online shopping cart (same software as 1 Shopping Cart).

Give your website a tune up or start from scratch with Working Websites for Coaches. This step by step guide simplifies every phase of website creation including writing compelling content that pre-qualifies your ideal clients, managing the web design process, and launching an effective ezine. It includes sample content, example websites, web designers and other resources.

Take the Money Mindset Challenge!

This free five-part mini-ecourse, delivered to your inbox, will walk you through compelling questions, best practices, and practical tools to powerfully transform you into a prosperity magnet.

Feel free to share this free ecourse with your colleagues:

http://www.prosperouscoach.com/public/205.cfm

To Your Growing Prosperity!

Rhonda Hess, Founder of Prosperous Coach