I used to make this mistake in the early days of my business and unfortunately I see so many others make it around me all the time. When you start out and don't know much about business, people tend to focus on what is going to get the closer to cash the fastest way possible - usually trying to sell others into their high end products or services.
There is nothing wrong with this except it doesn't really work unless you have a warm network, awesome relationships with joint venture partners that would endorse your work and raving fans that will refer their family and friends to you. We seem to think that having one high end offering is enough.
I remember doing so many public workshops in my first year of business and selling people into my one on one coaching after a free introductory 45 min session. Hmm - no wonder I failed miserably.
I find many business owners lack the top part of their sales funnels. They have their expensive offering ready to go, but nothing as a taster, value add or content that would build trust and intimacy in those earlier stage of a prospect getting to know you.
Did you know that people need to consume 11 Hours of content, have 7 touch points and 4 avenues they have seen or heard about you before they are ready and feel safe to buy from you ? One of my fellow friends and business owners, personal branding photographer Kon Iatrou shared this with us in a talk he did for my Ultimate Business Support group in Melbourne Last week. Wow!
It got me thinking back to what I do and why I do it... Let me share what all this means for you. Ask yourself these questions:
- Where do I turn up regularly online and offline?
- How often do I add value through social media?
- What kind of content am I continuously and consistently sharing with my audience?
- What kind of events do I host to get people to get to know me and my business?
There are so many ways we can connect with people to build those touch points, hours of content and avenues. Here are a few ideas:
- Writing Blogs
- Creating Videos and nowadays Live Streaming is huge
- Write a book (people get to hang out with you for at least 5 hours)
- Run events yourself to add value
- Attend networking groups
- Be a speaker at an event
- Email Content Marketing
- Social Media presence across 3-5 different platforms that you love
- Your You Tube Channel
- Run free webinars
- Create a Podcast
The list is endless of what you can do to get to the numbers that will bring in those high paying clients. The Rule of Thumb should be that you are spending 80% of your time and effort on Low Cost or Free value adding activities and 20% on the execution of you high end programs.
People see it as a waste of time, I am not getting anything in return, but fail to see that these steps are all part of the process. Don't let yourself down, think about your last high end purchase and how long it took you to make a decision to invest in it. I bet you there were steps, touch points, research on your behalf and time with that provider that convinced you in the end it was safe to invest, they could be trusted and then you took the leap.
Its no different for those considering you. People want to know you will look after them and they are safe with you. You create that feeling when you give give give without any expectation of getting. That just naturally happens when the time is right and the sales process is so simple and comfortable as the relationship and trust is there first.
BUILD AND AWESOME CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY!
Love Nat x
