How are you enjoying this “backstage” tour through the world of email and personal development? Are you having as much fun as I am, taking a look at the business-building methods that some of my best friends and favorite teachers are using, so you can not only benefit from all their fabulous freebies, but you can also start to develop a vision for your own marketing? I hope so.
So today’s featured entrepreneur is a close friend and one of my favorite people:
SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) and her Succulent Wild Business Summit
SARK is gathering creative geniuses, healers, coaches, and world changers to change the world of business and bring more love and light into the world. Discover how to change the world while making a great living: https://www.facebook.com/PlanetSARK/?ref=233
SARK’s Unique Style
You probably don’t need me to describe SARK’s immensely popular, playful style, but if you’re not sure who she is, just check out her Facebook page and you’ll get the idea.
I once referred to SARK’s style as “aggressively whimsical.” She liked that : )
She’s been in business forever, and has been hugely successful selling both products (posters, blankets, etc) and courses. Oh, yeah – and she’s written 17 books.
So now SARK is offering something a little different – entrepreneurial coaching for creatives.
I’m so glad she’s sharing her deep wisdom from her years of experience as a business owner and artist. She’s naturally anti-authoritarian and she’s allergic to anything that isn’t 100% truthful, so you know she’ll give you the straight dope.
SARK’s Smart Strategy
SARK is taking advantage of the Facebook Live feature to offer 7 days of free teaching. During that training, she’ll encourage interested people to book a one-on-one call and from there, if it’s right for all concerned, she’ll invite them into her high-end coaching program.
What’s Facebook Live, you ask?
FB Live allows you to broadcast a live video feed for up to 90 minutes. And just like a post, people can Like, Comment and “blow kisses” to you as you air. Once you’re done, your video stays on your page, just like any other video you might post.
It’s very simple: You just log in to Facebook using your phone, go to your profile page and rather than writing a post, you hit the “live” icon. (You can’t do this on your computer – it has to be on your phone.) There’s a little bit of easy set-up (here’s a step-by-step how-to: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-live-guide) and then BOOM – you’re a star.
The great thing about this is that you can get quite a lot of viewers both during and after you record, and it’s fun to have your own instant tv show. It’s great for spreading the word about what you’re up to, building community and interacting with your fans.
I’ve only done it once or twice myself, and I liked it a lot. I probably wouldn’t try to sell anything directly during a FB Live, though – but I think it’s great for making free offers or, as SARK is doing, inviting people to a strategy call.
Idea You Could Borrow for Yourself
The average American spends almost an hour a day on Facebook – slightly terrifying, but true – so why shouldn’t they spend some of that time soaking up your fabulousness?
And so many of you have such an advantage here because, let’s face it, most people are kind of boring. But YOU, my little cabbage, are anything but boring. So I’d urge you to be brave and try it out.
Video is far and away the most effective means of online marketing. When people can see into your eyes, feel your passion and authenticity and also interact with you – there’s nothing better for building credibility and fans.
I think some people think that if money is involved, kindness isn’t.
But that’s not true.
Give these 5 statements and quick read and see how many of them are true for you:
I would rather shop where the staff makes me feel welcome.
I am loyal to my hair stylist, housekeeper, improv teacher, shoe repair guy and other service providers, partly because they are such kind people.
I love to refer my kindhearted friends to kindhearted service providers.
I love it when a shopkeeper greets me by name, and when the server brings me water with no ice because he remembers that’s how I like it.
I like it when businesses send me special coupons for being a good customer, or for my birthday.
Right? Me, too. Good.
Now — let’s revisit these with this question in mind:
If you are a small business owner, how many of those “kindness strategies” are you putting into action?
1) I would rather shop where the staff makes me feel welcome. Do you have a way to greet new people and make them feel seen, heard and welcomed? (This is important in a bricks-and-mortar location, of course, but it is also important in your website, your emails and your social media interactions.)
2) I am loyal to my hair stylist, housekeeper, improv teacher, shoe repair guy and other service providers, partly because they are such kind people. Do you have a way to guarantee that all of your interactions with your clients – as well as those of your staff and team – are grounded in kindness? Do you have templates? A process? Clear guidelines for client interaction?
3) I love to refer my kindhearted friends to kindhearted service providers. Do you have a way to collect referrals from satisfied clients? Do you have a way to follow up with those referrals so they don’t slip through the cracks?
4) I love it when a shopkeeper greets me by name, and when the server brings me water with no ice because he remembers that’s how I like it. Do you have a way to keep track of your clients’ preferences and interests? Do you have a way to let them know that they are not just a faceless number, but rather a valued member of your community?
5) I like it when businesses send me a special coupons for being a good customer, or for my birthday.Do you reward the loyalty of your longtime customers by offering them a special something every once in a while?I think you would love to be able to put your kindness into action in this way.And I bet it would make you a bunch of cabbage, too.So…if we took a day to create a customized, personalized plan designed especially for you and your business, complete with built-in “work time” so you actually got the thing done — I know that you could EASILY start to bring in an extra $2000/month or more.(Not with the “kindness strategy” alone, of course — that’s just an example 🙂
Sunday May 22 @ 10am – 5pm Pacific Time check your time zone: www.WorldTimeBuddy.com
You will actually GET THE WORK DONE as class includes both teaching time and implementation time.
Discover how to: – Patch the Holes In Your Profit Bucket – Double Your Sales the Easy Way – Break Through Your Invisible Income Ceiling – Pay Yourself First (for real – not just in theory) – Discover How YOUR Values Can Super-Charge Your Business
Plus you get: 1) One private follow-up session
2) One group follow-up session
3) A FREE ticket to “The Big Yes: How To Overcome Procrastination, Perfectionism and Self-Doubt and Make $10,000 (or More!) from Your Creativity” ($799 value), July 22-24 at the Westin LAX in Los Angeles, CA.
Go fill out the application questionnaire, even if you know that you do NOT want to do this workshop, simply because answering the questions will be illuminating for you.
I Can’t Possibly Raise My Prices Faulty Logic #1: “If I can’t get people to buy my stuff for cheap, how can I expect people to pay a lot?”
The problem is that it’s like you’re trying to sell a diamond necklace at the thrift store.
The people at the thrift store won’t buy it, and the people who WILL buy it aren’t at the thrift store.
Raise your prices and the right people will start to find you.
HINT: in fact, those “right people” are right in front of you. Those good folks who can and will pay higher prices are ALREADY in your tribe – they are just waiting for you to offer something at a price-point that makes sense to them.
I Can’t Possibly Raise My Prices Faulty Logic #2: “Well, I wouldn’t pay that much for XYZ …so I can’t imagine anyone else would either.”
Honey, you are not your client.
You do not have the same problem that your client has.
For example, you may not have just bought a big condo in Miami and be desperate to fill up those big blank walls with some challenging new art that will WOW your friends.
Or you may not be invited to attend a black-tie holiday party and not be able to find a plus-size dress that doesn’t make you look like a cheap chandelier…
Or maybe you have never spent a sleepless night wondering if you’ll ever find the love of your life.
But your clients do. They don’t just want to buy big art and a custom evening gown and relationship/dating coaching — they NEED to.
So, of course you wouldn’t pay to solve a problem that you don’t have. But think about a problem that you DO have — would you invest top dollar to get help solving that problem once and for all?
Yep. I bet you would.
I Can’t Possibly Raise My Prices Faulty Logic #3: “I don’t want to work with snotty rich people.”
If you’ve got this thought in your head, then first of all, that’s just plain old discrimination, and you should take a good, long, compassionate look at your assumptions.
(And I’m guessing what you really mean is that you don’t want to work with ANY snotty people, which is fine – don’t. There are plenty of warm, sensitive, well-off people in the world. Just as there are plenty of snotty broke ones.)
Secondly, just because someone pays a premium price for a thing doesn’t mean they are rich.
It means they VALUE the thing, and have prioritized it in their life.
And that’s great news for you — you want to work with people who value what you do.
You need help learning how to charge what you’re worth and how to feel good about it, and since Bill’s a musician as well as a writer/teacher/coach/creative genius, he’s the perfect person to show you how to do this all and have it feel great in your body, mind and soul.
Read it and then let me know what you think, OK?
I’m curious to know how all this lands with you….
REMEMBER: The World Is Eager to Pay Good Money for Your Art.
P.S. I am a friend, a Big Fan and an affiliate for Bill, but honestly I think his work is so great I would share it with you no matter what.
And if you have a friend who is caught in the undercharging/underearning/overdelivering cycle, please share “Mystery Solved: Where To REALLY Find High Paying Clients” by Bill Baren with him or her, or use the social sharing buttons. Thanks! – S.
Your creative work is an expression of your soul, of your perspective, of your innermost self. It’s completely unique to you.
So there is no “template” you can follow, because no one has ever done what you’re doing before.
And any time you start to try to adopt someone else’s “six-figure” system, or try to abide by “conventional wisdom” you get all itchy.
And then you procrastinate and you tell yourself all kinds of stories about how no one would ever pay you to do this and how there’s no market for it and how you’re probably not that good at it anyway and how the technology sort of freaks you out and what if you succeed and someone steals your idea or what if someone calls you a fraud and then you start criticizing yourself about your low self-esteem and how you never finish anything and maybe you should just forget this crazy dream of making money from your creativity once and for all.
Right.
Like that’s gonna happen.
You can’t give up on your dreams because your dreams never give up on you.
They keep haunting you.
Pulling at your sleeve.
And then you see some no-talent-hack succeed and you think, “I could do that!”
After all, your friends are the coolest people there are, and they need to get their work out there, too, don’t they?
(Doesn’t it just make you crazy when your super-talented friend just won’t even TRY to get their painting, their writing, their healing work, their art, their whatever out there??? Yep. Me too.)
So please either share this blog with them or share this on Facebook, Twitter or Google + — here’s the link for them to register: https://sambennett.leadpages.net/unusual-marketing/
And of course I’ll make sure you get the recording and everything — but register first for free:
Well, first of all let me say that I am the last person on earth one would expect to be in love with a software company’s annual conference. But Infusioncon changed me.
Please note: I have no business or marketing background, no training in computers or software. But back in 2009 when started working for myself full time, I found Infusionsoft, and it’s been true love ever since.
First, let me tell you what Infusionsoft is: it’s an all-in-one system whereby you can send emails, track who opens and clicks on those emails and also sell people stuff. It’s like having a way to send nice emails, an extra-detailed address book that remembers everything a person has ever done and a shopping cart system to sell your stuff — all in one.
It’s a huge, beautiful machine.
Now, back to that conference . . .
Back in 2010, I attended my first Infusioncon, slightly shocked to be honored as an Ultimate Marketer Finalist. I presented the story of my business in front of a thousand people. I wrote Ode to the Entrepreneur for them and they gave me a standing ovation. You can see it on the tape here: the proof that poetry and business can make great bedfellows.
That Infusioncon was the first time I ever really embraced my new identity as a business person, and I was able to do it easily because Infusioncon is a convention of THE NICEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. The CEO, the management, the tech support staff… unnervingly kind, every last one of them. Even their customers are crazy-nice. Which is why it’s so fun to hang out with them all once a year.
Really, you must go.
This year it’s March 27-29 at the swanky Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. Your brain will melt (in a good way) from all the information and ideas – there’s a ton of expert sessions & trainings and this year my hero David Allen is speaking and – wait for it – so is Daymond John from Shark Tank, the world’s greatest television show.
I love them so much that I’ve become an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant (do I look smarter?) and I am proud to represent them, especially to the creatives, iconoclasts, writers, artists, performers, poets, teachers, geniuses, weirdos and wild bunch-ers who make up my community and might not otherwise hear about this stuff.
So if you’re interested in learning about Infusionsoft, check out the demo and see if it’s right for you: https://crm.infusionsoft.com/go/viewdemo/samanthabennett/
(you bet that’s an affiliate link – I’m a Certified Consultant for heaven’s sake.)
And if you want to learn more about small business sales & marketing in three days than most people learn in a lifetime, check out Infusioncon: http://2013.infusioncon.com/
