First a bit about this series:
From time to time on the blog, I will drop a piece of business advice for entrepreneurs, coaches and other folk who want to worry less and get more done. Because I spent 11+ years in the corporate world (in communications, no less) sometimes I have ideas about how to connect with an audience, what to say, and how to say it.
Life is business and business is life when you have a soul-based enterprise. The values you employ, the challenges you face, and advice you need co-mingle. You can’t compartmentalize your life; you must use all your gifts. Tweet it!
Owning my own business has been an exercise in adapting all I thought I knew into an authentic, soul-based strategy. But, it wasn’t easy to turn my marketing lens on myself so the insight I share in this series will often have been a game-changer for me, something I needed to learn, myself.
This month: How Having “Offerings” Set Me Free
It was in one game-changing conversation with a friend and business-coach. She was giving my biz a once-over and was like, “What’s your offer?”
I told her. And even as I said it I was thinking to myself, “This is not compelling!”
Help me!
I don’t remember the nuances of our conversation, probably because it was so perspective-altering.
We talked through what I offer and how I could package it so that my prospective clients have a clear sense of what they are getting when they sign up with me.
When I hung up the phone, the results were immediate. And they had nothing to do with an influx of clients. The most tangible result of this process was an internal shift, within me. I was instantly more excited about what I was putting out there. And I knew, inherently, that my enthusiasm would be a game-changer.
I knew from the moment I ended that call that I would be more excited to talk about my offerings [period] whether I was chatting with a prospective client during a “peace of mind prelim” complimentary session, or telling someone at a wedding what coaching is and how I work with people. My offerings were now clear. I knew what people would get, not just emotionally and mentally, when working with me. I knew what they would literally get when they signed up in the way of support and tangible goodies. My offerings would be clearer to anyone with whom I conversed because my offerings were now clear to me.
Here’s what to include when you’re developing a suite of offerings:
– A clear time frame: How long do you work with clients?
– Multiple levels of engagement: Different points of entry for the work in the way of duration and investment
– Clarity of terms: What do you actually do when you provide your service? What are the means by which you conduct sessions? What kind of support do you offer? What can people reasonably expect to walk away with?
– Super-fun incentive that you get really excited to talk about as a value-add (My Peace of Mind Care Packages did that for me. OMG, was I ever excited about the idea of curating a box full of goodies for my most committed clients. And, imagine getting a Peace of Mind Care Package!! Just like sleep-away camp!)
So, how can you massage your services into a clear suite of offerings? Post your answer — or questions! — in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear about the impact of this exercise on your level of enthusiasm when it comes to your “pitch.”
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