Do you need to take some tasks OFF your to do list?

There’s been some interesting conversations in my networking circles this week. Many of them have been around the notion of striving for results, as opposed to allowing and gently manifesting.

I’ve been pondering how easy it is to get caught up in busy activities. A bit like a butterfly in a bottle!

How would you feel if you could do less, and achieve more, so that instead of busy you could be productive and leave room for what makes your life meaningful. Family. Love. Contribution.

We often think that by doing more we will get better results.

But that can get overwhelming, right?

As a business owner who inspires others, most of us have a vision to help and heal. We may do this through education, consultations, healing sessions, products and programs.

But, all too often we cram way to much into our day, try to promote too many things at one time, which ends up in confusion for our clients, and overwhelm for us!

This is not the way to grow your business and maintain your sanity at the same time.

So, how can you do this?

Determine your outcomes first

Your outcomes may be long term, such as buying a house or retiring, medium term like a family holiday, or opening more locations for your business, or short term such as selling your program, a workshop or securing a certain number of clients.

Your outcomes may be financial, or altruistic.

I prefer to work with short, medium and long term goals. They can adjust as my priorities change. But it helps keep me on track.

Whichever it is, write these down, add them to your vision board, or note them on your whiteboard!

Decide what’s required to get there

Don’t just jump on Facebook and hope for the best. Don’t do things just because everyone body else is! Think about what you are doing and why. You can still enjoy the journey, be authentic and heartfelt. Being a little strategic doesn’t cancel those things out. It just allows you to be purposeful.

Wouldn’t you prefer to live your life and grow your business – on purpose?

Take the first step

If your goal is to get 10 people for your workshop, start with the first step towards that end. It may be to increase awareness of the topic. To do this you could write a blog or share a video. Be careful not to sell too soon. Build trust first. Other tasks could be set up an event page on your website and Facebook. Invite people you think would like to be there (don’t spam indiscriminately). Follow up. If you have been struggling to fill your events, this article will help you.

Shorten your daily to-do list

Remove the endless business. Choose 3 things that will move you toward your outcome. Those 3 things will get done, and still leave time for rest, recreation, friends and family.

I start my week with 3 main objectives. Each day I choose 3 tasks. I feel into it each morning, so I choose tasks that fit with my energy levels and daily demands, but still move me forward.

Get help if you need it

Don’t be afraid to ask for help – if you are resisting a phase on your list because it seems difficult, ask for help from someone who has already experienced it. Most people are more than happy to share their experience of how they have overcome any initial difficulties. (Remember Thomas Edison failed 1000 times before successfully inventing the light bulb.) Having a mentor can be truly inspiring.

How I stay on track

I use a tool called www.simpleology.com. It gives me a dreamcatcher to store my ideas, somewhere to braindump daily, and a place to set my short, medium and long-term projects. This tool changed my life when I first began using it in 2010. Their motto is “double your free time by simplifying your life”. That’s my kind of motto!! Simplicity is my key driver.

If you love rituals, you’ll love Simpleology!!

Seek out like-minded people

Spend time with others who have similar interests to you and share your ideas, successes, and failures. They will encourage, applaud and inspire as you walk alongside them.

Most importantly get started! It is only once an action is added to the dream that it can truly become a reality.

[thrive_link color=’green’ link=’https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthymarketing/’ target=’_self’ size=’large’ align=’aligncenter’]Join the Healthy Marketing Facebook Group and hang out with like-minded people![/thrive_link]

How selling too soon could be losing you clients!

You’ve created a brilliant service, product or program and you cannot wait to get it out there!

Let’s face it you are an expert at what you do. You know people need your service. In fact, it could help most people to lead a better more fulfilling life!

It’s a success story just waiting to happen!

So you decide to ‘eat that frog’. You face your fear of selling and do it anyway. Even if doing so feels a bit…..icky.

You create an event. You set up Facebook posts. You even invest in some paid ads. You post in Facebook groups. You put it out there. You put it everywhere!

But then. Nothing. Zilch. Or very little.

It is so frustrating! You cry out to the universe?? Why, why, WHY???

It may just be that you are selling too soon.

Human beings have simple needs, but they are complex creatures.

Meltwater Customer Purchase Funnel — Image used with permission.

We go through quite a process when it comes to making purchase decisions.

The process leading up to purchase is:

Awareness

We become aware that we have a problem. We can be in this phase for quite a while! We may start Googling the issue to find out more about our problem or condition.

Consideration

We decide we need help. We start to consider our options. What types of treatments could help us? We research and explore. We evaluate the service providers, and people offering to help. Do we like them? Do they suit us? Are they trustworthy? There’s a lot to consider here.

Preference

We’ve narrowed it down to a shortlist. We weigh up the pros and cons of our treatment options or solutions to our problem.

Purchase

We’ve made our decision. The price is right! The solution is right! We are confident in our decision. Time to hand over the money.

Why selling too soon can backfire

If you are trying to sell someone your product, but they don’t know they need it yet, it may fall on deaf ears. They won’t be ready to receive.

You need to educate them first to arouse their awareness. Then once they are aware, they need to know the options that are available. You can help them by explaining these clearly. This can apply to the range of options on the market, as well as the multiple products or services you offer.

But, if you are just flogging your event, product or service, without considering where your market is at, you’ll be missing their sweet spot.

So what’s the answer to selling at the right time?

As a health or wellness practitioner, you are in an advantageous position. You can use education and information to promote your product. You don’t have to hard sell anything!! BUT, you must appeal to their most urgent needs right now!!

BUT, you must appeal to their most urgent needs right now!!

Trying to sell something without a deep felt urgent need or desire will make your job difficult.

Helpful marketing is healthy marketing.

The key is giving people what they need now (education about their problem, their question answered, a solution option) – then what they need next (your product). Too often we just try and give them the product, overlooking the first part.

You need to demonstrate that you know your customer, their needs, their concerns, their objections and their preferences!! Ignore this at your peril.

Accept that they may not buy until they have a real reason to do so and that all of these things must be addressed.

How do you do this? Some ways to consider include:

Explain signs and symptoms.
Answer frequently asked questions.
Do product reviews.
Share case studies and testimonials.

You can do this through blogs, video, images and social media.

Your customers are looking for what you offer – help them to find you and navigate their purchasing decision!

Include your most important call to action. Make it easy for them to make their purchase decision.

Once they’ve become a customer, you can nurture their loyalty, and they can become advocates!

Want to learn more about health marketing?

[thrive_link color=’green’ link=’https://www.facebook.com/groups/healthymarketing/’ target=’_blank’ size=’big’ align=’aligncenter’]Join Krishna’s ‘Grow Your Health & Wellbeing Business’ Facebook Group[/thrive_link]

The Synergistic Power of Joint Ventures to Grow Your Business

So you’ve registered your business name, printed some business cards, and announced your business at a network or two. You may even have your first clients or customers, and are beginning to establish some regular clientele and repeat business.

So, what next? How do you take your new business from fledgling to full flight?

One very powerful way is via joint ventures or strategic alliances.

The beauty of joint ventures is they allow you to leverage what your knowledge and products and services, through the power of unity. Joint ventures are synergistic in nature, which means the partnership has far more value than the sum of its individual parts. This synergy means that you can reap far greater rewards together, than you could possibly do so alone.

At first glance it appears that joint ventures benefit the partners involved, and that’s true. You can pool your resources, split associated costs, and benefit from sharing one another’s database and network connections. Continue reading “The Synergistic Power of Joint Ventures to Grow Your Business”

The Art of Getting Free Publicity – a Health and Fitness Case Study

Personal Trainer and Life Coach Jennifer Forster referred to herself as a wallflower before discovering the knack of getting free publicity. In this encore interview, she shares how she secured 40 media features worth thousands of dollars, and how you can too.

How to Build a Massive You Tube Following

Ryan Hoyme of Massage Nerd fame has more than 90,000 subscribers and has had more than 180 million views on his channel.

In this encore interview, Krishna Everson of Healthy Marketing gets Ryan’s insights on how it happened, and how you can do it too.

Trademarking Q and A. What You Need to Know.

In this Q&A session Krishna Everson grills Australian trademarking and copyright expert Geoff Moller on the possible pitfalls and how to avoid trademarking trouble when it comes to protecting your brand. #trademarks #trademarking #copyright #ip #intellectualproperty #marketing #branding #healthymarketing

Debunking the Myths of SEO with Paul Barrs

Paul Barrs is one of Australia’s leading Search Engine Optimisation experts and takes us through the essentials of getting your healthy website ranking and being found by your clients and customers.

5 Ways to Leverage the National Health Calendar to Promote Your Health Business

Not a week goes by without an opportunity to promote a health message, product or service.

In the last week alone, we have seen National Palliative Care Week and Kidney Health Week, as well as World MS Day, National Sorry Day and Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea to raise funds for Cancer Research.

What makes these events so wonderful is they can increase awareness about important health issues and social determinants of health while providing you with an exceptional opportunity to leverage your health message, product, service or book.

Tapping into the health calendar is easy, and there are a variety of ways you can do this depending on your time, energy and resources.

Here are 5 of my favourites. With a little planning, they are easy to do, and won’t break your marketing budget!!

HOLD A MINI EXPO OR INFORMATION SESSION FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS

We know that the best source of ongoing business is through your existing clients, so holding an event especially for them makes perfect sense! Try partnering with other local practitioners to provide a value packed information session for your participants. Aligning the event with a registered charity or fundraiser is a wonderful way to engage additional support.

WRITE A BLOG HIGHLIGHTING THE CAUSE AND SHARE USEFUL TIPS TO PREVENT OR HELP THOSE WITH THE CONDITION *

Writing a health blog with a timely message increases the likelihood that it will be shared and invites interaction. Ideally your blog will be an element on your website, which you can use to stimulate traffic. Build engagement by inviting readers to comment about their personal experiences with the health issue or topic. Incorporate a call to action where prospects can contact you to get help with the issue or find out more from you as a practitioner.

*Always be mindful that you are not making false or misleading claims, and content is for educational purposes only. ACCC offers some health advertising guidelines here.

OFFER TO SPEAK AT A RELEVANT LOCAL ORGANISATION OR COMMUNITY GROUP

Offering your services for free to a local group is a great way to reach new customers, and receive free publicity through their networks. It’s an opportunity to be promoted through their existing database, and through both yours and their social media channels, demonstrate your expertise and build your profile.

RAISE AWARENESS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Even if you are too short on time to do events, talks or even write a blog, posting an image or infographic highlighting the cause is an opportunity to share something other than promotional speak through your social media channels. Social media should always include a mix of education, promotion, and value adding, as well as asking questions, and sharing a bit of humour! Time to mix it up!

SEND A PRESS RELEASE TO THE MEDIA

If you don’t tap into the power of the media for health calendar events, I assure you that someone else will. A press release can feature the day itself, and event you are holding, or even tips to combat the issue.

SO WHERE DO YOU START?

Follow these steps to make the most of the National Health Calendar in YOUR health business.

Check out the National Health Calendar for your country or state
Record dates that relate to the work that you do
Decide the most suitable methods to maximise the calendar date and topic
Add it to your calendar allowing enough time for promotion if needed
Plan the necessary steps
Implement
Rinse and repeat!

LEVERAGE YOUR EFFORTS BY REPURPOSING – a few suggestions…

Doing a talk? Turn it into a blog post, a fact sheet or newsletter
Doing a blog post? Turn its most valuable tips as a series of social media posts.
Turn a series of tips into an infographic.
Embed your infographic into your blog so it’s easily shared.
Put your infographic on visual social media channels such as Instagram and Pinterest.
Link your infographic back to your blog.

Need help to prepare your marketing plan, or implement these tactics with ease? Krishna can help or upskill your team! Send her an email at krishna@healthymarketing.com.au for an obligation free chat or phone her on 0458 639 559.

Krishna Everson is a health writer and promoter, who works with health enterprises to create online content that drives consumer behaviour toward pathways to good health.

Rediscover your point of difference…

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater if you want to stand out from the crowd…

Krishna Everson bathes her 'baby'. 3 years old. — Me when I was 3 years old. That ‘baby’ isn’t going anywhere!

Every so often, we find ourselves revisiting our dreams and visions, so that we can carve out a destiny, and live a life that is more joyful.

Never before have we had more opportunity to create what we want, in line with our passion and purpose, to dream big, and pursue our grand plans.

But I have noticed something…

That in our clamour to re-invent, re-create, and re-design our businesses, that it is easy to toss out some of our greatest assets, the pieces of our ‘old life’ that we deem no longer valuable, or not part of our future direction.

Sometimes when we are looking to the future, it is so bright that a shadow can be cast on our greatest gifts and they get overlooked.

But, when I left the world of media publishing and sales, to enter the world of health and fitness (my passion), I said goodbye to the old corporate suit and hello to the world of lycra and spandex. As far as I was concerned, those paths would never cross again. If you’re like me, you’ve probably had a

Krishna Everson taught aerobics during the 90s — The most fun I ever had was teaching aerobics until I suffered a back injury

variety of jobs and several careers. I’ve been a sales person, an advertising executive, an aerobics instructor, and a health policy writer. I’ve sold vacuum cleaners, sweated with the best of them, written millions of dollars worth of advertising, built a gym membership from 150 to 1400 and and been a part of health planning reform.

As we carve out our new destiny’s, pursue our visions and fulfill our purpose, I want to emphasise the importance of being all that we are. Of harnessing the skills we have developed over the years, and embracing every element that can help us to shine in our own unique way.

Our past careers and work lives are part of that. It is the unique blend of our background and experiences that make us who we are, shape our story, and highlight what makes us different. These differences are to be embraced.

Krishna Everson dons a suit — My last day in advertising. I haven’t worn a suit every day for more than 20 years.

What makes you unique? Let it shine!

When it comes to marketing, it is very important that you are able to stand out. This doesn’t mean that you need to yell and scream ‘look at me’, but it does mean that your potential prospects need to be able to recognise how you are different to your competition in a positive way, and that you are the right choice for them. This means highlighting your differences in way that is easy to relate to. All too often I witness brilliant backgrounds becoming lost in a sea of sameness, when there is clearly a gap in the market for their unique blend of knowledge and abilities. Never be ashamed of your past.

Embrace it in all it’s glory.

Can you stand out from the crowd?

Asking yourself these questions will help you to identify your uniqueness?

How are you unique and distinct?
What sets you apart from your competitors
What is the main focus of your service?
What is unusual about what you do?
How does that benefit your customer?
What can’t they get anywhere else?
What can the get elsewhere, but no-one is pointing it out?
What will your clients experience when they visit you? How does this differ to other similar services?

What do YOU do differently?

Can you complete these sentences?

I am the only one who works with people who have ___________________________

I use my story of _________________________ to relate to my clients

No one else is offering __________________________________

I am the only one who is prepared to guarantee __________________________________

I sound different to my competitors by staking my claim in __________________________

People seek me out because of my ____________________________________________

Stake your claim!!

I would love to hear about your coloured past! What unique backgrounds do you have? How did that influence what you are doing today? How does it benefit your clients now?

Share it in the comments below……

Your 5 Minute Marketing Self Assessment

Have you ever wished you could shine a light on exactly where to focus your energy, so that you could get the maximum out of your business without the guesswork?

The same applies to marketing.

This 5-minute marketing self-assessment has no wrong answers but will clearly identify where to put your efforts so that you can be more effective attracting the right clients, spend your energy on the right tasks and uncover your weak areas, in less time than it takes to have a cup of coffee! Continue reading “Your 5 Minute Marketing Self Assessment”