Generate Consistent Leads and Create a High End Client Experience
You’re working your tail off in your creative service-based business.
Your life is all about clients: finding them (where ARE they??), landing them (and competing on price makes your feel like you’re charging so much less than you need to if you want this biz to be sustainable), making the ones you DO find happy (so much so that you find yourself delivering WAY more than you originally agreed to)...
And maybe you’ve convinced yourself that this is just how life has to be if you’re going to do what you love for a living.
You’ve put a limit on your own possibilities. You’ve stopped short of your potential.You have a limited view of what you are capable of, but we know you were made for more. You need to close the loop and maximize the success of your business.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the top, you’ve just reached a glass ceiling and it’s time to break through.
You are ready for more and it’s time to think bigger. Does that scare you? I mean, you’re putting EVERYTHING you have into what you’re doing now - how could you possibly do MORE?!?
We’re gonna give you a mindset shift today, friend. Because you are THISCLOSE to having infinite possibilities for this biz of yours at your fingertips.
But here’s the thing: We don’t just want your business operating past the average failure point. We want it thriving, we want it growing. We want you to be living with more freedom than you thought possible.
Without a growing business, you will struggle to create the lifestyle or impact that you desire.
You need clarity, connections, cash and clients to create movement. Without a growing business, you will simply be stuck, going around and around on the Merry-Go-Round, which will reinforce your negative beliefs that you will fail and what you want isn’t really possible.
What if instead you believed your purpose is important. And you went after it with a full heart.
Let’s establish the obvious:
In order for you business to grow you need profit.
In order for you to get profit you need clients.
But what if you didn’t necessarily need to be constantly finding MORE clients?
Instead of having to reinvent the wheel every time you wrap up one client wouldn’t it be great to have a system built in to automatically generate you new (qualified) leads?
Guys, once you create a system to do this business will look entirely different.
You will no longer feel distracted or overwhelmed with what needs to happen next. You won’t stress about where your next client is going to come from. Reaching your revenue goals will be easy. Heck, business will just feel easy.
But how does that happen?
First, we need to lay the groundwork for providing your service in a way that not only attracts incredible clients who are excited to pay your prices, but who come back for repeat business and send incredible referrals your way.
An Experience > Years of Experience
The key to this strategy and all those fabulous results we just went over is right here: you need to create a VIP Experience.
Notice I didn’t say: you need to rack up years and years of experience doing your job. I didn’t say you had to work for free for a long time and build the perfect portfolio. I never mentioned that you had to have already clocked your 10,000 hours or else you can forget about making a living.
The reality is that in today’s world, people aren’t necessarily making their buying decisions solely based on how many decades the service-provider has under her belt.
And yet, I see SO many creative service business owners holding themselves back because they don’t have decades of learning, practice and mastery yet.
So let’s try this: Think about how you make choices in your everyday life:
Do you only consider the family doctor who’s been practicing 40 years or do you feel drawn to the one who gets your life and understands your desire to mix traditional and natural medicine?
Do you go to the hair stylist that’s been doing this so long she does more perms on people your grandma’s age than bobs? Or do you go to that salon downtown that pours you a glass of champagne as soon as you walk in the door?
Do you hire the nanny who watched you as a kid or are you looking at non-traditional day-cares that include Montessori activities daily in their facility?
Do you choose the professionally trained interior decorator who loves formal wallpaper and heavy curtains or do you like that mom-blogger who does this on the side, but she totally gets your Scandinavian vibe and has a sweet process she walks you through every step of the way?
Let’s be honest: unless someone is operating on your body, the number of years of experience they have isn’t the only crucial deciding factor in if you want to hire them.
But the experience they create - the one that makes you feel welcome, heard and understood. That’s what makes the difference.
You would pick An Experience vs. Years of Experience all day long.
How to Stand Out
You know you have to focus on strategies that work for your business.
You know you have to attract more quality leads.
You know you need sales, hell, that might have been the most obvious.
But how do you stand out and create an amazing experience for our dream customers, right?
By now, you may have convinced yourself you need to make something, over the top, Disney-level greatness to even be considered stand out quality. The truth is, it’s so much simpler than that. You simply have to make people feel welcome, heard and understood. Everything above and beyond that is sprinkles on top.
When you are on that discovery call - it could be so small. Child comes blaring into the room. “Excuse me, let me go into a quiet room real quick so I can give you my undivided attention.”
When you are in a potential client meeting repeat their own words back to them. Show them you listened. Ask them additional questions so you are both super clear what is expected of one another.
When it’s time to move forward with a contract, walk them step-by-step through what will happen next and how to project will be accomplished. Be clear on timelines and when you will be in touch next.
Think of small ways to be polite, show some hospitality, fully listen and ultimately communicate well.
These small things add up and make a massive impact.
Surprise & Delight
We mentioned sprinkles...well there is always room for those.
It’s time to surprise and delight your customers. It could be as simple as a handwritten thank you card when they first become your client, or a more elaborate surprise somewhere throughout your process of working together.
Some fun ideas that don’t cost a fortune (or you could build into your price):
Welcome or Thank You Gift (truly consider what they would love)
Cheeseboard or Bottle of Wine at a meeting
Extra deliverables that weren’t originally included in their contract, but will make them swoon - i.e. free business card, free 8x10 for grandma, free social media prompts/copy
Delivering ahead of schedule
Sharing your progress with a client on your social media and tagging them
Including sneak peaks even when you aren’t quite ready to show them the whole thing
Little things like this take a project from. “Uh, are they even working on it? Idk if I picked the right person for this.” to “Holy moly, look what they did for me! I’m so impressed, you should check them out.”
Referrals & Recommendations
Communicating well, making people feel heard and maybe even surprising them a bit along the way is going to make all the difference in the world. Not only will they love what you created, because you were both clear on what was expected. But they will be so pumped about the experience they are ready to share with their friends.
Take your clients that are hot out of your experience and ask them for referrals and recommendations. And by golly follow up on them while they are hot.
OK, but now what?
Now, that we’re clear on how to create this experience for our clients, what happens next? You might be thinking it’s time to add on another service. Or maybe even a digital product. Or perhaps exploring serving a wider audience.
Do not make this critical mistake.
You have a business that hasn’t fully realized all the opportunities right in front of you. It is your responsibility to nurture it and give it what it needs in order for it to grow.
Remember, we’re here for the long game, not the flash in the pan results.
So how do we make sure we’re staying focused on the right things?
The Infinity Loop
You have infinite ∞ possibility.
When you unleash the power of the infinite loop - your business grows sustainably by utilizing the 4 key areas in your business.
You will have a new provided freedom knowing you have an endless supply of potential clients. In the next 12-months you can simplify your business into one continuous lead generation and sales machine that is generating consistent sales revenue. You will have more clarity than ever in your day-to-day operations.
And this will allow you to live with a greater sense of calm, even as your business grows. You are completely booked out and ready for a new set of challenges.
But how do you untap that dream lifestyle / business / workday? By relying on The Infinity Loop.
I’m going to let you in on a secret: most small business owners aren't using what they've already built to its fullest advantage. You get distracted by all the flashy strategies hoping something will stick. You are moving on when you’ve barely started. You are ignoring what is already working. And you are leaving so much on the table.
ALL I want you to do right now are these 4 steps...and see the incredible possibilities that open when you do...
Focus
With focus you remove distraction, gain clarity and simplify how your business operates. You quit wasting resources pouring yourself into strategies that were never really getting you anywhere. You avoid shiny objects and know exactly how you should be executing.
Attract
You save time by only attracting the right people. Bringing in qualified leads by the handful. You have an established referral engine that allows you more time to focus on your craft and less time on hunting down your next client.
Sell
You effortlessly close deals and make more sales. You create cash flow to generate momentum in your business. And even treat yourself to a few well deserved things - like that vacation you’ve needed for forever, or the new countertops you’ve been eyeing.
Experience
You create unforgettable experiences for your clients. You receive more social proof - because let’s be honest, all your clients LOVE you. You have deeper, more meaningful relationships, the kind where you feel the impact in your bones.
In case you’re new here, this article you’ve been reading is actually the last in a four part series (you can find links to the other posts in this series at the end. And when you string together the pieces from this series: finding your focus, attracting clients, effortless sales, and now crafting and experience, you’re doing more than just having a “better business.”
You’re creating simplicity, abundance, freedom and clarity both in your business and in your life.
And so much of this is being completely overlooked by online marketers today.
Which is unfortunate because these variables when put together in this order allows for faster, more sustainable growth… one that doesn’t rely on social media, an email list or blog traffic.
And the beauty of it is that it doesn’t stop there, you can continuously go through the Infinity Loop and continue to see more and more results. You won’t be spinning in circles anymore, you will be seeing geometric growth.
This uncharted potential is only possible if you continue to go through the loop in the same order. The order is crucial, and it must always start with focus.
I’ve never seen a system that works so fluidly and allows you to see results so quickly.
Resolve and commit to this system. Utilize this guide to strengthen the work you do.
We want to help you take it further.
Our hope is to guide you through this journey - from here to there - so we’d love to see you join us inside the Co-op!
