Making Your Client the Hero

Understanding Why the “About You” Section 

is Really About Them

Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I assume you're reading this because you want to find an effective way to help people.  You’ve already done the hard part. You developed a great solution to your prospect’s problem.  Yet convincing people probably feels like your hardest challenge.  It doesn’t have to be that way.   

One personal productivity maven teaches entrepreneurs how to build their platform.  Michael Hyatt helps people define it in a powerful way.  I highly recommend you check out his work - especially Platform.   

Part of what makes it powerful is his understanding of how to attract your ideal client.

Who’s the Hero?

What changes the game is the concept of making your client the hero of their story.  YOU aren’t supposed to be the hero that saves the day.  Not even if you do most of the work for them.  However, you CAN play the part of the trusty side-kick who shows them how THEY can save the day - using your product or service.

It’s YOUR product that will allow their vision to come to fruition.  But to attract them, it must always be about THEM.

The “About Me” that’s About Them

So using that perspective to create content for your website, how do you do an “About Me” section … that’s actually about THEM?

Step back and review your market analysis.  You should have an idea of the age group of these people, whether they are primarily men or women, and what their lifestyle is like.  

Four Questions to Answer To Attract Your Ideal Prospect

1. What is the pain in their life that you offer to resolve?  (Get their attention.)
2. How did you experience that pain in your life? (Establish that you understand their struggle, start to develop a sense of commonality and trust.)
3. Why did you develop that solution?  (What have you gone through that may be similar to the trial and error they have been going through, without a satisfying resolution of the problem? This is further proof that you really DO understand the frustration of their pain.)
4. How did you develop that solution? (How you found the solution and what your life is like now that you have this solution.)

Proving There’s Hope

The purpose of your "About Me" story is to give them hope.  You are like them.  You discovered the solution to your problem.  Reading about your story lets them know their lives CAN be better.

Whatever you write, ask yourself how it relates to their story.  If it doesn’t relate, ruthlessly cut it out.  Your results will thank you!

No, I haven't affiliated with anyone yet, including Michael Hyatt. However, I'd be honored to do so.  I can't recommend him highly enough. I hope you'll check out his page.

Weekly Challenge

I was supposed to be working on my website this week, but I’m still working on the written portion.  Some life stuff got in the way … but that’s a post for next week!   

What are you working on?  Are you wondering if your story is about them enough?  The first ten people who comment with their website will receive a free evaluation of your "about me" section.

Why A Freelancer Must Have An Education Budget

How Mentoring Benefits Your Freelance Business

 

Let’s face it - you are perfectly capable of figuring it all out on your own.  The web offers a wealth of information on virtually any subject you want to learn.  Why would you want to think about paying for education or mentoring?  

Below are several possibilities.  Do any of these fit your situation?

You are serious about your business

You want to be effective. Find someone who has achieved the level of success you seek.  You avoid the pitfalls they point out.

You want to achieve results as quickly as possible

Instead of taking the scenic route, you want to find out what others discovered the hard way. Find someone who has done it.  You learn how to advance quickly.

You want accountability

Walking this road alone is hard.  A mentor who provides accountability will call you out on time wasters like too much email or social media – or your lack of focus on one main thing until the process is performing solidly.  You stay on target.

You are stuck

This is probably the biggest reason people seek a mentor.  Businesses at all levels experience plateaus.  Getting  someone who isn’t personally involved is valuable to gain perspective and ideas.  You save valuable time and resources and move forward again.

What are your mentoring options?

There are quite a few options to get direction in running your business.  There’s something to fit all budgets.

Books are the easiest form of mentoring you can engage.  If your budget permits, you can find almost any book online. 

You may also find relevant books at the library, depending upon the size of your library.  Some are available free online, if you know how to find them.  

You can study on your own time.  On the other hand, authors are rarely available for questions. 

Classes require availability at a certain time.  You can ask the teacher questions.  You can get feedback by doing assignments.  Accountability is available at differing levels. 

If you must drive a long way, it disrupts your schedule for several weeks.   

Class costs vary by length, frequency,  and quality.

Conferences can be great for focused learning in a short time.  Being in a room (or arena) with a lot of people who want the same thing is powerful.  You come away enthusiastic and ready to take on the world.

You may or may not be able to get questions answered depending upon the size of the event. 

Be prepared for conference let-down, because that high doesn’t last forever.  Costs can be prohibitive because it’s not just the event but often the additional costs of meals, lodging, and transportation.

Workshops are like mini-conferences.  Smaller in nature, there can be time to practice the concepts, and you should be able to get questions answered. 

These also vary in cost with the possible added burden of food, lodging, and transportation to factor in.

Webinars are the online version of a conference or workshop.  Often a shorter, focused event, it may feature a question and answer session at the end.  

Price varies, but is more affordable without transportation time and costs to factor in, nor lodging. 

Some webinars are available the next day if the time isn’t convenient for you.  You often lose the opportunity to interact with the teacher, but it's better than missing out entirely.   

Online conferences usually are a series of webinars.

Online courses vary in length, value, and price.  From free to many thousands of dollars, many successful people offer their knowledge through videos and other content through a private section on their website.  

Often the most convenient, you also usually have a way to get questions answered.  Some courses provide assignments to practice.  

Some provide a coach or mentor to go over your results or create an action plan with you, with some level of accountability.  The ones with accountability are more expensive, especially if they’ve been around for a while.

Direct mentoring costs the most.  One-on-one mentoring means getting expert advice directed to your situation.  If you have selected wisely, this is the most beneficial mentoring.  You don’t have to waste time getting bases covered all over again unless you have a weakness to be addressed. 

Depending upon the mentor's level of expertise, you could be talking $50,000 or more for a single session.  Cost could be considered a downside.

Return on Investment

When looking at your mentor investment options, look at the return on investment.  When you are starting out, the idea of paying for a $10,000 business conference feels crazy.  Struggling to break $100,000 is a big deal.   

Could your investment in that conference show you how to get to $500,000 this year?  Could you return with a roadmap to scale to a million?  At that point, you’ll be looking at the $10k price tag and asking, “Is that all?”

Set Your Budget

Tai Lopez, entrepreneur, offers this practical recommendation.  Set aside 3% of your income for education.  As your income goes up, so does the quality of education you can afford.  

If you can afford  a high-powered business seminar like Tony Robbins’ Business Mastery when you are just starting out.  If you implement what you learn, you will have a huge jump ahead of others just starting out.  The return on investment will  likely shock you.

Never stop being hungry to learn.  Mentors wisely chosen will be worth so much more than you pay.

Weekly Challenge

This past week was about finishing as much of my homework as possible for the Joshua Boswell workshop last week.  I finished all but 30 pages of the reading.  Now I’ve been assigned two more books to read!

I signed up for his 12-week mentoring program.  Yes, I could do it on my own, working with the workshop materials.  However, he has a process to make it faster PLUS accountability.  I need my feet kept to the fire at this point.  This will help me focus.  The 12 weeks start next Monday.  

In the meantime, I will be developing my information packet.  Some people call it a credibility packet.

The logo process is resuming.  I didn’t have time to work with the edits last week.  I want to get that finished this week so I can use it in my packet.  I want to do the writing for my webpage as well.

I have two questions for you:

What are you doing to move your business forward this week?

Is this blog useful to you?  Please comment below and let me know what topics you’d like me to cover.

Avoiding Entrepreneurial Burnout

Why Your Personal Mission Statement is Critical

More often than not, you feel frazzled.  It’s hard to get through each day.  You are so busy with family and work and church and community and …  all sorts of good things.  Yet something doesn’t feel right. You wonder why you feel ineffective.   

Is a fulfilling life an unlikely fantasy to write off as impossible?

According to Brendan Burchard, your focus likely changed.

When you find yourself frazzled and going through the motions, you are just surviving.  You're just doing what’s gotta be done.  Yet what if you can do better?

I was going to talk about the value of your business mission statement today.  As I kept studying, I realized your personal mission statement needs to come first or your business might not survive.

When you drive yourself with a lot of “shoulds” in your business, you risk burn out.  You’ll go through the motions until you can’t keep fighting anymore.

Personal Statement Acts as a Compass

How does a personal statement avoid burn-out? 

1.  It forces you to define your core values.  Why are you here on this earth? Who or what is your center? It demands you look at the future.  You need to know who you want to be in five or ten years. 

2.  It clarifies your actions.  If you know what you are here to do, it makes it easier to say no to good things that aren’t related to your purpose.   Even if you aren’t aware of your purpose yet, chances are you have some goals.  But the next benefit is realizing this key point.

Saying Yes Can Hurt Everyone

Saying yes to things not meant for you robs three parties:  

·         It robs you of time to get involved in the project you were meant to do. 

·         It robs the person who was uniquely suited for the project. 

·         It also robs the person (who asked you) of the other person’s unique ideas/contributions to the project.

Why does it matter to your business?

Your business must be in alignment with your core values or you run the risk of burning out.  It’s easier to show you.

Imagine you have this great idea to put together some tours.  It makes some money AND you get to travel for free.  What’s not to love? 

 

But one of your core values is family.  This requires you to leave your family for a week at a time.  How long until the tours are frazzling due to your absence at home?  How long until it bugs you that your family can’t join you because of school or work obligations?

Either you do shorter tours more often (still loss of family time) or you realize that it’s a great idea - just not for you.  Loving something isn’t enough if it clashes with your core values.

Creating Your Statement

It’s easy to feel lost when starting.  What exactly is a “core value” and how do I know which ones are mine?  An easy way is to search for a list of core values. 

1.       Write down all values you like.

2.       Prioritize the values.  The ones on top are your core values.  They compel you.  You get stressed when you go against them in favor of a lesser value.     

  Write a sentence or paragraph stating the person you intend to be.

Finding Freedom

For some people, this exercise feels restrictive.  Yet it actually gives you freedom to operate as you are designed to function.  It helps you make wise choices with your time.  You move with purpose, rather than obligation.  This will go a long way toward avoiding entrepreneurial burnout.

The Mayo Clinic talks about various factors in job burnout.₁ “If your values differ from the way your employer does business or handles grievances, the mismatch can eventually take a toll.”  It makes sense this is also true for your partners and employees within your business as well as suppliers and clients.

Using Your Statement in a Meaningful Way

Knowing your core values gives you a framework for making goals and decisions.  How you spend your time and energy affects how you feel about your life.  We’ve all heard stories about people who are living fulfilling lives, in spite of extremely challenging circumstances.  We have also known people who are very able-bodied and can’t seem to get out of their own way.  I’ve been there.

Ultimately it boils down to mindset and purpose. You may know bits and pieces of it and struggle with putting it into words.  Maybe you never thought about a statement before.

Start by observing what you value.  See if you recognize the values that really mean something to you.  Then be deliberate about showing up the way you want to be.  Use the questions to see if you have room for improvement.  (Hint: if you are alive, you have room for improvement.)  You should see results from your effective focus.

Reviewing these frequently keeps you focused on living out your core values.

Expect to Tweak Your Statement

I have no doubt there are people who nail it the first time and never have to change it.  The rest of us mortals will need to adjust ours.   

Maybe family requirements shift as your kids move away and there’s more room for community. Maybe loyalty gives way to financial stability when you realize appreciating the people you work with isn’t enough and you must let an overly time-intensive client or employee go.

We will grow and values will change.  This isn’t a bad thing.  The thing is knowing who you are and living as authentically as possible.

Next week we’ll talk about developing your business mission statement.

Weekly Business Challenge

Looking back at what I planned to do this past week, I spent time chasing down issues with my internet provider (turns out it’s my machine) and researching solutions on my email provider.  I have developed a list of things to maintain my electronics.

As for marketing, I handed out my business card to several people and offered to do a web presence audit for someone else.

This week feels full.  However, I will continue working on my personal mission statement and my business mission statement to share with you next week.  I’ll defrag my computer.  I will spend some time getting more comfortable with Linked In and add at least one more contact.

What about you?  Do you have a mission statement that reflects your current values and who you are moving toward being?  What sort of business challenges are you going to tackle this week?  Post below.  Your idea will probably give someone else ideas!

₁ http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642?pg=2