Archive for the 'authentic marketing' Category
Posted on February 18, 2010
Do you know your way to attracting all kinds of good fortune into your life? No, it’s really not about your marketing, although good marketing is important. It absolutely has something to do with your mindset, although that’s not the full answer either. What’s MORE powerful than marketing and mindset? Your instincts. Are your trusting yours?
It’s important that you do because your gut instincts are always giving you directions regarding your next steps. In fact, if you hit the pause button right now and got really still within yourself and asked to be guided to your next steps you would get an answer. I’m sure of it.
But sometimes I know it feels like you’re not getting nudges, answers, information or any other form of divine intelligence that shows you the way. Why does this happen and what can you do?
Here’s a look at gut instincts and tips for hearing yours.
Gut Instincts: What are they?
I think of gut instincts as your intuition and how you sense yours is unique to you. Some of us feel things, others know things. Some of you may even see or hear things. However your instincts “speak” to you is perfect for you!
The key to remember is your intuition or gut speaks to you through your body. Your intuition is something you feel inside yourself. It may come as a voice that feels like it’s whispering in your ear, or it may even be similar to a thought you’re thinking but with one distinct difference: that thought is often quick, simple and rather quiet. In other words, your intuition does not make your mind race.
I access my intuition through my body and it rises through me as a “knowing”. Other times I may hear things and know immediately it’s my gut speaking to me.
How do you access your gut instincts?
A great way is to ask questions! For example, if you’re curious about the next step you could take in your business all you have to do is ask for the next steps to be revealed to you!
Once you ask your job is to listen or feel for the answer. That means you’ve got to get quiet.
Your gut speaks to you in whispers so you’ve got to pay attention! If you’re busy running around, always doing, doing, doing, you’re going to have a hard time picking up on what your instincts are trying to tell you.
So, take a time out, get quiet within yourself and listen. You can also journal, if that helps.
Then what?
So, you asked the question and now you’re ready to hear and receive an answer. But are you?
Often times when we ask for guidance we don’t hear the message right away. I personally don’t think this is because it isn’t given, I think it’s because we’re not able to hear it or we’re not trusting what we hear.
In a perfect situation (and I know that’s a stretch) you would ask your question, get quiet and listen and receive your answer. If that actually occurs your next step would be to take action on what your gut is nudging you to do!
And that’s where it gets challenging!
Here’s why:
Your gut instincts/intuition is your direct link to divine intelligence/The Universe/God…
And because of that this information you’re receiving is always…ALWAYS…for your highest good.
But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be EASY and that is why it is so often hard for us to hear our gut instincts because we know when we hear what our gut’s been trying to tell us we’re going to have to make some changes…and that’s something many of us don’t want to do.
This works in many different ways. Here are a few examples to help you understand what I’m saying.
• You want to grow your business so you ask your intuition for your next steps and the answer is “get your food under control”. (This really happened to a good friend of mine!)
• You declare you’re ready to thrive and ask to be shown what steps support that and immediately get a nudge to hire a new coach, even though you have no idea how you’re going to afford it.
• You want to land a big account and keep asking for the way to be revealed to you and you keep hearing you need to leave your spouse.
OK, I know these are all very dramatic examples but they illustrate why it can be so hard to listen to and trust your instincts! After all, what does getting food under control have to do with growing your business?
You see, logically these answers may not make sense, but on a much deeper level they make perfect sense. But in order to see why they make so much sense you’ve got to be willing to take action on them and this is hard for a lot of us.
(BTW, my friend who got the nudge to get his food under control listened, lost 97 pounds and is now thriving in his business! Magical, don’t you think?)
The road to abundance:
Why listen to your instincts? Because they are always pointing you toward your highest good and away from things that no longer serve you. Your instincts will lead the way to more life, more abundance, more fun, more happiness.
But here’s the thing: it’s not always easy to listen to and trust your own instincts so be sure to surround yourself with people that will acknowledge your wisdom for being sound, or provide a sounding board for you to sort through the information you’re receiving.
Trusting your own instincts is the ultimate way for you to take personal responsibility for your success.
Posted on February 11, 2010
What are “extras”?
Extras are embellishments that can either support or detract from your core offer. (Program, product, service, etc.)
What extras look like:
Here’s an example: You’re putting together a new group coaching program that consists of taking clients through your step-by-step inspired w e i g h t loss program. As you’re putting your program together you think of ALL the things your clients might want from you so you start adding them. The core message of your program: allow yourself to be guided to your perfect w e i g h t loss plan. The extras you add: nutrition, exercise, calorie counting, etc.
Why we’re tempted to add them:
Sometimes we add the extras because we really see that our clients will have questions on various topics and we want to serve them.
However, and I think this is the case most of the time, we add the extras because we think we NEED to. Or that we SHOULD.
See where I’m going with this? Is it really true that you need to or should add those extras?
For a lot of us we have a hard time really believing our CORE offer is strong enough to stand on its own two feet. And this belief plays right into a deeper question: Are we really ENOUGH?
How to know if you’re carrying “extra w e i g h t” around:
Ask two great questions:
What can I do all day long with my clients and feel energized as result?
What work do I do with my clients that drain my energy?
The extras will always lead to you feeling drained because it’s not the work you really want to do, and more than likely it’s not the work you’re really meant to do.
Now, here’s the key: I know you want to serve your clients the best way you know possible so sometimes you’ll want to add some extras. Go for it! BUT, keep it in balance.
The impact extras have on your business:
The biggest impact extras will have on your business is muddying it down. Instead of clearly stating how you help your clients and offering simple solutions to their problems your offers will start feeling overly complicated.
The solutions you provide your clients should never be overly complicated. Simplicity is best for you, them, teaching your material and sharing your message.
What can you do to avoid adding too many extras?
As you’re putting together a new product or service, from time to time take a step back and see if there is anything you can whittle away from your core offer. The only way to identify the extras is to be conscious of the fact you might be adding them. Don’t be afraid of taking things out, especially when doing so could leave you with a very succinct, power-filled offer that is the exact thing your clients need and want from you!
(c) 2010 Cari Vollmer Life On Track, LLC
Posted on January 22, 2010
As you’re developing your business you’re going to have a lot of ideas for new products and services. Perhaps you already have.
It’s likely that some of those offers will resonate far and wide and you’ll attract a lot of customers/clients with them. And others perhaps not so many!
Of course, there are many reasons why some offers sell and other don’t but instead of dissecting all the reasons WHY one offer does better than others I want to get straight to the heart of the matter.
The truth is every THING you create - product or service - starts in the same place…with YOU. YOU are the starting place for all your creations.
And there are many ways to start a new creation. You might get a download of inspired ideas! You might feel inspired by something you see or read. Maybe you even see something somebody else created and that leads you to create something similar. Sometimes maybe you create something because somebody requested it or told you to.
Remembering your own creation process, how did you choose what to include in each of your creations?
Why did you add this thing and that thing? Why did you choose to do it one way over another? Why did you choose to create it in the first place? And in the end, how did you ultimately feel about your creation?
What I’m getting to is this: many, many times our creations are embellished with EXTRAS. Sometimes these extras might serve to make our creations stronger and sometimes the opposite is true.
Adding “the extras” is something we each need to watch out for. It’s tempting to add “more”, but you know as well as I that more isn’t always better. In fact, I think most of us like things quite simple! We like simple solutions to our problems. Simple answers to our questions. After all, our lives are quite complicated so anything that makes life simpler is attractive!
Identifying the extras in your business will help you see what can be whittled away, leaving you with a very clear offer that is a powerful reflection of the gift you are sharing.
Next week we’ll continue this conversation with tips on how to identify the extras and how to avoid them.
(c) 2010 Cari Vollmer Life On Track, LLC
Posted on November 19, 2009
Here’s why I ask. I’ve coached and mentored many solopreneurs over the years and I started to notice something, the solopreneurs whose businesses took off like wildfire got very in touch with the essence of their business in three key areas: 1) who they are, 2) who their customers are, and 3) what they’re really selling behind their snazzy titles and packaging.
Essence is the thing behind the thing. It’s the core energy that is always present but not always easy to describe. You can see and feel essence but not in obvious ways. Essence is that special something people notice and want to be around! It’s what will make your business RESONATE.
When you think about it, you can get just about anything you want from several different sources. Why do you choose what you choose? Pay attention the next time you buy something that adds value to your life and/or business in some way. Why are you really buying what you’re buying? Are you buying because of price, packaging or something less tangible, yet more powerful?
As a solopreneur it’s important to get in touch with the essence of your business (the deeper soul purpose of it) so you can infuse it into the products and services you create. When you do, you create a truly unique, conscious business.
A conscious business is a business others can connect to on a deeper level because it has that “special thing”…a special energy about it. Instead of feeling flat, it feels alive. Instead of being “in your face”, it feels welcoming and authentic. Instead of turning you off, it inspires.
A conscious business attracts like-minded and like-energy loyal, raving fans because they can clearly see and feel Who You Really Are.
How do you infuse your business with essence (your soul-inspired purpose)?
One thing: you get very clear on what makes you YOU. You dig deep. You get to know yourself inside and out. You get to the heart of what makes you unlike any other.
When you have this kind of profound clarity you can infuse your business with something that is truly unique, perhaps even remarkable, and in no way duplicatable.
