Get your marketing message heard

Can they hear your message?

By: LaTasha West

You’ve been busy trying to get the phone to ring or to get clients in the door but no one is calling or stopping by. No one is opening your emails, reading your blog or responding to your social media posts. You are starting to get exhausted and frustrated.

Don’t give up; maybe your audience can’t hear you.

It’s time to switch up your approach or PIVOT as I like to say. When promoting a product or service, trying to tell a story or just get someone’s attention you need the audience to hear you. 

That’s marketing- marketing is getting your message heard. So how do you do it?

Here are a few points to consider when crafting your marketing message

1. Know exactly who you are talking to. Understanding your audience will help you craft a message that speaks to them, to their hearts. People decide with their gut, hearts and emotions.

2. Meet them where they are. This doesn't necessarily mean physically, but that might work too. I mean find out what is important to them. What do they want/need? What are their pain points? If you can present a solution to a potential client’s specific problem you will get their attention.

3. Be Personal. Connect with the potential client. Use their name if you know it, comment on what they were wearing when you met, mention the place where you met. A personal connection is a great way to start a conversation.

4. Speak in a common language. Do not talk over anyone’s head. Do use big words, or company/industry jargon. Keep it simple so that they can understand you. Think about how you zone out if someone is using words that you don’t understand.

5. Keep it simple. Do not dilute your message with random facts. Keep the listener focused on what you are presenting, only mention details relevant to the point that you are making.

6. Bring it all together. After you have delivered you message, it’s time to drive it home. Remember to remind the listener of their specific problem that you are solving.  Clearly state that you understand their need and how you will help them. Talk about your benefit to them.

Try implementing these steps the next time you present your massage and let me know if you see better results!

Are you the boss of your business or is your business the boss of you?

Are you self-employed or are you a business owner?

By LaTasha West

Do you know the difference in being a business owner and being self-employed?

When you started your company, what was your vision? Are you achieving that vision?

Most entrepreneurs start out as being self-employed and eventually move into business ownership. However there are some, myself included who get stuck in the “self-employed” stage. If that is not where you want to be, then you will become drained, frustrated and feel discouraged and stagnate.

So how do you know if you are stuck being self-employed when you want to run a business? Here are a few signs to let you know that you are self-employed.

·        

             If your business can’t run without you

·         If you are actually the person making the product or providing the service

·         If you don’t work, then you don’t get paid

If this is you, you are most likely self-employed; you created a job for yourself!

Now if that was not your plan and you would like to have more time, more flexibility and greater earning power it’s time to discover how to go from being self-employed to being a business owner.

Here are a few steps to get you started

1. Determine what processes in your business can be automated

2. Hire some help, even if it’s only contract or part time

3. Create a passive income stream

Can you see the difference between being self-employed and owning a business? Those who are self-employed work “in” their business, those who are business owners work “on” their businesses.

If you are not where you want to be, don’t fret, start making changes!

Spotlight's on you

"Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net".

Are you ready to speak up?

By: LaTasha West

If you are networking for business as you should be, there will come a time when you are in a room of unfamiliar faces. This can be daunting or it can be exhilarating! No matter how it feels that moment is a pivotal moment.

As an entrepreneur we need to get the word out about who we are and what we do, especially when we are just starting out.  This is the whole reason that you attend networking events right; to see and to be seen.  Great, but are you ready if the spotlight shines on you?

Many times you will have opportunities to talk about your business by introducing yourself to the people in the room. Did you know there is an art to the introduction?  

What to say and when.  The first thing you want to do when networking is to “see”, spend a few minutes checking out the room (Sometimes you can do this before you arrive, with the help of social media.We’ll talk more about another time). As you notice who is there make a list or mental note of who you want to connect with.  If you are a women’s business coach like myself, you’ll probably want to connect with women in business, if  you are selling medical supplies, you may want to connect with any doctors in the room. Make sense? Be strategic.

Now that you know who you want to talk to, what do you say? This is your moment, possibly the only chance that you will have to get in front of this audience you must make it count! Are you ready?

Here’s when a good elevator speech or 30 second speech comes in handy. If you don’t have an elevator speech use the tips below and create yours.

This is the basic layout for an elevator/30 second speech.

I (verb) (target audience)(what I do) (benefit)

Your pitch must also be intriguing and move potential clients to action.

Example:

Tiffany the event planners 30 second pitch may look like this:

Hello my name is Tiffany; I make clients dreams come true by creating memorable weddings and other events.  Is there a milestone event that I can make memorable for you?

Tiffany started off with a bold attention grabbing statement, she explained what she did then she offered to help, all in 30 seconds or less.  A simple well-crafted elevator pitch can lead to make some great connections. Have your pitch ready!

Go ahead give it a try. If you are not sure about your pitch I’d love to help. Click here to shoot me an email with your pitch and I will offer tips and advice to help make your pitch great!