A friend of mine called Pete has made a fortune on-line.

While most people reading this article will probably be working from inspiration and passion, Pete is the opposite. He works from logic. The result is he gives people what they are looking for, rather than offering what he is passionate about offering. Following this method has made him a fortune.

I’m not saying Pete isn’t into what he does. He is. He likes following trends and patterns and plonking his products right where demand flows.

But who of you can combine your passion with logic? That then becomes so much more powerful… so this is what we’re going to look at.

Pete will tell you a passion won’t make you money unless there’s a market. He’ll tell you there is no point creating a product unless people are looking for it. And he’ll also tell you all he does is find where the money is flowing and he then puts his offer in front of that flow.

Put in economic speak, he follows demand, checks out the supply, and if competition is low, in he jumps.

Sir Richard Branson follows a similar philosophy with Virgin when looking at new markets to enter. Where there is demand and where the suppliers have been abusing the customers and giving poor service, Virgin will step in and offer something innovative and revolutionary to that industry.

Clearly whereever there is a need and where the market recognises that need, demand for a service or product will be high. There may even be fierce competition, but if the competition is poor, unorganised, unprofessional, lacking a process or a system, then you could quite possibly be the one to turn that industry on its head.

Best wishes
Neil

Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. Visit his website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

When you know who your market is, you know what they need. When you know what they need, you know how to package it in a way they want that makes it easy for your client to buy from you.

This really is the holy grail of marketing and it’s what leads to more clients… more referrals… and more hits on your web pages…

Before creating any new product or service or before ramping up your marketing, take a step back and ask yourself, “Do I REALLY know who my market is?

Next you want to be asking, “What does my market really, really want?” Being able to answer that question is the key to growing your business. By focusing on what people want, rather than on what you want to sell them, you’ll begin to see the kind of results you really want.

If you think you’re wasting time by marketing something people don’t really want, here is something to ponder:
People buy when they feel understood. They buy what they want, not what you think they need, they like to feel good about their purchase.

Let’s break that down a little more…

No matter what logical explanation you give someone for buying a product, underneath it is the want to be understood. So when someone buys from you it’s because you showed them that you knew enough about who they are to make a product that fits them.

I call this an “appreciation of a client”.  In the same vein as “What you appreciate, appreciates”, when you appreciate who a client is and what their issues are and then package something for that need, you show your understanding.

If you offer what you think a client needs rather than what a client wants and you try to shoehorn clients into buying something they don’t want it, doesn’t matter how amazing you make the benefits, they just won’t respond to your efforts, if they don’t want the product. To continue doing so is a lot like speaking a different language and shouting to be understood.

If you’ve done a good job of pinpointing a target market, you should be able to learn these things easily. Until you do, you’re marketing will only limp along because you don’t yet know what products they’ll feel good about buying.

Find that appreciation for whoever you are serving and the numbers you serve will grow.

Best Wishes
Neil

www.communitysoul.co.uk

In writing any good marketing copy there are 7 essentials you have to take care of – without getting overly technical. I’m going to give them to you here, because I want people reading this newsletter to write copy that engages readers and finds them a stream of clients.

So, let me take you through the 7 essentials:

1. Title – this has to make a promise about what you’ll deliver and it must speak to your audience

2. Sub-title – the subtitle builds the picture up more – it expands on the title

3. Rapport/Credibility piece – Speak in the language of the people who will buy from you and let them know why they should listen to you.

4. Benefits – put these in a bullet point list… it makes it easy to read and suggests value, value, value

5. Social proof – testimonials, show other people what they got from you. Use names where you can. Use pictures if you can get them. And the more specific you can be the better.

6. A call to action – this is about telling them what to do next.

7. Contact details (either get theirs using a contact form on your website or give yours if you are using flyers or another advertising method.

For an example of a webpage using these all 7 steps visit: www.communitysoulbusiness.com

When I first wrote the copy in the link above, I had it critiqued by a group of people I mastermind with. Then I rewrote it. I invested around £3500 in hard cash in that copy and then a further £1000 in my own time writing it.

So you can see, it’s not something I just threw together in a few minutes. The title took several attempts and yet when I look at it now it looks really simple. And that’s the way you want it to read. Simple.

The copy was hacked and rewritten. But that page has resulted in around 2000 people signing up for the offer we make.

Just using the seven essentials will give you better results in from your marketing efforts, but that’s not the be-all-and-end-all in copywriting. There is a lot more for you to learn… and it never stops!

Best wishes
Neil

http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

What happens when you don’t invest in good marketing copy….

One of the reasons a lot of people struggle is because of poor marketing copy. If you look around the Internet you’ll see lots of sites that are poorly written and you can spot these very quickly.

If your website is one of those websites, then what happens to the visitors?

An uninterested website visitor clicks away if they can’t find what they want in seconds. That means that whatever your website costs you to create, host and manage costs you money.

So, how do you draw a crowd with your marketing copy?

One of the topics I covered with my Insiders Secrets group recently was what is important and why and how to write it and we went into a great deal of depth on the subject and that’s not something I can cover in an article.

What I can share here is that there is information you must get across and you have to put that in a way that is going to compel someone, who is interested in being your customer, to become your customer.

As a customer, when you or I read something, we’re subconsciously hunting for what’s in this for me? Can I get what I need? Can this person or business solve my problem?

And these days… when you have so much competition… and it’s all easily accessible… especially via the Internet… it’s the people writing the most engaging, compelling copy… that draw in the crowd.

And you’ll know how well you’re doing with compelling people to buy from you based on how many people buy from your web pages and how your bank balance looks… and I say that with lots of love, and I say that because what you put down on paper, or on a website, is probably also a fair reflection of how you verbalise the difference you make, too…

In the last 2 years we’ve run five really big events. And these are the events where we’ve really pulled out the stops on on the  marketing front. And these events have pretty much all been sell outs. In one case we had 1000 people register, in another more than 1800. On two other occasions, we couldn’t get any more people in the room.

And this was mostly due to the marketing copy we used to help people get along to these events.

Best wishes
Neil

I recognise a number of people reading this article are just not getting the results that you want from your brochures, flyers and websites.

These brochures, flyers and websites are marketing that never sleeps and it’s your marketing copy that for many people determines if you have people queueing up at your door or not.

To attract business we have to represent ourselves well on page because it’s our written material that sells us. And the more you automate your marketing through websites, auto-responders and emails, the more important your copy becomes.

You may also want your marketing copy to compete with the best in the field. To do that there are some essentials, and if you include them, that can set you apart from so much of the competition and have you recognised right up there with the leaders in your field.

There are also things that set ordinary marketing copy apart from great copy which sells quickly and easily.

Creating great marketing copy is something I’ve invested in. I write much of my own copy, but I will always run it by either a mastermind group who understand marketing copywriting, or I’ll talk it through with a mentor or an expert.

Doing these things has raised the bar, with many of our pages now getting results of 38%-84%.

In the last year we’ve invested thousands into this area of development, but I have to be honest and admit I made a big mistake…

When I first looked at at how much copywriting cost, I decided it was too expensive. In making that choice I failed to look at what it would cost me if I didn’t invest.

Looking back this is something I would have invested in much sooner.

Have you invested in copywriting? Or is that another area of your business where you are saying you can’t afford to invest? What is failing to invest costing you longer term?

Best wishes
Neil

When I first became self-employed I needed new clients and repeat business. What I was offering was a service to householders.

In order to have them buy from me I had to knock at their door and ask – cold calling and door knocking… something most people might like to run away from…

And it gets worse…

Each month I was knocking on a thousand doors and what that meant is that pretty soon I ran out of doors to knock on… and you know what that means…

Yes. I had to start again and re-knock on the doors who said no to me the first time round. But there was something surprising about this…

You’d be amazed to know that the second time around I got more yeses than the first, and the third time was about as good as the second. By then I was calling on every 2nd or 3rd house in some streets and that’s when something magical started to happen.

What happened was – word began to get around, and that meant referrals began coming to me. And this is what we call client attraction.

Attraction is simply when you pull customers to you, rather than push. Advertising is a form of push marketing, recommendation and referral is a type of “pull” marketing.

Attraction happens where you’re not projecting your business out there, yet you’re drawing business to you. And there’s something else you should know…

Before I enjoyed people coming and asking if they could be my customers, I had to undergo something.

Before attraction happened, I first had to go through rejection. Had I given up after my seventh straight no, I’d have never got to number eight and had them be my first customer.

If I’d given up too soon, I’d never have built that company. I set a goal, I found a strategy that worked and I kept working it.

Sometimes I fell behind my goals. But did I give up? No. And that’s the spirit people who succeed carry – on-going… never giving up…

Something all of us Conscious entrepreneurs have to keep in mind is that our source of wealth is created where our customers needs meet our ability to serve. When we have a great service and are 100% in our conviction about that service, customers can’t wait to get that service. When we can’t wait to give and we ask for opportunities to give, customers can’t wait to receive. What goes on on the outside of your business will be a perfect reflection of what’s going on on the inside.

Best wishes

Neil

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Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. To find out more, visit his website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

There is one way to have more people become your customers. It’s often overlooked. In this article I’ll share it with you.

It’s actually not rocket science, but it is something that lots of people in business need to address. And it’s simple…

Just do this exercise. Make a note of how many people you asked asked to buy from you today. Now jot down how many you asked to buy from you in the last 7 days.

If you haven’t got enough clients right now, this is almost certainly because you’re not having enough “sales conversations”.

If you’re not asking for business this can be about about your belief in what you offer. It can be about not handling rejection well. It might be that you think it’s unspiritual or pushy.

But think of it this way… there are people out there right now who need what you do. What you offer will change their lives, yet if you’re not asking them, they stay at home or in their office, still in pain or in need.

I want to encourage you to move past your personal blocks, because it denies people in need and in pain – and some people are in so much pain they might not react or even notice you until you ask them for the umpteenth time.

All it takes is a shift from a belief that selling is bad to a 100% conviction that someone may lose out or be in pain because you’ve held back and failed to ask for the business.

In business you have to be prepared to ask people if your customers are ready to buy from you.

If you don’t ask, people who might have bought from you might not have realised they could get this service from you or they might think you’re so busy you wouldn’t have time to fit them in.

So while you think you’re being pushy, or spiritual by allowing them to make up their mind, they’ve made up their mind that they want what you offer, but you’re not able to help them, because you didn’t say so.

All it takes is: “Can I help you with that?” or “Would you like me to book you a session?” or “Would you like to go ahead with that?”

Just think that by asking that question, you might instantly transform your clients’ and customers’ experience of life that day. And that’s a beautiful thing to do! Plus they’ll pay you too! Win-Win-Win!

Best wishes

Neil

Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. To find out more, visit his website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

I see so many people marketing themselves in costly ways. They spend money on a website. They get the business cards and brochure or flyer printed. They advertise and network, all of which bring enquiries. But what happens to those enquiries?

Usually they go cold and you end up losing possible business.

So let’s take a brief look at the 6 typical problems people have gaining and keeping clients:

1. What to do with “prospects” – the people who might eventually buy but are not yet ready…

2. The longer you’re in business the harder it is to stay in touch with everyone who shows an interest in your service and hasn’t bought…

3. How to keep these people interested and warm them up to you

4. Then when all your hard work pays off and someone becomes a client, how do you encourage them to hang around and see more value and buy second and third purchases, so that when they think of a problem they only think of you as the solution?

5. Then there’s the time it takes to implement the following up and this is where the busy people need to focus on the mechanism that builds the relationships and promotes your natural warmth and your authentic voice

6. And finally there’s the cost to do all this

These six reasons have a lot to do with why so many businesses are not getting the results they want.

When I began CommunitySoul, the first thing I put in place was a communication strategy and a system that would measure the results of that strategy. (I always want to measure, because then if part of the process isn’t working I can fix the problem).

To be honest if you have no way to communicate to your customers, clients, and people who are interested but not yet committed, you really are missing out big time.

The system we use is a great way to honour our customers and market to them with complete integrity. You can have the same effect – adding heaps of value and helping people in ways that only you can.

I believe that having a way to speak to people has been the cornerstone of our business.

If you don’t have away to communicate with your people, then I recommend you find a way.

Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. To find out more, visit our website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

There’s a question I always feel compelled to ask when I hear people say they are looking for new clients.

My question is: how, specifically, do you want to get your clients?

That might sound like an odd question, especially if you feel you’ve tried everything and it doesn’t work, but there are so many options that can work.

A few weeks ago I heard an amazing story. It was amazing because I had a belief that what this lady had done was not possible – yes, I occasionally have limited thinking too!

Let me explain a bit more…

The Marketing Roads to Rome

There are many ways to market yourself: Networking, social media, flyers and leaflets, advertising, web sites, talks, joint ventures, article writing, news media etc.

And with so many different ways to choose from, it can be confusing to know where to start.

The idea is, of course, that you have many different routes to your market, but sometimes you just need one that works well – for example,  a networking strategy where you cultivate a number of advocates who then bring you clients on a consistent basis.

Encouraging Statistics

Recently one of the members of the mastermind group I attend recently told me how her leaflet selling NLP converted into £15000 of business.

A client was recently telling me how they have a nice stream of business coming in from articles they place in the media.

At a business group one of our members was telling me how they’d gained almost 20 referrals directly from our group.

The results don’t always come overnight. The results come from making small, consistent, habitual steps that take you on a journey to making your difference and earning the profits you deserve.

SO, if you want more clients, don’t try to do it all. Start with one marketing strategy that will bring you clients, make tweaks until you get results and then when that works for you, move on to the next.

Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit. Register for his free newsletter at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk

Planning is the key to success. It’s like the old proverb, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”

So there are two types of plan I recommend, especially at this time of year, when most people are considering the next year.

First I’d recommend you get, a business plan, and then I recommend you write a marketing plan.

A business plan is going to show you how you’ll achieve your goals. And if you’re coming up short you’ll know where and you’ll no to fix that.

Now I know a lot of people don’t like business plans and find them tricky. I used to feel like that but I had to grow past it. One of the big hurdles was that business ideas changed so quickly and a plan that had taken a day to write might be out of date in 3 months.

What I found over time was that I began to write less plans and I also became more accurate at predicting what I would need and what results I might gain. So, ultimately it’s become a very useful tool.

Meanwhile, a marketing plan is your attraction strategy – the thing that brings business in and helps your dream unfold. If you have no marketing plan then  you must create one if you’re to attract clients.

A good marketing plan will help you know what you need to do, who you’re aiming to attract, through what means. It will help you budget and be a lot more accurate.

We all see lots of flyers, adverts and other marketing, but the ones that really stay with us, are the ones which have a sustained campaign and who have a message we may hear several times over.

I’d certainly say, without these two plans in place, you’re more likely to struggle. What these plans do is it help you to identify where you are (i.e are you on track or off track).

Neil Fellowes shows conscious entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and complementary therapists how to make a difference AND a profit.  Visit his website at http://www.communitysoul.co.uk