Time Management Miracle

One unexpected benefit of becoming a mummy is the time management miracle that appears to have taken place over the past 5 months. Before I had my baby my working days were pretty unstructured. I wrote when inspiration struck me. If I woke up one day and didn’t feel like working, I simply took the day off.

As any parent knows, having a baby changes all that. Now, my working hours are cast in stone. I no longer have the luxury of waiting for the muse to appear before writing my newsletter. I have to arrange for inspiration to synchronise with the 30 hours a week that lovely Elena, the Spanish girl who came to live with us when my baby was 12 weeks old, looks after Benan. They’re besotted with each other (see the picture right.)

Those precious 30 hours are the time I have to do all ‘my’ stuff – that includes work, exercise, meditation and a very essential weekly massage.

Bottom line: I have just 20 hours a week for business. I’ve got to admit, the first 5 weeks of this new working system were hell. Feeling forced to work ‘set hours’, something I had always made a point of avoiding, I was like a sulky and rebellious teenager.

But having hard edges between my work time and free time has paid off in unexpected ways. When I’m working I’m more focused, a lot more organised, and because my free time these days really IS free time, I return to my desk feeling truly refreshed.

If you, like me, want to get maximum results in minimum time, then this week’s article will provide you with some practical tips to help you leverage your marketing hours.

Thank you!

First of all, thanks to everyone who sent messages and feedback after the launch of my new website last week.

After all that frenetic activity surrounding the launch, I took a couple of well earned days off, and enjoyed playing with my baby son Benan. Didn't touch the laptop for 3 whole days, and my, do I feel better for it. Did you know that research shows that a day completely away from all business activities will increase your effectiveness for the next 18 days? That's quite a return on investment isn't it?

So, we took a drive out to Lahinch, which is a beach about 30 mins from where we live in County Clare. I have to say it didn't look QUITE like the photo on the day we visited, but we were amazed to count 14 people surfing in the water. In January. In the Atlantic. Off the West Coast of Ireland??!!!!

Marketing expert Jeff Paul says that when targeting a 'hungry crowd' one criteria is that they should be passionate to the point of fanatical. I think January surfers in Ireland qualify!
But it's back to work now, preparing for the first call of my Seminar Marketing Mastermind Group which kicks off this month.

This week's article is based on a reader question which comes up quite a lot. If you have a question you'd like me to cover in a future newsletter, please send it to my assistant, liz@clientmagnets.com.

New website is ready!

By now, you’ve probably seen my all new website. If you haven’t taken a peek yet, the new look of this newsletter should be a big clue! You can see the new site at Client Magnets.

About 6 months ago, I deliberately stopped all the activities I use to grow my subscriber list. I decided I didn’t want any new subscribers until the website was updated. You know how if your house is a bit of a mess, you don’t feel good about inviting friends round? Well that was the feeling I had about the old website.

But now the new website is finally complete, I want to share it with the world! So I’ve set myself the challenge of reaching 6,000 subscribers this month. Will you help me spread the word? If you enjoy this week’s newsletter, please forward it to friends and associates who might also benefit.

We're almost there....

After months of 'behind the scenes' activity, my, all new website is almost ready to go live.

Rather than update the old website, we've created a totally new one from scratch.

I look forward to revealing all ;-) in the next day or two....

'An Update On the Group Coaching Programme'

Thanks to everyone who participated in my survey on your most important business goal for the next 90 days. As I read the answers, what struck me was that it seems what people really want help with is IMPLEMENTATION rather than just INFORMATION. You're telling me is that you don't just want ideas, you want help tailoring those ideas to your specific situation.

I'm still studying all the results, and the 'group coaching programme' is starting to take shape in my mind.

Actually I'm not sure that 'coaching programme' is the best description of what will be included in the 90 days. It's going to be part consulting, part mentoring, part mastermind/brainstorming, part networking.

Accountability will be a key part, and obviously there is the extra momentum you get from being one of the group.

There will be some teaching content from me, but I'm deliberately going to restrict loading on information for the sake of it. I want to make sure that you get manageable and digestible morsels that are directly relevant to the goal you are working on, and ideas you can apply immediately and get results.

So can I ask one more favour of you?

What do you think? Does this feel like something you'd like to be a part of? What extra elements do I need to include to make this perfect for you? What concerns or questions would you have about participating in a programme like this?

Please tell me what you think by clicking on the 'comments' link below this posting and tell your quick thoughts on how this is taking shape. Just a sentence or two will do.

Thanks for helping me to design the perfect programme for you.

Thanks

Bernadette

Client Magnets Newsletter

Client Magnets Newsletter

By Bernadette Doyle

If this newsletter had sound effects, this week’s would be ‘men at work’ sounds like hammers, power tools and saws. No, I don’t have the builders in, there is just an awful lot of activity going on ‘behind the scenes’ of my website, which is why you haven’t heard from me for a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed, I’ll be ready to reveal some big changes on 1st January. (Hope I haven’t jinxed myself by naming that date).

I hope you enjoy this week’s article, which you’ll find particularly helpful if you’ve been feeling bombarded by all the (often contradictory) marketing information which is out there.

Newsletter

What I know for sure about marketing

I know it’s been quiet round here for a couple of weeks….

When I sat down to write my last newsletter, I had no idea what I was starting.

What started as a request for feedback from me stirred up a whole lot of controversy and debate. The opinions were stronger and the emotions ran deeper than I could possibly have predicted.

One person who emailed me mentioned a book called Watching the English by Kate Fox, who describes the English discomfort (surprise, surprise!) with the idea of selling and money exchange.

So I’ve read all the feedback, digested, reflected, and the reason it’s taken me a while to respond was because I needed this time to sort out my own thoughts and feelings on this topic. I wanted to make sure I was responding, rather than just reacting to all of the comments.

What I Know For Sure About Marketing......

I'm still here and I'm still listening

Because I've gone quiet over the past few days, I just wanted to let you know that I am still here!

Today is the day I normally write my newsletter for publication Tuesday or Wednesday, but there is so much to take in from all the comments that have been posted, I want a little more time to respond.

So this week's follow up newsletter might be late.....

But rest assured, it's coming......

This is a quick post just to say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond.

Because I was travelling I didn't log in until 11pm last night to find 52 messages had already been posted. I've also received a lot of emails too.

Even though not all of the messages are easy reading for me, every single one of them
is valuable, so if you are one of the people who has taken the time to respond, I say
'Thank You' (and I mean that to my critics as well as my supporters)

I just wanted to get the feedback out in the open so I could find out how people are really feeling, and then take things from there.

I've got a lot of reading to do, a fair bit of reflecting, and then I am going to start making some deicsions and some changes. So if you haven't thrown in your tuppence worth yet, please do.

Client Newsletter Feedback

Client Magnets Newsletter
By Bernadette Doyle

Hello and welcome to all new subscribers this week.

I am in sunny Florida as I write this, having just attended a two day seminar with Rich Shefren. It’s provided lots of valuable insights and new perspectives that I look forward to sharing with you in future newsletters.

This is a difficult newsletter to write, and I am sure there will be people who say I am foolish to bring this topic up for discussion. However, I’ve received a couple of comments via email recently, that suggest that people are being turned off by my approach, and that far from being a Client Magnet, I am starting to be a Client Repellent!

And on the assumption that for every person who takes the time to contact you about something, there are probably 30-50 others who feel the same way, what I’d like to do in this newsletter is open up this subject for discussion, and invite feedback from you on this subject.

A Question of Integrity

So these were the two emails I received:

‘ Someone else who holds you in high regard and I were talking NLP/you/marketing the other day and they commented how you seemed, to them, to have “lost your way.” I’d mentioned how your business seemed to have changed – that now it’s about flogging products online…. for some of us it’s a turn off. I position you to other people as an expert and frequently talk about you/encourage people to subscribe – on the grounds you’re not like the others, tempting with half an ounce then flogging away. Some of your newsletters have been really promotional. To an extent it’s a bit online carsalesman and cheapens to me what you’re doing. …’

The other email was sent to my assistant Liz:

‘Instead of looking forward to reading a newsletter I now think - "no, not another one" and there is an negative feeling around the prospect of seeing 'Bernadette Doyle newsletter' in the in-box.

I'm a great admirer of Bernadette and has recommended her newsletter to a huge number of freelance colleagues in the consultancy and coaching world. I have also bought a few products from you.

I know Bernadette is an expert in the direct marketing field but I'm not the only one in my network who thinks you are sending out too many and too frequently. Don't destroy the brand - we want to have positive feelings when we see your name in the in-box not negative ones.’

Now some people will say. ‘Just ignore comments like these, you can’t please everybody’. However, that approach is not, nor will ever be, my style. The fact is, these two comments came from long term, loyal subscribers, who have both helped me to grow my reputation in the marketplace, so I take comments like this very seriously indeed.

So let’s talk about it.

Has Client Magnets changed? Well, yes. Like any business things are always changing and evolving. I’ve gone through a major life change this year – having my first baby, and that has required me to make some big changes to my business model. One impact is that I have had to drastically cut back on my seminar schedule- which accounted for £70k gross profit last year - and I no longer have the time to work with clients one-to-one, so yes, at this point in time, I am placing more emphasis on serving you through products and teleseminars. (And packaging your expertise in this way is also a principle of the Client Magnets approach, and something that I encourage you to do too)

But my values HAVEN’T changed. I want this relationship with you as a subscriber to be a ‘win-win’ for both of us. I know that you will only stay as a subscriber if I provide value. I tell my clients make sure that every contact you have with your prospects and customers adds value. It’s one of the principles of the Client Magnets approach. And even back in the time when I was teaching cold calling techniques full time, years before I started writing this newsletter, you would have seen the same emphasis on ‘win-win’ and ‘add value’.

I send you – at no charge – information, suggestions and ideas that I hope are helpful to you, and help you develop and grow your business. I’m also very open about sharing my own experiences, both good and bad.

In turn, I get a platform to share my expertise, further my reputation, and invite you to make use of my services and products. But this relationship isn’t just a ‘trade’ to me . It’s an ongoing, evolving dance. The feedback you give me, and the questions I receive each week, keeps me in touch with what you want, and helps me to tailor those products and services so that they are even more relevant to your needs. We’re shaping and influencing each other all the time.

By publishing a newsletter I am putting myself in the public eye and setting myself up to be judged. I accept that. At the same time to think that anyone is cynically judging the articles I write and saying ‘oh she’s promoting again’ really hurts me. I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t. I’ve been writing articles for 10 years, and the goal I have with any article I write is that the reader gets value from it. You get a technique that you can apply immediately, or you have an insight that gives you a new perspective on what you are doing. This is really important to me. If you think I’m only publishing this newsletter for what I can ‘get’ out of it, you really don’t know me. You have no idea how much I care. I published this newsletter for years purely out of a desire to share my experiences and help others. I didn’t offer products and services back then, because I was earning my living as a corporate training consultant, but when large numbers of subscribers started asking ‘how can I find out more’. I knew I had to start offering products and services to meet that demand.

That’s good business. To me, business is about responding to needs in the marketplace, and making the right offers the right time to the right people. When it works well, then both buyer and seller should feel good about it. Sadly, because some people have abused this process in the past, we operate in a marketplace that has become so cynical, so bombarded with sales offers, that even offers of help are met with resistance. I know you can't open your inbox without getting a batch of emails making bold claims and promises that will improve your life or your business. I get those emails too! In a climate like this, it's not surprising that we all have our 'B.S Radar' well and truly switched on. We need to protect ourselves from the hype.

The trouble is, whilst we do need to protect ourselves against false and exaggerated claims, sometimes that protection mechanism may cause us to overlook something that really CAN make a difference. And I truly think that this newsletter can and does. I hope to provoke you, inspire you and yes - motivate you to act! Now I can’t possibly cover everything in a newsletter – so on some key topics I’ve invited you to either participate in a masterclass or download the audio and transcript to further your knowledge on that topic.

Please notice the word invite. I trust you to know when the timing is right for you. I see my part in this is to create the courses and products that meet your needs and let you know they are available.

So, am I trying to manipulate you? Do I have a hidden agenda? Absolutely not. Do I want you to buy my products and attend my seminars? Absolutely! I’m proud of the products I’ve created, and I sincerely want to share what I have learned with others who want to get the same results. I want to include links to my products in these newsletters because whilst there is no obligation to buy, I want to make sure that the instant you decide to take action, that you can get hold of the very same techniques and ideas that helped me to transform my business. Some of them will be a better fit for you than others. I am not so naïve to think that every subscriber should buy everything I offer, but I do want to put in front of you the products and services that might be relevant to your business – and then let you decide. But I don’t want to do this at the expense of our relationship. If my enthusiasm has been interpreted as pushiness, then I am sorry, and that’s something I need to take on board for the future.

The conundrum I am facing here is that the instant I put something on the table to offer you that involves an exchange of money, a percentage of readers automatically assume I am doing that to further my interest and not yours. (In the spirit of ‘win-win’ I personally believe that we both benefit). But I am trying to gauge how large this percentage is.

So now I want to turn this over to you. What do you think? How do I strike the balance between letting you know about things that could solve problems for you, help you achieve your goals faster and with less effort without you being turned off? Are the authors of the two emails at the top of this article lone voices, or do you feel the same way too? Are you concerned about missing out on opportunities if I were to stop including links in my newsletter?

I’m not going to hide or run from this criticism. I want to get it out in the open so that we can find a way forward that really works for both parties. I can only do that if you let me know what you think and you are brutally honest with me. I need to know what you think about this one. If you prefer to do so anonymously, then that’s fine too.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Until next week!

Bernadette Doyle
http://www.clientmagnets.com/http://www.howtomarketyourworkshop.com/