This is a big topic.

If you run a business and agonize over making decisions, you know what I’m talking about — making decisions can be really hard.

But it doesn’t have to be as difficult as you make it.

Current research is now backing up what you may have always known — we make our best decisions when we use our intuition and are not given too much time to think about them. Imagine this: even the U.S. military and fire fighters are being studied for how they make their best decisions — and it’s not how you think.

In his groundbreaking and often quoted 1938 book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill said that, after analysis of 25,000 men and women who had experienced failure, “lack of decision” was near the head of the list of the 30 major causes.

Mr. Hill’s advice is to emulate one of Henry Ford’s most outstanding qualities, which was “his habit of reaching decisions quickly and definitely, and changing them slowly.”

It’s not so different today.

I’ve been interested in decision making for years because:

a.) I’ve had to make big decisions for my business, just like you do

b.) many of my clients agonize over decisions and how to make them, and

c.) traditional decision-making methods just don’t work for many people.

So I’ve done some poking around.

And here’s what I’ve learned:

• The way you intuitively make decisions, even if you can’t describe how you do it, is probably the best and most accurate way for you
• Agonizing over a decision for a long time doesn’t help you make better decisions than being smart about making decisions quickly
• Comparing lists of options may help with organizing your thoughts in decision making, but it won’t always tell you which choice is right for you
• Comparing lists of options can be overwhelming for some people and in some situations
• Comparing lists of options is often the only way we’re taught to make decisions, and if it doesn’t work for you, it can make you feel stressed and boxed in, making it even more difficult to make the decision
• Business owners spend way too much time trying to make decisions
• Many business owners abdicate their decisions to others by basing their decisions on the opinions of people who may or may not be knowledgeable enough to help
• Because they find decision making difficult, many business owners choose to put off or not make decisions, which is a decision of the worst kind

This topic has been coming up a lot for me and my clients recently, so in this post I’m sharing what I’m finding about the best, easiest, quickest, and truest ways for you to make decisions — for your business, and for your life.

How to Make Good Decisions Quickly: 8 Ideas that Really Work

1. Use your intuition to imagine the right answer

Decision making doesn’t have to be completely logical. Even the logic-based scientific community is recognizing new ways to make decisions, based on the way people actually make them. One of these is called the recognition primed decision making model. (I know — they named it something scientific sounding, but it’s actually a naturally intuitive way to make decisions. Those crazy scientists.)

With this method, which is being used to replace conventional decision-making processes in the U.S. military, you think about just one course of action and then consider whether it will achieve the outcome you’re looking for.

In essence, you run a scenario through in your mind and ask yourself, will this work? If you think it will (based on your experience and intuition), you move ahead.

If you think it won’t work, you may alter your scenario. If it still won’t work in your mental run-through, you throw it away and start again with a different scenario.

That’s it! With this approach, intuition is used to recognize situations and help decide how to respond, and then your brain analyzes it to verify that what your intuition is suggesting is appropriate.

Your intuition is driving the bus! It’s saying, “I think this will work, let’s do a run-through to test it out.”

Researchers suggest that more than 90% of important decisions are probably made this way, rather than by comparing options. This method if making decisions is being used to replace existing military decision-making processes because it’s bolder and better adapted to what’s actually happening than other plans, and is now being recommended in the global war on terrorism — because it works.

2. Ask, is this really me?

I love this method of coming to a decision about whether something is right for you — who cares if it’s right or not right for someone else?

In this post by Steve Pavlina, he walks us through the transformation of the decision-making process when you look at it from the intuitive “is this really me?” perspective instead of the logical “what’s the best choice to make?” perspective.

Steve explains that every decision is more than just the choice between paths — it’s also a chance for creative self-expression. So when you’re faced with the decision of which path to take in your business, instead of just weighing the financial and logistical implications, you can also ask yourself, “is this really me?” — and you may be surprised to hear a clarifying answer such as, “This path isn’t going to be easy, but I know this is the right way to go because it’s who I am.” Or you may conclude, “No matter how I try to represent this to myself, I know that deep down this isn’t who I am. This just isn’t me.”

That’s deep stuff, but in his post, Steve uses this same process to choose a desk for his office, turning a boring chore into an interesting and fun experience.

Try asking, “is it really me?” the next time you’re faced with a hard-to-make decision, and then really listen to the answer.

3. Question your snap decisions — unless you’re a cave man

Our ability to make snap decisions comes from the fact that we still have the same brain as our Stone Age ancestors, whose decisions could mean the difference between having an evening meal and being an evening meal. You’re not as likely to get eaten today, and “snap” doesn’t always equal “best choice,” but the ability to make snap decisions is still linked to your own self-preservation — so ya gotta listen.

When you make a snap decision on something, stop, and ask yourself, “why did I think that?” Or, “why do I feel that way?” Taking this extra step will give your intuition and experience a chance to sort through to the answer behind the answer, giving you the back-up you need to feel good about your choice — and giving you a better shot at making the right decision.

Or, to rethink it. Since you’re not a cave man.

4. Run the decision by your values

Everyone has personal values, and you probably have values for your business too, even if you haven’t formally written them down (which you should). You decided when you started your business that it was going to fit you, and be a good match for the way you live your life. But do you use your values to help guide you when making decisions for your business? Doing so consciously can make decisions easier and lower your stress level.

As entrepreneurs, we are always looking for opportunities — and sometimes we get opportunities we’re not too sure about. Looking at your values and really considering them against the opportunity will give you great insight and the knowledge and understanding to be able to say, “Yes, this is a great opportunity for my business (it matches my values),” or “I’ll pass on this. It’s not for me (it doesn’t match my values).”

This may surprise those around you who say, “What!? Dude, this could be huge — what is your problem?” If you’ve done this correctly, your answer will be, “It doesn’t line up with my core values and purpose – it’s not what we’re passionate about.” It’s not the direction you’re going. It doesn’t fit you. And you only have to look to your values to know whether it does or not.

5. Check your body truth

This is a decision-making process that I have used for years. It’s kind of like listening to your own gut reaction, but I use it in a more structured way. It works well if you’ve got to decide between two things.

Go somewhere where you won’t be interrupted. Take a few deep breaths, relax, and visualize the first situation as clearly as possible. Put yourself into that situation — now, and maybe two years from now.

Put a lot of detail into it, as much as you can, and make it active. Put yourself into the scene, and see yourself moving around, talking to people, doing things. Spend at least 5 minutes visualizing each scene and interacting in it.

While in each situation, notice how you feel —  do you feel expansive and tingly, or  do you feel shrinking and “less than,” anxious, unhappy — or what? Write down what you feel. Compare the experiences.

You’ll get a definite body signal that is called your “body truth” — your body will give you that answer. It may be surprising, but it will fit you because it’s tapping into your intuition, and sometimes your brain can’t get to it without sidestepping your wiring in that way.

6. Consider your decision in a different language

There is brand new research (April 2012) that suggests you can make better decisions if you consider your options in a non-native language.

In a recent press release, Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago states, “We know from previous research that because people are naturally loss-averse, they often forgo attractive opportunities. Our new findings demonstrate that such aversion to losses is much reduced when people make decisions in their non-native language.”

Graduate students at the University of Chicago studied 6 experiments with over 600 people in 3 continents who spoke English, Korean, French, Spanish, and Japanese, and also spoke a second language.

People in the study were more “likely to take favorable risks” if they weighed their options in another language, while making the decision in a native language caused the individuals to be shortsighted in their decisions “because they were focused on fear of losing.”

Before you go off to dig out your high school language texts, though, consider this caution in the article, published in Digital Journal, “a large body of experimental evidence shows that emotions are immensely valuable in making good decisions — that gut instincts derive from hard-earned experience and are ignored at our peril.” These emotions would not be available when making decisions in a non-native language.

As with most things, the trick is to know yourself and what works for you, and to try things — this process might be extremely beneficial for some of your decisions, but not very useful for others. It’s another method for your bag of tricks, if you happen to be bilingual. Fascinating, but not very useful if you’re not, like me.

7. Think of it as a test, or imagine others watching your decision making process and critiquing you

Did you ever shape up and do a better job at something when you knew you’d be graded or reviewed by someone? Do you try harder or stand up straighter when someone is watching you? That’s the idea with this decision-making strategy.

When dealing with a decision you just can’t seem to come to grips with, ask yourself how you’d handle the decision or the decision-making process if you had to report on your actual process — would you use a different process? Would it be a better process? Would you come to a decision more quickly if someone you respected were watching your process, and you had to report on how you arrived at the decision?

A variation on this is to think of someone you respect and ask yourself what they would do in your situation — it can be anyone from a family member to a favorite teacher to a historical or religious figure. Often you’ll immediately know the right solution to the problem when you imagine how someone else would approach it.

Pick a decision, pick a real or imaginary person to report to or emulate, and try it out. The results may astound you.

8. Do you want to do it?

Well, do you?

This taps directly into your emotions and intuition, isn’t logical at all, and it really does matter in your decision-making process.

Go head. Ask yourself, “do I really want to do this?”

A strong, “hell, yes!” can add weight that a lukewarm, “I can take it or leave it” just can’t, giving you a better feeling about moving forward when added to other parameters you may be considering.

And what if your answer is “hell, no!”? Should this answer stop you in your tracks? Well, that depends, doesn’t it? If what you really don’t want to do will help to save someone’s life, should you go ahead anyway? Does asking this question help you decide?

What have you tried?

Do you agonize over decisions? Would you like to be able to make them more quickly?

Have you tried any of these methods to make decisions? Do you think they’ll help you? Please give us a “hell, yes!” and share what you think!

“Moopie, are they dry yet?”

The clay figures we’d made that morning were taking FOR. EV. ER. to dry. And that meant we wouldn’t be able to paint them before we had to get on the road the next day, when it would be time for me to take my little charmers back home to their parents.

(I am “Moopie” to my son’s children, not because it means “Grandma” to them, but because I’ve been “Moop” to everyone in my family since before I can remember. For reasons known only to them, my older brother and sister found it easier to say “Moop” than to say “Marcia.”)

So, since the carefully sculpted Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, butterfly, worms, and pizza were going to have to sit and dry, we moved on. To t-shirt painting!

I’m the facilitator

I am merely the facilitator in these exercises. I guide the wishes of the true creators: Austin, age 7, and Sydney, age 3. I can get my hands on the good stuff and make it work — their job is to bring the ideas. (I have a friend who says that for a kid, having an agreeable grandmother is like having a big Baby Huey to play with — one who can drive.)

Austin is definitely more controlled in his art than his sister. He knows what he wants to create, and when he’s comfortable with his tools, moves ahead with confidence and a plan. If he comes to a new challenge, he asks for help. He asked for help painting the Angry Bird on his shirt. The fabric paint was blobby and difficult to control. He stood behind and directed me.

Sydney doesn’t have a plan, or a thought, or a moment’s hesitation. Anything goes, and she’s always thrilled with what she’s created. She threw the permanent fabric paint all over the table — it was all I could do to follow behind, mopping up. The medium was the message, for sure.

In the end, both kids got what they wanted out of our weekend (except I did make them take baths at the last minute). Both were very pleased with themselves.

They had been catered to and presented with options.

Listened to more than talked at.

Understood more than sold to.

Assisted. Guided. And respected.

And shown in every possible way how much they were loved.

After they left (and after my 3-hour nap), I was reflecting on how easy and natural it is to be Moopie. Kids know what they want from you, and the difference you make to them.

It’s almost the same with my clients

As long as I’ve been in marketing communications (over 28 years), I still grapple with the problem of how to communicate my own strengths, what I do, and how I can help, even though this is something I work on with my clients every day. It’s really hard to find the exact words that will speak to you — my clients and prospective clients.

We should all know how to describe what we do so people will want to work with us, right? And if I’m teaching this to you, I should be able to do it for myself, shouldn’t I?

I used to try extra hard to explain how I made a difference. I used lots of big words to tell you what I do – because, after all, I’m in situations every day where I may be meeting prospective clients, and they may need to know I can help.

But. Even though I know that’s important, when I stopped trying so hard to convince you of my wonderful strengths and started watching what you need and asking questions instead, an amazing thing happened. It became much more clear to me (and to you) how I made a difference.

I started asking questions on purpose

Two years ago, I did a whole slew of interviews with business owners, a lot of complimentary discovery sessions, and a many one-on-one networking meetings. I still try to do as many of these as I can. At the same time, I started doing “Ten Minutes with Marcia” on Thursdays, whenever I could — although it’s been awhile since I’ve had time for one of those.

I asked you questions, and you answered them. Or you asked me questions, and I answered. And as we talked, I learned what I most needed to learn.

I found that the better I got at asking questions, the better you got at telling me how I could help you, and what my particular strengths are to be able to do that.

You tell me what you really want

When I ask Austin what he really wants, he knows:

“I want to make six Angry Birds out of clay, three big and three small. Then I want this Angry Bird drawn on my shirt, but this paint is too hard. I can’t make it look good. So I want you to do it, and I’ll show you how. Please.”

 

When I ask Sydney what she really wants, she knows:

“I want to make a butterfly and a pizza out of clay. And Hello Kitty. Make a green dog on my t-shirt. Do it faster. And I want some milk. Please.”

It makes me feel really humble and special to be in this place with my grandkids. Because I know that, at that moment, I am the only person who can help them. I got the clay and the paints, and I spread the newspapers on the table on the porch, and I know how to draw both an Angry Bird and a green dog, and I can sculpt the best dang Hello Kitty either of them will see that day. I found out what they wanted and I gave it to them.

I am Moopie. And I make a difference to them.

You also told me what you want. You told me what you struggle with, the things that overwhelm you, and how stuck you sometimes feel. You told me how frustrated you are with your business, and how dumb it makes you feel at times, and the fear you sometimes feel, too. I’ve been in awe and so grateful for what you’ve shared with me, for what you trust me with.

And it makes me feel exactly the same way I feel with Austin and Sydney, when I can help you, too.  It makes me feel really humble and special to be in that place with you — to know, at that moment, that I am the person who can help you. I have the tools, and the resources, and the knowledge, and the patience. I spread the newspapers on the table on the porch for you. I found out what you want and I gave it to you. And I make a difference to you.

When I talk with you, I try to present you with options.

I try to listen to you more than talk at you.

I try to understand more than sell to you.

I try to assist. Guide. Respect.

And show in every possible way how much you are loved. Yes. I do love my clients.

(I know I’m not supposed to say “try.” I’m just supposed to “do.” But I’m not perfect and I don’t always get it 100% right, so I keep trying, I keep working on it. And I keep getting better.)

Moopie makes me a better coach

I think being Moopie makes me a better coach. Moopie slows me down. She’s not as intense as Marcia the business coach can be. Not trying so hard. She naturally asks questions, listens, and helps.

And maybe listening to what comes naturally is more of what we all should be doing, instead of trying so hard to figure out what we should be doing. When I do what comes naturally when working with you, here are some of the things you tell me:

“It feels good to see some light instead of overwhelming weight.”

“I feel very comfortable telling you how I really feel, and I can already tell it’s made a big difference, too.”

“Thank you for unsticking me.”

“I’m more engaged in my business than I’ve ever been, my relationship with my husband is better, and we have several new clients.”

“My mood and motivation have been much better since working with you, knowing you have my back.”

“You’ve really helped me clarify some important things in such a short while. You are quite amazing!”

“You don’t try to turn me into someone else, you just bring out my best me.”

“I feel empowered in a way I had not been before.”

“I cannot believe how much I have grown under your mentorship.”

“It’s been an incredible, incredible, experience, working with you.”

But here’s the key: I had to stop trying to figure out how to describe what to offer you, and had to start talking to you instead

And guess what? There’s a real consistency in what you tell me: you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed with everything you have to do in your business, and you want someone who’s been there to guide you so the whole dang thing doesn’t just collapse around your ankles. You want to be able to cut through the crap, and it has to be easy, because you’re busy running a business. You want someone to hold you accountable, because you’re serious, and you want that person to also understand your fears, support you, and make you feel safe – because maybe you don’t do things the “right” way. After all, you had to learn this all on the fly, right? And you pieced things together as you went along, right? And what if someone finds out you never look at your bank statements or that you’ve never managed anyone before? Who the heck can you talk to about this stuff, anyway?

I know this is what you worry about, because you tell me. I know that supporting you in this way is my area of strength, my difference, and this is how I help you – because you tell me.

I’m the facilitator

And, like Moopie, I’m merely the facilitator. I can get ahold of the good stuff and make it work, and you can be safe to bring your ideas and let your imagination run wild. If you come to a new challenge, you can ask for help. Or you can dive right in and I’ll follow behind, keeping pace as best as I can, mopping up.

So why am I telling you all this? Did I think it was time for a commercial?

No. The real purpose, which I couldn’t get to without going through all of this, was to show you my process for understanding how I make a difference. So maybe it will help you make a difference with your clients, too.

Whether as Moopie or as coach, I need to ask how I can help

I need to know what you really want.

I don’t make it up. I don’t decide how I can make a difference and then find people to sell it to, although that is really tempting to do. It doesn’t really work though.

What I did was to start asking questions. I figured out how I could answer those questions in a way that could make a difference for you. I started answering those questions, before you were my client, and even if you never become my client. And now I continue to check my difference with you every time I work with you. The deeper I work with you, the more I find out what you want, and the bigger a difference I can make. At least that’s my intention.

It’s an ongoing process.

If you’d like me to ask you some questions, sign up for a complimentary Instant Insight session. And maybe soon, I’ll get back to the “Ten Minutes with Marcia” afternoons, too. Those are fun.

If you need to hire someone for your small business —whether it’s your first part-time bookkeeper or your 10^th full-time employee — it’s a good sign. It means you’re growing, you’re delegating, and you’re thinking big-picture about your business.

But it can also be pretty scary, whatever stage of business you’re at, to bring a new person in. We all know how the dynamics of a small group can change with the introduction of just one new personality, and how it just takes one rotten apple to spoil the whole bunch.

These 5 mistakes can not only make you look plenty dumb, they can also screw up your business for months or even years — if you hire the wrong person.

1. Talking too much about the job

The first interview is for you to get a feel for the person, and if you spend all of your time talking about the work the person will be doing, you’ve lost a big opportunity. Of course they can do the work, and there are lots of other people who can do the work, too, but there’s much more to it, if they want to work for you — right?

Instead, during the first interview, talk about your company philosophy and culture, and how important it is to the success of the team — even if the team at this point is only you. If the applicant seems bored or wants to “get on with it,” you’ll know they’re not for you. The ideal person will love to hear about how the company “ticks” and will be hanging on every word, will be chomping at the bit to be part of it.

You have a lot to offer, so get into the nitty gritty with them, tell them about how you started the business, talk about the growth of the company, anything but the job at hand. Save the details of the job for later in the interview or even subsequent interviews. Pay close attention to their interest in your company, not just in the job.

Hiring someone who just wants “a job” is a pretty dumb thing to do.

2. Not finding out what the person does in her spare time

What people do in their spare time speaks volumes.

Captain C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger, who made the emergency landing in the Hudson River in January, 2009, saving the lives of all 155 people on board, got his pilot’s license when his friends were getting their driver’s licenses. For fun, he flew glider planes. In his spare time, he was an Accident Investigator for the Air Line Pilots Association and worked with federal aviation officials to improve training and methods for evacuating aircraft in emergencies. There was a darn good chance he was the perfect person for the job of landing that aircraft in the river.

Do you think that a person who loves to have parties and entertain friends will be a better receptionist than a person who likes to spend her free time sitting at home, knitting? People who can use their natural talents and preferences in their work will be much better suited for, and happier in, their work — and what they do in their free time gives clues.

Hiring someone who won’t be able to use their natural abilities in their position is a dumb idea.

3. Not finding out why they want the job

Even if it seems obvious, ask why they want the job. It’s amazing what people will tell you.

• “I’m just biding my time until I get out of school.
• “I want to learn how you do it so I can start my own business as soon as I can.”
• “I have a lot of bills to pay off.”

Not good answers. And these are real, actual answers people have given to me, in job interviews at my company.

• “I’m looking for a place where I can be comfortable, do good work, and contribute.”
• “I’ve always dreamed about having a job like this.”
• “I really like what you do, I think I can fit in here, and I’m very familiar with the work.”

Pretty good answers. Also real, actual answers people have given to me, in job interviews at my company.

You want to know they’re thinking about contributing and sticking around awhile.

And you can tell if people are trying to impress you with their answers, too, so be on the alert for that.

Context makes a difference, too. “I just want to make a lot of money,” may be a great answer if you’re hiring a sales person on commission (provided other things align as well), but not if you’re hiring a personal assistant.

It’s so easy to ask people why they want the job, that it would be pretty dumb not to.

4. Not calling references

Okay, this is a no-brainer. Ask for references and contact them. I really don’t know what she was thinking, but a woman I almost hired gave me the name of a friend of mine as a reference. When I called him, he said, “I can’t talk about her, my lawyer told me not to.”

Do you think I hired her? I did not. That would have made me look pretty dumb.

5. Hiring after the first interview

Two years ago I was asked to review and “shape up” a team of 12 for an entrepreneur who was pretty hands-off in her management style. She was stumped as to why several of her team members weren’t working out — after all, as she told me about one of her hires, “she was so great in the first interview, I hired her right then and there!” And that’s the problem, actually.

I think it’s important to have several interviews with the same person — and not to hire from one interview. The person may not present the same later, and you may get fresh insights from different meetings. This also gives you time to see how you really feel about the person and if any red flags pop up. Ask different but similar questions at each interview to see how consistent the prospective employee is. See if they’re impatient with this process. If they are, drag it out even more. Let them know how important hiring the right person is to you. You need people who can follow your cues and align with your thinking. It’s difficult to figure all that out in one meeting.

This one really makes you look dumb — especially if it’s pretty obvious a short time into it that you hired the wrong person, just because you were in a hurry.

So you know what to do, right? Avoid these 5 mistakes. You’ll be way ahead of the game when it comes to hiring the right person for your business — and you’ll look anything but dumb.

 Q.

“I’ve heard you talk about the energy of business and how important it is to attract clients to you instead of pushing yourself on them. But how do I do this? I want to take action and when I hear things like this, it makes me think you want me to sit in a lotus position and meditate to get clients. That doesn’t seem realistic to me!”

A.

I love this question! And of course, you’re right on both counts.

I do think it’s important to attract clients to you and not push yourself on them — does anyone really like cold calls or pushy sales people? I used to force myself to do cold calls and I can tell you it was the worst part of my day. I know the energy I projected while doing them was forced, and it came through on the calls. It’s no surprise I wasn’t very successful at it.

And, you’re right again, attracting clients to you is way more than meditating. It involves 4 things:

1.) being very clear about the kind of clients you want to attract
2.) being as authentically attractive as you can be to the kind of clients you want to attract
3.) being visible to the kind of clients you want to attract
4.) being aware of the energy you project around this entire subject

1.) Be very clear about the kind of clients you want to attract

I can still picture myself gritting my teeth as I took direction from a particular client in the early days of my graphic design firm. I did not like the man, but I thought I wanted the work. He was intrusive and pushed his religious beliefs on me. He was arrogant and over-inflated his ability to get me connected to important people, and I fell for it. The work he promised me was soooo alluring . . . and of course, it ended up costing me money in the end. When I moved my office recently, I threw out boxes and boxes of the greeting cards I designed for him that never sold.

When I started being intentional about the people I wanted to work with, I was amazed at how often I’d lowered my standards and worked with people I didn’t really respect, just because I wanted the work. As I look back, the outcome of the work I did with people I didn’t respect or work well with was never my best, anyway. Funny how that works out.

Who do you really want to work with? Do you have a preferred client profile, not just by industry or niche, but by personality and working style of the individual you want to work with? Think about it — if you go back to your most successful projects and client situations, does a pattern appear? Don’t your favorite clients have pretty much the same things in common? Don’t those attributes make you want more clients like them? Write this stuff down while you’re thinking about it.

2.) Be as authentically attractive as you can be to the kind of clients you want to attract

Like attracts like, right? It’s funny how many business owners miss this part, and I did too. We want these fabulous clients, but aren’t really that great to work with ourselves. You have to ask, “What kind of people do my ideal clients want to work with? What attributes are they looking for?” Make a list and compare yourself to it — how do you stack up? I have to admit there were many times when I fell short and these two lists did not align.

I used to be late for meetings . . . a lot. Heck no, I’m not proud of it, but I’m trying to make a point here: I wanted clients who respected me, but in reality, I wasn’t really respecting them. Several of them called me on it, too. I’m sure I could go into my other faults, but what I really want you to get out of this particular point is — do you have some work to do to match up with your ideal client? If she’s looking for her ideal, do you qualify? And remember, we’re talking about being authentically attractive here, so no putting on airs or personas. I’ve had to do some work, for sure. Heavy, huh?

3.) Be visible to the kind of clients you want to attract

Okay, here’s where the rubber hits the road: you’ve got to get out there where your ideal client can see you. Consistently. This is your action step.

Where does your ideal client hang out? Is this an in-person kind of visibility you need, like old-fashioned networking, or do you need to be digitally visible, with social media? Or both? Or maybe you need to create some buzz with PR, or get out and speak — there are lots of ways to be visible to your ideal client. Just make sure all this work you’ve done to match your ideal client to you is presented in the right places — you have to be strategic about it — and that you’re sending the right signals.

4.) Be aware of the energy you project around this entire subject

So now we’re back full circle to the question of energy again. Your energy is real. People can feel it. And whether you’re conscious of it or not, you use it every day in your business.

You’ve heard that if you talk to your plants, they’ll be healthier and grow better. It’s been scientifically proven with special cameras that can photograph the energy fields of the plant.

During experiments conducted by Russian-born physicist Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, when a plant was exposed to “dangerous intentions,” its energy field got smaller. When intentions were positive, as when people came to the plant with a pot of water or even just a smile, the energy field of the plant increased.

If our emotions and intentions can affect plants this much, how much can they affect the people we want to work with — our clients and the people we want to have as clients? If a plant can tell if our intentions are right, and if it will increase its energy field because of our emotions, just think of the implications this has for business and our interaction with clients!

This strategy grows over time

So, while it’s not a quick fix and you’re not going to attract a new client tomorrow with this advice, I do believe “pull” marketing strategies are much more fruitful in the long run than “push” marketing strategies, and if you follow the steps above, you’ll see there’s much more to it than sitting around contemplating your navel all day.

And I think you’ll also find, like anything else in life that’s worth it, it takes time, but the positives far outweigh any frustrations. You probably didn’t gain the trust and loyalty of your partner overnight, or any other significant relationship.

And that’s what we’re talking about here, isn’t it? Relationships?

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Q.

“I don’t really know how to do marketing for my own business — I avoid it because it makes me feel uncomfortable. I’ve always gotten business by referral in the past, but I can’t count on that for regular business anymore. How can I start to effectively market myself without feeling like I’m being pushy, which then makes me apologetic and ultimately ineffective?”

A.

This is a really great question, and it has got to be one of the things I have to reinforce most in my clients — the real reason you owe it to yourself and your clients to market your business. Most small businesses have a problem with this . . . even marketing firms who create marketing campaigns for clients feel some degree of “ickiness” about promoting themselves.

Why you feel icky about marketing

First of all, why does the thought of marketing your company make you uncomfortable? It’s because marketing has gotten a bum rap. It’s all those years of dinner-time telemarketers and used car salesmen and people pushing products and services on you that you don’t want or need, and the strong desire you have to not be like those people and/or companies.

Well, you don’t have to be.

You can market differently. You can market with integrity.

What is marketing? 

When you think about what marketing really is, you realize you have a choice — and you don’t have to take the icky route.

Marketing is simply getting what you have to offer in front of people who don’t know what you have to offer. And if you do it correctly, marketing is getting what you have to offer in front of people who want what you have to offer. 

It can also be getting your ability to solve a problem in front of people who want the problem solved. 

There’s no pushing or coercing involved.

It’s like if you had extra potatoes

When we all grew our own food (no, I’m not that old, I’m being hypothetical here), there was no need for food marketing. If you needed potatoes, you grew potatoes. But what if you had extra land and extra potato seeds and one year you decided to grow extra potatoes for other people in your community — how would you let them know you had the potatoes?

You might decide to put them in a wagon and take them to the town square. (Because you grew these potatoes before the Internet and had no other means of distribution.) As a service to your neighbors, you would take the potatoes “to market” (hence the term marketing) so they would know you had them available. Maybe you’d find a piece of wood and write “Potatoes” on it so people could see your wagon and know what you had in it.

And if you were really helpful, you might yell, “Potatoes! I have potatoes!” every once in awhile so your neighbors could scurry over and take advantage of your bounty. They’d be so pleased you did this (because they needed to feed their families), that they would pay you well for your potatoes. You did them a service by taking your potatoes to market and letting them know they were available.

Everyone wins. No one feels icky.

You’re actually doing your prospective clients a favor when you let them know about the availability of your products and services

Have you ever searched for something you wanted to buy and not been able to find it? Sure you have. When you finally did find it somewhere, did you feel like you stumbled on a best-kept secret? Did you feel like telling the shop owner he should advertise more so people could find him? Yes? Would that marketing have felt icky to you, or would you have been grateful for it? I think you can see what I’m getting at.

Marketing that is authentic and correctly done is a service to the customer. And, businesses that don’t market themselves are doing a disservice to their customers by making their offerings difficult to find.

So think of potatoes the next time you think about marketing your company. Remember that someone is looking for your service — how can you get what you do “to market” so people can find you, in a genuinely helpful manner? What can you do that would make them feel grateful instead of icky?

When you’re putting together your plan, just leave the ickiness out.

Do your clients truly value your work, allowing you to charge what you’re worth, and trusting you to do more for them?

You may think you’re describing your work’s true value in conversations with clients, when you’re really not. They may not be getting it.

If you don’t think they place enough significance on what you do, it may be because you’re not communicating well enough — and if that’s the case, you can’t blame them for not knowing.

It’s not your clients, it’s you.

This takes digging and thinking and putting some meat on the bones of how you talk to clients. It may be more you, ahem, than them.

Take a look at these five ways you may be talking about your work that stop clients from placing more value on it:

1.) You may be doing work you don’t believe in. If you’re not well placed in your work or if you’ve chosen the wrong niche — if you really feel you should be a dog trainer instead of the copywriter you are (but you became a copywriter because it was the path of least resistance), or if you should be working with authors instead of executives — it’s going to show in your work. It’s going to show in the way to talk about how you serve your clients. And it’s not going to sound as valuable as you think it does.

You’ve got to be passionate about what you do in order to interest people in working with you — you’ve got to be so passionate that they can’t help but see the value in it. If you can’t be passionate about your work, find a way to be passionate about the way you deliver it.

2.) You may be offering what you think your clients need instead of what they actually want. People value what they want, not what you think they need — it’s that simple. The first rule of marketing success is to find a starving market, not to provide something and then talk people into buying it. Do you know what your clients really want?

3. You may be talking from your point of view instead of your client’s. Things often look very different from the client’s point of view — have you put yourself in his shoes? Have you put your offer in language that shows you understand what he’s up against? I love the C.S. Lewis quote, “What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you’re standing.” Yeah, and the same goes for what you value.

4. You may be doing what everyone else is doing, or saying what everyone else is saying. Do you blend in with the crowd? Does your message sound exactly like your competitors’ messages? Do you “exceed customer expectations” or help your clients “get to the next level,” “live the life of their dreams,” or blah blah blah blah blah . . . Nobody values that stuff. Heck, no one even hears it anymore.

5. You may be telling them what you are instead of what you can do for them. Do you tell people you’re a coach or a web designer and leave it at that? Very few clients are looking for people with titles. Most clients are looking for solutions to their problems, results, transformations, or things that will make them feel great.

If you think you’re doing pretty well on this list and your clients still don’t value what you do, well, it may be time to look elsewhere in the client pool. Or find something else to do that people will value.

This TED video was sent to me by one of my readers, Kay Rosburg of Dever Designs. She said it distilled for them the way they need to market themselves to potential clients, and that it touches on some of the things I articulate in my webinars and materials, just presented differently.

It’s a fabulous video, and as Kay went on to say, it’s well worth the 18 minute length.

The message is clear

The speaker, Simon Sinek, is so clear with the language he uses to express his leadership philosophy that it can leave no doubt as to what he means — and what you should take away from his talk.

It’s so simple that most of us miss it.

It’s simple yet very profound. It’s nothing new, yet he puts a new, fine point on it. And just in case you miss his meaning, he thankfully repeats himself many times.

Here are the main points of Sinek’s talk for business owners:

• inspired leaders think and act from the inside out, from the why to the what

• people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it

• the goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe (not, who want to buy what you offer)

• the goal is to hire people who believe what you believe (not, who have specific skills or experience)

• people will do the things that prove what they believe (which means they may or may not buy from you — depending on what they already believe, and what you communicate)

• true leaders inspire us

Wonderful, wonderful lessons here. Watch the video. Take the lessons to heart.

Thank you, Kay.