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The Book Yourself Solid ® Six Keys to Creating Connection

September 19, 2017 By Sherry Dutra Leave a Comment

If you want a perpetual stream of inspiring and energizing ideal clients clamoring for your services and products, then you must build relationships of trust.  Without trust, then it doesn’t matter how well you’ve planned or what you’re offering. If a potential client doesn’t trust you, nothing else matters.

So how do we create connection and build trust? Let’s take a look at the Six Keys to Creating Connection. Knowing the answers to these questions will ensure that the offers you make to prospective clients are right on target.

  1. Who – Who are you trying to create connection with? Who is your target client or customer? The more specific you can be, the better. Once you have done this, choose one person (or organization) within your target market to focus on.  Identifying and gearing your marketing to a specific individual (or organization) allows you to make the important emotional connection that is the first step in developing a relationship with your potential client.
    Action: Identify your target client or customer.
  2. What – What do they want to buy when they look for you? What are the kinds of products and services they think will solve their problems or help them reach their goals? What’s going on in their life? If you don’t know, put yourself in the shoes of the client or ask your target market. This helps you to look at what is relevant to offer. Be clear on what it is they are looking for rather than what you might like to offer.
    Action: What are your potential clients looking for? 
  3. Where – Where do they look for the products and services? Is it a referral from a service provider or a friend?; the Chamber of Commerce?; a bookstore?; the web?
    Action: Where do your ideal clients look for you? 
  4. When – When do they look for what you are offering? What’s the trigger? What needs to happen in their personal or business life for them to purchase your services?
    Action: Describe the situations that will likely drive potential clients to seek your products and services. 
  5. Why – Why you? How is it that you are the best choice for the people you are meant to serve?  What is it that is unique and special about you or the solutions you offer?
    Action: Why should your potential clients choose you? 
  6. How – How do you want them to engage with you when they find out about you? Sign up for your newsletter?; attend a teleseminar or webinar?; call?; email?  What’s the first no barrier to entry thing you want them to do to sample your services?
    Action: How do you want your potential clients to interact or engage with you?

Clearly defining these six keys will help you to determine what you want to offer your potential clients as you create your sales process and to build trust and credibility in an authentic way.

The Six Keys to Connection are excerpted from Book Yourself Solid® by Michael Port and is a registered trademark of Michael Port & Associates LLC. Used with permission.  Sherry Dutra is a Certified Book Yourself Solid® Coach and Trainer.

About the Author: Sherry Dutra is a Talent Development and Career Coach and Facilitator who believes we each have far more potential than we typically tap in to. She helps you learn how to step into your full potential so you can create consistent, optimal performance for yourself and your team with less stress and more enjoyment. If you would like to uncover and address hidden challenges that may be sabotaging your success, leverage your strengths, and accelerate your progress toward the results you desire, contact Sherry for a complimentary consultation.

Filed Under: business building, credibility, entrepreneurship, inspiration, relationships, sales, small business Tagged With: entrepreneurship, ideal client, performance, sales, small business, success

5 Key Tips for New Manager Success

August 23, 2016 By Sherry Dutra Leave a Comment

staff-meetingAre you a new manager or know someone who is? The transition to a first time management role can be exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Soon, you often realize that the strengths and skills that made you successful in your previous role are not what will spell success as a manager.  To help you navigate this transition, here are five key tips to keep in mind.

  1. Keep learning and growing: The functional and/or technical skills that allowed you to excel at an individual level are still important. Yet, they are not sufficient to lead a team successfully. Take advantage of leadership courses, tools and resources that your company or local continuing education program provides. Then, look for opportunities every day to apply those skills as you lead your team. The more you practice, the more you will seamlessly integrate the new skills.
  2. Inspire and empower: Get to know the people on your team. Learn what they are passionate about. Paint a vivid and compelling vision of the future and ask for input and feedback. Align individual skills, strengths and passion with the vision and objectives for the team as a whole. Create a clear line-of-sight between each person’s contribution and the overarching desired result.
  3. Set clear expectations: It really is true – you do get what you expect. Establish yourself as a positive role model who exemplifies the behavior you would like to see in others. Expect that others will work well both individually and within the team and deliver high performance. Don’t assume that team members will intuitively know what you want them to do. Establish clear expectations, provide support and hold people accountable for results. You’ll be amazed at how motivating it can be to your team to know that someone believes in them.
  4. Develop your people: Change can be challenging and sometimes we hold onto the work that we most enjoyed because it feels comfortable. It’s time to take the leap and delegate key responsibilities to your team members. This frees you up to focus more of your time on your new role and develops the skills of your team. Make sure that you provide a level of decision-making authority and support that is appropriate to the skill level of the team member and the complexity of the task. When in doubt, err on the side of less authority and more support. You can always give more authority over time but you never want to have to take it back.
  5. Establish credibility as a manager: If you’ve been promoted within your current organization, you may now be supervising former peers. This can lead to an uncomfortable situation for both you and your colleagues unless you address the shift directly and quickly. Give up on the idea of being liked by everyone and staying best buddies with your former peers. It’s hard to be viewed as being fair and objective if you are continuing to socialize after work and have lunch every day with your close friend who now works for you. While it’s not an easy conversation to have, it is an important one. You might start off with something like, “Our friendship is important to me. As a manager now, I must ensure that the team feels that I’m being fair and unbiased. In order to do that our work relationship needs to be different.”  You and your former peer will be glad you discussed your new dynamic.

About the Author: Sherry Dutra is a Talent Management and Career Coach and Facilitator who helps you create consistent, optimal performance using all your capacity and potential in both your work and life. If you would like to uncover and address hidden challenges that may be sabotaging your success, leverage your strengths, and accelerate your progress toward the results you desire, contact Sherry for a complimentary consultation.

Filed Under: career change, credibility, Leadership, manager, new manager

Networking – What Does it Mean to You?

April 20, 2016 By Sherry Dutra Leave a Comment

When you hear the word “networking”, what immediately comes to mind for you? Do you cringe and want to retreat into the safety of your home?  Do you feel as though it’s about pitching your wares, trading business cards and manipulating people?  If so, it’s no wonder that you resist doing it.  Who wants to feel like they are using others and being viewed as insincere?

Often a key factor of my clients’ success strategy includes networking of some sort. Whether they are:

  • exploring a new career path,
  • seeking a new job,
  • looking to expand their leadership capabilities,
  • starting or building a small business, or
  • considering a transition to retirement,

connecting with and learning from others helps them to reach their goals. However, when networking is brought up, it is often met with resistance and a very undesirable view.

Yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you come from a perspective of networking that is based on building relationships and seeking opportunities to add value, you can change your entire experience of connecting with others.  How might you feel differently about networking if you considered the following questions prior to your next networking opportunity?

  • What can I share and offer that is valuable to others?
  • What can I do to help someone else feel comfortable?
  • How can I contribute to another’s success?
  • How can I truly listen to what another is saying so I can identify ways to help them?
  • Who do I know who would be a great connection for this person?
  • How can I simply engage in a relaxing conversation with someone?
  • How can I be my true self and make genuine connections with people?

What does networking mean to you now? Hopefully, you are beginning to see networking in a more positive light ~ one in which you build relationships based on true connection, integrity and mutual support.

Filed Under: business building, career change, credibility, Leadership, networking, small business Tagged With: career change, leadership, networking, small business

Building Your Business: Establishing Credibility

February 24, 2015 By Sherry Dutra Leave a Comment

Success

One of the elements to becoming booked solid is considering who knows what you know. As a professional service provider, it is essential to consider the importance of building credibility in your area of expertise. While your potential clients need to know what you know, so do your marketing and referral partners.

So, what would you like to become known for?  If you can identify and focus on the one thing you most want to be known for, then your target market will be clear in regards to your area of expertise. So, let’s consider the following questions.

  • In what areas are you currently an expert?
  • In what areas do you need to develop your expertise?
  • What promises can you presently make and deliver on that position you as an expert?
  • What promises would you like to make and deliver to your target market but don’t yet feel comfortable with?
  • What do you need to do to become comfortable at making and delivering these promises?

Now, with the answers to these questions in mind, what is that one thing you’d like to be known for amongst those in your target market?

What do you need to learn to become an expert in that area?

List the options for learning it.

Start now!

If you’re already very knowledgeable in your field, what steps can you take to stay current on the latest information in order to remain booked solid?

 

Excerpted from Book Yourself Solid® by Michael Port.

Filed Under: business building, credibility, small business Tagged With: small business

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