Getting Clients Newsletter
March 2005
Welcome to GETTING CLIENTS!
Each month we bring you the best information and resources we can find
to help you get clients and build your ideal practice.
If you
are receiving this from a colleague and wish to subscribe
Share
this newsletter with a colleague!
Visit our website and listen to our
Seminar of the Month
CONTENTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. March
2nd Tele-Seminar-
PR Strategies That Really Work
with special guest Steven Van Yoder, author of
Get Slightly
Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and
Attract More Business With Less Effort
Some PR strategies can pay off quickly and effectively, while others
are a waste of your time and money. Join us as Steven gives you the straight
talk about what really works and what doesn't to Get
Slightly Famous
CHECK THIS OUT: One of the strategies that Steven will be sharing with
us that I'm excited about is how to get your articles published online-
instantly. No waiting to see if your article is accepted- you get published
immediately! For more information see Steven's article below.
This strategy alone could be the key to an effective PR/marketing campaign.
For
more information about this and future Practice-Building Seminars
To subscribe
to this newsletter and access our seminars
2. 90-Day
Practice Building Intensive starts April 7th
- Ready to build your ideal
practice?
- Want to work less and
make more?
- Would you like to learn
how you can actually have fun building and marketing your business?
If so, then join our Practice Building Intensive!
We will meet for 12 weeks, Thursdays at 12 noon EST, and you will learn
everything you need to have a successful private practice.
This step-by-step program includes:
- E-book version of How To Build Your Ideal Practice In 90 Days
- Weekly assignments with all the step-by-step instructions needed to
complete them
- Weekly consultation teleclass, Thursdays 9am pacific/Noon eastern,
recorded for your listening convenience (web audio recordings also available)
- E-mail discussion list for your questions, ideas, feedback, and support
- Access to our exclusive Practice Development Resource Bank, Knowledge
Bank, and Audio Catalogue for the best "how to" information
and free/low cost practice-building resources
Facilitated
by David Steele, Mentor Coach and Author of
How To Build Your Ideal Practice In 90 Days and the
How to Get Clients Toolkit and assisted by a team of
"apprentices."
And the REALLY great news is that this 90-day program is very affordable
(as low as $29.00 per month!).
Now is the time to jump in and get the information and support you need
to build your ideal practice.
For more information
3. Welcome
Jeff Herring to BYIP.com!
I'm very pleased to announce that Jeff Herring, MS, MFT will be joining
me in providing quality practice-building programs for private practice
professionals.
Jeff is one-of-a-kind:
 Jeff
is based in Tallahassee, Florida, and shares my passion for supporting
helping professionals to make a difference in the world by getting clients
and building successful practices. He brings a wealth of experience and
a great sense of humor to our programs, and will be helping me to bring
BYIP.com to the next level.
For more information about Jeff, visit www.JeffHerring.com
Welcome Jeff! If you wish, you can drop him a line at Jeff@BuildYourIdealPractice.com
Table of Contents
FEATURE ARTICLE
Marketing in a Virtual World
by Steven Van Yoder, author of Get
Slightly Famous
Before the Internet, private practice professionals like yourself were
usually
limited to a local market resorting to expensive advertising and
brochures,
direct mail, cold-calling, networking at the local Chamber of Commerce
or
Rotary. You hoped clients found you through word- of- mouth or a Yellow
Pages ad.
Today, you can work with a consultant, a financial planner, or a business
coach across the country as easily as someone across town. In the Internet
age, prospects often find you (instead of the other way around).
This is the age of the virtual customer. Yet, although the Internet has
made
it perfectly reasonable to land a client you've never met in-person,
it has also created new expectations among consumers.
Prospects now "Google" around to find someone with your skills.
They expect
you to make a good virtual "case" for yourself. If you donıt
pass the test,
or make a bad impression, or appear lackluster compared to your competitors,
you will lose the potential client.
The only way to be truly successful in business is by establishing a
good
reputation. And understanding the way business has shifted in the Internet
age can help you bring the potential of marketing your business into the
virtual world.
The Virtual First Impression
The Internet has increased the expectation among consumers that professionals
will have a credible online presence.
Many of us now form "first impressions" of people and companies
via our
Internet browsers. From the moment your name and business appear in a
Web
browser to the moment your Web site loads, your first impression often
means
the difference between a shot at your prospectıs business, or being
shut
out.
Think about it. You have probably used the Internet to research a company
or
a person youıre considering doing business with. Certainly potential
clients
and customers are checking you out online, too.
Prospects youıve never met are forming opinions about your business
at the
click of a mouse. Internet first impressions are not just influenced by
how
your Web site looks, but also by how often your business appears or how
high
it ranks in a web browser.
Becoming an Online Center of Influence
We all know people who command rapt attention whenever they speak. Others
want to listen to, learn from, and emulate them. They are centers of
influence, a distinction you can pursue online by developing the following
qualities:
- Share inside knowledge with your target market
- Participate, listen, contemplate,
and offer thoughtful responses
>
- Be willing to voice an opinion
- Assume leadership positions in your industry
Certainly, experience counts. But this is not the only prerequisite to
becoming an online center of influence that will earn you the distinction
of "trusted advisor" within your target market.
Start by making your Web site a resource for your industry. Feature lots
of
useful information, including articles, links, downloadable files, customer
resources, and anything else of use to your target market. Be generous
and
give, give, give!
Create a Virtual Podium with Teleclasses
Teleclasses are a great way for businesses to develop a virtual reputation.
They can be promoted easily by email, and provide information to prospects,
clients, and customers all over the world, with minimal cost and effort.
Business coach and teleclass leader Michael Losier set up a teleclass
about exhibiting at trade shows: "I had 60 students in my first
class, which was very profitable, and many later hired me as a consultant."
Also, it may be just as effective and less effort to participate as a
guest lecturer in another professional's class rather than producing your
own teleclass.
Placing Articles Online
Online articles draw upon your expertise by providing useful information
that Web site visitors are actively seeking out. Online articles position
you as an expert in your field and convey a level of authority that establishes
trust and sets the stage for sales. When high-traffic, high-credibility
Web sites and newsletters publish your articles, you ride on the coattails
of their loyal relationships with readers. Your articles are seen by visitors
as referrals from trusted friends.
Some of the most prime "real estate" in the world these days
is at the top of the search engine listings. The most widely used search
engines rank Web sites by the quantity of other Web sites that link to
them. This means that every article you publish that links to your Web
site can improve your search engine rankings.
Build Online Relationships
Most business networking used to happen when we recommended an associate,
swapped business cards, or connected with colleagues over lunch. But
increasingly, social networking is migrating to the Internet.
Through social networking Web sites and online discussion lists, entrepreneurs
can access virtual communities of prospects and associates while developing
virtual "platforms" to generate leads and sales and establish
themselves as recognized experts.
Marketing consultant Max Blumberg credits his involvement in Ecademy.com,
a business networking Web site, with elevating his business profile and
generating new clients. "When I first encountered Ecademy Iıd
never heard of online networking, but the benefits of a large community
where I could share ideas and cultivate new relationships was very appealing."
Blumberg started by posting a profile about his business, then started
sharing his knowledge with other Ecademists. "I set up a club
where members could get help with common marketing challenges. Many of
these people became clients and friends with whom I socialize. We reciprocally
use each otherıs services," says Blumberg, whose Ecademy
presence has even been noticed by large companies who are starting to
contact him.
The key to building a niche community is identifying your ideal customers
and the communities they belong to. By targeting the best, most favorably
inclined prospects within a niche, you can become your target marketıs
vendor of choice, and sell more with far less effort.
İ 2005 / All rights reserved
Steven Van Yoder is
author of Get
Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business
With Less Effort.
For more information visit
his website.
Be sure to join us on Wednesday, March 2nd, 9:00am
pacific, Noon eastern, for our free tele-seminar with Steven Van Yoder-
PR Strategies That Really Work
Watch your e-mail inbox for a reminder with the telephone bridge # to
call to participate.
If you are reading this on our website or received it from a friend,
and are not yet a subscriber subscribe
here. It's free!
Table of Contents
COOL RESOURCE OF THE
MONTH
PHP Live! enables live help directly from your website. With PHP Live!,
you can provide one-on-one chat assistance in real-time, answer visitor
questions and add the human touch to your website.
Just as prospective clients are likely to make an appointment with the
first professional they get on the telephone, PHP Live! can help encourage
your prospects to contact you from your website, even if you are not online!
Below are some sample chat icons. I chose to use the one on the far right
on my websites. If it says "Online"
in green, it means we are online and you can click and contact us immediately.
If it says "Offline"
in red, you are invited to leave a message which will be delivered to
us immediately by e-mail.
Very affordable and easy to install. Check
out PHP Live!
To see how I installed PHP Live! on my websites, visit-
www.BuildingYourIdealPractice.com
(scroll down to my photo)
www.RelationshipCoachingInstitute.com
INVITATIONS
- We invite you to share this newsletter with a colleague.
There is a tremendous need for our services, and we need to work together.
Practice development is always in need and we want to be the leaders
in our field.
- Please contact
us with ideas and resources you have found useful so we can pass
them on!
- We invite you to get the support you need to be successful in your
practice.
We are available for information, training, ideas, mentor coaching,
etc.
- We invite you to become an affiliate of BuildingYourIdealPractice.com
and begin to earn extra income just by sharing our programs and products
with your friends and colleagues. For more info visit
our website.
- If you are a private practice professional who received this from
a colleague, we invite you to visit our web site and contact us for
information on joining us.
How do you like our newsletter? Your feedback is welcome!
Until next time
David Steele, MA, LMFT
Founder and CEO of
BuildingYourIdealPractice.com
The purpose of this newsletter is to connect, support each other,
inform, and build a strong community of helping professionals who want
to have thriving businesses and fulfilling lives. Your submissions and
feedback are welcome!
If
you are recieving this from a colleague and wish to subscribe
Share
this newsletter with a colleague!
Our Mission: To provide the tools, information and support to help private
practice professionals have their ideal practices in the most effective
and efficient ways possible.
Copyright notice: This newsletter is copyrighted and all rights
are reserved. Feel free to share with others as long as our contact information
and authorship is included. U.S. Library of Congress ISSN#:1530-3055
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