Are You Being Left Behind and Potentially Losing Clients Because of An Outdated – Or Nonexistent – Website?

Is your website so old and outdated, you can’t even change the content, much less upload videos and audio – and get in on the latest and greatest ways to connect with potential clients?

When people visit your website, are they blown away by your professionalism – or turned off by a stale, unimpressive design?

Or – worse yet – are you missing out on the hundreds if not thousands of people searching for your products and services every day because you don’t yet have a website?

If you’re sticking with an archaic website, or foregoing the website altogether, because you think it’s too expensive or time-consuming to make a change, this will be the most exciting news you’ve heard all day.

Because the fact of the matter is that you can get a fully functional, beautiful, search-engine-friendly website in less than a day, and at a rate that fits into any small business budget.

In just a few hours, you can have a website that:

• Can be easily edited with NO technical skills needed (it’s so easy, a 6-year-old can do it!)
• Holds videos and audios (which can skyrocket your know, like, and trust factor)
• Attracts all the RIGHT clients – those that are ready & willing to pay your rates (no questions asked)
• Is more easily found by search engines (so more of your ideal clients are actually finding your website!
• The good news is that you can change it all. And in just one day.

The time is now…

If you’ve been thinking about getting – or redoing – your website for 3 months, 6 months, a year…that task will never find its way off your to-do list until you make the decision and DO IT!

Investment in your Business: $247 before April 27th and $297 after.

Date: Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
Time: 9 a.m. until noon
Venue: Homewood Suites
8320 Benson Drive, Columbia, MD 21045

Reserve your seat at http://www.aivirtualsolutions.com/workshops/

Contact: Agnes Ikotun
info@aivirtualsolutions.com

http://www.aivirtualsolutions.com

The keys to effective client attraction when combined efficiently and actively would yearn returns. Which is why the first component involves embracing a marketing mindset. The truth is that, no matter the kind of business you find yourself in…without marketing, you won’t see the results that you believe are possible for you.

The keys to effective client attraction include:

1. Committing to marketing: This is where service providers struggle the most. It’s so easy to spend all ones time working on clients requests and generally being busy with other “important” things. The goal is to do more business generating activities in your business and this would result in your keeping your funnel full.

2. Identifying your ideal clients: The goal with this is to find the people that absolutely need your products and or service and these people also have to both support your business in growth and equally make it possible to bring your vision and goals for both yourself and your business(es) to fruition. Step back and have a look at the clients that you are currently working with. Are you happy working with them? Are you positively challenged working with them? Are you still passionate about what you do and how you do it? Are your clients achieving their goals by working with you? Is there the right balance between give and take in these relationships and financially, do these clients afford you business growth? or Are you struggling financially by working with these clients?

3. Knowing the challenges that your target clients face: It’s important to figure out exactly the pain that your target market is experiencing. Then working out the solutions that would effectively help them solve these problems and then clearly and confidently communicating your solution to them. The most effective way to do this coming from speaking from the place of results and not “I can do this or I can do that”. So “This is the results or outcome that you get from working with me”

4. Defining your “added-value”: Your “added-value” refers to your Unique Selling Proposition. This is separates you in your industry, market or niche. And this also help the people that approach you, not to do so from the pricing point of view. For example, there are many business coaches, marketing coaches, wellness coaches, career coaches, relationship coaches, etc but the coaches that have the most suited client-base are those that offer a higher value than just being competitive price-wise. To a large extent you will determine your value by how much value you place in your business. If you look at yourself as any other therapist out there then you would be perceived as such.

5. Creating a Marketing Plan of Action: This is the “something”, an action, that you put into motion and the goal with this is to reach your target market and engage them. The intention with having a concise marketing plan of action is to create a “cause” and “effect” environment. With a Marketing Plan of Action, you outline the marketing activities that you would engage in, as well as a timeline for this actions and your goal or end result that you want to achieve.

6. Leveraging your business: Leverage is define in the dictionary as “power or ability to act or to influence people, events and decisions” To leverage is to create an opportunity for yourself and for those that need your products and or services by providing services and or products that not only meets their needs but also exceed it. You have to be known as a person with superior knowledge and experience in your industry, a person with clout and pull. You have to know your stuff…inside out! The proof is always in the pudding…your goal is for your business to speak for itself. At this point, you don’t want to force, convince, blackmail, guilt-trip people to buy from you…you should never ever force yourself or business on people…never come from the place of desperation!

Connect with people that can help you get to that next level. Getting a coach, a mentor is advisable when you are ready to up level yourself. Become known as a leader in your industry!

7. Creating Systems: This starts by identifying what you have to offer and do things. An important step is to narrow down your services and products and final create packages around them. For example, when I was starting out, my services list included: administrative, bookkeeping, real estate administrative, research, web design and programming services. At that point, it seemed logical to try to capture every small business owner out there. It took me a whole year to figure out that people got really confused when they visited my website…they didn’t feel I was “specialized” in the area that they needed help.

Creating a unique services and products point of view works…then you create systems for everything. From the point from someone contacts you till the sale and even beyond a sale. And this is something that you have to continue to work on as trends, needs and other elements change with time.

8. Having the right mindset: You have to listen to and understand what your inner voice is saying. Are we operating from the place of fear, lack, overwhelm, doubt, etc. We have to pay attention because “we can only go as far as our fear takes us, or operate at the point of lack plus overwhelm plus doubt finds us and this can be extremely limiting.

Then Fabienne finally said, possibly what we didn’t want to hear: “Marketing“! I wanted to bury my head in shame because she wasn’t revealing a spanking new revolutionary concept…it was simply Marketing but the kicker for me was the word that I have conveniently forgotten to apply in my business for the last two plus years…CONSISTENCY. I would confidently tell clients that marketing and marketing consistently was the key to growth. But yours truly, has not been practicing what she has been preaching.

Do I believe that marketing works? Of course, I DO! I’m still reaping the benefits of all the marketing activities that I diligently carried out in the early years of my business, between 2007 and 2009. So I know it works and it continues to work for the clients that we manage their marketing strategies and activities. Where would my business be today if I had decided to not ignore my own advise? I can only wonder. So I’m taking Fabienne’s advise to use the “No Excuse” Approach to Marketing which is why I challenged myself in the last 45 minutes to write a blog post that my OBM had practically begged me to do for the last three weeks.

Here it is, I’m marketing and I’ve decided commit to doing this consistently. I remember CJ Hayden saying in her Get Clients Now book, every activity that you do takes you closer to the people that need your expertise. So why not just do it?!

Fellow business owners, lets be very honest about this…it doesn’t matter which new marketing strategy you discover. If we don’t work the strategies that we already have in our toolkit, I can confidently say that we’ll possibly get the same results as previous years.

Having said all these, Are you a coach, therapist or internet marketer and you are just stumped on the next step to take in marketing your business? You have tried it all, you have purchased every blueprint, system and program out there but you still find yourself at a standstill. You desperately want to start afresh, you no longer want the band aid marketing approach in your business. It’s simple…connect with me and we’ll review your marketing plan and strategies and also design a customized done-for-you service package that would get your marketing engine into motion.

Also don’t hesitate to download my free gift to you, a blueprint/guide Is Your Website Holding You Back? 7 Easy Ways to Attract and Retain Customers on Your Website. This guide is jam packed with valuable information that you can use immediately to enhance your website and business.

PS: I completed this post in 1 hour 4 mins:).

Have you recently (as we are starting the New Year with renewed focus), taken a step back and had a good look and think about why some potential clients have clicked away so quickly? Why some have stayed a little longer but didn’t fill out your contact form, email or call you?

What is your BRAND saying to them?

How does your website look and feel? Is it distinct? Does it look exactly like every other coaching or therapist website out there? Does it stand out from the crowd or not? It is welcoming and also attention grabbing?  Does it strategically and effortlessly show the potential client that you know who they are? Are you connecting emotionally and mentally with potential clients?

What is your message? Is it speaking to that exact pain that your potential clients are feeling? Or is it trying to speak to many different groups and many different problems? Is your message focused on resolution and the next step? is it confident and encouraging? It is optimistic and full of the appropriate energy?

What makes you different from every other coach or therapist? What is that extra “something” that you know and have experienced that would bring “added value” to potential clients?

Have you given a voice to past and current clients, who you’ve helped move from pain to joy? It’s so much easier for someone to listen to another person who has walked the path that they are on.

Potential clients are looking for every reason to choose your practice, programs and more! You have the responsibility to help them identify you easier. There are two things that you need your potential clients to know, they have come to the right place and you will help them as you understand their pain and you have the experience and expertise to get them to where they need to be.

Don’t cheat yourself out of not fully realizing your vision and goals. Now is the time to focus on the elements that work, having a well thought out and executed brand makes all the difference. Haven’t you had enough of just growing at a slow rate?  The keys to creating a successful brand is to identify your strengths and speak to the needs of the many potential clients that want to partner with you to get them on the road to healing and success. But this has to be done in a manner that works and is authentic.

Connect with us if you need branding help and what we would do for you is: identify your invaluable strengths, show you how to leverage these and get you to where you start to consistently grow your clients base. And don’t hesitate to schedule a Branding and Marketing Discovery Session for your business.

Also download my free gift to you, a blueprint/guide Is Your Website Holding You Back? 7 Easy Ways to Attract and Retain Customers on Your Website. This guide is jam packed with valuable information that you can use immediately to enhance your website and business.

7 Things Highly Productive People Do by Ilya Pozin

You have more important things to focus on than, um, focusing. Get back on track with these tips.

You probably don’t want to admit it but you love distractions. In fact, just like monkeys, you get a shot of dopamine every time something pulls you in another direction. Why do you think you check your email so much?

Want to be more productive and get your focus back? There are no secret tricks here… do one thing at a time. Stop multitasking—it’s just another form of distraction.

Easier said than done, I know.

Continue reading at Inc.com

Here are my top 10 things people won’t tell you about your website:

1. Your website looks home-made.
2. Your website does not speak to your market
3. Your website has many spelling and grammatical errors
4. Many links on your website aren’t working
5. The images on your website are not of great quality
6. Your website is difficult to navigate
7. Your website does not have any “call to action”
8. Your free gift is not set up correctly
9. Your website is too cluttered
10. You should take down empty pages

The reason why people won’t say anything is because you haven’t asked them to. It’s so much easier to give positive feedback than negative feedback especially when your opinion has not been solicited.

You might almost have a panic attack when you ask for feedback about your website/business from someone that you value their opinion and know that they would give you honest feedback. But ask all the same.

A while ago, someone mentioned that I had a stock photo on my site that had a watermark on it. I was so glad that she said this because I had asked for feedback. The watermarked photo on my site had been on my home page for almost a year and I’d missed it! We had put some text over the photo instead of the purchased version, so you could easily miss seeing the watermark if you didn’t look at it long enough and I saw the photo almost everyday! This is one of the reasons why you should ask more than a few people to review your website because everyone sees some different.

You have my permission to review my website but please be kind in your feedback delivery. I would rather have feedback that would be helpful than bury my head in the sand. We should use feedback as opportunity to correct errors, enhance our brands and grow our businesses.

Also don’t hesitate to ask me for feedback about your business website…I would be kind in delivering my constructive criticism and better yet, positive feedback if that is the case – won’t you love that!  I won’t just be giving  feedback but would also work with you in fixing the problem areas…only if you Ask.

Contact me for your complimentary website review and don’t hesitate to schedule a Branding and Marketing Discovery Session for your business.

Also don’t hesitate to download my free gift to you, a blueprint/guide Is Your Website Holding You Back? 7 Easy Ways to Attract and Retain Customers on Your Website. This guide is jam packed with valuable information that you can use immediately to enhance your website and business.

I just read a blog on Entrepreneur.com and there were very valid comments that people had made on the post “Five Reasons Why Websites Still Matter“:

@VolcanoHost said “Don’t forget that many corporate IT departments block facebook and other “time wasters” to keep employees on task. If you want to reach other businesses, you need a website.”

Agnes comments: I never thought of this POV, so true!

@Domainate said “Businesses are built upon websites. Social might help bring customers in, but they should ultimately be fed into the website. Even a company like Zynga, who has massive success thanks to Facebook, understands the benefits of having website homes for their games.”

Jessica Osman said “The web site is the flagship of any company’s online strategy. I just don’t understand those who believe it is no longer important. As a web copy writer and editor I have noticed that demand for great web sites (and excellent content) is increasing, not waning. Thanks for this article.”

@ExcelAssist said “Your last paragraph sums it all up—”…you lead first with your website.” Well said. It is, for the lack of a better term, your storefront.”

yasmike said “Our website does all of these things for us, and it has helped us grow our business.Our brand recognition is growing, we have an excellent platform for delivering content, our site can be found in search engines for many key industry terms, and our analytics show us how to improve our site and marketing efforts. I always tell my clients that their website needs to be the hub of their marketing strategies and this article will help me prove my point.”

@refreshKTG said “Website are so important they give a company in the middle of no where a chance to compete and beat out companies in NYC, or Silicon Valley.

They are the great equalizer.”

It’s so important as business owners to make the most of every available marketing arsenal but we have to decide for ourselves which marketing tool and strategies to focus on and also when.

Need A Strategic & Professional Designed Online Business Presence ?: AI Virtual Solutions works with clients to determine what strategies to implement and how to do this. We are a full service web marketing firm and we use a combination of web design, application development, internet  & social media marketing, content marketing and search engine optimization to get our clients in front of their target market and we’ve successful done this for over four years.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are a therapist, coach, speaker and author. We’ll work with you to get you on the right track in your business.

Use Social Media and Social Bookmarking Websites. Social Media websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are beneficial network and marketing websites. Social Media websites can prove to be valuable in marketing your website and the services that you offer to potential clients.

Social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit, are simple; yet profitable when wanting to drive traffic to your website. These websites will aid you in establishing your brand and encourage traffic to your website. There has been an increased trend with internet based business owners; therefore, implementing a strong marketing platform will improve your website’s traffic and your
client base.

Use Blogging. Blogging is another website in the form of social media. A blog combines commentary, images, and/or links to your website. A blog allows you the opportunity to keep an online “diary” of your thoughts, progress, events and articles that pertain to your website and business. Additionally, your blog encourages user participation and allows your readers to comment on the information posted in your blog. Furthermore, several social bookmarking sites will allow you to link your blog to your social bookmarking account; which will increase your targeted audience.

Use article marketing. Writing articles for publication is an effective tool for driving traffic to your website. Websites such as Ezine Articles and Aweber allow you to share your knowledge, expertise, wisdom and in return you can receive traffic back to your website. Many article publishing websites allow you to post a profile of yourself, your business and your website at the end of each article; which will promote your business and build increased traffic to your website and/or blog.

Describe your services offered accurately. Your website is your blueprint for the service that you are offering to potential clients. When listing your services you want to be accurate and precise without becoming too wordy. Using keywords to give a description of the services you offer will amplify your potential client contacts.

Offer discounts for those who book your services through your website. Promote your services and make use of your website traffic by offering online discounts and/or specials. Also, rewarding your current client base for referring friends, family and colleagues is an attractive incentive and will increase client retention.

Provide testimonials from current or past clients. Posting testimonials on your website is an effective tool in gaining prospective clients. Potential clients will relate their business needs with your current client base. Therefore, reading testimonials from current or previous clients provides potential clients with a history of your work ethic. It will entice prospective clients to contact you.

About Us/History Page. Listing your experience, expertise and/or education will provide your potential
clients with an outline of your background. Your experience, expertise and/or education will lay a foundation for you and your new client to build upon.

Staying one step ahead of your competition is essential when marketing your website and business. Consider implementing the tools listed above and you are already on the course for success.

Do not hesitate to contact us for your coaching or therapist custom application needs.

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