competenow, Author at Small Business Results

Get More Prospects, Clients, and Revenue With A Concept Differentiating Statement

I am sure you know that simply changing the words we use can seriously change the results we get in any form of communication. Working on language, framing, and how things are said is something that I do every day in my business coaching practice. It is so rewarding to see the results we obtain by changing the way we articulate our writing, our conversations, our marketing strategy plans, and our presentations.

Based on my experience, when we grasp the proper language, it’s as if the flood gates of possibilities come forward. One of the most rewarding benefits I see is the immediate strengthened belief in the client’s self and own offerings.

When we understand how to frame our words people respond to us differently. By tailoring our statements to clearly define the who and outcomes guarantees to generate a higher level of attraction.

Here is the foundation – your value proposition / concept differentiation statement:

Whether you call it a concept, a value proposition, a concept differentiation statement, a defining statement or an elevator pitch, the statement must express the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services. It speaks to the critical issues your targeted buyer faces as well as the outcomes they will obtain from you.

Many business owners confuse the who and the outcomes with how it is delivered and quickly lose the interest of the listener or viewer. In short, your product or service is simply the vehicle or “the how.” Prospects and clients only care about the results the product or service delivers, and a strong statement will convey that message. It lets people know that working with you will make a difference and can help them achieve their objectives.

When we finally craft a compelling concept statement we use them to develop highly effective websites, phone or email messages that highlight your buyers’ primary issues/challenges and the key business results that your product, service or solution addresses, educational and engaging presentations, customized proposals, and targeted sales and marketing initiatives.

Most businesses need more than one as there is not one single value proposition that will serve all of you target audiences or offerings. You may have multiple ones, depending on:

Who you are meeting with: People in different industries can care about different things, even when you’re talking about the same product or service.

The organization you are looking to do business with: Different industries, varying financial situations, emerging trends and places in their business, recent trigger events.

What you’re selling: The various products/services you sell can have totally different outcomes … so it’s imperative to know your focus.

When you truly understand the issues you are solving and the business value you bring to customers, and you feel completely comfortable with the language you need to communicate, you work harder to obtain new business.

At SBR we call these statements your Concept Differentiating Statements. I encourage you to examine your statements and your current offers and how they are reflected on your website, in your conversations, and in your marketing. How effective is it? How can you improve it? Do you want more conversations and sales?

Schedule your Complimentary Call Now to discuss the Concept to Customer Coaching Program

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The Power of Collaboration

THE POWER OF COLLABORATION

Great things can happen when we work together!

As we all know, standing out in today’s marketplace is harder than ever. Therefore, it is truly imperative that the focus lies on building your brand and positioning yourself as the answer to your client’s challenges and needs, this is what my Concept to Customer Program is all about. Sometimes as small business owners, we can’t address all our clients’ needs, so we can call on an amazing form of marketing – a collaboration of an offering with a related brand in order to co-create a product or service that can serve both brands.

When Nike and Apple realized that runners wanted to log their runs, see how far they’ve run, check their heart rates, and see how many calories they’ve burned, Nike and Apple joined forces and created a runner’s armband that sold for $25. The runners were already there, and Nike came up with ways for runners to connect with their running experiences by creating a sensor that tracked this data. Allowing runners to share their runs with others via the Internet was the next step. Now runs could be mapped and stored. All data from each run could be shared live on the web. Friends could even cheer a runner on via Facebook. After partnering with Apple when the iPod and iPhone were introduced, the Nike Plus membership grew exponentially: from 600,000 to 3 million today. And the platform continues to evolve today.

This is an extraordinary example of what can happen when you co-create and listen to what your prospects and clients need and want. It is a driving force to building business and revenue!

My Concept to Customer Program features this power of co-creating as a major part of the initiatives at SBR. My focus in business coaching is to work with clients to help them improve their day to day behaviors as well as that of their employees, create an effective business model for growth, develop brand positioning through marketing messaging, and most importantly accomplish what often busy business owners know needs to be done but can’t seem to complete.

One area of neglect centers on desperately needing a new website and having a website that can generate business.

Fortunately for my clients, I have a strong 10-year relationship with a fabulous website designer. I act as the project manager, working with the client to oversee the vision, while my designer executes the site goals with proper positioning for the client. We are a winning combination! Please schedule a call with me to discuss your needs and we can position you and design you a compelling website.

Add to the mix my collaboration with Mark Collins. Many people offer SEO services, but until I met Mark Collins from OnWebLocal.com I never heard anything that I trusted would be worth the money, nor did I trust the prospective results.

Just like SBR, has created the 6 Steps to Small Business Results Framework for growing businesses, OnWebLocal has created a 6 step formula for driving business via your website… Mark’s 6-step formula works to tune up your website for improved Google search optimization and ranking, while also building out over 100 inbound links to your website from reputable 3rd party websites with high domain authority.

Mark and I agree that without the right marketing message, even with improved search engine visibility and website traffic, you will fail to “convert” those website clicks into phone calls, contact form inquiries, or orders for goods and services on your website. Here is what is needed:

An attractive website that is easy to navigate.
A website that quickly communicates who you are and what you do best, as well as what you do differently from your competition.
A compelling Call to Action, which makes it easy for a website visitor to take action.

This is where Small Business Results comes in. Mark believes in my ability to assist our clients in re-designing their websites while also refining our clients’ positioning, marketing strategy, messaging, and content. This ensures that the increased website traffic we generate translates into real customers and real profits for our clients.

Currently, I am also working with a niche web-designer who has a specialty for therapist websites, and we are collaborating to offer a webinar on May 1st, explaining what we feel are the necessary components to an effective site. This will be an informative webinar for everyone but if you are a therapist or other helping professional this webinar is definitely for you!

Please Join Us on May 1st at 1 o’clock PM (EST) on this Co-Branded Webinar to Learn about How to Make your Messaging and Website Shine!

CONCEPT TO CUSTOMER – GROWING YOUR BUSINESS BY MARKETING TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENT

In this competitive climate, helping professionals can be overloaded with responsibilities and the demands of prospecting and maintaining clients. Support is needed to gain focus and commitment to grow a successful business. To be a successful helping professional, you must be comfortable in two businesses: the first is the business of being a great helping professional, the second is the business of attracting clients!

During this webinar, Shelly Berman-Rubera of Small Business Results and Sam Chlebowski of Brighter Vision will be providing guidance on how to identify your ideal type of client (or clients), develop a business model that supports them, and then leverage these insights in your marketing. The second half of this free webinar will feature an open question format, so please feel free to come prepared with any questions you have regarding marketing!” Register Here

A successful business is so much about building relations with other brands to fulfill your prospects and clients’ needs, so this week take some time to consider who you can build these relationships with and dive into business together! Cultivate and grooming relationships in person and online is crucial in today’s world. This is also something I can help you explore.

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SELF-EMPLOYED CHALLENGES? Learn how to overcome them!

I have been self-employed for over 40 years and I had been coaching the self-employed for over 15 years.

A report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics states that there are over 15,000,000 self-employed individuals in the United States and a report I found about freelancing on Upwork found that there are 56.7 million self-employed in the United States.

The report goes on to say that this trend will be increasing. In my early years, if you had a good product or service and a good personality, you could do well with word of mouth and flyers! The self-employed trend is exciting, yet the truth is that running a business is harder today than ever. This trend also leads to an even greater competitive landscape, which tells me we better have all of our ducks in a row!

You know the sayings ‘we are all in this together’ and ‘you can’t teach what you don’t know’?

In my role as a personal and business development coach and consultant, I am forced to have my act together. Not that my challenges are not the same as yours, but my clients count on me to know the most effective and strategic ways to streamline their work, save and make money, and how to systematize and execute all aspects of the business to be freed up to do what they do best!

The need to hire a business coach is greater now than ever before. As I was preparing for this article, I was Google searching for articles about ‘why hire a coach’ and I came across this YouTube video. This amazing description of why to have a coach is profound and meaningful. I hope you think so too!

In streamlining our own business practices, we have found that there are 5 essential tools needed to systematize a business effectively and to increase productivity.

Organize Your Passwords:

Stop losing valuable time in your day to password search!

Try https://www.lastpass.com/

Social Media:

Try scheduling your content for 30 days at a time and stop fretting!

Try Hootsuite or Buffer

Online Scheduler:

Stop the back and forth and make it easy for your prospects and clients to connect with you!

Acuity Scheduling

Database:

Your most important marketing tool is your database, you can create this in Constant Contact!

Constant Contact

Automated and Systematized marketing (i.e. email campaigns, autoresponders, lead generator and more!

Constant Contact

I am pleased to announce that for the 5th year in a row SBR has been named a Constant Contact All Star!

Here is the message I received:

Last year, your efforts to manage your clients’ accounts and engage with their customers were unmatched. Stellar.

We certainly noticed. So, we are thrilled to name you to our roster of 2018 All Stars.

This annual designation is something that only 10% of Constant Contact customers receive for their excellence in building better customer relationships.

Relationships matter to us at Constant Contact. Thanks for making yours count. Congratulations again, and we hope you have another great year in 2019.

Can I help you create an award winning email campaign? email me at info@smallbusresults.com

Helping you succeed is one of my greatest joys!

Shelly

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What Can You Get Done in the Next 30 Days?

Want to find out?

I hope all is going well in your corner of the world. In early January I launched my 30-day Strategy Coaching Program and the response was overwhelming. Thank you!

Here are the results of what a client and I accomplished in the last 30 days:

Defined our laser focus outcomes
Crafted a new positioning statement
Designed and launched a new website
Developed a new and unique offering
Created a new LinkedIn profile
Planned a sales strategy for selling the new program

YES! All in the last 30 days. It’s so darn exciting and satisfying!

Now as we start our second month, we are ready to start driving new business and reap the rewards of our hard work.

Let me share with you a few steps to mobilize your thinking about how you can get started planning and acting in 30-day increments:

At the end of every month, write down what you want to see happen in the next 30 days identify specific goals.
Throughout the month every night or early the next morning, write down the identified steps that must be taken to reach those goals and mark it urgent for that day… and I do mean urgent!
Decide which steps must be repeated every 30 days and start developing repeatable systems, practices, and habits that will ensure results every month.
Do this religiously for 90 days and I promise new thoughts, patterns, behaviors, and results will emerge and be remarkable.
This is not a simple to do list this is aligning your daily and monthly activities to the long-term vision via strategy and tactics.

The best ideas and intentions are just that unless you can implement and execute them.

This 30-Day Strategy Coaching is a powerful program that will organize your month. It becomes your core activity plan that keeps you focused and productive. It is not a to-do list, it is the implementation of repeatable effective tactics!

Let’s stop thinking about the year and think about what must get done in the next 30 days; thinking, planning, acting, results. It is imperative to hold monthly commitment and accountability meetings to plan the next month and distribute the roles and responsibilities.

We can do this together!

Click here to get in touch with me today!

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New Business Model for Small Business Results

30 Day Strategy Business Coaching

Let’s Get This Done!

After being in business for myself for over 40 years and coaching over 1,000 business owners, I provide clients with wisdom and contemporary knowledge to excel at a rapid pace. I am skilled at translating a good idea or concept into immediate tactical next steps.

As a dance school teacher, my goal was to teach clients to move and gain confidence and to feel joy on the dance floor. As a Personal Trainer and Lifestyle Consultant, I was committed to helping clients make real changes, lifetime changes. I was never going to be a trainer who felt good about socializing or simply counting for my clients. I wanted my clients to own what they learned in order to be able to make a commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

I have the same feeling about my business coaching clients. I’m really interested in teaching and showing them what needs to be done so that the end of our time together they will have real systems, skills, strategies, and language to best articulate their business.

When I started Small Business Results, I wanted to build a team of people to execute for myself and for my clients. I had a vision of a large company being able to reach and help many people. Based on the past few years and the impact I have had working with my clients and the scope of the work, I’ve decided on a new business model!

I am excited to announce that as of January 1, 2019, I will only be accepting twenty clients at a time. I feel that twenty is the number of clients that I can hold in the palm of my hands and provide the services that they need. I can coach and consult, open doors, create marketing and truly support these clients to be better individuals, business owners and drive more revenue.

I have also found that my ideal clients are coaches, consultants, and professional service providers in the life, health, wellness arenas, as well as the financial and construction industries.

Along with the one to one business coaching, I love group coaching! It is hands-on learning, interactive and supportive, and the curriculum I have developed works! I also work very hard to put these groups together to ensure that the attendees are a good fit for each other, and can grow, learn, support and even pass referrals and resources for each other.

I also work with business owners to integrate their products and services to my program and bring the training to bring to their employees. We get them on the same page when speaking about the company and create a shared cooperative goal for the business. We work together as a team to identify strengths, weaknesses and align the company initiatives via sales, productivity and customize the training to fit the industry and the issues.

Let me know how working with me could most benefit you: one to one, or in a group within your company.

Click here to get in touch today!

small business training and coaching service Boston MA

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FOCUS. FOCUS. FOCUS.

The Tip:

A recent survey asked small business owners: “What is your greatest challenge?” 85% of participants answered with “Lack of focus.”

Lack of focus can interfere with our ability to run a productive day or functional business. Whether it is day to day tasks or a lack of focus on our product or service, we can get derailed and frustrated. By creating systems to help us stay focused and bring clarity about our offerings, we can gain control for our ability to execute and our direction to move in! In our long list of “to do’s it is best wise to choose one thing to focus on and get it done!

The Case Study:

A recent client hired us to conduct a brainstorming session with the senior management team. Their goal was to get everyone on the same page around their business development efforts for the coming year. As we were mapping out their various revenue streams on a whiteboard, it became very clear that this company had a problem on their hands. In an effort to grow the business, they recently purchased new equipment and were trying to gain business from this added revenue stream. The problem is that during the process they had failed to solidify their plans for their primary revenue generator.

The Outcome:

Many small business owners and entrepreneurs have multiple streams of revenues in addition to an endless bank of great ideas. In today’s world, there is little time to sit on these great ideas, and too often we find business owners trying to sell too many things, and therefore, they end up selling nothing! There is nothing wrong with multiple revenue streams. The problem with pursuing each new idea comes with the challenges to ensure that a company’s principal stream of revenues and means for paying the bills does not get overshadowed by the excitement.

After looking at our client’s business model, we were able to come up with a plan to coordinate marketing efforts for both their new and existing offering. We were able to help them with a balanced approach that did not neglect their primary revenue stream or dilute their messaging.

Juggling multiple tasks and ventures can spread you thin and limit both effectiveness and productivity.

“Focusing on selling one thing perfectly, not 10 things poorly, is often the better strategy.”

What is your one goal that you would like to focus on? Let’s work together to get it done!

My training services are perfect for small business owners who are looking to grow their business.

During the training you will:

Learn a proven revenue formula that can be used across all of your business development efforts
See how this framework impacts the day to day challenges
Be able to apply the framework to your company’s messaging including websites, email blasts, and all marketing collateral.

If this sounds like something you could benefit from, schedule a complimentary call with me now!

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The Tip: Making A Commitment Has 3 Levels

What Does It Take to Keep Commitments?

Commitment has 3 levels and they are:

I should do something, I want to do something, and I need to do something.

Most commitments are made when we get to the need level, whether that be increased learning, selling or hiring.

The Case Study:

People open a business because they have an idea, an interest, a passion or a skill and they get certified or licensed. They then fail to realize that to succeed they must also know how to master the selling of their product or service. Before they start a business, most people have no way of knowing how much effort is needed to fill the pipeline and cultivate the relationships necessary to close sales. Time after time I meet with small business owners who say they have no revenue and that business is really bad. When I ask them about their sales calls they answer “Oh, I hate that part!” I ask, “Well, do you have clients that you worked with in the past? Can you call them?” Their answer is usually, “I really don’t want to. It seems so salesy. I know I need to do this, and I want to, but I hate it!”

The Outcome:

Selling requires discipline and consistency. I asked the business owner to create a list of 30 concrete names with contact information and to commit to making at least

one or two calls a day and to track the results of those calls. This list consisted of past clients, friends, family, as well as new leads. By committing to make at least one or two calls a day the business owner went from zero sales calls to making 20 to 40 calls a month. The result was a 7% increase in sales!

My favorite question that requires an investigation is if something could be better or different, what would that be?

If you want to explore that question with me, I can help!

I can help you reach and connect with clients, and overall grow your business! A three-hour coaching session is just what you need to jumpstart your business and figure out what business tactics and strategies will work best for you. Learn more about my three-hour coaching sessions or schedule a call with me to discuss further here: https://smallbusresults.com/3-hour-coaching/

I look forward to hearing from you!

My Best,

Shelly Berman-Rubera

(617) 201–7224

shelly@smallbusresults.com

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The Tip: Business Clarity Brings Marketing Results

The Case Study:

One of the great things about small business owners is that they usually start their own business as a result of feeling passionate about their field. Passion is a great place to begin, however, when we need to get passionate about marketing and selling that business, it becomes challenging.

Clients come to us all the time saying “I feel like I should be posting on Facebook or Tweeting, but don’t how or why.” Or “My website is not bringing me anything and I am conflicted about email marketing.” Before we think about any of that, we must be able to address some primary issues, which include:

Clarity around the mission
The purpose of the business
A clear understanding of exactly what you are trying to sell and to whom, and to stop trying to sell too many things to too many people.

The Outcome:

Once these issues are addressed, we are ready for a marketing plan. We are now ready to begin the journey of selecting the right types of social media, the right website language, and which strategy works for you.

Our websites must evolve from the clarification of who we are and be about the prospect’s challenges and how your company solves them, not sales pieces for ourselves. Marketing of any kind is the cart before the horse, and this creates a great part of the confusion.

Through the clarity and positioning process, you are branding your company and yourself as unique in your particular industry and can carve a niche for your product or service.

It is a process that requires just as much attention as the other parts of your marketing plan to be effective. Before you know it, you generate leads, become liked, linked, and followed and capture your place in the market.

My Best,

Shelly Berman-Rubera

617-201–7224

shelly@smallbusresults.com

Life is great, and life is challenging, I get it!

I can help. My training services are perfect for small business owners who are looking to grow their business.

During the training you will:

Learn a proven revenue formula that can be used across all of your business development efforts
See how this framework impacts the day to day challenges
Be able to apply the framework to your company’s messaging including websites, email blasts, and all marketing collateral.

If this sounds like something you could benefit from, schedule a complimentary call with me now!

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A Successful Business Is Run By An Ordinary Person Who Makes Extraordinary Choices

The Case Study:

In the day to day of running a business, we are faced with decisions, dilemmas, and desires. Often, we start the day with the best of intentions, yet along the way we are derailed and find ourselves being much less productive than we planned. The calls from home, the emails coming in, getting lost on the internet, let alone the printer going wacky in the middle of a project, and on and on. It can be very difficult to stay on task.

The Outcome:

When people, situations, and distractions arise, and they do, we only have one way to cope. The answer lies in choice. We choose how we respond to each situation via thought and emotion. There is a direct and complex connection between emotion, behavioral patterns, and bottom line performance.

It is often believed that we need to keep emotion out of the workplace. But the reality is making good choices is being able to perceive the emotions that come up in a given situation. Research has shown that our ability to handle stress and conflict by connecting thought and emotion is called emotional intelligence, and having that ability leads to much greater potential for success. The emotional intelligence skill around choice is known as Consequential Thinking. When we have the strength and the ability to stop and clearly look and decide what our best choice is and follow that with an action, with a clear understanding of the outcome of that choice. Even if we decide to continue to be distracted if we realize the outcome of our choice of behavior.

Choice → Action → Outcome

Stop and determine what do you really want to happen right now? Ask yourself these questions before you act:

Is this an act of productivity or self-sabotage?
Will this choice move me toward my “want” or take me away?
Will this choice bring me short- or long-term good feelings?
Does this choice honor who I am or does it please another?

Choice is our most precious Gift. The fact is your future is determined by the choices you make right now. It is when we get caught in old behaviors and patterns that our choices are made either from pure emotion, which does not work or by complete thinking, which also does not work. It is by connecting the heart (feeling) with the head (thinking) that will lead us too far better consequences. The power to make a choice is our most precious gift. The fact is your future is determined by the choices you make right now. Choose your actions carefully because your actions become your habits!

Life is great, and life is challenging, I get it!

Let’s schedule a 3 hours Laser Personal/ Business Development Coaching Session

We will work on the specific issues that are getting in your way and impeding your progress and then we can discuss how ongoing support will best serve you.

This coaching program will also help you to:

Manage emotion and energy and operate at a higher level
Define tactical steps to greater effectiveness
Develop a revenue-generating business model
Achieve managing multiple priorities

My Best,

Shelly Berman-Rubera

617-201–7224

shelly@smallbusresults.com

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Education Based Marketing – Don’t Be Afraid To Give Away Information

The Case Study:

A Financial Advisor and a Realtor were doing “ok” in their careers but wanted to do something to stand out in their fields. They felt challenged by the vast amount of advisors and realtors competing against each other.

During my conversations with them, I was able to hear about their specific knowledge and passions. As a result, we could pick a direction. In today’s business landscape one of the most effective strategies is education-based marketing, whether that is delivered via a white paper, a resource guide, or a presentation. Teaching and sharing knowledge is an essential step in engaging your current and potential clients The goal of positioning and marketing is to sell to someone, not something by educating and engaging your audience.

The financial advisor was completing a special designation as a “Divorce Financial Analyst.” We set to work and created a presentation designed for divorcing women and named it “Managing Emotion and Planning Logically”. Next, we held a focus group to test run the presentation and to gain feedback from women who had been divorced or realtors who might be marketing affiliates or co-presenters.

Often business owners are afraid to share information for fear of giving too much away and not being needed. I believe it is imperative to give and give to demonstrate your expertise. The goal is to educate and engage. Often I hear the worry of being too salesy, by presenting we have the opportunity to help. There is only a two-letter difference between the word sell and help, so start helping!

The Outcome:

Talk about the power of education-based marketing!

Both of the realtors have their own programs and present and teach, therefore they are working on co-presenting with the financial advisor as well as making introductions to her for another marketing affiliate.

The financial advisor has already booked another talk to present to 12 divorce attorneys, CPAs, and other potential cross-referral relationships.

Capturing your knowledge of content is such an exciting, personal and effective marketing strategy. Once this knowledge is clearly defined, organized, and expressed, it can be used in a presentation; a blog, a resource guide, newsletter content, or even a podcast.

This marketing strategy is called showcasing. I love creating signature programs that can catapult you and your business to new heights!

My Best,

Shelly Berman-Rubera

617-201–7224

shelly@smallbusresults.com