DarnyelleSpeaks

5 Critical Marketing Mistakes That Even Smart Entrepreneurs Make

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

So you’ve been “marketing.” But, you can’t tell if your “marketing” is making an impact on your business. Wait. If you’ve been marketing and no one is buying, you CAN tell that your marketing is NOT making an impact on your business’ bottom line. It might be tight but it is right. And in business there are a few things you must do to ensure that you get to penetrate your market. Most entrepreneurs “take a stab” at marketing instead of identifying a systematic way to share their products and services with their ideal clients. And believe me, this is where you go wrong.

While marketing is not a science; it is strategic. Well, let me say it should be strategic if you want to make an impact with it. Successful entrepreneurs are not “willy-nilly” marketers; they are clear, concise, strategic and consistent.

So what do you do if your “marketing efforts” are not penetrating your market?

Well, the quick and dirty answer is that the “marketing” that you are doing is not reaching those you want to serve and more than likely it’s because of one of the following reasons:

1. Mistake 1: You’re unclear on your ideal clients. An Audience of One™ can help you to avoid this mistake. An Audience of One™ is one type of person with one distinct problem that you offer one, complete and robust solution for your products and services. The problem with not taking the time to get crystal clear about who you can best serve with your products and services is that you miss the mark on using your marketing to speak immediately to them and their problems. Remember that people in pain are actively seeking a pain killer. If you know who they are, what they’re struggling with and what they need to stop struggling, you can position your marketing to get them to take the next step with you.

2. Mistake 2: You’re inconsistent with your marketing. Writing an article or sending an e-zine every once in a while does not a marketing strategy make. If you want to be seen as an expert, you must consistently appear in various forms to your Audience of One™. To change this problem, you must create a marketing calendar and design the various strategies you will employ to get the attention of your audience. Remember that it takes, on average, 8 impressions before a person perceives you as a credible person who will possibly be able to help them. If it takes that long to create a level of trust, by not consistently speaking to your market, you are lengthening the prospect cycle.

3. Mistake 3: You’re not using the 3E’s of Magnetic Marketing: Education, Experience and Emotion. The 3 E’s of marketing means that your marketing materials and copy will focus on ensuring three things: you create an experience; you educate your audience and you evoke an emotional response from them. It is proven that when your marketing does all three, you position a purchase from your audience. Educational means you provide tons of value and content that illustrates your expert status. Experiential means that from the very beginning you create an environment where they feel inspired and ready to solve the problem once and for all – your customer service, your communications, etc. All are designed to create a favorable experience amongst your audience. Emotional means that you pull on the pain in such a way that their response is one of emotion. You help them feel that in working with you, they will increase their happiness and fulfillment. You will reduce their stress, reduce the anxiety and stop the pain. You help them to connect to the vision of what their life will be like when the problem has been solved and how they will feel. One’s feelings create their beliefs and those beliefs either create action or excuses, but it all starts based on how they feel. If your marketing can tap into these feelings, you are positioning your products and services for purchase!

4. Mistake 4: You’re not highlighting the problem you can solve. Perhaps you’d rather focus on the solution in your marketing. While that is a possibility, it will just take you longer to make an impact. You see, pleasure is delightful and creates the warm fuzzies in the minds of your audiences but it seldom creates a sense of urgency. Pain on the other hand, moves the one in pain to search for a pain killer. They will do anything; pay anything to stop the pain. Pain-based marketing is much more attractive and leads prospects to a solution much faster. When you position your solution strategically using your marketing they will buy, and buy quickly.

5. Mistake 5: You don’t have an effective call-to-action. While it’s been said that you can lead them to the water but you can’t make them drink. I tend to believe that if you tell them how to drink, they will. And what better way to do this than through your marketing. I think of that song lyric that says “Build me up, butter cup then you let me down,” and that is exactly what you are doing if your marketing doesn’t clearly tell them what they should do next. You have to assume that common sense isn’t that common and tell your audience how to engage in your products and services. And, you may have to tell them more than once in more than one way. Be sure that your call-to-action includes all pertinent information that will help them get to the exact place (your website sales page) to purchase your solution.

Taking the time to solve these critical mistakes with your marketing will give you a significant lift in your ability to close clients, sell products and solve major problems for your ideal clients.

If you need help getting these mistakes out of your marketing plan, consider a Business Breakthrough Strategy Session. It would be my pleasure to help you create magnetic marketing that helps you to improve your penetration so that you can serve and help more people.

©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Speaker, Executive Business Coach and Marketing Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for building a 6 figure business with more clients, more income and more leverage in record time. For more information and a FREE audio download “How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients” visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com

Posted in Blog | Tagged attracting more clients, Building a six figure business, Business coach Delaware, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, growing your business, Incredible One Enterprises, marketing, Marketing systems, marketing to grow your business |

5 Strategies for Creating an Effective Transition Plan

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

So, you want out. I can remember when I felt the same way: If your boss tells you what to do one more time, you’re going to lose your mind….

Perhaps, I’m being overly dramatic (perhaps not if you know that your passion cannot be fulfilled sitting behind someone else’s desk) but the point is you want to try your hand at being your own boss because you are quickly becoming corporately unemployable.

So, how do you make the shift? My recommendation, very carefully and well planned out. What’s not okay is going into your boss’ office and throwing your letter of resignation at him because he’s pissed you off again. My recommendation is that you not burn any bridges in this process. Your former employer may become your client, like it has for me on more than one occasion.

While I believe that the allure of entrepreneurship is enticing, I find it necessary to set you straight. Entrepreneurship, albeit rewarding, is hard work. Especially until you truly become an entrepreneur with a team of people supporting and running your business day-to-day so you are free to work on your business. While I can’t recall who said it, it is very true, “You can’t work in your business and on your business at the same time.”

Until then, be prepared to sacrifice and to get a little less sleep. Be prepared to modify your lifestyle, at least temporarily, unless you planned effectively and use your employer as your primary investor, really positioning yourself to be able to step away in 12-18 months, (that is by the way, how long it can take to get a new business running fiscally sound.)

So, I know you and I know that you want to be gone yesterday. But, before you can set your date, there are a few things you need to do.

1. Clarify your personal vision. Right now, having a job is affording you some amenities, yes? Shifting to full-time entrepreneurship could impede the progress you’ve made in your lifestyle unless you clarify your personal vision and declare that the work you endeavor to do in your business aligns completely with your personal vision. Be honest with how you want to live and be sure to do your research (a separate step all into itself to ensure that your dream business can afford what you’re accustomed to.)

My recommendation is that the work you want to do is work you are undoubtedly passionate about and allows you to live the same or better lifestyle as the business grows. Now, it is possible that you will make a short-term sacrifice for a long term gain.

2. Create your business concept statement. By being able to succinctly describe the who, what, where, why and how of your business idea, you will have a leg up on most people who “willy nilly” decide to start a business. Completing this task is essential. Be sure that you can easily articulate all of these elements listed above and ensure that your business concept solves a core problem and establishes an experience for those you desire to serve. This should be done and align with your personal vision to create your overall business mission statement.

3. Do your research. Both primary and secondary research are very necessary to substantiate your business concept and its viability. You have to make sure that there are at least 10,000 people in the world who are ready right now to buy what you’ve created to solve their problem. Primary research is talking to potential clients to learn of their challenges and needs. Secondary research is reading magazines, visiting the libraries, etc. and basically doing anything that can lead you to the answer you seek without having a direct conversation to those who’d want to hire you. Your research is essential, but of course I already said that. This will determine if you’re moving in the right direct or have to go back to square one.

4. Run the numbers. This is a place where most entrepreneurs go wrong. They have no idea what it will take to have a business that supports their lifestyle. But if you desire to be successful, you need to know this. What is it going to take to get this business to pick up where your salary will leave off? How many clients do you need to attract and at what price point to maintain your current standard of living? How knowledgeable are you about your industry? What will you need to invest to make this business viable in today’s marketplace? What will your overhead be? At what point will you break even? How about earning a profit? Will you be able to work from your home or will office space be mandatory? Will you need employees? Can you afford them? Most entrepreneurs can’t answer these questions, and that is a big problem if you want to leave your job. So take the time and get to know your numbers. And, you should have a minimum of 9-12 months living expenses saved before you tell your boss goodbye. (By the way, there are many more you need to know but these are the most important for now.)

5. Write your business and transition plan. The good news? By doing the four steps above, you’ve actually been writing core components of your business plan. But now you need to formalize it into a document that will become your “business bible”. It will include the strategic plans for all you plan to do right now in your business. A good business plan looks over the next three years strategically. If you plan to use it to get funding, be prepared for much more. Be sure that your detailed transition plan is also accounted for. At which point will you start the business part time? How many clients can you serve now while still managing your current responsibilities? At what intervals of time will you add more clients? At what point will you know that you’re ready to submit your letter of resignation?

When you have determined the answer to the last question, you are ready to make your transition. Unless you work well with deadlines, I do not recommend setting a date before you complete the five steps above. It could end up working against you if you are not disciplined enough to hold yourself accountable.

Bonus: do something profit producing every day to get you closer to your transition date.

If you need help with your transition plan, consider a Transition Your Incredible Factor Strategy Session. During your session, I will help you to evaluate the feasibility of your business idea, begin to create your business concept statement, set up a timeline to complete your research and your business plan so that you have an effective transition plan to work toward so that you can finally live your dream of unleashing your Incredible Factor as your own boss.

Posted in Blog | Tagged attracting more clients, Building a six figure business, Business coach Delaware, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, entrepreneurship, growing your business, Incredible One Enterprises, Marketing systems |

4 Strategic Ways To Avoid Developing a Microwave Mindset When Building Your Business

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

Most entrepreneurs at some time or another have tried to take a “fast and furious” approach to building their business. Those same entrepreneurs learned that while fast and furious may work for a short time, the best way to grow your business is to develop a consistent and actionable approach.

I call those who like the fast and furious, microwave entrepreneurs. They are trying to quickly gain traction and often before the traction has aligned, they are moving on to the next thing. As you can see, I’m sure, this does not a sound business building strategy make.

So how do you get a balance of fast and furious combined with consistent and actionable? I’m glad you asked. In this week’s article, it is my intent to share some of the keys you need to embrace to be able to manage the growth your company experiences while still creating consistent opportunities to do things more efficiently.

1. In order to create a business that is designed for the long haul, you have to create a business that will consistently align first and foremost with your mindset.

Microwave mindset – you want it fast, possibly for fear that the delay will eliminate your desire to still want it. More than likely you are still plagued by beliefs that do not serve you and have enticed you to believe that you cannot grow the way you desire if you build a solid consistent strategy.

You see, when you suffer from a microwave mindset, all you can think of is instant gratification. Building a business that is designed to serve others out of your gifts is not about instant gratification, it is about service; long withstanding service and building clients for life. Only those who do not truly understand what it means to be a service-based entrepreneur maintain a microwave mindset.

Article in Action: In what ways have you developed a microwave mindset? Have those ways served you as you endeavor to grow your business effectively? How or how not. Now that you have identified your mindset deficiencies, in what ways will you adjust to avoid this behavior moving forward?

A Conventional Oven mindset– you realize that building a solid, thriving business takes time. You have to first combine all of the right ingredients and then you have to combine them and prepare for your business building success. After combining them and taking action, you are equipped to watch the strategy “cook”, refine what is necessary and take action as necessitated by the process. You recognize that you are building a legacy and creating an environment for your clients to thrive and grow with you for the rest of their life.

Article in Action: How could you develop a conventional oven mindset? In what ways would this mindset serve your business building endeavors better?

2. After you deal with your mindset, you must create your ultimate goal or vision for your company. As Covey says, you must “begin with the end in mind.” When you know what you are building, you can better determine the next best steps to achieve your goals. While it will be important to lay out each step in will take, right now your big vision is the key, as this helps you to learn what it will take to complete consistent actionable steps in your business.

Article in Action: What are your ultimate goals for your business? In the next 3 years? In the next 7 years? In the next 10 years? Hint: Start with the 10 year goal then back into where you will need to be in 7, 3 and right now to achieve your 10 year goals.

3. Next, create a strategy that supports your ultimate goal or vision. This is the important part. It is quite possible that at this step, you need to engage a coach or mentor to help you develop your strategy. In fact, I recommend that you do align yourself and your vision with a coach or mentor who can support you with action, accountability and proven results. As I love to quote, “It is hard to see the picture when you are the frame.” Trying to establish this on your own could prove to be challenging and present you with opportunities to revert back to your microwave mindset. My recommendation is that you map out what you think is the appropriate course of actionable steps then engage someone to review your strategy and assess the gaps and fill in the gaps. Then, deepen the relationship to get the accountability having a conventional, business building mindset will demand.

Article in Action: If you desire to end at your ultimate goal, what will it take, one step at a time, to achieve that goal? Who can you engage to assist you in the strategy development process?

4. Then, take consistent action toward the strategy you have laid out while on a quarterly basis, reviewing it to make sure that the next steps are still the best steps to advance your business.

By starting to follow these four strategies, you will begin to shift your mindset from a microwave one to a conventional growth and strategic one. If we can assist you as the business coach and marketing mentor to align your vision with a strategy, consider a business breakthrough strategy session.

©2012 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, MBA, The Incredible Factor Speaker, Executive Business Coach and Marketing Mentor, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises.com, Incredible Factor University® and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for building a profitable and thriving business with more clients, more income and more leverage in record time. For more information and a FREE audio download “How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients” visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com

Posted in Blog | Tagged attracting more clients, Building a business, Building a six figure business, business building strategy, Business coach Delaware, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, growing your business, Incredible One Enterprises, Marketing systems |

How to Avoid Being a “Pick Your Brain” Victim

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, just wait; it will. Someone will undoubtedly call you, email you or when they pass you at a networking or live event, they will ask you if they can “pick your brain.” While you will undoubtedly be honored and humbled that you are deemed to be an expert by them, don’t believe the hype…they are just trying to get their hands on a million dollar idea at your expense and I say…

Don’t do it…Don’t let them pick your brain….

The truth is in order for your brain to be worthy of a good picking, you had to learn a lot. Certainly, you invested in some sort of education in your industry and more than likely you had to pay for your investment in cold hard cash, not corn or rice….so the answer when they ask is “I do not offer business insight or strategy as a complimentary service.”

If I ever stopped to add up the amount of time and/or money I’ve invested in my education, well, let’s just say it’s a lot. And I bet you could say the same. So why do you repeatedly let them buy you a hamburger and tell them everything they need to start and grow their venture? More than likely it’s because of your relationship with money and your self-sabotaging beliefs that say that you aren’t worthy of more than you have right now. While this article is not designed to tackle your self-esteem issues, I can tell you honestly that you must do the work to tackle them. I have had friends and clients alike say that they don’t feel right charging people for their expertise. My response is always, but you consider yourself an entrepreneur, right? They say, of course and I say well, entrepreneurs solve problems for profit.

What are you waiting for?

Once they pick their chin up off the ground and roll their eyes because you had the nerve to call them on their attempt to learn whatever they could from you for free and then turn around and use that info to build their business, charge more money, land a new job, etc they will respect you. And that is when I recommend you follow up with this statement:

“I have a fiscal responsibility to myself, my family and my business to operate as a business.”

They will get it immediately. They will apologize and they will move on. The fact that they asked you will make you feel good and your response will tell them that you’ve been revered as an expert who knows your value and worth. Your response will also encourage them to do the same. This reminds me of Marianne Williamson’s poem again, “when you let your light shine, you unconsciously give them permission to do the same.”

I got so inspired by this topic recently, that I created a new product offering. It’s called “Pick Darnyelle’s Brain” and it cost $250 for 45 minutes of question and answers time. It’s brilliant if I do say so myself! So, the next time someone asks me if they can pick my brain, I will be able to say: “I do not offer business insight or strategy as a complimentary service but I do offer a 45 minute “pick my brain” session for $250, how would you like to secure your session?”

The thing is this, if they are coming to you it’s because they see you as the solution to their problem, which means there is an opportunity for you to remember that you run a business – part-time or full time and your business runs on income. They will likely pay it if you position yourself correctly and use all the confidence you can muster to tell them that while they can’t pick your brain complimentary, they can purchase a “pick your brain” session from you during which you’d be happy to tell them everything you can about the subject of their choice and your expertise in 45 minutes.

I recommend that you do the same. Trust me, it’s courageous but isn’t that why you started your business in the first place? To earn a living? To make money? To be able to pay your bills? I think you finally see my point.

Your assignment:

1. Memorize the two responses listed above. Brainstorm other ways to say the same thing that may be better suited for your style.

2. List the areas of your expertise that you could answer 45 minutes of questions about.

3. Of the areas you listed, which are congruent to your brand? Which do you have social proof to validate your expertise in?

4. Create a new service option via your website called Pick [Insert Your Name’s] Brain and price it as you deem worthy.

5. Call the last few people who’ve asked you to pick your brain and tell them about your new offering. I bet you will pick up some money that’s been lying on the table in front of you.

The bottom line is this: it must cost something to access what is in your brain, after all it cost you to acquire it and your desire to earn your return on investment….you decide how much, but they must pay something if they want to get to your good stuff, the stuff that is designed to solve major problems and offer effective solutions.

Posted in Blog | Tagged attracting more clients, Building a six figure business, Business coach Delaware, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, expertise, growing your business, how to establish yourself as an expert, Incredible One Enterprises, Marketing systems |

How to Know If You’re Downplaying Your Incredible Factor

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

In the infamous words of Marianne Williamson:

When you let your light shine, you unconsciously give others permission to do the same.

So, what happens when you dim your light? Well, for starters, you never reach your true potential and you seldom change the lives of others. More importantly, you don’t live out your purpose on earth. You really drift from one thing to the next, never really settling on what you should be doing to leave a legacy because you’ve decided that being who you were created to be isn’t really all that great, that somehow if you downplay who you are, you will help more people.

If I’m describing you, I have to ask you this: Why did you become an entrepreneur and start your own business if you weren’t going to shine? You see, entrepreneurship takes guts. Not just any guts, big fat guts. Guts to move when everyone else is saying stay. Guts to invest when others are holding on tightly to their wallets. Guts to lead when everyone else is falling into the crowd. You have to be willing to lose when others are winning in the name of your greatness.

So, why is it then that so many entrepreneurs play small? Doing just enough to get by instead of going big? It’s because they are fearful of what others will think of them when they win. Or, it’s for fear of what they will think of themselves.

I know you’re saying, “No, that’s not me,” but isn’t it? You hold back on your gifting and don’t figure out how to make it work by investing in yourself because the thought of winning, of succeeding, scares the bejesus out of you!

Then there are those of you who believe that you are playing big, doing everything you know to do so that you can grow your business yet it’s not happening. What’s your problem? It’s possible that you’re a victim of what I like to call the “Law of No Circulation”.

You see, abundance flows freely in situations and circumstances when we are transparent and open to receiving all the gifts that God and His abundant universe have for us. The Law of Circulation says, as I paraphrase, when you give and receive, you are in constant flow and there is no stagnation. But as soon as you upset the flow of giving and receiving, stagnation finds you and affects all areas of your life and you become a victim of the law of no circulation.

Want to know if you are a victim of no circulation? (Pay attention to the list to see where you are downplaying your Incredible Factor because every day play increases the amount of abundance not circulating on your behalf)

1. When someone gives you a compliment, you say, “Oh, that, that was nothing.” Instead of taking a bow and just saying thank you. How do I know? Because I use to do the same thing. The thought that someone wouldn’t like me if they knew how good I was at whatever it was made me want to appear less great. You do realize that it’s very easy to just say thank you. It makes the giver of the compliment feel good because they were able to give you something that was received.

2. Not charging what you’re worth or not charging at all. You don’t charge what you know you should for fear that they will not pay you and you have come to the conclusion that some income is better than none so you charge less and feel horrible about it. Whenever you don’t get paid what you’re worth, you are not able to give freely unto others. You perform the task they underpaid you for with disdain and that shows through.

3. Not investing in yourself or your business. When you don’t invest it’s for one of two reasons: one, you’re fearful about the financial commitment or two, you believe you know it all and don’t need help. We all need help. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a self-made millionaire. We all need others to achieve our goals and dreams. As I love to say, ‘If you could do it by yourself, it would already be done.” I dare you to ask a millionaire if he became one all by himself. Ask one and I bet you he will name the countless people who aided in his journey.

4. Not accepting gifts. By not taking a gift that someone is giving you, you are bringing more strife into your life. The flow of abundance stagnates as soon as you don’t accept it. Remember giving and receiving are spiritual tenets.

5. Not accepting an opportunity. When given an opportunity based on something you’ve asked for but you don’t take it for fear of failure or success, you are downplaying your Incredible Factor which means that you really want to remain the way you’ve been. Change or growth is really not your desire, which means you are lying to yourself and more importantly to God.

6. Withholding. This is the big one. Examples of withholding include not tipping your waiter or waitress accordingly when out to eat or my favorite: not being your best at all times – a true downplay. Holding back who you are and what you are capable of because you fear that others will judge you.

So how do you stop downplaying your Incredible Factor and start experiencing true abundance?

Own your Incredible Factor. As they say, “ownership is 9/10ths of the law.” What that means in your case is that when you completely, fully own who you are and what you were created to do by taking personal responsibility, you get to enjoy the law of circulation and all of its fruits in your life consistently. Ownership is serious. In fact, it’s mandatory if you desire to play big and help others to experience transformation through you. Ownership is about developing, mastering and implementing the mindset shifts and beliefs that exhibit power in all areas of your life. When you develop the confidence and poise to trust what you’ve been given to share with the world, by saying an unequivocal yes, you start to experience the benefits of ownership. And I, for one, believe that ownership has its privileges.

Your assignment:

1. List all of the ways you have been downplaying your Incredible Factor.

2. Get clear on the reasons why you have chosen those self-sabotaging behaviors.

3. Ask yourself if there is any evidence to support why you have been behaving this way?

4. Now that you are aware of the ways you have been downplaying, create a plan of how you will stop downplaying immediately going forward.

5. When you are allowing abundance to flow into your life and business, what will your life and business look like? Describe what you want instead.

6. How does this vision make you feel?

How to Focus on the End Result for Your Clients

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs and small business owners make is not focusing on the end result that they achieve when working with clients. Unfortunately, most people are so caught up in the day to day of “seeing” clients that little or no thought is given to the ultimate goal that they want to ensure that their clients receive in working with them.

So, how do you change that? By focusing on the end first. One of my favorite Stephen Covey-isms is to begin with the end in mind. What I mean is, get clear on the end results that they should experience as a result of working with you and back into what must happen at each appointment or session to ensure that they achieve the expected result. By thinking backwards, you help to ensure the success of your clients when working with you and that means you will get the opportunity to serve many more people.

This is important for a few reasons:

1. Social proof – if they achieve the end result, they will be ecstatic and they will tell others all about it and sing your praises from the tops of the hills.

2. Frame the work you do – when you are able to appropriately frame the work you do in terms of real results, your marketing gets much clearer.

3. Signature system creation - you can create a signature system that outlines what must happen every time to achieve the ultimate result.

In order to get to the end result of your client, complete the following assignment by answering the questions below:

1. What is the goal or transformation you offer to your clients? Here you want to close your eyes and visualize “the end” of working with you. What does the end of the relationship look like? Who will they be now, as a result of your working together? What should they have accomplished? Why is this important? How will their lives be different because of this work?

2. How do you ensure that transformation? List exactly what you will do to make sure that happens. The best way to do this is to back into what it will take to achieve the ultimate goal or result. So think about the ultimate goal and ask yourself, “in order for them to get this result, what is the first thing I must teach/do/show them?” Repeat this until you have thought of every step in the process to that ultimate goal. Now, this will be only for you because your prospects and clients don’t care what steps you follow, they only care that you get them the results and you have proof that you’ve done it for others.

3. What else do you do that you haven’t accounted for yet? Should those things be included? What difference do they make?

If you answer these three questions, you will gain clarity on the end result for your clients and you can use that clarity to market to them in such a way that it produces more clients over and over.

Posted in Blog | Tagged attracting more clients, Building a six figure business, Business coach Delaware, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, focusing on the end result, growing your business, Incredible One Enterprises, Marketing systems, Signature system |

3 Strategies for Profiting From Your Panic

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

Every entrepreneur has experienced it. Every. Single. One.

I’m talking about fear, also known as panic. It sets you into a tizzy over the thought that you are not enough, don’t have what it takes or are wrong to desire what you desire. We all experience it. But, the strongest entrepreneurs are those who learn how to face the fear head on before the panic prevents profit.

I learned a long time ago that the saying “at every level there’s a new devil,” is the God’s honest truth (pun intended). You see, as you decide to up-level, you send a different vibration into the Universe and that vibration sends more of what you desire your way, sometimes before you believe you are ready for it. And we both know what happens when we feel inadequate or unworthy….fear.

I believe that fear fights every alternative to reality. That’s right, there is no truth in it; yet, if we aren’t careful, fear disguises itself as truth and prevents us from capitalizing on what we do know about ourselves and our goals. So, you have to be careful. As cliché as it sounds, it is true, you do have to feel the fear but do what you’re afraid of anyway. You see, the Universe is infinite. That means that with the measure you use, God brings more to you. I would further argue that the only way to get more is to use what you’ve been given….be it financial resources, gifts and talents or whatever…you have to use it.

Now, as fear would have it, it would have to stop dead in your tracks and run back to the past – the only thing that validates the fear, by the way. You see, fear can only live in the past or in the future. In the present moment, there is no fear because we can always reconnect to what we know to be true for us right now.

95% of all success is based on mindset and mitigating fear, is a mindset issue. I feel that working on your mindset is actually more important than working on your marketing. You see, until your mindset is one that invites abundance, all the marketing in the world won’t grow your business. But there are things you can do right now to help you fight the fear and make more money doing what you love even when you’re afraid:

1. Connect immediately to what is true in your present. As I stated earlier, all fear is either in the past or in the future. There is never fear in the moment. When you are faced with a fear, always immediately connect with what you know to be true right now. This includes who you are, the gifts you possess to help others, how you’ve used those gifts to change lives, what you’ve accomplished that others haven’t, etc. When you begin to recall your success and truths the falsifications of your fears get shut out. Assignment: prepare your “who you are statement” and keep it close so that when you need it, you can move toward it quickly.

2. Reaffirm your reason why. When you’ve taken the time to get clear on why doing the work you do is prevalent to your next level, it makes progressing a little bit easier. A few weeks ago, I suggested via a blog post that you write your “why” story, which is the compelling reason why you are who you are and doing the work that you’ve been called to do. The beautiful thing about a reason why is that it is seldom about us. When fear arrives and it is just about us, we will give up every time, but when it is about the lives of others, we feel a need to suck it up and do what needs to be done so that people get what they need from us. I keep a “why” board in my office and I see it each day as I am working with clients. It sits right in front of my writing desk and I can look at it and realize that this work isn’t about me at all…..

3. Create an “In spite of Fear” Plan. When fear hits, ask yourself, “if I knew I couldn’t fail, how would I accomplish achieving my next level?” Have your pen and paper handy because if you do this right, you will create your action plan to achieving your next level. Planning is one of the most important things you can ever do; the other is take action. It is always easier to take action when you have a written plan. Leaving the results to what’s in your head is not recommended especially because fear has a way of popping into our heads at any given moment.

So, the next time you face panic, follow the three steps above and tell me how it goes.

What else have you done to dodge doubt and fight fear? Share your comments here.

7 Strategies for Improving Your Relationship with Money

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

Relationships. You read the word and one of two things happened: either you have the biggest, brightest smile to cross your face or you rolled your eyes and sucked your teeth in disgust because when you think about a relationship, all you can think about are the bad things.

STOP. What you focus on will always expand. If you focus on how the relationship is doing you wrong and how miserable you are as a result, you’ll only get more of that in your life. And as it spills into your life, you best believe that all areas will be affected…including your money.

Now, before you roll your eyes at me, let me explain. Most people who struggle with money give money more credit and energy then they should. What I mean is they deem money to be everything; the difference between success and failure, life and death. When in actuality, money is just an energy and like all energy, it is neither lost nor destroyed, it is merely transferred from one party to another. So, that means that if you allow bad energy to surround your relationship with money, it prevents a positive transfer from occurring.

A quick exercise….

Now, think about a relationship with someone you love, who supports and edifies you. You know your version of a “ride or die” chick. In case you don’t know what that is, it’s a person who would ride with you through hell in a gasoline car. They love and support you that much. These people care about you and only want the best for you in all situations. They help you to stand taller; they are the wind beneath your wings.

How do you feel when you think about [insert their name]? Write the five positive, life affirming words that you feel and believe when you think of [insert their name].

What are the qualities of [insert their name] that make you smile, feel safe and inspire you to keep moving?

Now, go back to the words you wrote and close your eyes. I want you to imagine that instead of talking about your dear loved one, you are talking about money.

Re-read your five positive, life affirming words and the qualities that make you smile, feel safe and inspire you to keep moving, thinking about this being your relationship with money. Imagine these feelings and safety being about money and not your loved one.

What difference does that make for you? Write your response down.

The first time I did an exercise similar to this, I was at an event of one of my mentors and I can honestly tell you that I felt the shift immediately. And more importantly I felt different about money. I felt like it loved me and wanted me to succeed, just like my other loved ones.

Take a deep breath.

You see, money can be your best friend or worst enemy and the best part, is you get to choose. As soon as you assert a positive, life affirming relationship with money, it begins to respond in a positive, life affirming way. I have seven quick strategies that when implemented with consistency will shift your relationship with money and more importantly allow you to attract more of it in your life and business so that you can serve others and live the desires of your heart. I personally believe that each of us was born to live in abundance. While abundance is not just about money, it certainly does have a key role to play. In order for money to show up and star in your life’s journey, you have to re-write the script it reads from.
Here’s how.

1. Refrain from speaking negatively about the amount of money you now have in your life. This can be a tough one because many people declare being “broke” like they tell their age. Here’s the thing, you are never truly broke. While you may be financially challenged at the moment, you could always find a way to make the money you need for anything you deem important. Let that sink in a minute because you know I’m telling you the truth.

2. Each morning, affirm what you expect from the money that comes into your life. “Money flows easily and effortlessly to me all day long whether I am asleep or awake.” “I am positioned to welcome more money into my life today.” “Money helps me to serve those I’ve been called to serve with my gifts and talents.” “If I have a need for money, I can create opportunities to earn it.”
Record how these affirmations make you feel.

3. Dispel the myths and self-sabotaging beliefs that you’ve had in the past about money. Go back to your childhood and look at the example that was set for you around money. Think about the TV shows you use to watch where being “broke” looked like fun. You know, Good Times, Sanford and Son, Lavern and Shirley. Ask yourself if it’s possible that having money could be as fun as not having money was depicted via the media? How or how so?

4. Read A Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi. This book will help you to shift everything you’ve ever thought about money and transform you into believing that you are wealth; you are abundance; you are joy. After your read it all the way through, plan to read it quarterly until you completely shift around how you view money and your relationship with it.

5. Stop your unhealthy money habits. I use to not manage my money because I didn’t want to know what my financial picture looked like. But, as with anything else, if you don’t have a goal and a plan, you will never change your situation. Just like losing weight requires you to change your eating habits, increasing the flow of money in your life requires that you change your spending, etc habits.

6. Track money received on a daily basis. As you know, I believe that what you focus on expands. If you focus on the money entering your life (bank account) you will naturally invite more to come in. and when you receive it, tell God – please send me more so that I can do more of the work you’ve called me to do. As I like to say, focus on the deposits, not the withdrawals.

7. Go to the bank and get a 100 bill and carry it in your wallet at all times. This is a powerful reminder that you are not broke, while you may desire more, you will always have some if you keep it close to remind you. Now, you have to promise not to break it or if you do in an emergency you must replace it as soon as possible.

Using these 7 strategies consistently will undoubtedly up-level your money mindset. Remember, money is just a vehicle, an energy and whenever you need more of it, you already have the tools to bring it into your life. Have a great relationship with money!

If you want help working on your money mindset, join us for Get Paid: How to Package, Price and Successfully Sell Your Incredible Factor. At this event, we dedicate an entire module to up-leveling your money mindset so that you can welcome more of it into your lives. In June 2012, we will be holding this intensive in Newark, DE and Atlanta, GA.

Posted in Blog | Tagged 7 Strategies for Improving Your Relationship with Money, attracting more clients, Building a six figure business, Business coach Delaware, Charging what you're worth, darnyelle a. jervey, growing your business, Incredible One Enterprises, Marketing systems, money |

The Lucky 13 Core Components of Your Marketing Message

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

No doubt that if you survey 100 business owners, at least 90% of them would say their biggest challenge is with marketing and more specifically creating a marketing message that converts to new clients. I understand. It is often challenging to conceptualize the entire being of your company in a message that is going to have the greatest impact on the most amount of your ideal clients while being completely authentic and congruent to who you are and want to be seen as in the market place.

To help in this area, I have broken the marketing message concept down into two distinct components – the internal and the external. The internal marketing message is what you prepare in order to get clear about who you are, the problem you solve, the solution you offer and those you’ve designated to solve problems for. It’s like watching the ropes turn in Double Dutch. Before you can jump in the rope and jump, you have to perfect your stance, time and rhythm. Trying to jump in out of beat will throw your entire attempt off and well, your turn will be over quickly. Getting the right rhythm in your marketing is essential to conveying a message that is equally compelling and action focused – meaning the reader of the message is ready to take action to go to the next level with you.

So let’s break it down:

Your Internal Message includes:

The top of mind problem you solve – the best marketing focuses on a top of mind problem that your audience of one is actively seeking a solution to right now.
The results you achieve for your clients – while you may think the steps are important, trust me, your prospects only care about the results.
Your credible factors – what makes you the obvious choice to solve this problem for them. What have you been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt for?
Your USP – USP stands for Unique Selling Propositions and in laymen’s terms, this means how do you stand out from the crowd. Hint: assume everyone offers excellent customer service…what else you got?
Your Why Story – this is why you feel led to do what you do. See the blog about telling your story for details on this one. You want to have a Robert Frost moment; a Change moment and a Harriet Tubman moment…it will make sense when you read the full blog.
Your Signature System– this is your own unique way of solving problems for your clients that yields results every time.

Your External Message includes:

Your Power Statement – a one sentence description of who you help and why. Formulated with I help X do Y so that Z. This is honestly your true 30-second commercial.
Your 30-second commercial – a longer description that includes your USP and motivators that is shared only when they ask to learn more after hearing your power statement or when you have at least 10 minutes to talk about what you do. This is way longer than 30 seconds but for the purposes of name recognition I will call it what you’d call it.
Your tagline – a 7 to 10 word description of what you do that goes on your website and business cards. Hint: it starts with a power/action word.
Your marketing titles/headlines – how you get people to take a second look at your “stuff”. Juicy titles make prospects salivate and trust me, you want them salivating.
Client magnet marketing questions – these are the “lead in” questions that they should answer with a yes. The formula that works – Pain, Pain, Pain, Glimpse of Hope, Expert Lead-In.
Your client magnetic free offer – this is the sample of your work that you offer in one of various forms so that they get to try you before they buy you. As with everything there is a method to the madness and how to choose an offer that will lead to massive results for your business. I will tell you all about it real soon.
Your marketing materials– these are the collateral materials that you hand out or post for others to learn more about you. When your internal message is succinct, the creation of these materials is very easy.

As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into your marketing message to ensure its effectiveness in the marketplace. Over the coming days and weeks, I will break down each of these core components of your marketing message so that you can have a clear indication of what must be present to market your business in a way that keeps your client pipeline full.

For now, take the quiz. How many of them can you describe (as it pertains to your business) in 1-to-3 sentences? This would mean you’re clear, it’s clear so they will be clear enough to take action.

1 to 4 – You need help, NOW!

4 to 7 – so-so, now you’re beginning to think like a marketer

8-10 – you’re closer to making marketing magic than you think

11-14 – get excited, you’re ready to create a marketing message that is magnetic!

5 Simple Steps to Creating an Effective and Personal Marketing Strategy to Attract More of Your Ideal Clients

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Darnyelle Jervey

Most entrepreneurs go about attracting clients the wrong way. They focus on doing “stuff” that others tell them they should be doing (or they got off of a free tele-seminar, etc) without understanding the why behind the specific strategy and more importantly, they don’t tailor what others tell them they should do based on what they need or feel is right for their own business. Entrepreneurs think that you can build a strategy that will be effective by piecing several “free” trainings together but that is seldom the case because you usually don’t learn the intricacies of making the strategy work.

Strategy is not for the faint at heart; it takes time, tests and re-adjustments to create effective marketing strategy. Time; because seldom do you get it right the first time, tests; because you must determine which of several strategies are going to appeal to your ideal clients and re-adjustments because you’ve got to be ready to tweak something that can impact the effectiveness of your strategy for the long haul. And you have to know that for each type of client you desire to serve, you need a different marketing strategy because everyone doesn’t resonate or respond to the same types of marketing pieces or strategies.

Okay so first off, let’s not assume that you know what a strategy is. A strategy, according to dictionary.com, is a plan, method or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result. What is particularly important to note here is two things: 1. A plan and 2. Specific goal. As I share my five simple steps with you, these two things will come up, I promise.

In order to create an effective strategy using marketing to attract more clients, you first have to know what your goal is and then you have to create the series of maneuvers you will use to achieve the goal. Sounds simple, right? Well let’s take that “simple” and break it down.

1. Clarify your goal. Everything starts with a goal. You should have plenty of them and each goal must be treated as an individual occurrence and formulated accordingly. Why? Because what you have to do to accomplish a goal is specific, not generic so that means the specific steps are going to be orchestrated based off of the end result you are going for. Now, as it pertains to attracting new clients: How many clients are you looking to gain as a result of this marketing strategy? Are you looking to fill your practice? How many clients would it take to achieve your income goal for this year? If you offer different products and services, how many of each client are you looking to attract?

2. Clarify the type of client you are looking to attract. Just like going to a grocery store without a shopping list can be detrimental to your waistline, doing business without a clear “list” of what you desire in a client can be damaging to your business’ bottom line. You must get clear on who they are, what they are struggling with now and what they need to stop the struggle. And most importantly, you must be clear about this for each and every type of client you desire to serve and for every product. In fact, make answering these three questions an important pre-requisite to doing any work in attracting clients or creating products and services.

3. Determine which marketing streams work best for you, which you will use to reach your ideal clients. In my best estimation, there are at least 18 marketing streams that I recommend that my clients and students consider when building a marketing strategy for their business. I’m happy to share my favorites here: speaking, qualified networking, articles, social media, top of mind connections (your e-zine, mailings, etc), interviews via blogs or blog talk radio and video. Of course the streams you choose must resonate with your ideal clients and you; which is why you’ve got to take the time to get crystal clear on who they are, who you are and how you want to serve them. For instance, using video or social media to attract clients that don’t get online is almost useless. Also be clear about what you feel comfortable using. This is a personal marketing strategy, not a cookie cutter one. While I highlight 18, my recommendation is always that my clients select 6 and there are two that I believe are non-negotiable: top of mind connections and article writing. If you select 6 and add the non-negotiable 2, you will have a total of 8 from which to draw each week when you are working on your weekly marketing plan. Yes, you read that correctly you need a marketing plan each week for your business.

4. Create the marketing copy to be used via the marketing streams you select. Only after you’re crystal clear on your goals, client prospects and the marketing streams that will offer you the best results, can you create your marketing copy. And remember, there are two components to every marketing message – your internal message (which is what you prepare before you share your message – it’s kind of like your runner’s stance before you hear “go”) and your external message – (which is what you actually say in the marketplace verbally or in writing. Once you have created the copy that focuses on their problems, (problem-based copy stands out more because those who are in pain know it and are actively looking for a pain-killer) you’re almost ready to attract some clients.

5. Create your implementation plan. Strategy plus implementation plus accountability is what leads to new clients. If you don’t take action, creating a strategy was a big waste of your time, energy and resources. But if you want to welcome new clients, you’ve got to take inspired, consistent action. That means you must perform tasks each day that lead you closer to completing your goal. When you are new to business or find yourself needing more clients fast, you should focus on one thing: strategic marketing to attract clients. I say strategic because all strategy comes with an implementation or action plan. Your implementation plan includes the what, when, where, how and why of your marketing. What steps will you take to get this into the hands of your clients? What are you going to say? When will you share it? When will you make your offer? Where is it going to be available? How are you going to say it? How often after you going to share it? Why will they care about it? Implementation is the key so you should be creating a timeline of what and when things will be released and/or completed.