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I’m so excited to bring you some amazing insight I gained from a conversation during a virtual mixer hosted by my amazing friend Linda Sidhu. She will be a guest on the Pretty Awkward Entrepreneur Podcast soon and I can’t wait for her to share her expertise and knowledge on quizzes with you! But this conversation was all about what is working for other entrepreneurs in the online business space and marketing in 2022.
We all know that social media and the way we need to leverage it for our businesses change frequently so I love being involved in discussions about it and what is working for other business owners. I think it’s important to communicate and share our experiences in business (a huge reason I have this podcast!) so I’m going to share some of my key takeaways and what I shared in the conversation with you.
I used to do all live launching, all the time. In fact, in 2019, I launched every month and in 2020 it was every month or every other month. I loved it, but I really burned myself because I was always planning a launch or in full launch mode. I have an episode on that experience here. I knew I couldn’t keep up the energy to continue the live launching the way I was, so I’ve started trying new tactics like ongoing selling. Because I was in constant launch mode, I was basically selling my programs at all times anyway. But the way I’m ongoing selling now doesn’t rely on a lot of the energy-draining methods I was using during live launches.
Now instead of having a strict open and close cart schedule, if I have an opening in one of my programs you can pretty much join. Instead of having big ramp-ups for each cart opening, now I’m selling daily and bringing awareness to the offers I have often and more casually instead of in specific ways during a live launch. One way I did this was by starting to share more behind the scenes of my process and programs. I also shared my preparation and processes for how I show up to my offers, like a VIP day. If I have an upcoming VIP day, I will share the steps I take to prepare for it. This is a great way for potential customers to see what’s included without me specifically bullet-pointing it for them. I also will share client breakthroughs from clients in different programs and then do a call to action to sign up for that offer. I had all these rules in my head about what I could and couldn’t share and when, and I realized these were just mindset issues for me and that there really aren’t any rules around sharing your programs.
Relationship building was one topic that was brought up during the conversation. Aiming for deep versus wide connections, meaning aiming for deeper connections instead of a ton of shallow ones. Which is something I’ve definitely strived for this year. The people I’ve had on the podcast are people that I’ve really gotten to know and created relationships with. And some of those people have ended up as clients. There is so much potential when you get to know someone on a one-on-one level.
Most of the time (especially in coaching) people know your expertise, but they really want to connect with you as a person before investing. They want to know that you as a human will be a good fit for them if you’re working with them really closely. These deep connections can turn into affiliates for your program, co-coaches, podcast interviews, and people who will shout you out and cheer for you. You can nurture these relationships by engaging with them, sharing their content, and reaching out to people. The worst that can happen is that they don’t respond and that’s ok!
As part of my strategy of ongoing selling, I’m really being honest about real client breakthroughs and successes (anonymously) and this gives people a true view of what outcomes my programs are producing. I shared the truth of these wins. One I shared was about a client that had been on 23 sales calls before they received a yes and payment. Then on the next call, they got a verbal yes. I didn’t sugarcoat it and just say, “oh my client made a sale, yay!”. I shared the way they kept going and got that major milestone win in their business. We KNOW it isn’t all beautiful and easy in the online business world so it’s very important to me to give real-life accomplishments which can be a little messy but still deserve full celebration.
These are wins that your potential clients can see themselves in. They’re going to make a connection to their business or experience in those messy wins because that’s what is relatable. I want to set realistic expectations for my clients. I don’t want them to join and then expect immediate business magic. I know that something does shift when you make that investment but it takes time and effort for things to fall into place. One place I share these wins is my Facebook group, so if you’re not a part of it I would love for you to join.
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Putting yourself out there can be really scary. But it’s such an important part of relationship building and finding those ideal clients that not only like what you teach but also resonate with you as a person. I know I’ve talked to people that have asked me how I started really being open with my community. And one thing I want to stress is intentional vulnerability. Not just sharing everything to make sure you’re sharing. Share things that you want to connect about, you think people will resonate with, or situations that have really impacted you. This will create connections with people that will positively impact you both.
I did a close friends Instagram series called Thirsty Thursdays: The Real Tea Behind the Coaching Industry. I talked about what I personally went through as my business was having a major growth spurt, the unhealthy habits and thoughts I was dealing with during that time, and saying things that other people were definitely thinking but maybe not saying out loud. It had really great success with it and people really engaged with it. And I didn’t call people out or just try to get people talking for content’s sake. I shared my truths intentionally and other people wanted to talk about their similar experiences or ideas. It was a great experience for me and also engaged my audience. Win, win!
And I’m honest when I don’t feel like creating content, sharing something inspiring, or sharing my daily activities. People respond very well to that and like seeing the real-life human side of my life, not just the pretty business parts.
This is something that has really worked for me this year. I’ve chosen to participate in trends and created content that included ideas or truths that I knew may not be a popular opinion or that may cause more comments or negative reactions than my typical content. Mike and I did a reel talking about what strangers said to us about being open and talking about our separation. It went viral and most people left kind comments and thanked us for sharing. But we also got some troll comments. I didn’t realize that this would be really be polarizing but the comments weren’t anything that I couldn’t handle.
So I even shared some of these comments because I really found them funny. But if it’s something you don’t feel like you can handle it or stand by your idea then I would avoid making content around it. And definitely avoid engaging with the trolls. It’s never a productive conversation.
I cannot thank you enough for joining me today on the Pretty Awkward Entrepreneur podcast. I hope this episode has inspired you to take the next steps in building your business and finding your clients!
Listen to my episode on my shift to ongoing selling-
$108K IN A VERY DIFF WAY: Breaking down the changes I made for my latest launch to match the lifestyle I wanted to have
Get immediate access to my free class: More Profit$ In Your Pocket, Less Burnout In Your Biz: https://meganyelaney.com/more-profit-less-burnout-class
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I have helped HUNDREDS of women get their unique coaching voice and find their soulmate (clients that is!)
Because I’ve been there too. I went from wanting to be a health and fitness coach...trying to take awkward booty pooping selfies, to embracing my #prettyawkward style and scaling my coaching business past six figures.