[E-VOLVE] People Pleasing Again? Vicki Irvin

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Vicki Irvin

You can’t be everything to everybody!  You have to get crystal clear on WHO you can best service and provide solutions for.

Entrepreneurs are hitting a brick wall because they believe deep in their soul they know WHO needs their services and WHAT those services should be.  BIG MISTAKE!

Nine times out of ten business owners are way off the mark as to who their target market really is.  This often happens because few people ever take the time to do market research and learn about their ideal client.  They don’t know what income bracket they are in, they don’t know their habits and they never bother to find out what they WANT.

There are a few ways you can accomplish this.  Survey your past clients and customers and of course people who are on your list.  ASK them what they want, but never ever assume you know what they need.  It’s really your job to listen and then provide them with what they want.

Also, stop trying to please everyone.  Not everyone will be able to afford your products or services and that is ok.  It doesn’t mean you should lower or alter them for every person who asks you to.  It means they are not your target market.

There are plenty of things that I can’t afford, I don’t expect the business owner to change their rates for me, I simply find something that I CAN afford.

Too many women are lowering their rates and short-changing themselves trying to please a person who is not their ideal client.  And that leaves you frustrated and giving away your expertise for way less than you should.  That is NOT a good feeling, now is it?

The truth of the matter is most people are not charging enough for what they do in fear of scaring people away.

I can bet you right now that you are probably not charging what you should be and that you are getting increasingly ticked off about it.

Always remember this…Nobody will respect or value your services if you don’t respect and value them yourself!

Cheers to Business, Beauty & Balance,

Vicki

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[E-VOLVE] Stop the mind games! Vicki Irvin

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Vicki Irvin

Financial Independence Day for women is going down July 6-8th in Washington, DC! Women in business and those aspiring are coming together for 3 jammed packed days of learning the secrets to Business, Beauty & Balance as well as hearing from many successful experts and speakers!!

Will YOU be there?

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

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When is the last time you did something different? I’m asking because the “head job” we are able to do on ourselves is a vicious one! I know because I have to outsmart my own self sometimes when I get into a rut!

Here is how it normally works. You have a goal or something specific you want to achieve in life or business.  And you are sincerely passionate about it.  You dream about it, and sometimes you can’t even sleep at night thinking about it.

But when it comes to doing what needs to be done to actually make it a REALITY…you try to find short cuts. Or you engage in busy work to fool yourself into thinking you are moving towards your goal.  But deep down inside you know you are just going through the motions. But you convince yourself that at least you are doing SOMETHING!  After-all, isn’t something better than NOTHING? (NOT)

Let’s take your business for example.  In order to be a successful entrepreneur, there are specific things that must be learned. But most people will avoid those things because they think it is too much work. Or maybe it takes them out of their comfort zone and scares them. Or maybe they just don’t want to put in the effort.

When you allow that self-imposed head game to work on you, everything suffers.  You look up and months and years have gone by where you still have not progressed. You are not moving towards your goals at all, and any progress you make is at a snail’s pace.

You see other people who do what you do moving by leap and bounds but you can’t figure out why.  Well I know why!  It’s because they HAVE decided to do the things that you won’t do.  They have decided to follow a successful blueprint and they are sick and tired of doing that busy work.

They realize in order to get results, they must be willing to do the things that yield results. No more mind games, no more motivational talk and no more B.S.   Just the decision to get the skills they need to make it possible.

So if you are not doing anything different, or you are engaging in busy work to convince yourself you are progressing, then I hope you will reflect on this and say “NO MORE.”

Remember, to be extraordinary, you have to do extraordinary things. Otherwise you are just blending in with the crowd and who wants to do that?

To meet extraordinary people who are taking real action, I hope you join us at the Extreme Women Entrepreneurs Event! A room full of people on their way to the top! Gotta love that!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Cheers to Business, Beauty & Balance,

Vicki

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[E-VOLVE] Are You Too Cheap? Be Honest! Vicki Irvin

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Vicki Irvin

People are LOVING my Extreme Women Entrepreneurs Event CD with Stedman Graham and I am so happy for the amazing feedback!  If you have an inkling of interest at all in attending this amazing event for serious women in business, then make sure you request our complimentary CD that I am mailing out first class mail!

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE CD

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OK! Time To RAISE Them!

I hear entrepreneurs complain all the time that they KNOW they are not charging enough for their products and/or services but they are scared if they raise them, nobody will work with him.

I get it.  This is one of those tough hurdles in business that it is hard to get over.  The fear of scaring people away.  The justification that some money is better than no money at all….even when it’s not worth your time and it is devaluing your expertise.

Sound familiar? Of course it does!! How do I know? Because it’s one of the hardest things for me to get my clients to do.

Here’s the deal. You have a gift or talent. You have invested in your craft and you KNOW your stuff works.  You solve problems for people. You care about what you do and you put time and thought into it.  So why in the world would you practically give it away?

Come with me on a mind-shift real quick.  Here is an analogy that I LOVE to use…

You have been going to the same hair stylist for years and you simply love him or her.  They care for your hair, they know how to cut it just right and they always leave you looking FIERCE.  So one day they tell you that they are going up on their prices because they haven’t done so in years and it is time.  What do you do?

Do you get upset and decide to go elsewhere and gamble on someone new? Or do you begin paying the new price?  9 out of 10 people will stick with their beloved stylist and pay the new rate! See, they raised their prices and YOU didn’t go anywhere, now did you?

Of course not!  Here is why…they do an amazing job, they have established a relationship and connection with you, most likely serving as a therapist to all your problems too, and the thought of someone new playing in your hair and messing it up makes you cringe, right?

So your stylist has established their value in your life and it has become a “Must have” for you.

Well why can’t you think of your OWN products and services the same way? Don’t you too provide value? Don’t you too have a connection with your clients? Have you too become a MUST HAVE in their lives?

If so, I want you to begin charging what you are truly worth! You never want to be the cheapest in town, people don’t want cheap they actually want value!

So if you know you are short-changing yourself, I challenge you to make a change today. Charge what you are worth and target the people who can afford your services!

An immediate increase in price is immediate new revenue!

Cheers to Business, Beauty & Balance,

Vicki

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[E-VOLVE] Scared To Communicate? Don’t Be! Vicki Irvin

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Vicki Irvin

My Extreme Women Entrepreneur’s Event CD has starting hitting people’s homes already! The CD was designed to give those interested in the event, a great overview of what they can expect over the course of the 3 days, as well as a peep into the mindset of Oprah’s boyfriend, Stedman Graham and his viewpoint on entrepreneurship.  Stedman Joins me on the call!

So if you are interested in the event, and you haven’t yet requested the F*R*E*E* CD with Stedman and myself, you can do so here and we will ship it out to you first class mail:

www.EweEvent.com/Stedman

Are you afraid to email your list or following?  Your fear could once again be harming you in a MAJOR way.

Just about every business today is doing some form of email marketing to their list.  That is because it is a great way to keep your followers engaged and up to date on what you have going on.

But what I am finding is that many entrepreneurs are afraid to send emails to their list.  They seem to be leery of making them upset or “bothering” them.  Well here is my viewpoint on that….

If you are working from a legit email list where people VOLUNTARILY sign up to join with you, it usually means one thing.  They have an interest in what you do and want to see if you could be a possible solution to their problems.

If you are giving out great content and providing value, then your followers will be happy to hear from you often because they see the benefit.

I have friends who email their lists every single day, some twice a day and their followers love it.

The bottom line is this.  If someone is interested, they will stay on your list and eventually invest in your products and services.  If someone is NOT interested they will opt out of your list and leave and there is nothing wrong with that.

You only want targeted, qualified followers on your list anyway.  It’s not about the QUANTITY but rather about the QUALITY of your list.

A person with a 10,000 person list full of unqualified people who aren’t their target market is defeating the purpose.  But a person with a 300 person list full of loyal qualified followers who are indeed their target market is in a MUCH better position than the other and will make more money.

So couple of things here.  One, don’t be afraid to email your list, if someone opts out or sends you nasty message, who cares! (I get them all the time, LOL) They are not your target market anyway, you are only here to serve those who love what you do.  And second, while you should indeed focus on growing your list, you should also focus on making sure you are attracting YOUR exact target market so that your services fit their wants and needs!

Now go email your list today!

Cheers to Business, Beauty & Balance,

Vicki

P.S. My course FeMail Marketing Secrets is a GREAT resource for amping up your email marketing game and showing you how to profit!  Check it out here:

www.FeMailMarketingSecrets.com

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[E-VOLVE] Can You Find Yourself On This List? Vicki Irvin

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Vicki Irvin

I’m mailing out the Extreme Women Entrepreneur Event CD’s next week, if you want to hear my interview with Oprah’s boyfriend Stedman Graham and learn ALL about the event this year, make sure you go here and enter your info so we can send it to you first class mail, absolutely FREE!

CLICK TO ENTER INFO FOR EVENT CD

I have been going a bit bonkers lately! My husband is in Vegas filming the UFC reality show on FX TV. Translation, I am picking up the slack with him gone and he is pretty much gone for a couple of months.  I’m happy he is on national TV living out his dreams every Friday night, but I do have my moments when I want to fly down there and drag him back on a plane! LOL

But I am going to be a team player because my time to go and film for TV will be coming soon and I am going to need the same reciprocity! I know how to play the game, trust me!

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Can You Put A Check On This Checklist?

Do you watch Tabatha’s Salon Take Over? Great show, where Tabatha goes into fledgling hair salons and tries to save their businesses!

Her first course of action is to observe and make an assessment of just where the problem resides. Normally it’s poor customer service, lack of effective management, and most importantly, A LACK OF EFFECTIVE MARKETING!  Like I always say, you can open up whatever business you want, but if you can’t bring in the clients and customers, it won’t last too long!

Do you ever notice that you will see a new business go up, but walk back by in about 6 months and see a “going out of business” sign? Same issue.  People are under the false assumption that getting a store front, a business license and a website are all you need and that customers will come flocking to you.  Unfortunately, it’s just not that simple!

The same concept applies for an on-line business regardless if you are a coach, consultant, speaker or trainer.

No matter how much you try to avoid it, client attraction is king in truly profiting in your business!

I put together a basic checklist to help you determine if you are on the right path, or if you may be heading for that dreaded “going out of business” sign yourself!

  1. Do you have a website that captures email?
  2. Is traffic being driven to your website?
  3. Do you create new products for your business frequently?
  4. Do you have a structure in place to move people into higher levels of working with you?
  5. Do you have a loyal following of prospects that you consistently communicate with and provide value to?
  6. Do people meet you and say, “hey, I have heard of you before?” (brand recognition)
  7. Do you create “buzz” around everything you do?
  8. Are you confusing people by changing your brand as often as you change your socks?
  9. Do people often ask you what it is exactly you do because they are confused?
  10. Are you consistent in all you do or do you work in SPURTS?

Ideally you want all of these things in place, but we all have areas we need to work on. The key is to jump in the game and realize you must run your business on a system and stop treating it like a hobby.

Your challenge is to take inventory of which of these areas you need to bring up to par, and most importantly, actually take action to correct them.  Knowing is half the battle, but DOING is where the money is made!

You don’t have to try and do these things alone either, you can come hang out with me, Stedman Graham and ALL my other speakers at the Extreme Women Entrepreneur’s Event in July!

CLICK HERE FOR EVENT DETAILS

Cheers to Business, Beauty & Balance,

Vicki

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