From Energise - The Talent Liberation Company

You are here: Home / Archives for DigitalJenIPC

DigitalJenIPC

Asking your clients for referrals Part 2

By //  by 

Here is the second of 2 parts of a blog sharing tips on asking your clients for referrals. What tips would you add?

  1. Do a feedback questionnaire at the end of each project including prompting for referrals
  2. Choose your moment – when your client is especially happy with the work you are doing is a great time to ask
  3. Nurture your clients e.g. send them useful articles so that your request is part of regular communication, not out of the blue
  4. Have a clear niche, personal brand and verbal business card – this helps your clients to feel clear and articulate what you do and why you are good on your behalf
  5. Use LinkedIn – it is a great and efficient way to see who your clients know and ask them to introduce you quickly and easily
  6. Make time once a month to analyse the source of your work and plan the next month
  7. Thank your clients for referrals – e.g. send them a card or buy them lunch
  8. Get yourself into a resourceful state before picking up the phone – name how you want to feel e.g. confident and access a memory when you had this resource
  9. Picture a successful outcome, a proven technique used in sport
  10. Ask the advice of someone who is skilled at getting more work through existing clients for tips – this could also remind them to ask their clients for referrals for you too.

Which tips do you think are the most important ones? What would you say are the top 3 from this post, part 2 and

part 1?:

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/help-marketing-feels-like-a-maze/

If you found this blog useful: here is a useful related blog post: “How do I market what I do? 10 tips”: http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/how-do-i-market-what-i-do-10-tips/

Have you read our Energise bulletin “What’s in it for them?” http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1104411157334.html

To opt in to receive future Energise bulletins, click on this link: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

If you have any suggestions for useful topics, do share your ideas by posting a comment. Thanks!

Help! Marketing feels like a maze!

By //  by 

Modern marketing is like a maze and it needs to be worked out, or you go around in circles!

Getting more work from current clients is a lovely way to get work. It gives you an inner glow. Referrals make sense, for established businesses and especially for new start ups.

Referrals are a great way part of marketing and they cost nothing. Yet when most new or established business owners are asked what they do to guarantee that they receive a steady stream of referrals, they are hard pressed to give an answer. What is your view on this aspect of marketing?

Asking your clients for referrals or ‘referral marketing’ is the most powerful, cost effective and targeted business development you can do. The single most important factor is that you must first expect referrals. If you are not receiving referrals from every one of your clients, then consider implementing this one simple piece of business development from today. Here are 10 tips:

10 tips to ask for referrals with ease

1. Think of your clients as a friend who you have not seen for a while. This attitude will ensure your body language is always positive, warm, friendly and trusting.

2. Ask your clients open questions to help you to understand them, their needs and build rapport. E.g. How’s life? How’s work?

3. When you speak with your clients, pick up nuggets of information about their professional and personal lives that will create opportunities for you and your colleagues

4. Keep notes on your clients; their partner’s name, interests, where and when they are going on holiday, attitude to topical topics e.g. the Olympics etc. so that you have continuity when you get in touch and a link from last time you spoke

5. Identify any limiting beliefs you have about asking for referrals e.g. ‘it is pushy’ or ‘if I was any good they would offer to’ and shift them

6. Plan a regular slot in your diary and specific location to do this task

7. Craft your own way of asking for referrals that feels comfortable e.g. via e mail

8. Remember that if you have done a good job, your clients will feel positively predisposed to help you

9. Make it easy for your clients to refer to you, be specific in what client and what kind of project/brief you are focusing on

10. Offer to craft an introductory e mail to save your client time introducing you

What would your tips be from your own experience? Any examples of when you overcame any fears and got a fantastic bit of business simply from asking for a referral?

Getting more business from current clients makes sense, even more so in a downturn.

Next week – 10 more tips to get referrals with ease.

If you found this useful, have a read of our Energise bulletins:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

and opt in to get more free advice.

 

What Will You Do When You Grow Up?

By //  by 

Train Driver? Ski instructor?

One of our clients has landed their dream job!

Like many people, they fell into their career by accident. Most people never do anything about it.

Career change is not always radical. Finding a new boss or company that matches your values can make a BIG difference.

This sign quoting Steve Jobs sums it up. Isn’t life too short?

Is your career constipated? Read this:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1104344499290.html

How passionate are you about your career? Read this:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103660821089.html

To receive future Energise bulletins, click on this link:

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

For work and career trends and quotes to inspire you, follow us on Twitter @talentliberator

What work trends will affect your future?

By //  by 

 

Hello – how are you?

Blimey, modern life is full-on! Everything is changing so fast and it will get faster.

We have been reading lots of research about career success, employability, future skills and careers and the changing world of work so we can add even more value to our clients through these changing times.  This blog shares some of these insights.

Here are 12 significant trends people need to be aware of and take action about

  1. More specialised mastery needed – serial mastery
  2. Connectivity, collaboration and networks central
  3. World is increasingly virtual
  4. Increasingly complex working and business environment
  5. Accelerated change
  6. Continuously growing competition and fragmentation
  7. Skills have a shorter shelf life
  8. Peace, quiet and reflection time under threat
  9. Growth in innovation and creativity and solutions from diverse networks
  10. Working for companies more flexible and looser
  11. Need to create a trusted brand – make it authentic, create reputation and manage it
  12. Evolving positioning key – ‘morph and slide’

Source – Lynda Grafton “The Shift – the future of work is already here.”

We love trends and hope you found this potted summary useful.

How will these trends affect you?

What actions can you take now to stay one step ahead?

Portfolio careers is one trend on the up – read our career guide for The Telegraph – click here:

http://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/article/3899124/what-is-portfolio-working-and-why-is-it-growing-/

Download our free skills report:

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/changingcareersreport/

 

Are you completely unemployable?

By //  by 

I am completely unemployable. I have been self employed for over 14 years. When I left employment, the only thing I missed was the IT helpline, my company car and the salary. I still remember the excitement of getting my first invoice paid! My Mum designed my first logo, my office was my bedroom and I didn’t have any business cards for the first 2 years, just a freelance-focused CV.  

Are you considering self employment or do you know someone who is? Perhaps you are finding the current jobs market frustrating and challenging. 

Employment no longer provides the security or certainty it once did. The world of work is never going to return to what it was, pre-credit crunch, and many mature workers will need/want to earn for longer before retiring. Many people have misperceptions about self employment, so don’t consider it as an option. In the UK, over million people are now self employed (Source ONS).

Self employment isn’t for everyone, and if structure, hierarchy, belonging, financial security and teamwork are important to you, it may be your idea of hell! For many, redundancy provides a push and financial cushion to try self employment.  

What are the pros & cons?

Pros: what you put in you get out; design to suit you; freedom, choice & flexibility; no politics; tailor to your values, needs, wants and strengths.

Cons: less certainty of income; need to market yourself which many hate; multi tasking – being cleaner, project manager, new business person all yourself; funding your own training, holidays, sickness and pension; long hours especially at the beginning.

What types are there?

There are lots of different types with varying degrees of security/need to market yourself, including; freelance; contracting; interim; creating a business & building a brand by yourself or with others; buying a franchise; a home based internet business; part of a portfolio career; information marketing and being an associate for someone else’s business.  

We have made sure we have updated our skills, experience and knowledge to be useful to help our clients in the fast changing world of work. In the self employment sector, we help our clients:

  • Set up a business for the first time
  • Reposition an existing business
  • Existing business owner changing direction 
  • Become a freelance/contractor, define a personal brand and market themselves

We LOVE helping people become self employed because it utilises all of our skills. It is really satisfying helping people to believe in their talents, increase in confidence and overcome blocks they have about marketing themselves, especially in a downturn.

5 Common mistakes

Mistake 1):  You don’t check whether it fits your values, needs and wants and make a hasty decision e.g. setting up a business with the wrong people for you. Solution: evaluate your options with a career coach and ensure your decision fits you and will give you what you want/need.

Mistake 2): You try to do everything yourself rather than playing to your strengths. Solution: Be realistic; get good support – people you trust e.g. a virtual PA; do skill swaps to save money.

Mistake 3): You focus too much on earning rather than creating and evolving your strategy and plan. Solution; block out time in your diary and do planning away from your usual work base and get a business mentor as a sounding board to help you get your niche right and stay on track. 

Mistake 4): You dislike marketing yourself and don’t continually evolve your strategy, so sabotage your own success. Solution: Get a marketing mentor and explore your blocks about marketing. This is one of our specialisms – we do talks and articles about ‘blowing your own trumpet’ as well as coaching. 

Mistake 5): You focus on the short term instead of longer term to create a sustainable success. Solution: Save a fixed amount of your income to fund training, holidays, pensions, sickness and quiet periods; get a coach/mentor and block out time regularly to review, reflect, plan and refocus.  

If you are considering self employment or know someone who is, you might like to read about some of the clients we have helped to change career and become self employed. Click on this link: 

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786138562.html 

If you are pondering self employment, why not get in touch? Rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

Feeling Stuck?

By //  by 

I was scanning the best sellers list in a book shop over Easter and noticed 2 books in the top 15 about being stuck and what to do about it. The phrase feeling stuck appears 36 million times in Google search.

Feeling stuck is not something people talk about, is it? Especially the government or CEO of a company. It is a fascinating topic affecting many areas, relationships, career, projects etc.

Often feeling stuck is caused by something we are not even aware of, e.g. resistance caused by a fear so it is hard to put your finger on it and do something about it. Try saying that to your boss when you are procrastinating.

With so much uncertainty about, one of the worst things to do when feeling stuck is stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away. Occasionally around the corner, there is a magic solution and it is best to take no action, but this is rare.

Here are 3 tips to help you become unstuck:

  1. Have a ‘stuckness audit’ with yourself, for a project or your company to identify the ‘don’t knows’
  2. Identify the consequence of staying stuck and taking no action and the benefit of taking action
  3. Check in with yourself regularly and make time to ask yourself a self-reflective question e.g. What’s the resistance about?

For a full article about becoming unstuck, e mail rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

Are you receiving the free Energise bulletins? They share insights and tip to help you move forward in your career.

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

 

Do You Have Employability Skills?

By //  by 

Wouldn’t it be useful to know what the magic recipe is for all those job seekers out there – those employability skills? I have been reading some research about employability, (Source = DWP 2011 Employers recruitment behaviour and decisions SMEs) desired characteristics of candidates by employers. It is an interesting topic with a lot of unconscious bias and perceptions going on.

99% of employers are small or medium enterprises (SMEs) so they are a good prospect for getting a job. Increasingly many people are getting frustrated with the politics and reduced promotion prospect caused by the downturn in bigger companies. Working for an SME gives you a wider remit and new challenges to get your teeth into.

So what are SMEs looking for in terms of employability skills?

Flexibility: Someone with a flexible attitude to work and a willingness to perform a number of roles

Competence: Ability to do the job properly

Reliability: Someone who will be at work when they are supposed to be

Stability: Personal stability is often equated in employers’ minds with reliability

Location: Living close to work so minimising cost and disruption with commuting problems

Attitude to work: Strong work ethic

Personality: Positive, proactive, good team workers

Honesty: Employees who can be trusted.

This might feel like an obvious list, but it is worth remembering as you need to prove you have these employability skills with examples at the interview. Often employers have perceptions/bias that you need to overcome e.g. younger people are less reliable than older people and foreign nationals have a better work ethic than UK citizens.

With a small company, recruitment is felt to be more risky because there are less people representing the company, so the impact of making the wrong decision feels greater.

The competencies that employers are changing. What do you think they are looking for now in the ever changing world of work?

Are you receiving our Energise bulletins yet?

Click on this link to read historical ones:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

Click on this link to opt in to receive future ones absolutely free.

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

Thanks!

Pondering Becoming Self-Employed? Part 2.

By //  by 

Here is part 2 – more top tips to help you from  members of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. (CIM)

“I would focus on the vision and proposition of your business first and then optimize your network, and use your contacts to get referrals/introductions, generate word of mouth and help create awareness and interest in your business. You should never underestimate the power of networking as a marketing tool.”

“Do not venture out on your own if you don’t have active customers/clients in hand and then build from there. For a small start up, word of mouth marketing is probably the soundest way to go.”

 “Work out what knowledge you have that a group of people (your potential customers) are willing to pay for, collate contact data on the group so you can reach them, and then ask them how they would like to hear about what you have to offer.  The above is much harder than it sounds. Bernadette Doyle of Client Magnets has excellent advice on how to do this http://clientmagnets.com/ She has helped me enormously over the last couple of years.”

“Develop a thick skin too. That need not be as painful as it sounds. Also, obtain testimonials – be direct and ask for them if necessary – particularly if you’re offering a service and if that service is yourself!”

“Very few people get the success right first time but if you do a bit of research into what you think are your segments, talk to key stakeholders in those markets, create a ‘niche’ for yourself and do a 2-3 year marketing plan as identified above covering – external environment P.E.S.T.E.L., the specific market you are going to be trading in, your products/services, S.W.O.T. analysis, are you going to have the capital to sustain the business given the difficult economic challenges you face and a contingency plan if things start to go pear-shape? It’s not easy to go out there and crack it but you really need to ‘market’ yourself and your products well. Get out and talk to people, network, fish around in the small ponds to get known and established. Most of all, believe in yourself and your products – even when things don’t seem to be going right!”

“Be creative, follow your instincts and have fun with it. You are allowed. Everything else is a process and sensible.”

“You can sub-contract much of the marketing – even get people to help you with strategy.”

“The one thing you MUST DO yourself is take total responsibility for SALES.
It doesn’t matter if you employ a sales manager (or even director) get good at sales.”

 “The hardest thing is to employ yourself, anticipate the staff you will need and start setting out the culture of your organisation drawing up job & people specifications as you are actually doing the job.“

“BRAND the business. Plan it based on future expectations.”

 Source = Chartered Institute of Marketing LinkedIn group January 2012

 Here are some client examples of people who we have helped become self- employed.

 Becoming self-employed as a working mum:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106769308248.html

 Evolving a business with changing market conditions:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106770475879.html

 Turning a passion into a business:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106787631322.html

 Self-employment in your 50s:

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106768912605.html

 Why are we useful to help people become self-employed?

  • Background in marketing, brand strategy and communication; design, innovation and advertising
  • Helping people to ‘blow their own trumpet’ is a specality  – we have published articles and done events on this topic
  • Good at coming up with insights and ideas to help you achieve results fast
  • We have been self employed for 14 years including doing contracts, freelance and marketing a service
  • Certified coach so help you focus and overcome actual and perceived blocks
  • Lots of practical tools and tips giving you more for your investment; 60 articles, 40 career guides and Energise bulletins on Self Promotion, Career Strategies and Smart living and working topics
  • Great connector of people and resources to save you time
  • Energise ‘Marketing what I do’ on-line prgramme, e mail us for details:

 rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

 Click here for details of our service setting up your own business:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=37

 Thanks!

 Rachel

Pondering Becoming Self-employed? Part 1

By //  by 

Just before Christmas, I gave a talk to a group of people who are part of the government’s Enterprise initiative about ‘becoming self-employed.’

It reminded me that the only thing I missed about employment apart from the regular salary 14 years ago was having an IT helpline to mop up my IT incompetence.  

Giving the talk got me thinking afresh about self-employment and what advice to give people now. My marketing training was in the dark ages, otherwise known as the 1980’s so I thought I would ask via LinkedIn what members of the Chartered Institute of Marketing thought. The question I posed was:

“What advice would you give about marketing to someone becoming self-employed for the first time?”

In case you are thinking of jumping into the world of self-employment or perhaps being pushed, as after all, it is a young industry, here are their tips:

“Make sure you offer something that is different and be prepared to change and update what you offer as your market whatever you choose will evolve.”

“Draw up a business plan and keep within a budget.  Network and build up your contacts carefully, targeting your chosen market carefully.”

“Business is about making money and protecting margin. Get your pricing, costings and overheads right, choose the customers you want in the location you want them, don’t be frightened to lose them and keep your promises. And most important – get some of your own money behind you to weather the downtimes.”

“Think niches. Think networks. Think partners. Think elevator pitch. Think about what the customers’ hurts/needs and wants are and how you can engage with the customers. Get some good books written by small business people for small business people.”

“Be concise and give a prospect a real reason to choose you.”

“Be prepared for the quiet periods and have a plan to identify opportunities in a downturn. It’s great to get a regular salary however when you are self employed income can be very irregular. Also, use your contacts to identify opportunities and network where your customers are likely to be.  Have plans for worse the case scenarios.”

“Take your time. You don’t have to do everything straight away. It’s better to do it right than just to do it.”

“Have a plan in mind and listing it down on a paper is very important. You should be very clear about your Target Segment, narrow it as much as you can. Also, one more important step in marketing is to know the Opportunities and possible Threats. And not to forget depending on your business prepare the Marketing Plan!!”

“Prepare a simple marketing plan and revisit/update often. Do a SWOT on yourself, your business and your main competitors. Take a section of the plan at a time to work on, develop and understand more fully. Know your competition and identify how you stand out from them. Learn the marketing basics from webinars and meetings. Consider carefully your communications options and don’t rush into any major spend. Test and measure.”

“Build profitable relationships in the sector where you are a real “expert”.  Hopefully you have some work/clients coming with you but you should also build your base. And don’t do work for free in the hope that one day it’ll come right – we all do it and it’ll suck up your time.”

“Rehearse an Elevator Test to ensure that you dont miss any points when talking to prospects. Use your track record/expertise to give credibility to your pitch. Attend any events where your target is likely to be – expect to build relationships first before a sale.”

“You are the whole company; you are the personal assistant, the secretary,the financial accountant, the driver, the messenge, .but best of all you are also the shareholder,all profits and proceeds come to you..Never ever ever underestimate the power of marketing.”

Source = Chartered Institute of Marketing LinkedIn group December 2011

If you are pondering becoming self-employed, you might find:

1) Our bulletins useful:

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

2) These client examples inspiring to make that leap, even in a downturn.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786138562.html

Wishing you a successful 2012 personally and professionally.

Rachel

Working Mums Job Satisfaction?

By //  by 

I have noticed a trend emerging in the ether in the last few weeks. It has been simmering in the background for a while, but its temperature is definitely hotting up. The theme is paradoxical, because the ‘fixed grin, thank goodness I have a job’ has been nudging the ‘I want job satisfaction and to feel engaged at work’ off the top slot, so there is likely to be a trend that is a bit hidden at the moment. I have noticed the trend to be especially prevalent amongst working Mums.

If they are doing grunt work or where they get treated like second class citizens, the wrench of being away from their kids is magnified.

After all, if you are going to have to fork out not insignificant sums of money to pay for an au pair, nanny or nursery, you at least want to feel that the sacrifice is worth it, and work is rewarding, and for many it seems it isn’t and maybe never has been.

There is such a huge waste of female talent amongst working mothers. Why don’t employers do more about flexibility?

Could working mums be the key to keeping the ‘fixed grin’ brigade happy through these challenging years, with the very resilience and patience that their dual role gives, an asset to share in the Boardroom? What is your view?

Did you know we do gift vouchers? They make a great practical and thoughtful Christmas present or leaving gift. E mail me for info rachel@liberateyourtalent.com