Tag: sales

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to Combine Everything Under One Brand

Posted on by Maria Ross

07.12.16 One Brand (Blog)

I like things tidy…do you? While I’m considerably less organized as a Type A personality than I used to be prior to my brain injury, I’m still an organization freak. My biggest pet peeve is the jumble of wires behind our TV that is now our hub for cable, internet, phone, game consoles and more. The sight of it literally gives me a headache.

But my obsession with organization is a huge benefit for my clients. One of my superpowers is being able to connect dots that no one else can see to create a clear, crisp narrative.

My clients often have an enviable problem: they are interesting people with many passions and skills to offer the world. And they are full of ideas on how to do it. Which is all great. Until you confuse the heck out of your target audience.

First step to clarity? Understand that not everything you love has to be a part of what people pay you to do (TWEET THIS!)

If you have ever asked, “How do I combine everything I do under one brand?”, here are 5 steps to tie everything together:

  1. Take inventory: Write down every offering or skill you currently, or would like, to showcase to your market. Seeing things on paper is a big step to getting it out of your head and into some sort of system.
  2. Identify the common threads: Trust me, there will be some. How do I know? Because they are all stemming from one person or company with its own unique personality! If you are drawn to offering different types of things, there is something linking those all together for you, whether it be a theme, audience or product/service “type”: Do you see a pattern across all your offerings and interests about healthy living? Storytelling? Connecting women? Transformation? Solving complex tech problems? Fine design? What is it that runs through everything?
  3. Define your core audience: If many of your offerings can serve the same audience, great! But if they are all targeting completely different ones, you may have to pare down and get focused. It’s going to cost too much time and money to build your reputation among so many disparate audiences. Plus, people will get confused as to if you are right for them. Focus on the low hanging fruit.
  4. Determine a compelling “Brand Umbrella”: What is the overarching theme that ties everything together? When you find the right one, you will see that you can easily fit all your offerings and passions under that umbrella in a way that makes sense to people. Brands you know and love offer tons of products or services but usually under the same brand umbrella: Method is all about pure cleaning products that don’t harm the planet. Dove is about real beauty and healthy skin. Alexandra Franzen is about writing and self-expression. Hiro Boga is about building a soulful business.
  5. Purge: Anything that doesn’t fit. Maybe those are not your business’ core offerings but simply personal passions. Your brand umbrella can help you find your creative brand hook that can lead to a snazzy title, a unique company name, a signature touch or a unique visual device (juicy fruit that is irresistible to resist, perhaps?!).

For example,  I determined a while back that my brand umbrella was “irresistible storytelling.” I help clients tell compelling stories, I speak at companies and conferences, I write books…I even enjoy acting and voiceover work, which is all about storytelling and even wrote food and wine articles for websites and print – but these are not the core ways I make my money. So I shifted that from an “offering” category to a “passion” category – and now use that personal interest to add color and life to my work.

Personal passions that have nothing to do with how you make money can also be called your Swirl, as publicity expert Melissa Cassera says. This is what gives your work a unique voice and flavor. You can color how you do the work you do with these unique interests. My love for wine and past wine writing experience does not mean I have to go out an create an entire company or offering as a “wine writer.” But it makes my stuff a lot more interesting to read!

A wise coach once told me, ‘You can do everything you want to do. You just don’t have to do it all right now or even with this evolution of your business.” (TWEET THIS!)

Truth.

Image credit via Flickr
Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Three Strategies for Dealing with Problem Clients or Customers

Posted on by Maria Ross

3 Strategies to Handle “Problem” Clients

My two-year old son is my heart, my joy and my life.

His can also be a pain in the butt.

A friend once said that dealing with toddlers is like dealing with drunk people. They can be the happiest, most joyful people one minute and turn into a nasty, crying, incoherent mess the next. Sounds about right.

I’ve seen some parallels between toddler behavior and challenging clients. And I realized that some of the coping strategies we use with my son are actually pretty good tips for working with a “problem child” client or customer. (TWEET THIS!)

Here are three reasons why challenging clients or customers can behave like toddlers – and what you can do about it. And, PS, these apply to both product and service businesses:

  1. They don’t respect boundaries – because boundaries were never set: My tussles with my son are often because he simply does not know where the line is. If you’ve never tried dive-bombing off the couch onto hardwood floor before, you would also be surprised if all of the sudden you ended up in Time Out. It’s my responsibility to set clear boundaries of what is and is not okay.

Same holds true with your clients or customers. They can’t read your mind.

What you can do:

  • Draft a clear contract that outlines exactly what you will deliver and what is not included. If a particular clause or section needs their attention (no refunds, payment plans, etc.) make them initial that section.
  • Set boundaries on when you are reachable and how to best get in touch with you (email, mobile phone, not on weekends, etc.)
  • Firmly but kindly say “no” when asked to do something out of scope, or better yet, refer them to someone who can help them.
  • Post simple-to-understand (and easy to find) policies on your website, in your store or on your sales page so there are no surprises.
  1. They make irrational demands: My toddler has requested, at one time or another, to run around with a sharp knife, play outside right before bedtime, or that I make him something and then, once made, he refuses to eat it. These demands are maddening. The tantrums that follow even more so.

Certain clients or customers ask for the sun, moon and stars, make wacky requests or behave irrationally, which could result in emotional meltdowns that would even impress my toddler (Yes, a client has yelled at me and my team before. He was not a client for long!)

What you can do:

  • Set clear boundaries upfront: See above.
  • Acknowledge the request: “I can see that your boss is demanding the work earlier than expected. You’re trying to see if we can move up the timeline we agreed to upfront and still include everything you asked for, correct?”
  • Empathize and mirror their concern. Only then will they be receptive to what you have to say next: “That’s a rough spot for you to be in! I can see why you’re so frustrated.”
  • Get to the root of the demand and offer an alternative, if you can. “Can you share what’s causing this issue and maybe we can find another solution?” Or, “We can try to deliver that to you ahead of time, but then your final deliverable will not include x, y and z. Are you okay with that?”
  • If there is no alternative other than an outright “No”, offer a referral or resource. “I really want you to get the help you need, and unfortunately, I don’t do that type of work. May I recommend so-and-so?”
  • These ideas work even if you have a product or retail business. Acknowledge, empathize, find alternate solutions or refer them out.
  1. They don’t listen: No matter how many times I ask him to not do something, my son sometimes never learns. “I’m telling you that if you put your hand on that pot you will burn yourself. NO TOUCH!” And he slowly stares me down as he stretches his hand toward the forbidden item, as if to say, “Are you watching?!”

Clients and customers always have the final say. It’s their money. But it can be hard, especially for services professionals, when some clients refuse to listen, things go sideways and then they might blame you. It’s sort of like talking to my two-year old: “I TOLD you not to touch the stove and you did it anyway!”

What you can do:

  • Back up your recommendations with data, a similar experience or a recent article.
  • Share both the upsides and downsides of all options to show you’ve considered everything.
  • Gently remind them they are paying you for your expertise, not to “yes” them to death (unless they are….?) or lead them to failure. It’s your responsibility to at least voice concerns by making a clear and professional case – but don’t harp on this if they continue to say no. In the end, it is their money and decision.
  • If they still won’t listen, document your recommendations in email or more formally. You can even say, “We are committed to helping you move forward, however, we’d like to officially document our concerns one last time.” Trust me on this.
  • If this is not a path you can morally, ethically or intellectually get behind, break ties. Do so gracefully by focusing on their needs and what would be the best value for them. Offer a refund only if that’s appropriate.

Now…..hang on……here’s your WHIPLASH moment:

Are YOU a “problem child” for someone else, or are you a good client or customer? Think about your web designer, copywriter or social media strategist. Hmmm…..well, um…yikes.

If you want to make sure you’re being a good client to your own vendors and consultants, here’s a FREE GUIDE I made for you: How to Play Nice with Consultants. Enjoy!

Image Credit via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Fix It!

Posted on by Maria Ross

06.07.16FixIt (Blog)

“Fix it, Mommy!”

My two-year-old repeats this refrain at least twenty times a day. It could be about his toys, or his socks falling down, or some milk he spilled.

“Fix it” doesn’t always mean that something is broken. What he actually desires is for something to work the way it’s supposed to, or be within reach or simply look tidier.

Many times, entrepreneurs or freelancers think their business is “broken.” No one knows who they are. They can’t stand out. They are not attracting the right clients, resulting in nightmare projects or people who haggle on price. Or they are not attracting ANY clients. They can’t get email signups, their sales inquiries are few and far between  – even though there is a lot of goodwill for what they do and they have built a solid reputation.

I never promise to “fix” anyone’s business. No one can do that for you because that’s a big, complex question. If you want to pay $20,000 to some guru who promises that they can, well, proceed with caution.

Why?

Because it’s not about “fixing.” Most of the time, I find that clients are offering real value, bold creativity and fabulous wisdom. Nothing is inherently broken.  They’ve got amazing talents, content or wisdom to share with the world.

What they actually need is clarity, because their message or offering is so confusing, the beauty of it gets lost in a less-than-stellar elevator pitch or overwhelming home page copy.

What they actually need is focus, because they are chasing every new shiny promotional object, praying something will work. And most of the time, they are chasing the wrong things that will never work. Once you focus on your ideal customers, where they are, and what they need and focus on doing a few activities really well, you will see great results.

What they actually need is creativity, because they are so busy grasping at everything that the creative well has run dry. The passion is gone.  I’ve so been there, believe me! They are cranking out soulless guides or bland social media posts or boring blogs (if they even have energy left to do these things) that lack the unique and strong voice I can instantly hear when they tell me why they do what they do.  All this busy-ness results in burn-out, not new customers. With my guidance, they reignite their spark to discover that the experiences, stories and passions that they are discounting are actually their greatest brand strengths.

You don’t always need “fixing.” What you may need is an infusion of clarity, focus and creativity. (Tweet this!)

If your business is not where you’d like it to be right now, I’d urge you to stop for a moment. Take stock. Perhaps, like my son, you simply want your business to work the way it’s supposed to, or for your goals to be within reach or that your efforts are more streamlined and tidy!

See if any of these three culprits is actually to blame before you try another tool or switch directions yet again.

Image credit via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

5 Ways to Make Marketing More Enjoyable

Posted on by Maria Ross

5.24.165ways to Make Marketing Fun (Blog)

I adore business owners that say they hate promotion. It’s super cute.

This comes in other forms as well: I hate sales, I hate networking, I hate marketing.  hate writing.

Why so much hate?

If this is you, let me comfort you a little bit. It’s not that you “hate” any of those things. Truly. Please save hate for things like reconciling your books or filling out government forms.

I believe that what you actually hate is the way you think it has to be done. Somewhere along the way, you associated cheesy spokespeople, ego-centric self promoters and jargon-filled web copy as “marketing.”

If you are trying to send any sort of message to the world, be it attracting customers or promoting a book or asking for donations, then you are a marketer.

You should be the most excited person in the world to share your story and your value. If not you, then who?

If talking about and promoting your work doesn’t light you up, then why should your audience care? (TWEET THIS!)

So let’s banish all of your old notions about what promotion “should” be, shall we? Here are 5 spicy ways to make marketing more fun:

  1. Make friends, don’t “network”: If you go a BBQ and you don’t know anyone, isn’t it fun to stumble upon an interesting person or someone you want to get to know better over coffee? You’re meeting them casually, letting mutual interests guide the conversation, and you can see if you click….or not. The truth is that we do business with people we like. Not everyone is going to appreciate that snarky sense of humor but then c’mon over to my house, because I’ll love you! If you want people to know about your business, you have to…you know, be around people! Offline AND online. Instead of tensing yourself up into a stress ball the next time you “have to” attend a networking event, think of it like a block party. Who do you like talking to? Who is interesting? Who did you exchange knowing grins with when you made that sarcastic crack about the boring speaker? Give yourself the challenge of meeting one (just ONE!) interesting or cool person at your next function or in your LinkedIn group or wherever and see where it takes you.

Read: The 11 Laws of Likability by Michelle Lederman and I’m at a Networking Event—Now What??? By Sandy Jones-Kaminski

  1. Write Love Letters, Not Sales Pages: Maybe you’d rather dance on hot coals than write….anything. Or perhaps you’re a little less extreme and would just rather not write “sales copy.” Again, you may hate this because you’re conditioned to think it has to sound like a cheesy infomercial or that you simply must have tons of BUY NOW!!! arrows all over a 9-mile long page. Not true. The best sales pages are those that speak to the benefits the potential buyer gets, of course, but they are also personal and approachable. No one wants to be sold to, but everyone wants to be wooed! Approach your next sales page like a love letter: I know you crave x, y, and z, Maria, and this is why you’ll love what I made for you!” Think about how you convince your friends to read a new book or try a new restaurant that you love. You’re excited, not robotic. You talk about all the reasons they would like it. You immediately text them the link so they don’t even have to make an effort. Treat your sales copy like your next juicy recommendation to a friend and see how much more you enjoy writing it!

Do: Need more inspiration to get your writing juices flowing? Try this creative tip from Melissa Cassera. And here’s a fabulous template from Alexandra Franzen if you need one. Oh, and total thanks to verbalizing this concept goes to my friends and collaborators Alex and Melissa (I never titled it anything as eloquent!)

  1. Automate Where You Can: Rather than dying a slow death every day, batch and automate as much as you can for the week (or month, if you can be that on top of things.). If you can set it and forget it, it’s a lot less painful. I know a few successful solopreneurs that batch all their blog posts by locking themselves in a hotel for a weekend and cranking out content for the next six months. Then they just schedule the blog posts, all the associated social media posts to drive traffic and BAM, simply check in on comments when it goes live. If they even use Comments. Some folks choose not to do this.

Try: BufferApp, Hootsuite, Missing Lettr.

  1. Take an Improv Class or Join Toastmasters: If you have something to share with the world, you have to be able to tell them about it. No getting around it. If public speaking–whether giving a simple elevator pitch, running a small workshop or presenting a keynote to thousands­–horrifies you as much as the thought of a world without wine (GASP!), face your fear. Part of your anxiety comes from lack of practice or fear of the unexpected. Like anything else, the more you do something, the better you will get at it. Sharpen your skills and make a game out of it! Take a local improv class to get comfortable with thinking on the fly (and to get comfortable in your own body, which could be something adding to your angst.) And have fun doing it! I, personally, adore public speaking because there is no greater honor quite like enlightening and inspiring a person right in front of you and to see their eyes light up! When you attack your fear head-on, you will not only defeat the bully, you may find this is a wonderful and fulfilling way to spread your message.

Do: Type “Find an improv class” into Google. Join a local Toastmasters chapter.

Read: The Introvert Entrepreneur by Beth Buelow. And these 10 tips to improve your public speaking skills.

  1. When all else fails, outsource: OK, so there might be some ongoing marketing tasks that you really do loathe. That’s fine. You can always outsource tasks that bring you no joy or on which your time would be better spent elsewhere. Look to a virtual assistant (VA), intern, agency, consultant or perhaps even a new hire. You can find great inexpensive resources on sites such as Upwork, Fiverr and 99Designs­ but you need to be very selective and clear on what you want in these places, as they attract all levels of talent. Some specific folks I turn to are Worldwide101 for my VA, Virtually Savvy for social media management, Hey Eleanor for copywriting, and Tiny Blue Orange for website management. For interns, contact your local college or university to find business, marketing or communications students who are looking for internship opportunities.

Image Credit via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Two Tips to Score More Corporate Clients

Posted on by Red Slice

How-To-Get-More-Corporate-ClientsMany of my clients do amazing work for individuals. They are coaches, consultants, designers, or health and wellness professionals who have transformed the lives of those they serve.

But sometimes, they want bigger things.

They want to expand their client base to include corporate clients and get hired by organizations to do workshops, seminars or just be their go-to (fill in the blank) for the employees. Frankly, there’s just more money there!

But their brand has a problem: they are speaking the language of individuals and not understanding the way the corporate machine works.

See, I’ve been on the corporate side. For a long time. Vendors used to pitch me about their services and talents and I knew exactly what the world of the director or executive was like. I had to say “no” to people I would have loved to work with, simply because this was not a priority or I could not prove the value to the organization well enough.

It’s not enough to stick with the brand benefits you’ve been touting to individuals:

Reduce stress! Stay focused! Increase your self-esteem! Unlock your creativity!

When it comes to selling into large organizations of any kind, you have to bear these two important tips in mind:

  • In some cases, the buyer may not be your end client, which means selling them on what you can do to make them successful.
  • The buyer has to unlock corporate budget, which means tying your work back to corporate value.

The Buyer May Not Be The End Client

The buyer is often in charge of finding people like you, but may not be the person you will serve. For example, you might offer leadership coaching, but you’re being hired by the VP of Human Resources or Talent Development to serve their constituents.

This is important because the benefits you cite are not about the person you’re talking to, but what you can do for their “customers,” so to speak.

Who are they responsible for? What needs do they have to fill for those people?

It’s a subtle shift, but it’s about proving value to a third party. You are serving someone else, but the VP gets to make the decision. What are her goals? What are her success metrics?

Taking our leadership coach as an example: if Claire at Acme Company is responsible for employee retention, satisfaction and management capability, then chances are she needs you. She is responsible for employee success, performance, growth and succession planning. Claire is charged with grooming new leadership. Bingo! In addition to talking about what you bring to her employees, you need to make sure Claire understands how you will help her succeed in her job. Slightly tailored message that needs to be developed, but many of my clients have failed to think about Claire’s world before pitching their services.

The Buyer Must Unlock Corporate Budget

When selling to individuals, or even solopreneurs or start-up founders, they are making the ultimate decision and in many cases, using their own funds to do so.

Not so with corporate clients.

They are spending corporate budgets and need approval. Which means the client must justify how your work benefits the organization at large. It’s not enough to say how much happier, more creative, more mindful, more focused their employees will be from working with you.

You have to tie your work into benefitting the company’s growth or bottom line. (Tweet this!)

This just means taking an extra step or two with your messaging. What does all that great individual work buy the company? If you enable people to handle stress better, then the company can reduce sick days and burnout, which reduces costs and increases productivity. Can you cite any statistics or numbers? That would be insanely effective to convince the powers-that-be to loosen the purse strings.

Or maybe your work is about getting people to think more creativity or trust their intuition. How does this translate to a company benefit? Maybe you’ve seen it in action. Does it improve workplace relationships and foster better internal communications? Does it yield more innovation and employee satisfaction, which in turn helps the company not only stand out in the marketplace but attract the best talent?

Yes, many companies want to do right by their employees simply because it’s the right thing to do. They want them to be happier, to grow, to communicate more effectively, to be healthier. But the dark truth is that while the intentions are good, the bottom-line motives still exist: the expense has to benefit the company at large in some way, such as increasing revenue, lowering costs, decreasing turnover, or even attracting better talent.

The good news is that there are many simple ways to connect the dots when pitching such clients. You just have to remember the world your corporate clients live in and the challenges they face and adjust your message to be relevant.

Photo credit: Benjamin Child, Unsplash

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Are you a coach, consultant or contractor? Why you need to be clear.

Posted on by Maria Ross

11.10.15-Coach-Consultant-Contractor-Blog

The other day, I was talking to a fellow business consultant about our worlds. A friend had connected us as “two power women” which I was pretty honored by and this woman, for sure had the power gene in spades and I instantly fell in love with her over the phone. She was bold, fierce and knew exactly what her value was in the market. Confidence (not to be confused with arrogance, my friends) is sexy.

She admired the way I’ve packaged up my consulting versus my coaching offerings, which led us to commiserate about how people confuse the terms consultant, coach and contractor.

Such misunderstanding forced me to tactfully point out to a really difficult CEO many years ago that he was paying me to be a consultant, not a contractor. He wanted to go down a path that was in stark contrast to our team’s findings and experience, and so we parted ways.

So what’s the diff? Keep in mind these are not legal definitions for tax purposes, but thoughts on how to be mindful of positioning yourself:

A consultant is an advisor. She researches and uses specific tools and processes to recommend a strategy or course of action. You are paying for that recommendation. Whether you choose to reject or implement it is up to you, and part of the contract should state how much back and forth or “tweaking” is done to that recommendation. It also means a consultant may or may not choose to continue working with a client on a strategy they feel is the wrong direction. Some consultants will go on to implement the plan they come up with for you, but some do not. For my clients, I offer discussion and tweaking of my SLICE package while we’re engaged on the project. After that, they can do with it what they want. It’s not an endless loop.

A contractor is someone you hire to do a specific task based on their expertise but ultimately, your orders. They implement an existing plan or activity. Run these campaigns. Manage my Twitter account. Create the flyer with this copy. They are very valuable and while many contractors call themselves this from a legal/tax standpoint, and offer both strategic advice and implementation, the understood business arrangement is that “you do what I say” and he or she is essentially an order-taker.

A coach is a mentor, a guide, a sanity-checker, a sounding board. Someone who can offer a framework to talk through your specific ideas and plans and then you, as the client, are responsible for taking action or not. The onus is on the client to come prepared with an agenda, discussion points, key questions they want to hash out. A coach does not necessarily produce deliverables for you unless that is the arrangement or they choose to share a tool, article, or perhaps, research something for you. But like a psychotherapist, there are no “action items” for the coach after each session.

If you offer professional services, be mindful of how you position yourself. Your title is a branding decision. I call myself a “Brand Strategist” to really drive home that if you need someone to create a detailed tactical marketing plan and execute it, I’m not your girl.

Your job title defines your brand position. Make a smart choice to ensure the right expectation of your work. (Tweet this!)

Look through your website. What do you call yourself? What could this lead prospects to believe you do or do not provide? Are you finding yourself constantly re-hashing your core competencies? The problem could lie in your job title or messaging.

Good news is that I can help! If you’re struggling to position your offerings or clearly articulate what you do and why you’re different I’ve got so much more to share with you. Check out MOMENTUM Pro to learn more!

Image Credit: Erin Berzel Photography, erinberzel.com via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

4 Tips to Pricing Your Offerings – and Making Money

Posted on by Maria Ross

09.08.15 Pricing (Blog)

Whether you’re brand new to the professional services game or have been at it a while, I am willing to bet you constantly wrestle with this question:

How much should I charge?

And don’t forget this question’s rambunctious cousins: What is my hourly rate? How much should I mark up? Should I propose this project at a flat rate or on hourly basis?

This question is tricky when you sell “time” or intellectual property and not hard goods with manufacturing costs associated with them. When I first started out consulting, I was lucky enough to have hired people like me before and knew the ballpark going rate. Plus, I knew that I had to price in such a way as to emphasize that I was a consultant, not a contractor. Nuanced distinction but very important in my field: Consultants make recommendations and advise on strategy. Contractors complete tasks they are told to do.

It’s important to remember that pricing is a branding decision (Tweet this!)

Who is the ideal client you want to attract and how do you want to be perceived? Price too high and you may be out of reach of your target clientele. Price too low and people may think your work has no value.

We’ve all made pricing mistakes. I took a bath on a nightmare project early on in my business when I neglected to add in hours on for my time, assuming that my mark-up on my subcontractors would cover me. It did not. While I made all my subcontractors a hefty sum on that almost year-long engagement, it’s too embarrassing to admit to you what I netted out from all that work and heartache. After we finally walked away, I licked my wounds and learned a valuable lesson to always, always factor in my hours as a separate line item to subcontractor markups.

This was such a popular question from my audience that I sought out the advice of the woman who changed the way I look at pricing: Audrey Godwin.

Audrey Godwin is the CEO and Founder of The Godwin Group. She coaches women business owners and transforms them into financially savvy CEO’s. Audrey is passionate about helping women entrepreneurs fund a good salary, provide for their families and create a strong retirement plan.

Here are four powerful tips on how to price your products or services:

  1. First, Determine Your Costs: Regardless of your service or product, you must know what it costs you to make, deliver or generate your revenue. These can be hard costs, such as raw materials, or overhead costs, such as rent. But what if you don’t have a product? Then your cost is labor. What’s the cost of your labor? If your company is not set up as a corporation from which you draw a salary, you may have no idea how to determine the cost of your time,” says Audrey. One way she advises you to back into the number is to determine the salary you want each year. “There are 2080 working hours in a year, so let’s say your goal is $100,000 in take-home salary,” says Audrey. “This equates to roughly $50 in labor cost.” Your goal should be to charge clients at least this much for their hours (with a markup to cover taxes, overhead, and other business costs), but also to assess if a given activity is worth $50 of your time.
  2. Articulate Your Brand, Target Market and Value: As mentioned, pricing is a brand decision. Are you a commodity or a luxury? You need to price accordingly so it’s clear. Who is the audience? What is your differentiator, to allow for a premium price? Do you simply offer DIY information or do you work with people to actually get things done? For what is your target market willing to pay a premium? This is where fleshing out your brand strategy is vital to more than just your marketing efforts.
  3. Determine Your Markup and Final Price: How do you choose your markup percentage? Look at the industry and see what the percentage is for that industry. Talk to others who have been at this a while and find out what they charge. Check out competitors and see if they bill hourly or flat-rate by project. And consider the company culture you are building: are you building a full-time staff or going it alone? Audrey says, “If you are taking salary as part of your expenses, then 10% to the bottom line is not a bad thing. But as a solopreneur, remember you are paying market rates to your subcontractors rather than paying 1/3 of that cost in wages and benefits if they were employees.” How much money do you personally want to make? If you’re using subcontractors, they will eat into the gross profit so will you really net a good profit on the deal­–which is what I didn’t factor in for that nightmare client referenced above. Assess whether it would it be better for your pricing model and net profit to get an employee or temporary help.
  4. Be Careful about Discounting to Attract New Clients: Make sure you’re discounting to the right People that will only buy with a discount are not necessarily ideal clients. Better to use discounts on the backend, Audrey says. “Incent them for paying faster versus just to get new clients. When you discount to get them in the door, you end up doing work you hate for people you can’t stand.”

Want more good stuff from Audrey? Sign up for her FREE 50 minute Financially Savvy CEO Strategy Session. She’ll work wonders with you, promise.

Are you struggling with pricing or have you found a happy place? Tweet me or leave a post on the Red Slice Facebook page!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

10 Killer Resources to Boost Your Business + Inspire Your Work

Posted on by Maria Ross

8.11.15 - RoundUp (blog)

It’s hard enough to find time in our busy schedules to read all the great posts you can find online, much less consume all that great information. So, this week I thought I’d give you a quick round up of 10 articles from around the web that will wonderfully boost your daily business activities.  Check these out for inspiration, business guidance and a little motivation…and please share to your heart’s content!

20 Smart Ways to Generate More Leads for Your Business
You may already know about some of these existing resources and tools for business development: Now jumpstart your lead generation efforts with a few new tips on how to use them.

More Than Personas: How to Know What Your Audience Really Wants
While I still think creating ideal customer personas is a HUGE help to focusing your marketing efforts and creating a connective brand, this article features other expert examples on how to identify your audience needs.  My faves? “Pull up a digital seat”and “Ask and track.”

The Difference Between Strategy And Tactics And Why You Need To Know
Ah, my favorite, favorite topic! An often mistaken distinction that can make or break your business success  -and your sanity.  I adore Bernadette Jiwa and you will, too. Main message: Stop working backwards.

The 200-Word Guide to Personal Branding
Personal branding requires you to be in the spotlight and you need to be ready. This is a short guide to getting your brand up to par.

Improve Your Email Content With a 7-Minute Workout Routine
A handy infographic that provides a quick “maintenance boost” to your email content and campaigns.

How to Address Marketing’s Big, Nasty and Age-Old Believability Problem
Faced with a world of disbelief, marketers can often get discouraged that they are not making headway. This article features some provocative FAQ’s on the subject and how you can address them.

Buffer Stopped Posting for 30 Days and Here’s What Happened
This is a great read to solidify thoughts on content re-purposing and taking some time to create.

How To Be Creative When Your Brain Doesn’t Want To Play
Addressing writers block with a little creativity instead.

And these 5 bonus ones from yours truly. Enjoy!

Get inspired! 20 of the best branding + business quotes

No matter your focus, I gathered some of my favorite business quotes to inspire you through the challenges.

The Not-So-Secret to Brand Success

It’s probably on your mind after all the inspirational posts you’ve just combed through, but this not-so-secret that I shared last year is still very relevant.

How to Define Your Audience and Boost Your Brand as a Writer – MASH Stories, a blog for young writers worldwide interviewed me on this hot topic.

Here’s a piece I wrote for Online Super ninja called 4 Tips to Making Your Message Sexy (ooh la la!)

And a lovely shout out from One Woman Shop, where Red Slice was named one of the 100 best sites for solopreneurs. Honored to be in such company!

Which article is resonating the most or causing an “A Ha!” moment for you? Would love to know in the comments below!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Heed the mouse: Who do you serve and what do they need?

Posted on by Maria Ross

02.17.15 Brands for all markets (blog)

A trip to Disneyland and my husband’s profound comment recently put me in my place. Here’s the tale:

In my own book, Branding Basics for Small Business (2nd Edition), there’s a passage titled: All Markets Have a Brand Need. In it, I seek to clarify that “brand” is not just about high-end “luxury brands” but about being clear and consistent in the audience you reach and the market need you fill. From page 49:

Sometimes people think brand means expensive, as in “brand name.” High cost and exquisite quality are indeed brand attributes, but you could choose to sell a generic T-shirt or dinnerware that’s cheap and disposable, since certain audience segments have a real need for those items. As long as you clearly convey this message in everything you do, you can become known as the place to buy inexpensive white T-shirts or the most stylish, cheap, disposable dinnerware. Doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that.

Having a strong brand doesn’t mean you have to charge the highest prices or offer the highest quality. It’s a nice side effect that often brand loyalty means customers are not buying based on price alone. But if your brand represents low prices (Wal-Mart) you can’t just all of the sudden start charging a boatload.

Brand is about setting expectations – and delivering on them. (Tweet this!)

Witness my recent trip to the Disneyland Resort to deliver a conference keynote. I texted a good friend that the Disney experience was so perplexing. High-touch customer service, calling you by name, a VIP Concierge at my beck and call (well, as the speaker, I guess!), and all staff (cast members) catering to your every whim. Such white-glove service – juxtaposed with people walking into a high-end steakhouse with flip-flops, mouse ears, and football jerseys.

And then I got snarky. As I’m prone to do.

“But such class and yet so much trashiness in one place is very confusing.”

OK, so I’m not proud of the “trashy’ comment. People are on vacation. Sometimes a vacation for which they’ve saved up for years. It was incredibly snobby even though I was just trying to be funny.  (Sorry, I’m human)

When I tempered this remark to my husband later on the phone, explaining how perplexed I was by the contradicting Disney brand experience, this clever man said,

“That’s what Disney is all about, though: that everyone deserves special VIP treatment, especially when they are on vacation. Doesn’t matter who you are: Disney treats you like royalty. That is their brand.”

And it hit me like a ton of bricks. There was no duality in the Disney brand. It was perfectly consistent with that brand strategy, as my husband described it. There are markets for everything and Disney’s market is making everyday people feel like royalty. So you see a wide array of demographics when you visit. Because it’s not about incomes, or tastes, or whether you like the opera or NASCAR. It’s about serving people of all ages who want to experience magic. Who want to be treated like VIP’s. Who want to be awed, delighted and spoiled rotten for a brief period of time.

There are all kinds of markets. And there are indeed all kinds of brands to serve those markets. Disney is not confused. It knows exactly who it serves and why.

The question is: Do you know who you serve? And can those people quickly tell from everything you say, do and offer that you will serve them exactly what they want and need?

Heed the Mouse. He’s a pretty smart little guy, isn’t he? (And so is my husband)

Your turn: Can you describe your target audience’s main desire that you serve? Or do you feel like you sometimes serve multiple audiences and have challenges creating a consistent brand as a result? Fire away in the Comments below!

Image Credit: Sean MacEntee via Flickr

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Get inspired! 20 of the best branding + business quotes

Posted on by Maria Ross

12.9 inspiring marketing quotes (blog)

2015 is right around the corner (seriously?! What the….?!). If you’re like me, you are hibernating in a bit of strategy and reflection mode for what to do with your business or brand in the coming year.

For me, it’s about helping you (and myself) create more marketing with meaning. To find a deeper purpose in the work. To stand out by not trying to reach the lowest common denominator but by inspiring people who are committed to making the world a better place with their ideas, in ways big and small. (ahem…people like YOU!)

Whether you’re focused on your business, book, online platform or non-profit project next year, here’s some inspiration and clarity for you: 20 of the best branding and business quotes out there. Does one resonate with you? If so, write it down and pin it to your computer or desk so you can keep that focus right in front of you.

And please Tweet or share your favorite ones. There’s a tweetable down below for you with mine!

  1. “Content is of great importance, but we must not underestimate the value of style” ― Maya Angelou, Author
  2. “What people want is the extra, the emotional bonus they get when they buy something they love” ―Seth Godin, best selling author, marketer, and entrepreneur
  3. “Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better than we found them, more able to get where they would like to go. Every time we waste that opportunity, every sentence that doesn’t do enough to advance the cause, is a waste.” ― Seth Godin
  4. “Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.” ― Seth Godin
  5. “Time, energy and talent can be more important than a budget “― Scott Harrison, founder charity:water
  6. “A business has to be evolving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative interests.” ― Richard Branson
  7. “Engage rather than sell … work as a co-creator, not a marketer.” ― Tom H.C. Anderson, NextGen Market Research
  8. “Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” ― Zig Ziglar, American author, salesman, and motivational speaker
  9. “Give them QUALITY. That’s the best kind of advertising.” ― Milton Hershey, Founder of The Hersey Chocolate Company
  10. “Tell a story. Make it true. Make it compelling. And make it relevant.” ― Rand Fishkin, Founder of Moz (Tweet this!)
  11. “The future of business is SOCIAL” ― Barry Libert, Strategic Advisor
  12. “In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.” ― Howard Schultz, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time
  13. “People change, and so do their aspirations, and so should brands.” ― Laura Busche, Lean Branding
  14. “Make sure you test your brand story’s recipe with whomever you’re cooking it for.” ― Laura Busche, Lean Branding
  15. “Always remember: a brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world; a corner of someone’s mind.” ― John Hegarty, Hegarty on Advertising
  16. Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” ― Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com
  17. “Too many companies want their brands to reflect some idealized, perfected image of themselves. As a consequence, their brands acquire no texture, no character and no public trust.” ― Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group
  18. “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.” ― Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks
  19. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Author
  20. “Entrepreneurs average 3.8 failures before final success. What sets the successful ones apart is their amazing persistence.” ― Lisa M. Amos

Photo Credit: C. Jill Reed via Flickr