As many of you know I run a women’s only networking organization and we meet several times a month to network, build relationships and engage in joint ventures.  Often during my conversation with many of these women they express their frustration about charging an appropriate amount of money for their services.  Typically I hear this from women who are just starting out, but often times I hear it from veterans as well.

When I probe deeper and ask why they are charging so little for their services they tell me its because they are new in business, or they don’t have a certain certification.  They feel they are often in a position of convincing the prospects to hire them despite their limited experience.

Now my question is how do they know you have limited experience?  More often than not, your prospects will only know the answer to that question if you reveal it.

Aligning your pricing with your value and attracting a slew of great clients does not mean you need more certifications, have a high degree of experience, or that you put in more time than someone else.

What it does mean is that you clearly define your target market and then provide the solutions and clearly tell them that you can solve their problem.

Value based pricing has more to do with these two issues than how long you have been a coach, organizer, or wedding planner.  Focus on the value and your clients will gladly pay you for solving their problems!

If you are a women business owner struggling to reach the financial freedom that you desire you’ve probably toyed with the idea of investing in a coaching program.

I can only imagine what you have said to yourself as you have contemplated making this investment.  Maybe you have said things like, “I’m not sure I can afford it” or “I don’t know if this program will help me.”  Whatever you have said to yourself I want you to consider something very important:  making a financial commitment will move you forward.

The best way to break the pattern you are in, the “stuck” place is to make a financial commitment to your goals.  When you have money invested in you and the future success of your business you have a very good reason to get off the dime and start taking action. Every single dollar you invest IS the reason!

For many entrepreneurs, myself included, I invest in coaching, training, and mentoring services to help me achieve my goals.  Something very extraordinary happens when you invest in yourself…you are more committed than ever to get your money’s worth.

How do you know which program to choose or which coach to pick from?  If you want to get your money’s worth (and frankly, who doesn’t) invest in a coach who’s fee is outside of your comfort zone. Reaching beyond your comfort zone is critical to stepping up in your business and ending the endless cycle of frustration.

Everyone’s comfort zone will be different.  For some $100 will be a huge stretch and for others $5,000 will be a stretch.  No matter which number is a stretch for you, make the commitment to invest in yourself. If you don’t, who will?

Do you believe you are courageous? Does the actions you need to take  in your business make you feel afraid?

Well don’t worry because everyone one of  us has an abundance of courage. Too many women entrepreneurs don’t believe that they have courage.  But almost every act in business requires courage:  raising your fees, sending out that book proposal, asking a new prospect to come to a meeting, and signing a new client.  Creating a successful business requires courage! Agreed?

People mistakenly think that if they feel afraid that they don’t have courage.  The opposite of courage is not fear; you can take courageous action and still be afraid.  The opposing force of courage is doubt or uncertainty; and this is what will keep you stuck or sabotage your success.

When you are clear that you are going to raise your fees you are courageous.  When you are clear that you are going to send out that book proposal you are being courageous.  When you are clear that you are going expand your business you are being courageous…get the point!

What courageous action can you take a  stand on  in your business?    What do you need to get clear on today, tomorrow and the next?  I want you to choose  one thing that you desire clarity on.  Get clear in your choices and then choose.  Know that the act of choosing is a courageous act.

How do you feel your value?  Do you know where your value comes from?

Your sense of value doesn’t come form other people it comes from within, from deep down in your core and emanates out of you in a way that people naturally respond to.  Value coupled with clarity of purpose and decisiveness creates phenomenal confidence and results in your life and your business.

One of the ways that you can “feel” your value is to practice saying the following:

What I value in myself is….

Completing the sentence throughout the day gives you multiple opportunities to create a deep felt sense of your value.  Complete it in every situation throughout the day.  You  will begin to feel your sense of value like you have never felt before.

The other day I was discussing productivity and time management with one of my private platinum clients. She is a brand new client and after reading her application I noticed that although she is quite busy she rarely gets anything accomplished.  This is the difference between activity in your business and accomplishment in your business.

Read on to learn more about the differences and how you can get more done!

As small business owners we need to be keenly focused on our ability to get things done and not just on keeping busy for busy sake.

When you are engaged in activity you are busy doing things all day long.  You may move from one project to the next busily working.  At the end of the day you feel that you worked your butt off.  This concept of activity can be seen in most corporations especially where people are engaged in “meetings”.  You have probably experienced this yourself if you have ever worked in a job.  Meetings where nothing gets done; that’s activity!

Accomplishment is something very different.  When you are focused on accomplishment, you are super attentive on a particular project or task and you complete it in the time allotted or until it is finished.

Unfortunately, accomplishment is rather rare whether it be in the corporate arena or in a small business.  But those who accomplish stand out in the crowd; and those who stand out, succeed.

Those businesses that fail to accomplish will ultimately fail or worse yet will be nothing more than so many other businesses; frankly, they will be mediocre.

My 83 year old mother was reading my business card the other day.  She read it aloud…Rise Above Mediocrity…DARE To Be Phenomenal. She asked me what it meant.  I said, “Well, ma what does it mean to you?”  Her reply, “To be tops”!

Do you want to be mediocre or do you want to be “Tops”?

Here are four strategies that I use to keep “accomplishing” in my business:

1. Develop A Marketing Plan: My marketing plan consists of my one year strategy which is then broken down into quarterly objectives, monthly activities, weekly assignments and daily accomplishments.  I learned this technique years ago when I had to write treatment plans.  This is an effective way to get your plan into bite size manageable action items that easily turn into accomplishments.
2. Schedule Everything: This is such an effective system.  I schedule everything into my Outlook calendar.  Those daily accomplishments that I was referring to above are scheduled into my calendar.  I work on those items first so that I am always working on THE most important tasks each day.
3. Review and Repeat: At the end of each day I review what I had on my plan and prepare for the next day.  Sometimes this means adding daily accomplishments to my schedule that were not completed on the previous day.  No matter what I am always focused and actively working on my plan.
4. The More You Get Done, The More Money You Make: When you are laser focused on what you want to accomplish and then actually accomplish it, you make more money.  If you are wasting time, are unfocused and have no clear plan of how you will market your business then you won’t be making the money you desire each and every month.  It’s that simple.

If you are thinking that this sounds complicated and time consuming nothing could be farther from the truth.  Your business requires strategy and planning.  Remember the old saying, “Failing to plan means planning to fail.”  The success of your business is at stake.

Feel you need help developing your strategy?  This is what I do best and can help you tackle this issue head on!  To learn more about my programs or to schedule a no obligation Get To Know You session email me today!

Do you often find you compare or compete with others?  Do you walk into a networking event and start sizing yourself up with the other women in the room?

For some people competition drives them to break out of complacency and  to get their butt into action.  And you know what?  That is totally ok and sometimes necessary.    But for a lot of other women they compare themselves to others and end up feeling like a failure or feeling inadequate in some way.    My good friend Linda always says that comparison only brings about misery and unhappiness.  I totally agree.

If you are comparing yourself to others you are probably measuring yourself against someone else’s expectations, against someone else’s yardstick and you’re the one coming up short.

So instead, when you find yourself comparing yourself to others…catch yourself!  And then instead of measuring yourself against someone else, ask yourself these couple of questions.

1. Am I living up to my full potential?
2. What is the opportunity to here for me to step up more powerfully into my greatness and do what I know is best for me?

Now when you ask these questions you are going to find that you immediately stop comparing yourself to others, which by the way is going to feel really good!  You’re going to stop feeling like you are not good enough and instead you are going to feel more powerfully aligned with your truth and your greatness.  And that is the most powerful place to take action from, guaranteed!

If you are like most other coaches, consultants and small business owners you probably dread, maybe even hate to market your business.  The problem if you feel that way is that everything you do is about marketing your business.

Funny thing is this:  If you hate marketing that much you probably are not spending a whole heck of a lot of time marketing your business, and if you are not marketing your business your cash flow is probably really suffering.  Am I right?  Read on and learn 4 simple but effective marketing strategies that can help create on-going cash flow in your business.

1. Become A Magnet To Your Perfect Clients

I have written about the idea of identifying your ideal client before so this should come as no surprise…Know what your ideal clients want, know how you can help solve their problems and communicate this consistently all the time.

In order to effectively become that magnet you will need a couple of things:

• A clear marketing message
• An awesome website
• A juicy free offer with an e-mail capturing database
• A clear understanding of what your gifts are and how working with you will ultimately change the life of your clients

2.  Share Great and Valuable Content With Your Prospects

In this day and age there are many places that prospects can go to get some FREE help and resources.  What can you offer to help you stand out from the crowd?  Providing valuable content that answers some questions and offers them a take away without giving away the farm is a great combination that will keep those prospects coming back and investing with you.  Remember, your free offer should give them some help but not go so far that they don’t come back for more.

3. Share Your Time with Your Tribe

Connecting with your tribe is the best investment you can make and it literally only costs you your time.  Connect regularly with them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and your newsletter.  Make sure you publish your newsletter regularly so they know when to expect it.

One of the best ways to interact with your tribe of followers is by engaging them in a conversation.  This is accomplished by asking questions on your blog, on Facebook and Twitter posts and in your newsletter.

Don’t forget to share information about yourself.  Now don’t get freaked out on me.  You ultimately control the amount of information you share with your followers.  There is a fine line between too much and too little but if you are resistant to sharing I would ask you to work through that resistance.  Followers want to build a connection with you and if you never share anything personal about yourself chances are they will go to someone who will.

4. Ask Your Followers To Take the Next Step

Here is THE mistake that most solopreneurs make!  They fail to ask their tribe to take the next step. They fail to market their services to the people that they are engaged with.  They fail to ask them to invest in themselves by working with you.

Does this sound familiar?  This is where your fear of sales and marketing comes in…you see how this kills your cash flow?

Asking is ok, heck it’s necessary!  But I know how scary it can be just asking.  Do you struggle with these very issues?

If you have that fear of sales and marketing I will be addressing this very issue in my Money, Marketing and Mindset Mastermind Program that is currently forming.  Contact me at 978-794-4991 or at maureen@daretobephenomenal.com to request an application.  Don’t delay as space is limited and the early bird pricing goes away February 28^th!

I look forward to helping you break through your stuck points and create the cash flow you desire!

Patricia Drain Talks About The Maximizing Success Wealth Retreat!

Click on this short video to hear Patricia Drain talk about the Maximizing Success Wealth Retreat that’s happening this March 20-21, 2010 right here in Boston, MA!

To learn more about this event go to:  http://maximizingsuccessboston.com

I am often asked whether or not posting fees on a website is good idea or not.  Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as a yes or no answer.  There are pro’s and con’s to both positions.

Now I know that you are feeling pangs of uncertainty and anxiety as you struggle to come to some decision with regard to whether to post or not.  But keep reading to find out why I think posting your fees is NOT a good idea.

First let me say if you post your fees you run the risk that prospective clients will pass you by because they feel your fees are too high without you ever having a conversation with you.  On the other hand if you don’t post your fees many people will wonder just how much you ARE going to charge and will assume your fees are too much for them to afford without any further investigation on their part.

So why do I feel leaving them off is the right answer?  Here are my three top reasons:

1.  The Decision To Hire Should Never Be Made On Price Only

Do you want price to be at the top of that prospects reason for hiring you?  I think not!  Money usually isn’t the number one reason why clients will pay you for services and invest in themselves.  But if you go ahead and post your fees you are clearly encouraging clients to keep price as a main criteria for hiring you.

I have never posted my fees on my website and I don’t have any intentions of starting.  Yet the funny thing is that most of my clients are people who feel that I am out of their price range.  When I sit with them and explain the value and benefits of working with me, they usually invest, find a way to pay for the service and end up being the best clients.  Why?  Because they understand the investment they are making and are really, really committed to achieving their goals.  They are PHENOMENAL!

2.  It’s All In The Conversation

The reality here is that your goal is to engage your prospective client in a conversation.  The selling conversation is about helping your prospective client get to know, like and trust you.  This can’t happen by just going to your website and perusing your price list.  It is one dimensional and flat…there is no opportunity for your prospect to have an authentic experience with you.

But remember, there is absolutely no reason for you to get into this conversation unless you are prepared to fully understand what problem they want to solve, what their business will look like once the problem is resolved, what the cost is if they don’t solve this problem and finally what it’s worth to them to solve it.

Do you see how vital it is to have the conversation in the first place?

Do you realize by having this conversation you help them to explore so much more than just a dollar amount?

3.  Clients Want  A Price They Can Wrap Their Head Around

In short, they want a price they can justify.  Until you can help them find the value in what you have to offer, they won’t spend a penny to work with you.  Your solution must be important and valuable to them.  While you are engaged in the conversation you can ask them why it is important to them.  Without the conversation you can never uncover what is truly valuable to them.

When you ask that all important question, “What’s important to you?” the prospective client will inevitably open up and tell you all the emotional reasons behind why they want to fix and solve their problem.  When you are then able to address their issues and let them know that you can help them their objections around money disappear like magic.

Now don’t get confused here.  If you are offering a product or a seminar where everyone is paying the same price then you will post that price on your website.  But for coaching, consulting, designing, organizing or other serviced based professions I recommend leaving the price off.  Instead spend your time writing great copy that fully describes the value and benefits you offer your prospective clients so they can imagine what it would be like to work with you and have a business that is truly flourishing.

How to Make Money in Your Bathrobe from eBay

Adam Ginsberg is America’s “go-to” guy for how to make BIG money on the Internet. Instilled with an entrepreneur’s spirit from an early age, Adam helped build a young marketing company into a multimillion-dollar success while he was still in college. Fascinated by the moneymaking potential of the Internet, he began selling on eBay and in less than a year became eBay’s #1 new seller. Adam’s eBay sales exceeded $20 million in less than five years, and was one of eBay’s first Titanium Power Sellers – eBay’s highest level.

Adam is the author of the #1 best seller, “How to Buy, Sell & Profit on eBay”. He has been featured in Fortune, Entrepreneur, and Kiplinger magazines, and has appeared on CNBC, ABC World News Tonight, and The Today Show. He has taught entrepreneurs nationwide how to build a winning Web site and make big bucks online. Adam will show you how to create a truly automated system that generates profits 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

To learn more and to register go to: http://tinyurl.com/maxsuccess