There are three dominant fears that keep showing up over and over in slow growing or stagnant businesses. Youll notice all three of these fears focus on outside influences. The good news is that all three are easily turned around by a small shift in your perception about how you deliver quality solutions to your clients.
Fear #1: Fear of Giving Too Much Away
If I give my expertise away, no one will buy my product
I hear this over and over from clients in diverse industries. Since giving and receiving are opposite sides of the same coin, if you embrace the laws of prosperity its impossible to hold this belief and be prosperous.
Of course you should be paid for your expertise, and if you deliver high quality you should be paid top dollar. But that doesnt mean you dont also give information away as a service to your clients, and also as an introduction to potential clients.
Be confident enough in your ability to over-deliver to know you can afford to give your potential clients a sample of what you can do for them, and theyll be so impressed theyll want to do business with you.
From personal experience I can tell you that one giveaway I did several years nearly tripled my small and growing e-zine list in just three weeks. Joint venture genius Mark Hendricks taught me how to do this with his 12 Days of Christmas promotion. That was the boost I needed to reach critical mass and get my message out to more people. And I did it by giving my knowledge away first!
Back then I started giving away the mini-course, 9 Steps to Getting to Yes Without Selling. I built a separate list that equaled the size of my entire e-zine list in only one week. And that was the week between Christmas and New Years! Thats the power of giving your knowledge away.Fear #2: Fear of Cross-Promotion If I promote someone elses product, theyll steal my clientsIf you are delivering a quality product and customer service, why would your clients leave you? This is one of the most irrational fears business owners have. When you have the confidence to promote other products to your clients, it shows that the relationship you are building means enough to you that you want them to have access to every possible tool that would make their life easier or their business more successful.When your clients see that its not all about you, youll see your referrals increase and your client retention rate go up, not down. You are acting as their trusted adviser and exposing them to opportunities they may not hear about anywhere else.Think back in your own experience. How many times have you been grateful for someone forwarding an email or calling to tell you about something that ended up being a huge benefit to you?I witnessed a great demonstration of introducing complementary services in the Internet marketing industry by many of the big Internet gurus. For the last several years I have been watching these guys bringing Internet experts to their clients, sometimes several each month. Now thats service! And guess what? All of their businesses keep on growing!
I know the effort I put out to bring my clients all the tools they need to make their Internet businesses successful has only enhanced my relationship with my clients. I have modeled much of the way I offer my teleseminars and promote other peoples products on what I learned from watching the best. And I only promote products and services I believe will be helpful to my clients. Fear #3: Fear of Competition Too many people cover the same information I do. I need to discredit them before my clients buy their products Its OK to point out your strengths and even to state that you have a different philosophy on accomplishing goals than your competitors. Thats part of what makes you unique. But dont do it by poking holes in other businesses, and certainly, dont attack them personally.I would suggest that you look instead at how what you do may add another layer of knowledge to what others in your field offer. Its highly likely that there are ways you can increase your business by entering into a cooperative relationship with your competition. Youll find ways that you dovetail into each others areas of expertise in a way that will benefit both of your clients as long as you're in alignment.So, stop yourself the next time you see yourself heading towards one of these fears. If you come from a place of service to your clients, you will be rewarded with a business filled with many more happy clients.About the Author:Lynn Pierce, known as the Success Architect, founded the annual Empowered Womens Business Summit. She is the author of, Breakthrough to Success; 19 Keys to Mastering Every Area of Your Life. Her current book in progress, The Soul of the Career Woman; How to Reclaim Your Life, Reawaken Your Soul Without Giving Up the Cash, will be available late 2010.
