Archive for Honing Your Message
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Karin
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Are you flexible about how your expertise is expressed?
Or are you gripping tightly to a business model that may not be the best fit for you?
An essential skill set in the wellness field is to be flexible in HOW your work shows up in the world.
When you keep an open mind, you’ll be able to see hidden opportunities in perhaps serving a specific tribe of people or under a different message that appeals to a more engaged audience.
Another way to think about this is to imagine what it's like to get a book published. The publishing people know a lot about what sells and what doesn't. And let's say they want to put a different book cover design and title than you do. A great book cover will grab people's attention and sell your book for you. A poorly designed book cover will get ignored. What’s inside the book is what you know, and that doesn't change. Would you be willing to change your book cover if it got into more people's hands? Or would you fight to make sure it fit your idea of what your book cover looked like?
One version of your book cover moves you and your work forward. Another doesn't. And it's the same with your practice: Holding on to one idea of your work may be making you blind to what’s right under your nose.
Take my client Annette Varoli, who is a great example of staying flexible about how her gifts are expressed.
When she came to me, she had a lot of marketable skills and talents to leverage.
She arrived as a talented health and wellness coach with a unique background of leadership experience in a variety environments– from her formative school years, to college, to her cross-cultural family life and even in the competitive corporate world.
After getting to know her, we realized she could go in a few different directions.
She could become a fantastic relationship coach. She knows A LOT about making marriage, love and family life work.
She also could have refined her wellness message and decide to serve a specific audience who could relate to her. She knows A LOT about food, nutrition and making healthy choices.
We considered these options and what possible target markets would match up with her preferences, personality and which ones would easily see her as an expert.
The one thing she knew for sure is that she wanted to work with leaders.
So we ran through a variety of different tribes of leaders that she could serve as a wellness coach or relationship coach.
None of them were floating her boat and I felt something was still off. She has a signature, hip, youthful look that an older target audience might find intimidating or as a reason to dismiss her.
After some careful consideration of what the marketplace is asking for and what she could see herself doing long term, we decided to take off in a completely new direction.
Something that would allow to her express ALL of her passion and know-how, and for a specific tribe of people that would easily see her as a mentor, expert and go-to person.
Something that would allow her to shine, be herself and not have to “fit in” in order to succeed.
In order to do this, she would have to be flexible in how her expertise would be expressed.
So what did Annette do?
We redesigned her business to focus on youth motivational speaking to teens.
As a speaker, she’ll be able to speak to teen leadership groups that will relate to her hip, fun, down-to-earth presentation style. (No stuffy corporate types here!)
As a speaker, she’ll be able to present on a variety of topics she’s passionate about under ONE message of “inspiring teens to become leaders of their lives.” (We packaged all that she knows into one amazing "Bridge to Success System")
As a speaker, she’ll be able to leverage her performance art training that she acquired over the years. Speakers need to engage an audience and Annette’s got charisma coming out her pores.
As a speaker, she’ll attract a small number of private clients, satisfying her desire to work closely with a select number of clients each year.
It helped immensely that Annette was willing to “try on new ideas” for her business.
And it also helped outlining a year’s worth of financial projections based on what she’ll launch first and in what order that will, in time, make her vision a reality.
And consider asking yourself this question: Could your vision for your private practice come to fruition in a way different way?
It may look differently than what you imagined (it did for me and Annette, and many other clients).
Your willingness to be flexible in how your work gets expressed in the world is one of the keys to success.
Here's to you,
Karin
Like this quick tip? Then don't miss my weekly marketing material insights and resources for wellness pros here: http://mmmaven.com/newsletter
About the Author: Karin Witzig Rozell has been teaching health and wellness professionals how to grow their business since 2003. She started as a nutrition counselor who knew a lot about nutrition, but not a whole lot about business and marketing. After learning some tough lessons she cracked the code and now her passion is transforming practitioners into profitable business owners using the power of authentic marketing strategies.
In 2009, she expanded her private practice and launched The Wellness Professional Network as the go-to place for practitioners to learn about making more money doing what they love. Karin lives in Upstate New York and works from home with her husband, Drew Rozell, who also runs a successful coaching business.
Posted by:
Karin
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The title of your class, workshop or special event is a make or break deal.
It's what inspires your reader to read more or skip the description all together.
You can even bypass writing a class description with a stellar class title.
The next time you write a title for an upcoming event, run it by the free "Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer" tool offered by American Marketing Institute.
You type in your title or headline and it gives you an instant score on the intellectual, empathic and spiritual relevancy it expresses.
It can be fun playing with your title a bit and see what gets a higher score.
Here's a little marketing secret that may help you understand the importance of this free tool:
- People don't usually say yes to logical reasoning alone
- But when combined with heart and emotion, that's when the magic happens
- Logical + emotional = connection and relevancy with the person reading your class title
Now you've got their attention.
And once you have someone's attention, you can begin transforming lives with the work you do.
Here's the free resource again: http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/index.htm
Hope this helps!
Karin
Like what you read? Then sign up for my weekly marketing material tips for holistic wellness pros here: http://www.mmmaven.com/newsletter/
Ready to master the business side of Wellness and get your message out there more effectively? Join the Wellness Professional Network: http://WellProNet.org
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Karin
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Most wellness pros take the time to figure out what colors they will use in their branding, website and print marketing materials.
Yet it’s also important to reflect on the best clothing colors that will represent you in the best possible light and, what colors will be an authentic expression of who you are and what you do.
Even if you wear only t-shirts and dress casually, the colors you wear have a profound influence on whether people say YES to your services and to working with you.
When you wear the right color for your skin tone, it draws people to you. It helps people relax and feel good around you. It also helps people understand you and your working style. It's really a unique expression of who you are.
And let's face it: we live in a physical world and your clothing and the colors that you wear express a powerful message about you. We may not like that, but it's the way it is.
And so it is, when you wear the wrong colors, it can feel abrasive and a little off-putting. It can essentially feel "off-message".
This isn’t about fashion. It’s an energy thing.
The first place to start is to decipher if your color palette falls mostly within the Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer colors.
You only have to look at nature to see what colors express each season. You may be a bright Spring, or a light Spring. Or a end of Summer palette or look best in the colors of early Summer. Or a bold Autumn or quiet Winter. (I'm a Soulfully Rich Winter! Having a name like this helps me make good choices when I go shopping. You can make one up for yourself too.)
Where most people make a mistake is wearing colors they like, rather than what looks best on them.
And the color ends up wearing them, rather then enhancing the person behind the outfit.
So when it comes time to reflect on your branding and messaging, consider spending a little time thinking about the colors you wear.
It really helps.
Karin
P.S. Need help with discovering what colors suit you best? I’m interviewing Kailash Sozzani this week, the woman who taught me the importance of color and wearing your own “feathers”, for The Wellness Professional Network. She’s just one of the soulful expert interviews I bring to WellProNet to share their wisdom. I’ll be releasing my private interview to members of WellPronet with her in November – perfect for holiday shopping! And you can have access to this and the many benefits of being a member of WellProNet.org. Come find out if it’s for you: http://wellpronet.org.
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Karin
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Last night, I watched the PBS showing of Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L0137.
One of the most moving segments of this inspiring documentary was discovering that each and every Steinway has its own distinctive personality. (Who knew!?)
The tone, the feel, the look.…
Some have a quieter voice and others have a big booming sound fit for Carnegie Hall.
There are the Grand Concert Pianos that world-renown pianists choose (they start at $100,000).
And there are the smaller, family living room pianos that start at $25,000, with entire family units investing in for their child prodigy.
Each one highly valued by their respective buyer.
Yet even among the same type of pianos, each one has its own individual feel and plays slightly different.
It was fascinating to see famous artists – jazz, classical, big band - selecting their pianos for their performances.
They jumped from piano to piano, and when they found “their” piano, they exclaimed, “Ah, this is THE ONE!”
(They looked and sounded the same to me!)
Steinway attributes the different personalities in each piano to their unique, hand-made building process.
It takes one year to build a single Steinway.
And it takes an entire team of craftspeople to do it.
Each individual adds their expertise through a unique blend of technique and intuitive sense of what needs to be “tweaked.”
Steinway explains that each piano is impossible to build “perfectly,” because they are all different and that difference is what makes them special to each individual buyer.
This is where this show reminded me of you, the wellness professional.
While there may be hundreds, even thousands, of professionals offering a similar service to yours, there is only one you.
There is only one you that can deliver your service in your way, in your style, in your personality, and in your authentic voice.
And there are people in the world who are a perfect match to your “voice.”
The key to matching up with your perfect target market is to let your voice be heard.
Your voice will be “a perfect fit” for a specific group of people. And that means, your “voice” is not for everyone.
When you try to please everyone, you can’t really be unique yourself. And it dilutes your brilliance.
Instead, think of yourself and your work as a Steinway.
Absolutely perfect for a specific tribe of people (aka: “target market”).
Remembering that your programs, services and products will never be perfect is critical to making progress in your wellness business.
When you try to make things perfect, it takes years to get your website up, develop and market a program or to present your signature talk.
For some of you, it may take a little time to “find your voice.” (It takes a year to build a Steinway!)
For others, it’s about allowing yourself to express your voice. (There’s a deeply appreciative market for every kind of Steinway!)
I’ve been in both camps.
Forget about perfection.
Think progress.
Think completion.
Think be yourself.
Think Steinway and let your unique voice be heard.
That’s the only way you’ll match up with your ideal clients.
Here’s to your continued success,
Karin
Free Upcoming Tele-class — The Call for Healers to Become Leaders: http://www.WellProNetPreview.com
Posted by:
Karin
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Ever feel like your wellness work isn't getting through to people?
Or that the people you do attract are flaky and look for every excuse to bail?
It's probably not you or that people don't want what you have to offer.
It may be something else entirely.
Listen to this quick audio tip for wellness professionals and find out if you're talking to the right people.
Having trouble with the player? Click the following link (will open to a new window): http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WyGDDV6K
If you feel inspired, let me know what you think in the comments section below!
To your continued success,
Karin
Join the free WellProNet facebook group — The Wellness Professional Network here: http://tinyurl.com/facebookWPN
