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The real challenge for woman entrepreneurs isn’t how to deliver great service or take care of clients but how to find time to market. Unfortunately, avoiding marketing only leads to feeling guilty or overwhelmed and can create stressful cash flow situations.
Women hold back from marketing for many reasons, including not wanting to feel pushy or inauthentic, or feeling afraid of rejection or worring that their marketing won’t work and they’ll look like a fraud or a failure.
I get it. But let me reassure you about something:
You are awesome, amazing and incredible.
If you have the desire to be an entrepreneur then you also have the ability to successfully market your business. Which means all you need is the right system that works for you and your style, so you know what to do and when to do it.
Let me share 4 simple tips on how I found the time (and the confidence) to market and grow my business during those early years.
Tip #1 Stop Second Guessing Yourself
Feeling not good enough is a common problem for many women entrepreneurs but consider that fear and doubt are never truth. They are old, tired ways of thinking that no longer serve you. So if you’re serious about serving others then it’s time to focus on your gifts and the love you have for helping others. Do that and you won’t be giving your time or energy up for self-doubt.
Tip #2 Start Using Your Calendar The Way Six and Seven Figure Entrepreneurs Do
How much time you have to give to your business isn’t as critical as how you INVEST that time. Millionaire entrepreneurs use a simple technique called Time Blocking to make sure they have regular, consistent time built into their day for marketing and business building activities.
I recommend scheduling a “marketing appointment” in your daily planner. Even if you only have 15 minutes you’ll be surprised at what you can get done, especially if you invest this time BEFORE answering email, tweeting or posting on Facebook. Stop focusing on everyone else for just 15 minutes and start focusing on your marketing and you’ll see immediate results.
Tip #3 Set Small Goals For Success
Break your marketing tasks down into small, specific activities and always assign a number to each activity.
For example: On Monday your goal is to write five follow up thank you cards and mail them out. Tuesday’s goal is to call three potential clients. On Wednesday your goal may be to attend one networking meeting, then follow up with each prospective client you meet with a thank you card, mailed that same day. Be sure to celebrate every action you take so you feel energized to do more.
Tip #4 Calculate The Pay Off
I often ask my coaching clients to calculate how much money is at stake by marketing their business. The result is instant clarity about what is — and what isn’t — a priority. Here’s a simple formula I use:
- Estimate how many clients you want over the next 12 months
- Then multiply by the amount of income each client brings to you
What’s your total? More importantly, what would having that amount of money mean for you in your life or business? How would this money impact your family or help you do the things that are most important to you?
Think Of Marketing As Connecting To And Serving Others
Women entrepreneurs love to help, to serve and to make a difference for others. If you approach marketing as simply a way of fulfilling these values that are so important for you, you’ll find that marketing isn’t something you avoid but becomes something you do each day, that has meaning and purpose.
