SEO Part 2: Reputation

Firstly, my apologies for not being as frequent as usual with my entries on this blog, normal service will resume very soon.

In this entry I wanted to carry on with the idea of SEO (see my last blog) and the need to build a reputation first.

In any business, but more so in the self help field, you stand and fall on your reputation (or “brand”). In any crowded field (and boy, is the self help field getting crowded!), it is often that a handful of people or businesses will be getting the lions share of the business, work and money and the majority are left fighting for the scraps.

So how do you become one of those that has the lions share?

Well you need to build a bulletproof reputation and become the “go to expert” in your field.

It’s that simple really.

To be a successful therapist or coach you need to become the RECOGNISED EXPERT in your chosen field.

To do this you need to 2 (surprisingly simple) things:

1) To join (or better still create!) a field or niche where you can stand out as the recognised expert.

I know I keep banging on about it, but this is down to creative thinking and research. Find out what NEED is not being fulfilled (or not being fulfilled very well) for your potential customers and create a SOLUTION for that need.

You could have the best niche in the world, but if there is a limited (or no) NEED for that niche you will fail. Always ask yourself (and research, research, research) why someone has not filled this niche yet??

2) Create a Reputation that sets you apart in that Niche.

Position yourself as the ONLY (yes, only!) person who is capable of fulfilling that need in your CLIENTS minds (remember, when developing your therapy or coaching practice, to be a success you have always ask “what does the client really want?”). You don’t need to be only person doing it, but you need to be the only person your prospective clients thinks of.

This means you have to do 3 essential tasks:

1. Dominate the search engines for your chose keywords (because most people will turn to the internet first nowadays when searching for answers). What keywords or phrases would your potential clients use to look for the solution you offer (see my previous post on this)? How can you make sure you appear on the front page of all the major search engines for these phrases, in the most cost effective way possible this will be covered in my next post)?
2. Creating a massive word of mouth reputation within your potential client base, so that you are the first thing on their minds when asked about the NEED you offer a SOLUTION to.
3. Creating a media profile that stands you out as the “expert” in your field. Why is it do you think Paul McKenna is so successful? Is he the best hypnotist in the world? Probably not. Is he the best known hypnotist though? Probably.

These things will cost you nothing (or very, very little). All it requires is a bit of time and effort to find the answers you need.

Matt

PS, if you have found this post useful, please bookmark it on twitter, facebook, digg, stumbledupon, etc. I would really appreciate it

Don’t Spend Too Long Studying The Competition…

This week’s blog is a recommendation based on a confession…

I have spent far too long, in the past, looking at what other people are doing in the same field as me and compare how I am doing with them. Often I couldn’t help but get the impression that they were doing so much better than me (whether it is true or if it is just my perception is irrelevant) and it really gave me a kick in the confidence.

You see, the worst thing you can do if you are running your own therapy or coaching practice is compare yourself to the “competition” and find yourself wanting.

It is import, of course, to do your SWOT analysis (see last weeks blog post) and it is important to keep an eye on the current market conditions, which includes what everyone else is up to.

But, you should not spend too much time doing it. Once you have done your SWOT analysis and decided on your niche, you need to just get on with your own thing.

It is even more important to avoid comparing yourself to the competition when you are just starting out. You will most probably find yourself wanting compared to the more established companies.

When I started out setting up my NLP business I could have looked at the established players in the field at the time and easily given up, but I stuck to my niche, to my idea and kept going.

When I first wrote the “Professional Practice Builder Handbook“, I did research to see if anyone else was doing what I was doing. Of course I came across people who were doing similar things (some books, some training courses), and some of those people were very well established and had very good reputations, but I stuck my guns and still maintain that what I am doing here is different to those people, and what I have to offer is an important addition to the market. If I didn’t I would have given up by now!

This is why, in the “Professional Practice Builder Handbook“, I talk about your own definition of success.

It is important to develop and own a definition of success that is relevant to you. If your definition of success (where you want to be, or what you want to achieve) is “I want to the next Anthony Robbins”, think again, that is not personal enough, you are comparing yourself to something outside and that will not work. You need to define it personal terms, such as “I want to be seeing 20-30 clients a week, earning approximately £1500 net profit a week. I want to have written a best selling book on my niche and be considered the ‘go to person’ by the media and customers”.

Do you notice the difference? One compares where you are to the outside world, the other defines what you actually want.  You are much more likely to achieve that latter as it is almost 100% in your control.

Make sense?

Matt

The Economic Cycle: How Much Attention Should You Pay To the Bigger “Picture”.

All the news of late is that we seem to be coming to the end of the current recession, consumer confidence is on the rise, the stock market is in the middle of a record breaking run, house prices are going up again…

So, as a coach or therapist, how much attention should you pay to these sort of things?

Well, there are 2 opposing arguments to this:

One says that if you have done your research, and have your niche and your marketing set up, you don’t need to worry about the economic cycle, in fact, if you pay too much attention to the “big picture” you may well get distracted and take your eye of your business. Especially in a downturn, when all the news is doom and gloom, it is easy to get in to the “well, of course I am not going to do well in this climate”.

As a friend and martial arts teacher said to me the other day, “Recession? What recession? I don’t waste my time paying attention to that sort of thing!”. And his classes are thriving.

The other argument goes that you should pay attention to the economic cycle as this can inform your business, help you develop and design your niche and prepare for the inevitable downturn (there is a reason it is called an economic “cycle”).

The answer, really is up to you, but I would suggest this: Some of your business will come from economically aligned custom. Those of you that are involved in corporate work will know how quickly a training budget can be axed! If you are involved in one of those vulnerable sectors you need to be paying attention to the economic cycle so you can make the best of the good times and prepare for the bad. However, if your niche is something that would most probably be in demand, no matter the economic climate, smoking cessation for example, then looking at the “bigger picture” will probably just distract yourself (and in the worst case fall into the thinking trap of “it is not my fault my business is failing it is the economy”, that just won’t help anyone!).

What I would suggest is that you do not need to be an economist to run your own therapy or coaching practice, but it is useful to keep at least one eye on the state of the current economy. How much is up to you!

Matt

Surviving the Recession

Well, there is really no denying it now, we are in the midst of a recession. And, although indicators suggest we maybe on the way out, it is going to last some time…

I still maintain NOW is in fact the best time to start a coaching or therapy business, with change comes opportunity as well as threat, and lets not forget ‘McKenna Breen’ the worlds largest NLP training company (at the time) was founded in the last recession of the early 90’s.

But this post is not about how to start a business. I appreciate that quite a few readers of this blog and “The Professional Practice Builders Handbook” are already running their own private practices (some, no doubt, more successfully than others!) and are, very sensibly keeping an eye out for hints and tips to help them tweak and improve their business, strategies to test, etc.

So, if you have been up and running for some time and have started to find the recession biting, what do you do?

Ironically, you need to 2 things that seem contradictory:

1) Cut back to your core business
2) Diversify and find additional streams of income.

But how can you do both?! Surely cutting back to your core business means you cannot diversify.

Not at all.

In times like this you have to define, build and maintain your “brand”, it is your brand that will get you customers in a downturn.

You have most probably been accepting any work that has come you way, and that is totally understandable, but an ad hoc, organic and random approach like this will not do you any favours. You need to go back to the basics and redefine what you do, what niche you are in and what need you fulfil. See where most of your work has been coming from and what people really need right now and how you can fulfil that need.

This recession is actually an ideal time to take stock and refocus. Once you have refocused on your core niche and customer base you can start to make an educated cost cutting programme. You will see what costs are creating a return and what are just disappearing into a black hole! As well as see what you need to increase your spend on. Remember it is all about budgeting and your business plan (you have got one? If not, do one! “The Professional Practice Builder Handbook” shows you how to do a very simple but effect business plan) dreary as that may seem.

So, once you have refocused and redefined what you do and got your “brand” aligned with the most common need that you can fulfil right now, how do you diversify?

Well, there are 3 ways:

1) Separate Your Niches

Maybe you have identified 2 or more niches that are going well for you or you think will go well (remember, don’t guess; research, research, research) you need to treat each niche as a separate business (unless they are obviously fit together), remember “small is the new big”! Go as far as setting up a separate website and getting separate promotional material (I do).

2) Add to the current Niche

How else can you fulfil the need of your niche? Can you create CD’s? DVD’s? Online courses? Ebooks? Do workshops? How else can you use your niche to generate income? Products are ideal, because, as soon as you have made them all the time and cost are gone and they tick over becoming a simple passive stream of income (see below). Be creative!

I will talk more about products at a later stage.

3) Develop “Passive” income streams

Such as products (see above) affiliate marketing (advertising other peoples products that fit with yours for a commission) etc. I will talk about this much more in a future post.

And as a bonus here are three things you shouldn’t do!

1) Throw money at advertising and hope for the best

Don’t be suckered by cold callers offering your great rates  – they are only doing that because they are struggling too!

2) Cut costs

Never, ever, ever get into that price cutting strategy, I will explain why in a later post!

3) Give up!

You do this because you love it! Stick with it, it will all work out. Persistence is more powerful than anything in this game…

Matt