Know Thyself and Thy Business
Author: Joanne Victoria © Rev 2002

I recently interviewed a prospective client. I asked her to
briefly describe what she did. She said it was complicated, she did so many things. I asked who her clients were. She said she couldn't define them, that she dealt with everyone. I then asked how her business was growing and she said she was losing money, clients and had no referrals.

You get the picture.

If you can't describe yourself, your ideal client and your
business in brief, simple language, how is anyone going to hire you or give you a referral? As an entrepreneur, business owner or independent professional, you need to be able to tell advocates, clients and networking participants what you do, how you do it, who you do it for and why they should choose you.

If what you do is help people build their business and how you do it is a) one-on-one, b) training and c) workshops, that presents a clear picture to prospective clients. The next section, who you help build businesses for, is self-explanatory. The only question remaining is the size of the business. Let us choose businesses that generate up to ,000,000 in revenue per year and independent professionals who earn, or want to earn, 0,000.00 or more per year.

Positioning yourself by concept or model removes the stress for you and your clients. Create a model that motivates, excites and attracts. Your model could be that you work with people for a specific amount of time, say ninety days, for an established fee (received up front!) and you have a predetermined number of conferences with them.

This method makes it very easy for the right person
to say "Yes!".

A model or environment that clients can connect and feel safe with is essential. If it is presented as "work", they won't hire you. The experience for each of you needs to be rich, fulfilling and enjoyable.

Here’s an example of positioning by concept. It’s one thing to say you're a website designer. A more definitive
statement would be to say you design websites for people who are ready for a revised website; know who they want to reach with this website; and have text ready to serve this audience as well as the resources to pay for your expertise.

It's specific and would attract the perfect client to you as
well as your method of working.

The last question is, why choose you.

A simple answer is that you have the knowledge, skills and experience critical to their success. Go for it!

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Article Title: Know Thyself and Thy Business
Author Name: Joanne Victoria
Contact E-mail Address: mailto:joanne@joannevictoria.com
Word Count: 492, including signature box
Category: Marketing/Empowerment
Copyright Date: Rev 2002
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Publishing Guidelines: Thank you for publishing this article in its entirety, including the resource box. When possible, please notify me of publication by sending either a website link or a copy of your ezine upon publication via email to mailto:joanne@joannevictoria.com .
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Copyright Rev 2002 Joanne Victoria All Rights Reserved

Joanne Victoria works with independent professionals who want to simplify their lives and professional practice owners who want to streamline their operations in order to achieve more.
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Joanne Victoria
mailto:joanne@joannevictoria.com
http://www.JoanneVictoria.com

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Joanne Victoria is the owner of New Directions in Sausalito, CA. Joanne is the creator of PathWISE™, an intensive program for achievers in the medical field as well as the building and construction fields. She has been a successful business developer, management consultant and Life Coach for over 25 years. You can contact Joanne at mailto:Joanne@joannevictoria.com, on her website at: http://www.JoanneVictoria.com, or by phone at 415-491-1344.

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