Coaches: 6 Tips on What to Do When Your Message Isn't Working and You Feel Like the World's Best Kept Secret
Annemarie Cross
Feel like the world’s best-kept secret? Go from Invisible to Influential Trusted Authority with a unique, uncopyable, unforgettable brand, message & podcast - THE choice. How influential are you? Take the Quiz ??
When I started my career coaching practice, the thought of helping people find a career they loved was exciting. However, what was less exciting, I soon learned, was everything leading up to getting a new client - from marketing my business, having sales conversations, right through to being able to respond professionally to that cringe-worthy question, “How much do you charge?”?
Thankfully, this was over two decades ago, and over the years through trial and error and working with wonderful mentors, I've been able to learn how best to navigate through those challenges. (In fact, now, I love marketing. Sales and answering questions from potential clients is just another conversation with an opportunity to be able to support someone who needs my help.)
Are you struggling with the same issues I did, and wondering:
One of the pivotal turning points in my career coaching practice (and that I continue to use when working with clients on their brand, message, and podcast strategy) is to make sure they have a unique and uncopyable message that positions them as an influential, trusted authority – THE choice vs just A choice for their dream client.???
In fact, one of the greatest challenges I find coaches continue to experience when it comes to creating a message that’s unique and uncopyable and that will capture the attention of their ideal client so they can generate quality leads and enroll more of their dream clients is – where do they start??
In this week's article, I’ll share some of the key steps I took when it came to clarifying my unique and uncopyable message so that you can begin to craft your own.??
It can take a little time to complete but well worth the effort. And it’s something you’ll want to continue to remain aware of from time-to-time to ensure your message remains relevant because the information you’ll uncover will provide a foundation for you to create your own unique and uncopyable message so that you become THE choice vs just A choice when your dream client is ready to move forward.??Let's begin...?
Here are some things to consider when it comes to you and your experience.?
How often do we neglect our strengths and talents because we don’t truly recognize the value they offer. After thousands of conversations with podcast guests, I’m convinced it’s because we don’t value what comes easiest to us, even when people compliment us and we shrug it off with, “Oh, that’s nothing.”?
It IS something and should never be discredited. How do you determine these strengths and talents???
Begin by doing an audit of the challenges you’ve overcome, including:?
Looking at the list of challenges, what are the similar skills and strengths you used to overcome these challenges? Do you see a pattern developing of similar skills and strengths? You should.
Let's see this in action using myself as an example.
By doing a personal audit on the challenges I’ve overcome, these are the insights I learned about myself. This information is also something I continue to leverage in my business as a strength because it’s what makes me unique, uncopyable, and valuable to my ideal clients.??
I’m a multi-passionate entrepreneur. I love learning. I love starting new projects. Finding solutions to issues in an innovative way or trying new things, especially bright shiny objects, fuels my creative fire.??
The downside is - I struggle with focusing on just ONE thing. Or when things are moving smoothly for any period of time, I get bored easily. And when it comes to growing my coaching business, trying to build momentum in the ONE direction and becoming known as an Influential Trusted Authority is difficult if I’m continuously changing the direction of my business, or if I’m not following through on the projects I started.???
That’s been one of THE major problems I’ve had to face, which then led to another problem - ‘How do I put all of that diverse experience and certifications into one succinct message that is clear, concise, and doesn’t confuse my audience or prospective clients?’?
How did I address the issue? I didn’t try to change anything (which so often business coaches encourage you to do), nor did I look at these things as weaknesses but rather strengths. I used them to my advantage.?
The result in my career coaching business was that I was ahead of the industry in terms of using technology such as email and VOIP when coaching clients. Many of my colleagues were only seeing clients face-to-face. However, I was able to expand my business to working with clients globally.?
The other wonderful outcome from recognizing this is that many of my dream clients are struggling with this too, so all of the steps I’ve taken, I can now share and teach my ideal clients.??
OVER TO YOU: Journal each of the three questions and notice the similar strengths you use across all of the challenges you have written. What were the outcomes you secured in each of these areas? How can you leverage this to support clients???
We all have them hidden away waiting to be recognised and woven into your unique and uncopyable story and how you can help clients.??
Mine was starting 'Women In Leadership Podcast' after my worst business failure. Feeling defeated and unable to create due to burnout, I knew I needed to do something to move forward. So, I started the podcast as a way to surround myself with women who had overcome failure so I could learn what they did.?
Three episodes in, I accidentally generated two 4-figure clients... from a podcast I started as a way to get over my grief and loss. I thought if I could back-track the steps these two businesswomen took to go from ‘not knowing me’ to ‘I want to hire you', what would be possible.? A book and a program ‘Podcasting with Purpose’ later – the rest is history, as they say.??
OVER TO YOU: What were your ‘accidental’ successes that addresses a key issue that other people are struggling with too???
?
I always say, your ‘purpose’ sits between what you are passionate about and what peeves you off. I call this, ‘Your Inner Brilliance’.?
For me, I love it when I’m able to inspire others to recognize their gifts and talents so they grow their self-confidence and self-belief and are finally able to reach their potential.?
And there’s nothing that peeves me off more than when people are taken advantage of or spoken down to by anyone who is trying to hold them down. It’s my kryptonite and is what prompts me into action.??
I can’t help myself but speak out for them OR help empower them so they can speak up for themselves.??
It’s one of the reasons I started Career Success Radio 15 years ago following the global financial crises and the doom and gloom MSM continued to bombard everyone with from every channel. (They haven’t changed much over the years, sadly.)?
My co-host and I jumped into action to bring hope and possibility to the airwaves. We knew things were tough but NOT impossible. Job seekers needed to change their approach to finding employment as much as they needed ongoing encouragement, which is what we did with our show each week for two years.??
My purpose: to inspire hope and possibility.??
OVER TO YOU: Who and what lights YOU up? And who and what peeves you off? Your purpose is right there between the two.
Now it’s time to get clarity on your dream client, as this clarity will help shape your message. You can’t have a compelling message that captures the attention of your dream client if you don’t know who he/she is and what your dream client is struggling with along with the solution they’re looking for.?
Unsure what your dream client is struggling with? Ask them.??
Here’s a screenshot of the membership questions I have people answer when they request access to my Podcasting with Purpose Community on Facebook.??
Want to know how I know what the 2 most common questions coaches ask when it comes to launching a podcast? I asked them, and through asking, I discovered the biggest challenge they struggle with is ‘how to get started?’ followed closely with ‘what technology/microphone do I need?’?
Don’t assume anything – ask.??
OVER TO YOU: What are two or three questions you can ask to clarify what your dream client is struggling with? How are you going to conduct your research? For instance, via interviews or Facebook (community) membership admission?
Like many other coaches, you may have a long list of modalities and techniques in your toolkit that you can tap into to support clients. In fact, your experience, the challenges you’ve overcome, along with your rich toolkit of modalities would ensure you’re the BEST coach to support them. Exciting, right??
What may NOT be exciting for prospective clients are the terminologies you are using to describe how you can support them, especially if you’re speaking in industry jargon i.e. focusing on the modalities and techniques.?
For example, you may be trained in NLP – Neuro Linguistic Programming and one of your areas of specialty is helping middle-aged women who are struggling with insomnia.??
So, you add yourself to a Health & Wellness Online Directory under the category of NLP Health & Wellness Coach. You write some articles about how powerful the modality of NLP is when it comes to insomnia, including specific techniques you use as part of your services. And you create a few popular inspirational ‘quote’ graphics, which you share across your social media platforms, hoping your ideal client will find them and want to find out more about how you can support them.?
The problem is that your ideal client may be searching the Health & Wellness Online Directory, but she is looking for articles on ‘Overcoming Insomnia’ and for Wellness Practitioners who are trusted authorities in that area. She’s not searching for NLP-trained practitioners. In fact, she has no idea what NLP is, nor does she really care. She just wants to get a good night's sleep without the use of medication.??
The language you’ve used in your article explaining techniques are confusing and she’s already overwhelmed and on edge, because of her lack of sleep.?
Not sure about the language she uses to describe her situation? Hint: Ask and then listen to what she has to say and be prepared to write down the key phrases and words she uses.??
领英推荐
OVER TO YOU: Find your ideal clients and ask them if you can spend 10-15 minutes as part of a research project you’re working on. (This is something I recommend all of my clients do as part of identifying their Lucrative Niche. I call it ‘Informational Interviews’, and it is something I used to encourage jobseekers do as well.) Have 2 or 3 open-ended questions and be prepared to take lots of notes.??
Not only is it important to identify the language your dream client is using to describe his/her challenge and desired outcome, but you’ll also want to identify their greatest motivator to get them to a YES, as well as their biggest objection that’ll prevent them to getting to a YES. Then ensure you weave and address this into your message.??
For instance, my dream client is a specialist in his/her area of expertise because of his/her experience, qualifications, and the journey/challenges he/she has overcome.
However, despite this vast knowledge and experience, he/she still ‘feels like the world’s best kept secret’, and he/she is both frustrated and uncertain why what they’re doing has just not worked, especially when other people with less experience seem so much further ahead in their visibility and influence in the industry. Secretly, the success of these other people with less experience frustrates them too.??
Two of the greatest objections for my dream client is (a) ‘I’ve tried everything – nothing has worked, so why should this’, and (b) ‘the market is crowded – it's almost impossible to stand out.’??
How have I discovered this? By doing the steps I've mentioned above, including 'asking' and by 'listening out' for the words and phrases they were using.?
OVER TO YOU: If you're unclear about what your dream client's greatest motivator is, start researching.
There you have it - 6 things that when woven into your journey and story can help you create your own unique and uncopyable message so you become THE choice vs just A choice when your dream client is ready to move forward.?
Here is a selection of podcast episodes from our leading Business, Marketing, and Leadership Podcasts as featured on the Ambitious Entrepreneur Podcast Network. Click play and enjoy!
Ambitious Entrepreneur Show:
Do you have a strategy in place that’ll enable you to build a relationship with a prospective client, nurturing and taking them from just getting to know you, through to a warm lead, through to a customer who can’t wait to begin working with you, so you become THE choice vs just A choice when they’re ready to move forward??
This is exactly what Annemarie shares more about in today’s episode.??
Women In Leadership Podcast:
Joining me on today’s show is?Melinda Haughey.
Melinda is a former U.S. Intelligence professional and researcher who has done stints as a UX professional at Accenture, Facebook, and Dell.??She uses her expertise in geospatial visualization, online communities, and collaboration to inform the direction of Proxi, mentor other founders, and drive research in human-centered design forward.??
On today’s show,?Melinda?is going to share:??
The Christian Entrepreneurs Podcast:
What happens when you surrender yourself fully to the Lord to take on one of His assignments... a difficult and potentially dangerous assignment, where you had no idea how you would even fund the project??
Miracles happen. And lots of them.?
From money to fund projects (where there was previously none), through to plane tickets (that were previously sold out and impossible to get), and many other things that occurred when Diana Abruzzi made a promise to the Lord.?
Diana Abruzzi is the Chairman and Founder of the International Women's Federation of Commerce and Industry (IWFCI) – the first Chamber of Commerce for women in the world at the time of its inaugural meeting in 1992 in Melbourne Australia.??
Diana is a pioneer and leader in the cause of free enterprise and economic development. From championing the advancement of women in business around the world to giving a stronger voice for Australia at international forums on entrepreneurial economic initiatives to business and personal development.?
Let’s listen in as Diana shares her story.?
One of the intentions I've for set myself is to be more proactive on my Reels – or should I say video in general.??
But not just any kind of videos, (not the dancing videos I’m told are often very popular because I really don’t want to put people in a position where they’re going to have to try and UNSEE any ridiculous dancing attempts on my behalf LOL).?
Rather, my intention is to create insightful and inspirational videos.??
One platform I’ve used for years and now will be using a lot more in the creation of our videos is Headliner. Because not only do they create audiogram for your audio podcasts, Headliner can also caption your audiograms and even videos.??
Just upload your video, and Headliner will do the rest!??
Let me know if you decide to give it a try.?
PS. I am using my affiliate link above; however, I never recommend what I’m not using and loving myself! You won’t be disappointed!???
OVER TO YOU: Used any tools (or have a tech tip) that you LOVE and think could benefit Change Makers? Hit reply and share and I’ll mention it in an upcoming newsletter.?
Interested in learning more about how you can go from 'Invisible to Influential Trusted Authority' with Annemarie’s help? Here’s a list of Annemarie’s VIP offerings, 90-Day Group Coaching Programs, Membership, Mini-Courses, and Summit recordings:
?6- and/or 12-month Invisible to Influential Trusted Authority VIP Acceleration Program:?
Business Development (Group Coaching):
?
Podcast Launch (Group Coaching) & Podcast Host Interviewing Course:
?
Money Mindset Short Course & Summit Recordings:
About Annemarie Cross
Dubbed ‘The Podcasting Queen,’ Annemarie Cross is an award-winning podcast host and is recognized as a pioneer in the podcasting space having started her first co-hosted podcast in 2008. Her podcasts have been syndicated on both National and International Radio and listed among the top podcasts for Entrepreneurs and small businesses worldwide.?
Recognised as one of the Top 20 Business Coaches in Melbourne - Australia, Annemarie works with consultants and coaches around the world helping them create distinguishable, uncopyable, and irresistible brands so they're seen as not just A choice – but THE choice with their ideal clients.?
Annemarie also helps her client’s setup a robust podcast strategy and client relationship nurturing funnel so they can build their reach, their reputation (as an Influential Trusted Authority), as well as build their revenue as they continue to nurture listeners into leads, enquiries, and ultimately, paying customers from their very first episode.?