I do. I need an onion.

I want to make the wonderful organic sausages I have in the fridge, along with the organic yellow and orange pepper… but, I don’t have an onion.

Time for some radical honesty. Sometimes, I am incredibly lazy.

I live in New York City. There are stores ALL around me. Quite literally, one elevator ride, a walk across the street and into the 24 hour grocery store would get me an onion.

It wouldn’t be organic, and I want organic. To get that, I have to walk 1.5 blocks between avenues (those are a lot longer than blocks between streets), and deal with the crowds that THRONG the store. It’s unbelievable how busy that store is…

And, I don’t want to go out. I’ve been working all day, and I have ZERO desire to go out. It doesn’t matter that it would only take 10 minutes. I like the quiet of my apartment right now, and I don’t want to go out into that busy, buzzing world.

So, my sausages will get cooked with just peppers.

Now, you’re probably asking, “Why the heck are you telling me this, Payson?”

Darn good question, and I’ll tell you.

It’s because, in marketing, we need to focus on what people WANT, not what they NEED.

Yes, I do ‘want’ the onion, but not enough to get my butt up and go out and get it.

If I was eating ice cream or chocolate right now (I’m not), and I didn’t have that in the house, you can bet your bottom dollar that I’d go out for that.

So, when you are thinking about your product or service, you want to make sure that you are talking about it in a way that connects it to a driving, over-whelming, all-consuming WANT your peeps have.

It’s not enough to tie it to what someone needs – we’ll go without something we need for a long time, all the while spending time, money and resources to get what we want.

What do your peeps want so much that they’ll do pretty much anything to get their hands on it? How does what you have answer their intense desire?

(Hey, I’m doing a bit of research, and I want to know what YOU want to know about marketing… will you take a quick survey for me? It’s going to help me build something I’m calling Marketing In The Morning™ – I’m going to show you how to make marketing really work for you business, while making it EASY and FUN…. Yes, that’s possible!)

Like Sands Through An Hourglass…

The article is about how, over many years we develop mental habits that have a negative impact – the sense, feeling and thought that you have many things to do, and you feel like you should be doing them all now, is a bad mental habit. Shifting the way you think can change the level of stress and worry you experience…

Just like only one grain of sand can pass through the opening of an hourglass at a time, so can we only experience 1 moment at a time in our lives… and, we can only do one thing at a time. (Now, I know that some hourglasses are built so that more than one grain of sand can pass through at a time, but it kind of kills the idea, doesn’t it?)

Very profound, when you think about it. And it illustrates the point in the book, “It is not the job, but the way we insist upom thinking of the job, that causes the trouble.”

It made me get more honest with myself about ‘multi-tasking’ which, quite frankly, is a complete fallacy. When I try to multi-task, I mess things up. And, that is exactly what recent studies have shown – multi-tasking does not increase productivity, in fact decreases it. (Check out this interview on NPR with a professor and a scientist as they discuss what really happens when we multi-task.)

One Of My Secrets

Use a timer.

I’ve used a timer for a long time now, to set time deadlines for tasks (it’s a great way to do a bit at a time on something that is big and daunting), and it creates incentive to beat the clock. I recommend you consider it too.

For me, it definitely helps with the concept – I know I am going to focus exclusively on this one task for the next 20 minutes (or whatever the amount of time is) – it let’s me let go of the other things I know also need to get done today, or even in the next hour or two.

And, remember, when you have lots to do, using any brain power to think about, or worry about anything but the task at hand, it actually counter productive.

Creating a practice of staying ‘in the moment’ and present to whatever you are doing right now – letting everything else fall away and having time dedicated to the tasks that are most important will really help you increase your productivity, get much more out of the time you have to get your work done, and make what you do even more effective.

This past weekend I got to play with several amazing women who are close friends as well as entrepreneurs…

We were sharing stories about different things and ended up talking about the first rock or pop concert we’d ever been to… so we went around the room and everyone shared.

After I shared my story, someone pointed out that there was a level of commitment in a part of my story that was different than the level of commitment most of us show in relation to our lives, and, in particular, to our businesses.

So, here’s the story…

You can tell me what you think (just so you know, this feels a little bit like baring my soul and some deep dark secrets, so please be kind)…

When I was 14 or 15 I went to my very first rock concert… it was the band A-Ha. Yes. You read that right. I was in full-on, teenage *CRUSH* with the lead singer of the band Morten Harket. (This is a picture of my wall at that time…)

Yup. Teenage girl for sure. Teen, Teen Beat and Tiger Beat got a lot of my babysitting money. Ahhh… to be young and infatuated again…

‘Course, it helped that my best friend at the time had a thing for the keyboard player, ‘Mags’, aka Magne Furuholmen (he’s the one in the middle in the center picture, Morten is on the right).

So, why am I telling you this and what the heck does it have to do with your business…?

Well, the summer I was 16 was supposed to be my first ‘working’ summer – get a full time job as soon as school let out and start learning about what a workaday life was like. My brother had done it, and now it was my turn…

Only thing was, I had a different plan.

To understand my plan, you’ll need a tiny bit of back-story…

During a few of my formative summers I’d gone on trips with an organization called Interlocken. They provided different kinds of adventure trips to all types of locations – of which, I took two. The first trip was living on a small two masted schooner named ‘The Flying Fish’ from Boston, MA to St. John’s Canada. Here’s a picture of the ONLY day we got the sails up. (It was 3+ weeks of motoring the coastline with not a stitch of wind – gorgeous scenery, tight bunking quarters with 2 adults, a 2 year old child, 3 girls and 2 boys, but we did ok – that was the one time in my life I didn’t shower for 9 days… but that is a story for another day…)

The Flying Fish

The second was a bike trip through most of the state of Maine – also lovely and horrible for reasons I will not go into, but suffice to say, it was definitely an ADVENTURE experience.

So… now we are getting to the point…

That summer, when I was 16, there was an Interlocken bike trip to Denmark and Norway. Now, if you are an A-Ha fan, you will immediately understand why this was important… if not, which I suspect most of you are not, then it will help if I tell you that they are from Norway – I think they’re one of the only Norwegian pop bands to ever chart in US…

A picture of just ONE of the Fjords we rode up above, down into and up out of again. Phew.

Well, I decided I was going to Norway, no matter what. I have no idea what I thought that would do… maybe somehow I’d manage to meet Mr. Harket, maybe he’d fall in front of my bike or I’d run into him in a bakery? Who knows… but I DECIDED to go.

And, I did whatever it took.

I sold my 3-story, baby-blue Victorian doll house with white trim and a widow’s walk. I babysat for bratty boys that loved He-Man. And, I worked on my parents to get permission.

Eventually I got a deal… if I could pay the airfare, they’d pay for the trip – and I had to work full-time, starting as soon as I got back, until the day school started.

If I remember correctly, the airfare was $835… I scraped it together in any way I could and in June of that summer, I flew to Copenhagen, Denmark and started a 1,000 mile trek through that gorgeous, windy country, across ferries and over the fjords of Norway, ultimately ending in Oslo. We carried EVERYTHING we had, for the entire 6 weeks (other than food) on our bikes.

Here’s one of our bikes, and a few of my fellow travelers…there were 10 of us.

It was an INCREDIBLE experience, and there are memories from that trip that are some of my fondest. If I ever need to know if I have the fortitude and will to do certain things, all I need to do is think about a few experiences on that trip and I dive right in… this trip made the Maine bike trip look like an outing to a mini-golf course… someday, perhaps, I’ll share a few of the experiences and lessons learned…

Bottom Line? Your Life Changes When You Make A Decision

Everything I look back on, and all of it’s meaning in my life since, happened because I made a DECISION. I was determined to make it happen. I set my intention and did whatever I could think of to make it happen… and the universe opened the way.

So, now, I have to ask you…

Have you made the decision to succeed in your business? Have you made the decision to create six-figures this year? Maybe your decision is to create $8-10K in reliable income per month?

Maybe you haven’t made the decision yet? What are you waiting for? Not making a decision is actually making one, but it’s making a decision to let life happen to you, instead of choosing what you want to do and giving the universe a chance to yield it to you.

If you have made the decision, ask yourself what you are willing to do to make it happen? Are you willing to be uncomfortable? To stretch to create what you want? What can you do to support yourself in following through on your decision?

If you have made the decision to create a new level of success in your business, I want you to click here and get on a live teleseminar I am hosting on March 12. It shares with you exactly how to take your service, information or advice based business and get tons more clients, eliminate overwhelm, work less than ever and start making money really fast.

Here’s the link again – don’t wait, make a decision and follow-through: GET ON THIS CALL

P.S. No, Morten Harket did not fall out of the sky and land on my bike or come hang out with me by the camp fire… but I had an incredible experience. Sometimes we do things for one reason… and then, we get exactly what we need…

P.P.S. I also learned to play The Beatles ‘Norwegian Wood’ on the piano due to this affliction… ahem, I mean interest.

P.P.P.S The call I mention above is a LIVE Call… no recording. So make a decision to get on it, put it in your calendar and be there, or be square.

Here’s the thing… we are very creative, intelligent and amazing entrepreneurs (I know this about you because you are reading this blog post now… wink, wink).

Since that is how we approach our businesses and our world, we bring to the table bucket-loads of ideas, processes, exercises, journeys etc that we can provide for our clients.

Here’s the problem with that:

When we bring all of those things to the table, it’s like having a huge mansion with bunches of rooms in it – maybe there are 40 or 50, or even 100 beautiful and enticing rooms.

So, as our wonderful and ideal clients come up to the front of our mansion they see all the twinkling lights in all the windows… they may even get excited and interested and want to come in and check things out, but, guess what? We leave them out in the dark… because we don’t have a front door.

The problem is pretty obvious then, right? They’ll stop by and look at the shiny lights and the pretty shutters, then they’ll move onto the next house over – which might be just as nice, or could be just a small shack compared to what our mansion would provide, but it’s got a front door – the door is obvious, and it’s open. Must easier to get in there and say, “Yes,” to someone services, don’t you think?

What can you do about it?

Well, you get yourself a front door! What I mean by that is that you need to figure out the most important and transformative thing you can do for your people (and the thing they want the most, too), thus creating an entry point where your perfect peeps can start out with you.

It doesn’t have to be everything you do, it doesn’t even have to be a lot of what you do – it just has to be something they really want and something you can deliver really well.

Once they go through your front door, you can figure out which rooms will serve them best and, as long as you keep them happy, they’ll delightfully stick around and sample from many of the rooms (or services) you have to offer.

Now, if you’re stuck and you’re not really sure what your front door should be, you don’t know quite how to create it or you aren’t even completely sure what all this meant, then I’m going to encourage you to sign up for the complimentary call I’m doing this Thursday – it’s all about Laying The Foundation For Your Million Dollar Map, and it starts with the front door.

What You Are Doing Now:

1. Dilly-dallying around with your logo
2. Constantly (and creatively!) coming up with new names for your business/direction
3. Buying more and more URLs (oh, wait, that’s just me… sorry… )
4. Chasing after every ‘new & shiny object‘ dangled in front of your face

Do I need to keep going or do you get my drift? (The list really does go on, and on, and on…)

Here’s what you need to be doing…

Avoid Distraction City

Logos, names and URLs – distraction, distraction and distraction – this is one I’ve been super guilty of, I’ve been known to whimper, “But it’s just not quite right” – time for me to kick my own tush just a wee bit and kick yours a little bit too. What to do instead?

Skip the fancy ‘logo’ for now and just pick a simple font and write out the name of your business or product – give yourself some time to figure out the flavor of your biz, THEN invest in the help of someone who knows what the heck they are doing with branding. Get out there and get started – find out who you want to work with, what they want from you and what you enjoy doing – it’ll show itself before too long. (Same thing goes with names and URLs – and if anyone knows of a URL 12 Step program, please send it my way… I’m pretty much a URL Junkie at this point…)

Nail Your Tush To the Floor

As for chasing shiny objects – this can be everything from new mentors, new classes or courses or new tools or software. The best way out of this snake infested swamp land is to pick ONE (yes, just one) person or coach to work with and model – someone you respect, who is further down the path you want to be on and STICK with them like white on rice until you are doing more business and making more money than they are, or at least until you’ve saturated yourself with as much of what they know as you possibly can.

THEN it makes sense to start working with someone else… there are a few exceptions to this – like working with a handful of coaches who specialize in different areas so that you are moving your business and/or life forward on multiple fronts (an example would be someone who specializes in outsourcing so you can build your team, while working with someone who specializes in business development), but this has to be done carefully. Another exception might be if you are in a big group coaching program and find that you need a smaller group or 1:1 support to make the most of that program…

The Bottom Line?

The bottom line is, there will always be something new to learn – and it’s going to look a heck of a lot ‘greener’ on that side of the fence, particularly with master marketers painting their colorful pictures. If you’re feeling drawn to something, take some time, sit quietly with it and you’ll know if it’s right for you.

And, if you find you are hopping around like a mexican jumping bean (which are really beatles… did you know that? I didn’t until a little while ago… but I digress) and you can’t seem to stick with anything long enough to find out if it will work, then get a coach or a friend to tie you down with accountability until you follow through and create some success.

Blinders – they’re not just for horses anymore…

Put some blinders on… the amazing opportunities are so distracting you’re going to need ‘em! And, if you are looking for someone who will kick your tush with just the right amount of firm compassion, check out this link – I’m offering a teleseminar on Creating Your Million Dollar Map – it’s an intro to some concepts I’ve found are helping me and my clients create tremendous success.

Oh, and, it’s totally FREE, so you’ve got nothing to loose (except an hour or so of your time, if you don’t learn anything useful… which I’ve heard from people is highly unlikely – doesn’t seem I know how to NOT provide bucket-loads of content), you might learn a few things that can really support you in creating the business you want (and you might just start making some moolah in that business of yours to boot).

Here’s that link again: Awesome (if I may say so myself…) Teleseminar on Laying the Foundation for Your Million Dollar Map

The last of the Ten Tips Video Series on How To Get Clients Using Online Marketing Strategies!

Video Tip #1

In this video I share what I think is the No 1 strategy for getting clients using online marketing… it’s one of those deciding factors between failure and success.

Enjoy!

One question I’ve received a lot as I’ve worked with clients around doubling their fees is. “Can I really charge that much?” (How much you mean when you say ‘that much’ will be highly personal and have a lot to do with what I discuss next…)

The answer is… it depends.

It depends on a variety of things, but most importantly, it depends on one key thing. Your confidence and your beliefs. Those are built through a variety of key things – things you need to do in both your personal life and in your business.

Please understand, you are far from alone if you struggle with this. Pretty much everyone does at some point or another as they build their business.

One of the key pieces you need to figure out is how to be completely clear on the transformative value you provide for your clients. When you know exactly what you do and what someone will get out of working with you, then you’ll be much more likely to strut into business conversations with confidence – whether it’s the first time you meet someone, or you are having that very specific ‘are we a good fit for working together’ sales conversation.

What’s the bottom line?

The most confident person wins… if the person you are talking to is more confident, you won’t stand a chance of getting them to understand how you can help them. If you are the confident one, then you’ll find many of the people you meet and talk to will not only be very intrigued by what you have to offer, but they won’t even bat an eye when you tell them your fees.

If you know you’re worth it, and know how to present your value, you’ll be able to not only get more clients, you’ll also be able to charge more… you might even find that you can easily double your fees, or even triple them.

Now, I want to find out more from you… so I put together a (very short!) 2 question survey, would you help me out by answering the questions? Here’s the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PMBVCMN

Seriously, I LOVE the topic, so you’ll be finding a lot more about it from me here. It’s something I seem to end up working on breakingthrough with every single client… even the ones pulling multiple six-figures. When they are looking at cranking things up a notch, the same pesky, annoying little piss-ant thoughts come up that did before they started making good money…

“Can I really charge that much?”
“Can I really command that?”
“Is what I’m doing really worth it?”
“Who am I to do this?”

And, my favorite – because it’s the one that echoes in my head whenever I start to push that certain feels-like-its-made-from-concrete-not-paper envelope… “Am I getting too big for my britches?” Because, you know, my sniveling little ‘you can’t do that!’ voice is from the 1890′s, ok? Just kidding, but really, britches?

Here’s the thing. You absolutely MUST begin to unravel what is going on for you around money…

Why, you ask? It’s simple. If you don’t deal with the blocks, you don’t handle the unreasonable emotions, you don’t get a clue about what is going on in that pretty little head of yours… you won’t make the money you want.

It goes pretty far beyond that too… if you don’t get a leg up here, you won’t have the relationship you want, you won’t have the family you want, you won’t have the business you want… basically you’ll barely scratch the surface of fulfilling what is possible and what would be thrilling to you in your life.

Got it? Good.

Stay tuned for some more ranting, raving and postulating (yes, Payson postulates, go figure…) about money. I’ve got LOTS to share.

And, if you are ready to kick your money beliefs where the sun don’t shine and starting kicking some serious butt in your business… you’ll want to check this out. It’s some info on my new private, one-on-one consulting package, it’s a straightforward, step-by-step plan to make more money in your business in 30 days.

Check it out by clicking here:

And, if you missed Tip #3 – all about Social Media – scroll down to the next blog post and you’ll find it there.

Enjoy!

In this video we talk about one of the best and most effective ways to get clients using online marketing strategies – Social Media.

Let me know what you think of the video in the comments section below or in the comments on YouTube – Enjoy!