Why am I all up in your face about this?  As usual, it’s about building trust with your potential clients.  Think about it this way.  If you do your SEO, partner with people who link back and do all the important things to drive traffic to your website, you will start attracting people to yourdomain.com who only know that you have a website with something they are interested in.  If they land on your blog first, well then that’s what they think you have to offer them…free information.  That’s great!  Um, except, hold on.  You want to sell them something eventually right?  By looking at a blog, they don’t know that.  They don’t even know why you have the blog.  They just know you’re sharing information and are building a community around your topic.

So, what will they think when all of a sudden you say something about a product or service you offer…try to sell them something?  First they will be surprised…and not in a good way.   They signed up for information, now you want to sell them something?  That’s not cool!  For some people it can feel like a bait and switch.  Hmmm….would you trust someone who pulled that kind of stunt?  Would you trust them to help you make serious life changes?  I wouldn’t.

Ok, ok, I hear you naysayers out there bringing up the “About Page”.   The about page talks about who is “behind” the company and how it functions.  Um, they didn’t even know it WAS a company.    Some people talk about the author on the About Page.  This is good, because it gives some insight into what makes you different than anyone else in your industry.  What industry are you in?  What kind of service do you offer?  Why will people benefit from these services?  Those are the kind of questions that are answered on a home page.

So, why do you need a home page?  So those who are coming from your affiliate partners, search engines and other random places know WHY your website exists, that you have something to sell, and that it’s going to change their life for the better.   Just as with a regular HTML site, you need a place for people to land and quickly determine that they need to know more.  Once they decide they need to know more, by all means, share your blog conversation with them and then lead them through your site as you typically would.  By giving context, you are being transparent about the purpose of your blog and site.  You are building trust.

Still have questions?  Still have objections?  Let’s hear them.  Leave a comment.

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

The challenge is containing that passion and those beliefs while marketing.  I know, it’s not easy but if you want your potential clients to trust you, you have to remember where they are.  Think back to your innocent days.  The days before you knew coaching existed.  Close your eyes for just a minute and remember what that was like….

Now, what would your reaction have been if someone had sent you some writing that said;  “You are a talented human being who deserves to get everything she wants.”?  Would you have believed that?  I know I wouldn’t have!

I specifically remember an instance in the first month of coaching where my coach blurted “You are so talented.”  Oh boy did I challenge that one!!  It started with “You don’t even know me, how do you know what talents I have?”.  I wasn’t ready to accept that I was talented, lovable, or worthy yet.  I hadn’t explored myself enough to know that I was.  I hadn’t worked with my coach long enough to get there.  (Thankfully, my coach was awesome and in the next few months I changed my thinking on that.)

So, can you imagine what would’ve happened, had I come across a piece of marketing where someone tried to tell me I was lovable?  Um, circular file anyone?! In fact, it’s repelling.  It’s gremlin fodder.  They eat that stuff alive and convince people to run away…FAST!

I bring this topic up because I see it all the time.  I see coaches putting marketing materials out that assume the reader can comprehend an affirmation for themselves.  Now, I’m not saying that EVERY person is going to be revolted by that kind of statement, but you need to think about where your potential client is before they have worked with you.  If your typical client goes through a process with you that brings them to loving themselves, don’t try and convince them to go there now.  They haven’t had the benefit of the process yet.  If they have, then they wouldn’t be an ideal client.  So why speak to them?

There is a difference between flat out saying “You can have anything you want” or “You are alive, therefore you are worthy” and asking someone to imagine what life would be like should they overcome challenges you help them get over.  There is a thin line, but by challenging your potential clients with powerful questions that get them to see possibility, they become attracted to you.  Now that’s marketing!

The next time you want to boost someones self-esteem or help them understand that there’s more than where they are, ask yourself if your statement might feed the gremlin of a past client before they got to you.  If the answer is yes, then rephrase to create possibility.

What kind of questions might you use to create possibility?

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

In fact, as a coach, you have a unique opportunity to capitalize the most on them!  It’s the conversation and message that’s changing more than anything.  The reason the question about these mediums dying out is being asked is because people are seeing their numbers dropping in response to their marketing.  Are you noticing this?

There’s a good reason for the drop in response rates.  It’s called desensitization.  Usually that word is used in conjunction with violence.  If you’re exposed to it long enough, you lose your fear of it and then run the risk of being violent yourself.  Yes, this is what’s happening with internet marketing.  For 15 years or so, internet users have been bombarded with e-mail marketing, pop up boxes, sales pages etc… They’ve seen it all and they’ve seen it 100 million times over.  Now they just hit the delete button, unsubscribe, click away or their eyes glaze over.  The “tactics” that we’ve been taught through the information marketing age are dying…not the mediums themselves.  People aren’t responding because everything sounds the same to them.  Nothing is standing out as new, fresh, or different.

So, what does that mean?  It means, if you are going to get business on the internet you have to provide something that internet users aren’t desensitized to.  They need content that gets their attention through emotion (click here to read Scott Stratton’s great article on this).  They need people who are selling something new, different and fresh.  They need to hear your passion.  They want transparency, honesty, and they want to be able to trust you.  Stop putting out the same old, same old content.  Differentiate, get brutally honest, and share your passion with the world.  That’s going to get you noticed on the internet over anything else.

Do you think internet marketing is dying?  Or are you joining us in the new evolution of internet marketing?

Kristen Berieis, Trust Marketing Expert

There is a time and place for automation.  There are also some major mistakes I’ve seen that can create distrust…which will turn people away fast.  So, it’s important to use automation wisely and where it makes the most sense.   What’s wise and where does it make the most sense?  Well, here are some guidelines to follow when setting automated marketing.

1. Think about the future - If you are setting a repeated automation (like an automated welcome e-mail for a list), then think about how it will be used today as well as how it will be used in a year.   Make sure your message isn’t date sensitive.  Make sure it applies no matter what time of day, what day of the week, what month or year it is.  Make sure there’s no reference to a particular news event that’s going on currently.  This seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many e-mails I’ve received after signing up for a freebie that are completely outdated.  It makes me wonder whether this person is on top of things and whether they are even still active in their business.  Do you want that going through your potential clients minds?  I doubt it.
2. Think about who will be seeing it - This is extremely important particularly on social networks.  You aren’t necessarily just talking to your potential client.  You could be talking to potential referral or joint venture partners as well.  So, when you set up that automated “Thank you for joining my community” message, think about who will see that.  Please, please, please…do NOT sell a service/product, get them to sign up for your freebie, or anything else like that.  That’s a huge turn off.  They don’t even know you yet…why would they buy or sign up?  Set your automation to welcome anyone and ask them to tell you more about them.  That will get them into conversation.  Later, through your public communications, you can invite them to buy or sign up for something.
3. Only automate conversation starters, not interactions - There’s a difference between a conversation starter (a topic, thought for the day, or information) and an interaction (a response to your conversation starter).   Consider which you are creating and only automate if it’s a conversation starter.  Otherwise, you are bound to not be “in conversation” and it will feel “off” to the person reading it.  That “off” feeling is the seedling for distrust, so it’s the last thing you want to do.

So, the next time you go to automate, make sure you are creating trust with your automation instead of repelling people away.

What do you think?  Is there too much automation going on?

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

There are  times when it just isn’t a good fit to share. In some circumstances sharing could actually be counterproductive.  The rule of thumb is, if they opted-in for specific details, don’t share it.  Specific details being a call-in number for a tele-class, a pdf for download or a recording of something that they needed to register for.

If you want to continue building your list, you need to make sure people are still opting-in.  If you give everything away on your social networks, then opting-in isn’t necessary.  So, you never will collect names and e-mail addresses or other information that would allow you to contact them later. This is the reason you build a list.  So you can continue to connect with people who are interested in what you have to offer.

To some extent I do view social networks as an extension of my list.  That’s why I don’t totally rule out sharing with your social networks.  Sharing content like newsletters, articles and promotional e-mails that get people to opt-in are all great for sharing!  So, please do!  You’ll get great exposure doing that so it’s totally worth it.

Your list should be guarded as the place to get the secret, special information that they can’t get anywhere else.  If your special offers, call-in numbers and reports are plastered all over the internet for nothing in return, then why would anyone want to give you their name and e-mail address?

Even in this day and age of social networks, I believe the list is still a strong asset.  Share wisely, so you keep the integrity intact.  Build trust in your list by sharing information that makes people want to sign up to get it regularly.

What are your thoughts?  Do you share all your e-mails with your social networks?  Are you still building a list?

Kristen Berieis, Trust Marketing Expert

As a coach, especially, you need to be smart when it comes to templates. You can buy them, download them and use them. However, I would recommend at least tweaking them if you want to keep increasing your trust factor with marketing. Here are some reasons why.

1) Design - If the design of your sales page or e-mail looks different than the rest of your marketing materials, then how is anyone going to know it’s YOU who created and is selling that particular product or service? They won’t! So there’s no trust factor increase. They are starting from scratch. If you do nothing else, at least change the banner out and add a logo or banner from your website.

2) Language - Copy is extremely important. Usually, these templates have some great suggestions on what type of information is needed, how to lay it out most effectively etc… What they don’t know is your particular marketing style and voice. Would you trust someone who sounds different every time you talk to them? That’s what it’s like when one page has language that’s different from the rest of your marketing. Please change the copy to include your marketing message and voice.

3) Differentiation - Templates give you generic information. None of it is differentiated for your particular business. People trust you more when they know exactly what you offer and how you are different than everyone else who offers the same thing. Make sure you add differentiation into the materials.

I think it’s important to educate yourself on what needs to be in your marketing materials in order for your readers/viewers to be willing to take the next action step you suggest. At the same time, if you are going to use a template, make it just the start of your marketing materials. Add in your differentiation, voice, and branding.

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

This is a special blog post dedicated to sharing the coolest, most useful events and opportunities that are happening for you as a business owner, marketer, coach and human being.  I hope you will take advantage of them.

Special opportunities from Kristen and Coaches’ Marketing Source

Marketing Kick Start Program - This program is a very low-cost way to kick start your marketing so that you can afford to keep growing your business.  Get a boost in your conversion rate from website to phone call.  Have the support you need to take time off this the summer and still be out there marketing.  Get your marketing done, without lifting a finger.  It’s simple and it won’t break the bank.  Register at http://www.coachesmarketingsource.com/kickstart.html.

Build Your Dream Business Without Breaking The Bank - This is likely the last call in this FREE tele-series.  I’ll be interviewing Therese Skelly of Happy In Business about how to grow your business with the right support without breaking the bank.  It’s challenging to invest in your business when you don’t know exactly what to invest in.  This call is all about figuring out how to get the most for your investment, so you can grow your business.  Register for this June 22 call at http://www.coachesmarketingsource.com/tele-series.html.

Special opportunities offered by others (no affiliate links)

The Body, Mind, and Business Telesummit - This FREE event started yesterday, but you still have the opportunity to participate as it goes through June 10.  What I love about this Telesummit is the holistic approach Therese Skelly and Melissa McCreery are taking.  Too often women get so focused on growing their businesses that they burn out their adrenals, or they are so concerned about taking care of their family, that they forget to do the tasks necessary to have a profitable business.

Therese and Melissa have created an amazing lineup of speakers who are offering all of it!  You’ll walk away with specific strategies not only to grow your business, but to take care of the most important commodity you have – your health and your energy.

To take advantage of the FREE Body, Mind and Business Telesummit just visit http://www.bodymindandbusiness.com.

Done-For-You Giveaway of the Century - Linda Claire Puig and Kim Clausen have teamed up for the second year in a row to give you FREE Done-For-You Services.  This is a great opportunity to for you to experience hand-picked service providers, get free information and enter to win free services.  All you have to do is go to http://www.doneforyougiveaway.com and register.  Then you’ll get the list of prizes!  You can enter to win as many as you want.  This is a really great model for a giveaway and they always offer top notch prizes.  Contest ends June 7, so enter now.

Milana Leshinsky and Hanna McNamara team up for coaches in the UK - This One-Time Free Teleseminar Where You’ll FINALLY Hear the Truth About Why So Many Coaches Struggle, and What YOU Can Do to Build a Thriving and Profitable Practice.  Milana Leshinsky, the author of “Coaching Millions”, has been working with coaches over the last 9 years and has been closely following the development of the coaching industry.   Join Milana on June 1 for a FREE teleseminar and she will reveal to you:

* The 3 biggest mistakes 91% of coaches make that make their practice building efforts soooooo darn hard!

* How making just ONE simple mindshift can double or triple your
coaching practice in a few short weeks!

* How tweaking your business model can put a stop to those dreadful
questions about fees and credibility forever!

* How shifting your focus can keep your client “pipe line” full and
have dozens of prospects chomping at the bit to work with you!

To register for this call go to http://coachingmillions.com/london/.

Group Coaching Mastery - This is coming up in August and I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for any coach who is looking to expand their service offerings into group coaching.  Not only that, this course offers powerful marketing tools to get your group coaching program off the ground.  Wendy Y. Bailey is a referral partner of mine and I’m going to be taking this course in August so I can get to know the program better and I suspect I will learn a huge amount about group coaching in the process.

If you’ve been wanting to start a group coaching program to expand your income, then join me in August and learn everything there is to the know from the Queen of Group Coaching.  Register at http://www.groupmasterycalls.com/enroll.

Ok, I can just hear you now.  “I’m trustworthy and I exude trust.”  Well, I’m sure you do.  Even the most trustworthy person with the highest level of confidence in themselves doesn’t earn trust instantly.  They still have to prove it.

Guilty until proven innocent.

Yep, that’s the case here.  No one is trustworthy until they have proven they are trustworthy.  I’m not saying that everyone looking at your marketing is thinking; “I don’t trust this person.”  That’s not true, but subconsciously they are looking for reasons to trust you.

I’ve said it a hundred times.  Potential clients won’t trust you with their challenges, life dreams, and goals without first knowing you  can be trusted.  I’m not talking about trusting you to keep their comments confidential.  That’s a given.   There are a lot of trust factors your potential clients are looking for.  Below is a list of just some of those factors.

Your potential clients need to trust that you:

1) Won’t judge them. Especially if they don’t truly understand what coaching is.  If they’ve never had a coach, they have no idea how non-judgmental a coach can be.  They are surrounded by people who constantly judge them (or, at least, they THINK are judging them).

2) Will be able to solve their challenge. Just because you say you can help them, doesn’t mean you can.  Here’s why substantiation is so important.  Your potential clients want to know that you are experienced with their particular challenge.  That you really GET what they are going through and can successfully help them overcome it…and maybe even get more than they originally planned for.

3) Will really HEAR  them. Every potential client who is looking for a coach wants to be heard.  They want to be deeply understood.  As a coach, you can most definitely provide that.  At the same time, do your potential clients know that?  Do you express that through all your marketing materials?  Do you say things that directly relate to them?  Think about it.

I already know what coaches can do.  I’ve experienced coaching from several different coaches.  I know what I’m looking for when I’m shopping for a coach.  I’ve had great success with coaches, but I also know the horror stories of people who have worked with coaches who didn’t quite have it together.  So, I am skeptical.  You’ve gotta work REALLY hard to convince me that you are trustworthy.   Regardless of their training, their title, or their specialty, the above three things are a MUST if you even want to be in the running.

The best way to combat skepticism is to prove you are trustworthy.

How skeptical are you when it comes to hiring a coach?  What do you look for?   Have you proven you are trustworthy in your marketing materials?

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

Find out how well you are building trust with the FREE “Trust Marketing Manifesto” at http://www.coachesmarketingsource.com.

For those of you who are tired of managing multiple calendars so that you, your team, your family, your clients and everyone else knows when you’re available…you can have just ONE calendar now!

Okay, maybe that’s not it.  Maybe you’re just tired of trying to schedule a call with several different people.  The 100’s of e-mails that go back and forth between the group trying to find the one time and date you can all get together.  Annoying right?

Double-booking is a big problem with potential clients. The last thing you want to do is have to go to a potential client and ask to move their appointment because they booked in on your online calendar when you are scheduled to be at a networking event.  Double-booking is a quick trust killer!

http://www.tungle.me/ is the answer! No, I’m not getting paid to write the post.  Yes, I have experience with the program. I’ve been using it for over a month now.   Many clients have asked me what calendar program to use.  There have been many options for virtual calendars for a while.  Not one quite like Tungle though.  It’s got some features that I haven’t seen anywhere else…like the ability to send an e-mail suggesting many different times to one or many people so you can all find the most convenient time.

I was paying $24/month for a calendar before.  There are some features I had with that one that I don’t have with Tungle, but Tungle is free and those were little perks I just didn’t need to pay for.

Now, Tungle is still in Beta, so if you don’t like to do Beta programs then you may want to wait.  If you don’t mind though, it’s a pretty nifty tool that makes scheduling a breeze.   Below is a list of features that I really appreciate with Tungle.

1)  Simplicity - It’s so easy for clients to use.  The first time they have to opt-in to receive e-mails but after that it’s a breeze.  They can go into my calendar and schedule times.  I can also send them an e-mail suggesting times for a meeting.  The interface is pretty self-explanatory and it makes sense to anyone who has ever used Outlook or other calendar programs on a computer.

2)  Sync - I downloaded a little plugin that goes into Outlook and now anytime someone schedules online, it automatically is entered into Outlook the next time I open it.  It doesn’t take but a minute to get them all.  I also get an e-mail that tells me I have the appointment.  You can do this with a Mac too.  It also will work with your google calendar.   So, my schedule is always up to date.  Can you say no double-booking?!

3)  Time blocking - In my previous calendar program, I had to go online to block off days and times that I wasn’t available.  Anytime something wasn’t scheduled through my calendar system, I had to logon and block off time.  Half the time I didn’t remember to do this, which becomes a serious problem in scheduling.  With Tungle, all I have to do is go into Outlook (where I schedule everything anyway) and add the appointment there.  I just have to make sure it’s marked as “busy” and my online Tungle calendar is blocked off in minutes.  Really!  No more logging in to block off vacations or appointments etc…  It’s done!  Again, no double-booking!

4)  Set your work hours - okay, yes, most calendars have the ability to set you work days and hours.  Tungle does too.  It’s just worth mentioning.

5)  Social networking connectivity - Whenever someone goes to your calendar, they have links to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other network pages.  Easy access to you everywhere on the web.

6)  iPhone App - There’s a nifty iPhone App that lets you look up and schedule appointments.  It even has an offline mode for those of us who have iPod Touch’s.  I can download several weeks and have it all available whenever I need it.  It doesn’t have ALL the functionality that the website does, but for a quick…  “Hey.  You want to schedule an appointment?” e-mail, it’s simple and it works.

7)  E-mails - I’m notified with every scheduled appointment.  With my old system I had an attachment that I needed to open and save for it to show up in outlook.  Now, it’s just a  notification so I can see someone scheduled in.  I don’t actually have to DO anything with it.  Time saver!

I think that gives you the most exciting features I’ve found with Tungle.  There are a few things on my Wishlist though, so I’ll give you those too:

1)  Ability to ask who is calling who and get a phone number - I have it on my profile that I want people to leave a number and when I send people to my calendar link, I tell them to make sure they include their number if they want me to call them.  In my old system, I had custom fields where I could ask if they were going to call me or if I was to call them.  I also had the ability to require that they include a phone number.  I would love to see this become easier on Tungle.

2)  Multiple appointments - I would like my clients to be able to make multiple appointments on one screen.  Instead of having to set up a new meeting for every appointment….which means they have to go through the entire scheduling process for each appointment.

3)  Allow buffered time - When someone books a 45 minute slot, I’d like to make sure the whole hour is blocked off.   It would be great to be able to assign buffers before and after each amount of time.  Then people aren’t booking themselves in back to back.

4)  Have a cut off time for scheduling - I do not like allowing people to book in an hour before they want to talk or even the same day.  I’d like to be able to set it so people can’t schedule in less than 24 hours in advance of an appointment.

UPDATE:  Cut off time has been implemented.

These four things on my wishlist are not deal breakers for me.  They are great features I’ve had before that I’m slightly missing here, but overall the service is a HUGE improvement on other virtual calendars I’ve played with.  The sync capability and group invites alone are worth it.  Best of all, I’m not paying diddly squat to use it.  It’s all free!

What do you think?  Are you switching to Tungle?  Have you been using it already?  What do you like about it?  What would you like to see improved?

Let me define what I’m talking about first.

Marketing Jargon - Pre-formed statements that supposedly get people to buy.  Things like “Sign up right now!”  “You’re going to love this.”  “You can’t live without this.”  That kind of thing.

Cold Information - Information for information sake, with no real value to offer.  These are the sites that explain exactly what you are going to get without telling you why you want it.  This feels cold.  Like there is no person behind it.  A robot could have written it.

For some people these tactics work great!  In fact, your website shouldn’t be devoid of these things.  You just need to add some of YOU into your website if you want clients to trust you enough to share their life stories with you.

Let’s go back to the website I saw the other day.  Most of the headlines were some sort of marketing jargon.  In between it was all information about building a business that I had heard 100 times before.  Now, yes, I do surf coaching websites all the time, so I’m more likely to have read it elsewhere.  At the same time, do you think your potential clients are going to go to your site without checking out others like it?  I doubt it!

Market to me without telling me your marketing. They are on your website.  They already know you are trying to sell them something.  Talk to your target market as if they are in the room with you.   Share with them that you know who they are by describing them.  What would your ideal client want to know up front?  Give them the information they need conversationally.  As if you were answering their question one-to-one….not one to masses.  That’s why it’s so important to get to know your ideal client. So, you know who they are and can speak to that.

Infuse your personality. I have editors that review my copy before I put it out on my website.  Many times they make suggestions to get rid of certain colloquialisms.  Usually, I ignore their advice because it’s MY words.  I want MY words out on that website so people can relate to me.  It’s important to use proper grammar and use correct spelling, but it’s also important to speak like you do in person.

I didn’t see a picture of the coach anywhere. In fact, there weren’t any graphics for me to connect with at all.  Just a bunch of words.  When I did finally find my way to the “about” page, I found even more information.  Information about the education of the coach.  I found information about how that coach works with their clients too.  That’s not going to cut it.  By the time I get to the end of this page I should have a sense of who this coach is and why they care about me.  Credentials, experience and the coach’s process substantiate that but if I’m going to trust you with my dreams then you have to give me a little more than that.  I want to know who you are as a person and as a coach.

Share with me. Tell me that you run marathons, enjoy time with your kids, play baseball in the summer, and go on a hiking retreat every year.  Substantiate your expertise with information about who you are and what you love.  Tell me that your mission is to help your clients find happiness in their lives, because you once weren’t happy.  Things like that will get my attention.

Your most valuable asset is not your list!  It’s YOU! Use it to your advantage.

What do you think?  What do you want to know?  Is there anything you want to change now?