Generating Cash Flow in Your Business Quickly by Andrea Lee
Today’s lesson is in response to a couple individual clients I’ve been working with in the past two weeks. It’s a common small business owner’s headache, and I’m sure it will apply to many Biz Whiz members.
“Hey Andrea, please help. I feel silly about this, but I need to do something in my business to make some money. It’s not a dire emergency, but I don’t like where my cash reserves are going and I want to do something about it before it gets worse. What do I do?”
Phew. These real-life situations are enough to make any of us sweat. Whether it’s happened to us before (been there, done that) or it’s our worst nightmare yet to happen (fingers crossed) an impending cash flow crunch is a universal problem for entrepreneurs.
Luckily there are a few ways in which I’ve seen it possible to address this situation in the short term, even if it’s only a band-aid. And one of those ways is this:
Ask Yourself ‘What Does My Current Customer Database Really Want From Me At This Time?”
Then Provide the Answers In A TeleSeminar Offering
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how to make this happen, let me make an important point.
If you are running into serious cash flow issues in your business, you need a business plan. No amount of Teleseminar offerings or other band-aids will help if you don’t.
So please don’t mistake this lesson as a way to get away with poor planning for your business.
That said, a one-time TeleSeminar is a great way to test your market and add some cash to your business at the same time. In fact, a regularly planned out series of TeleSeminars can be a terrific way to build regular business and is a great addition to any marketing funnel.
So, having said all that, how can you best deliver a TeleSeminar quickly and handily? Follow these three steps:
First, ask your market what it most needs from you right now.
You may have a gut hit about this, and that’s great. Still though, it’s much better to be sure, right? So, the first step to deliver a quality TeleSeminar offering is to ask your market what it is looking for at this moment.
How? You can write your ezine list an email with some questions. Or, write your current customers an email for their feedback. You could also write to a discussion board by going to Google or Yahoo Groups and finding where your prospects ‘hang out’ online. Heck, pick up the phone and personally ask your target market what they most need right now.
Make a list of the answers, and determine the top-most pressing needs of your prospects.
Next, answer the need they’ve described to you very specifically, in the form of a TeleSeminar topic.
For example, if your market is single working moms, perhaps you’ve polled them, and they’ve said, “My kids are driving me crazy, I really need some way to keep them quiet so I can concentrate on my final exam.” or “so I can finish my thesis.” or “so I can finish the typing I have for my boss.” etc.
What you do is a TeleSeminar on “The Top 10 Ways to keep your kids occupied so you can concentrate and complete the other tasks you have at hand.”
Use the words and specific phrases they use to describe their problem, to outline the TeleSeminar you are offering.
Then, pick a date and time, reserve a conference line, set a price, and invite attendees to your TeleSeminar.
How do you do this?
If you don’t already have access to conference or bridge lines, go to Google and enter in the search terms “free conference line.”
Or go directly to www.mrconference.com as one example, and reserve a free conference line for the date and time you’ve picked.
Then set a price for your TeleSeminar, and start taking registrations. Market the class wherever you can including the same places that you asked your original questions, above.
If you can afford it, create a product out of the TeleSeminar at the same time
We’ve covered off audio recording in a previous Internet Biz Whiz lesson, so you know that if possible, this is a prime opportunity to spend a few extra dollars to create an additional Information product while you deliver the TeleSeminar.
The key thing here is to do the research necessary to bring tremendous value to your TeleSeminar. Make sure you thoroughly answer the major concerns and worries of your market on this topic. And at the end of your TeleSeminar, be prepared with an additional offering in your business that can continue to help your customer.
The nature of the Internet is that there are thousands of people experiencing difficulties of all different sorts at any given time.
If you are in the position to provide a proven and tested solution to any one of those problems, you have something of value to the market. The TeleSeminar format is simply one of the quickest and most simple formats to deliver the solution in, and thus in a cash flow crunch, can be handy.
Listen carefully while delivering your TeleSeminar. The additional questions and concerns you hear are food for thought for your next offering, hopefully under better circumstances for you.
A few additional things…
For those of you who recognize it, step one above, “ask your market” is actually a foundational Internet Marketing principle that can form the backbone of every healthy Internet business.
When was the last time you asked your prospects how you can help them? When was the last time you seriously contemplated their problems, and then designed your next business offerings around the solutions?
It’s something every successful internet-based business does religiously. Ask the market what it wants, and then give it them.
(Those of you familiar with Thomas Leonard’s work for example, know that he did this in the form of an R&D Team at CoachVille, and was able to build extremely well-received products and services at lightning speed for this very reason.)
So whether it’s for your TeleSeminar, or a live event, ebook, audio product or multimedia product even, make sure you make time to ask and reward your prospects for the insights they share with you about what they want.
Looking for a tool to make the asking part easier? No problem.
This is the most useful surveying tool I have come across. It’s strength is in its very strong marketing approach. Internet Marketers Frank Deardurff and Alex Mandossian created this tool, and you can tell. If programmers had been in charge, this would have been a very different product…
The ASK Database is like having an automated R&D team processs, where you don’t have to compile the answers manually. Very handy.
Click here to take advantage of a $1 offer to try it for 21 days and see if it fits for you.
If nothing else, it’s fun to do at least one survey using the ASK database, and collect those answers within the 21 days, all for $1.
Other surveying tools that I understand are also good, include www.oneminutepoll.com, www.surveymonkey.com and www.zoomerang.com.
Or, simply do it the good old fashioned way, using email.
Here are some examples of links with various ASK campaigns in action:
http://www.andreajlee.com/ask/open.html
http://www.coolquestions.com/BreastFeed.htm
A Final Note…
Regardless of your cash flow situation, the key lesson here is in listening to your market.
It’s a surprising thing, but few people stop to ask and listen to the very prospects they claim to want to do business with, and even fewer follow through by creating products that are a direct reflection of their answers.
That’s where Internet Biz Whiz members can seize their chance.
How will you ask, listen and respond to your prospects this week?
Questions? Email: andrea@internetbizwhiz.com.
My Best,
Andrea
Andrea Lee
andrea@internetbizwhiz.com
Topics: Multiple Streams Expert |
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