We’ve just seen a golden age for people wanting to start their own small business. The 10 to 15 year period from the 2008 recession to COVID-19 was a bull market that saw improved and more affordable technology available for small business owners. As a result, small businesses exploded into existence, particularly for women entrepreneurs.

But the economy is cyclical, and there comes a time when the bull market slows down. In the last few years, we’ve seen that lots of businesses had to adapt or get shut down during the pandemic lockdowns. We’re watching inflation cause expenses to skyrocket. And your customers and clients are feeling the impact.

The economy is uncertain right now, and perhaps your sales are slowing down as a result. People might be telling you that they need a little more time to budget for your signature offer, or they’re less willing to commit to a long-term program and higher dollar amounts. So your sales process will have to change.

Today kicks off a new series all about how the sales process is changing. In this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO, you’ll learn about what to do if your sales strategy is no longer producing the results you want right now. I’ll teach you how to prevent your business from slowing down so much that it threatens to shut down.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

9:11 - There’s been a big change in B2B vs. consumer-facing sales strategies over the last few years. What is it?

13:29 - Adding in a personal touch somewhere to your sales process will improve your overall results. I reveal how I do it.

17:14 - Here’s another high-touch tactic I do that you can add to your marketing.

19:45 - People want to know who they’re giving money to, so are you making your company’s values explicitly clear?

27:40 - How can you make your business relevant to clients and customers right now? It’s all about meeting them where they are.

34:48 - One last thing to think about that will help you so much as a small business owner.

Mentioned in Why Your Old Sales Strategy Might Not Be Working

• The CEO Collective
• The CEO Retreat
• Loom
• “The Vulnerable Side of Visibility with Erica Courdae” podcast episode
• Marketing Strategy Intensive
• Uncommonly More
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
• Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success

Do you struggle internally with selling because you feel like you’re pushing people to buy things they don’t need? You want to improve your sales skills and feel like you’re advocating your offers out of service, not desperation.

You need sales confidence. And my guest today, Leslie Lyons, is a sales and leadership coach with a no BS approach who’s all about helping women embrace sales confidence. She just has a way of talking about sales and encouraging people to make more sales that’s so refreshing to hear.

In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about how to get more confident at selling. You’ll also discover how to re-examine your relationship with sales and money so that you can truly step into your purpose and be of service to people you’re here to help through your business.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

8:22 - Leslie describes the kind of household she grew up in and reveals why having money is key for women in relationships.

12:34 - How are women in the Western world conditioned when it comes to money? And how does white feminism tie into it?

17:52 - How did Leslie find out she was good at sales? She reveals her very first sales job and the foundational piece to having sales confidence.

26:54 - Leslie discusses how to build up sales confidence so you don’t feel so hesitant, uncomfortable, or awkward when advocating for your offer.

30:33 - Other than stereotypes about selling, here are a couple of other reasons why women hesitate to do it (and what we make them mean about ourselves as individuals).

34:30 - What lesson can Kanye teach you as an entrepreneur in sales situations?

38:27 - I learned an important sales lesson as a kid. And it demonstrates why Leslie focuses on sales confidence instead of sales strategy.

41:40 - Here’s something else that can keep you attached to your business and make it personal.

Mentioned in How to Embrace Sales Confidence In Your Business with Leslie Lyons

• Leslie D. Lyons
• Leslie’s podcast: Pleasurable Profits: Sales & Leadership for Non-Traditional CEOs
• Leslie on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
• Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success

Can you afford to take 30 days away from your business? What would happen if you can’t but took the time anyway?

Sometimes, things come up. Personal or family illness, the impending birth of a new baby, or just needing a break can spark the need for taking some extended time off.

But for a lot of small business owners, taking that time would essentially shut the business down. You’d stop marketing, working with clients, and making sales... unless you have systems in place that keep your business running when you slow down.

This past April, I had to step away from my business because of a flare-up of my chronic illness that caused me extreme pain and kept me up at night. But if you listened to the show in April, you’d never know that because I had systems in place that could help me weather that situation.

So in this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn the systems I use to make sure that my business runs smoothly even if I have to step back for a bit. By growing through some of the systems I use in my 5-part framework, I’ll teach you how you can keep on serving your clients and generating revenue while you’re away.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

5:09 - I talk about the biggest changes I’ve made for more flexibility in the “delight” stage of my framework.

9:18 - What do these changes look like functionally inside of The CEO Collective?

18:20 - How do I make sure sales keep coming in even if I have to step away from my business?

25:08 - If you think you need to be active in the nurture marketing stage all the time, systems are your friend here. I reveal how.

31:29 - Where do I spend the majority of my time, and why should you do the same?

39:33 - It took me a long time to follow this final piece of advice.

Mentioned in The Systems That Keep Your Business Running When You Slow Down

• The CEO Collective
• The CEO Retreat
• 90-Day CEO Operating System
• The CEO Planner
• Marketing Strategy Intensive
• Fired Up & Focused Challenge
• Plan Your Best Year Ever Challenge
• More Business Growth Tools
• Help Scout
• Uncommonly More
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
• Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Just because it's a slow down season in your personal life doesn’t mean your sales have to follow suit.

Summer especially is known (and sometimes feared) as a dead time for business revenue. Unless your product or service can specifically cater to what people purchase during the season, you’re probably expecting to see a dip in sales.

But you can still keep the sales gravy train going... and not just during the summer but anytime you choose to slow down or take a step back from your business. All you need to do is incorporate a couple of high leverage tactics to keep up the momentum.

These are simple strategies you can use right away. And the best thing about them is, once you have the pieces in place (assuming you don’t already), they run automatically and won’t take up more of your time.

In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about three tactics to keep generating the sales and revenue you desire (and deserve) when you take time off from your business. I’ll also teach you ways to implement each one and ensure that you don’t have to suffer through the famine part of the business cycle so many entrepreneurs go through.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

5:21 - What’s the first thing you need to do before you can keep the momentum going in your business?
7:21 - Make sure you make this part easy for potential clients and customers in order to keep up business momentum.
11:34 - I share one of the best ways you can continue sales momentum if you’re a service provider.
13:15 - Here’s a high leverage tactic you can do that often surprises people.
17:34 - What should you double down on to keep momentum going? (Most people do the opposite).
21:47 - I quickly recap my top three ways to keep business momentum going when you’re slowing down or taking a break.

Mentioned in 3 High Leverage Ways to Keep Up Business Momentum

“Why Your Old Sales Strategy Might Not Be Working”

“How Your Client Education Process Leads to More Sales”

“How to Gain Clients for Life with Stacey Harris”

Fired Up & Focused Challenge

Plan Your Best Year Ever Challenge

Racheal on Instagram and TikTok

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success

Summer is just around the corner! It’s the time of year to relax with a cold drink by the pool and just slow things down. Sounds great, but how do you make sure things don’t slow down too much in your business?

In this episode, I talk about how you can avoid losing momentum during the slower summer months and ramp up your business for the fall.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

3:21 - Summer is the perfect time to work on the bigger picture for your business. Here’s the first way to help you get the most out of this slower period.

6:45 - What’s the one thing that’ll help you grow your business sustainably? This allows you to leverage your time and energy by working smarter, not harder.

19:19 - Want to set yourself up for success for the rest of the year? Look at these three core parts of your marketing strategy and your overall marketing system.

28:33 - How your business shows up in the world matters. It’s the first impression people get, so consider upgrading this aspect over the summer.

32:36 - This time of year is when I’ll often plan for and create new offers, including my very first program in the summer of 2011.

Show Links

• The CEO Retreat
• Google Workspace/Google Apps for Work
• Last Pass
• Help Scout
• Asana
• Calendly
• Dubsado
• Racheal on Instagram
• Leave a review on iTunes

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success

People keep asking for your time, energy, and attention. Someone invites you to an impromptu coffee date in the middle of something important or wants to meet up with you about something after business hours. But when it comes to your business, you need to learn to say no when necessary.

You want to turn these types of things down but fear it’ll have a detrimental affect on your life or business. Maybe you’ll miss out on an opportunity or offend a client or potential business partner or friend.

But there’s always a trade-off and saying yes to everything is really the thing that can hurt your business. The key to not doing that is the CEO’s best friend: boundaries. You need to set strong boundaries for yourself and your business and not waver on them.

That (especially the not-wavering thing) sounds easier said than done, right? Well, in this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about the three different types of boundaries you as a business owner need to think about setting for yourself. You’ll also learn how to enforce and stick with your new boundaries.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

8:47 - The first boundary you need to examine is the biggest challenge I hear from women entrepreneurs.

12:32 - What is the flow state, and how do you get into it?

16:46 - How do you organize your calendar? I walk you through how I do mine as an example.

19:13 - I talk about how to manage clients when it comes to your calendar’s specificity, including emergency appointments.

23:40 - What about appointments for non-business related things (i.e. lunch with a friend or potential business referral)?

26:50 - So many of us struggle with constant communication. I discuss setting up your boundaries around this so you don’t make yourself seem available 24/7.

30:22 - How can you set expectations for your response turnaround time? Here’s how we do it through my preferred communication channel.

33:27 - I talk about boundaries around your non-preferred methods of business communication.

37:48 - How do you respond to questions? You might experience this particular scenario, especially as your business grows and you become known as an expert.

43:09 - Having clear, upfront boundaries saves you so much time and energy when dealing with sticky clients situations such as these.

48:24 - Feel free to do this with clients when necessary. But make sure it’s in your contract/client agreement.

52:02 - To wrap up the show, I give a quick recap of the three boundaries.

Mentioned in 3 Areas to Think About When Defining Your Boundaries as CEO

• The CEO Collective
• “How a Model Calendar Helps Me Work Just 25 Hours a Week!”
• Help Scout
• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok
• Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success

What does it mean to be CEO of your business anyway?

When you start your business, you’re the marketing team, the sales team, the customer service team, the tech support, all of it. But over time, as your business grows and gets more established, you want to take some of this workload off your plate.

Traditional CEOs have the people and teams in place to help them so they can focus on higher-value tasks and take their business to the next level. But how do you, as the CEO of a smaller business, build an environment that’ll sustainably do the same for you? How do you transition from the role of entrepreneur to the role of CEO?

It all starts with getting clear on five elements that’ll help you figure out your role as CEO. In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about those elements that make up the job description of a traditional CEO and how to translate that for your small business. I’ll teach you the process to help you define your specific CEO role and reveal questions to help you determine your biggest value to your company.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

4:44 - Transitioning from solopreneur to CEO can be a challenge (and one I’ve faced multiple times). I explain why.

6:12 - What was Sara Blakely’s journey from solopreneur to CEO like? Here’s her story.

11:02 - What is the job description of a CEO? I share a process to help you define your role as CEO of your business.

18:58 - I talk about how we live one of my company's key values (“life comes before business”).

22:42 - Creating a strategic plan is part of your traditional CEO role. What does that look like for entrepreneurs running smaller companies?

26:07 - How do you lead your team as CEO of a small business? I use The CEO Collective as an example.

30:47 - The final piece that defines traditional CEOs is one of the hardest things about running your own company. (And you can’t crowdsource it, either).

35:44 - I quickly recap the five key elements of a traditional CEO role and how it impacts you as an entrepreneurial business owner.

37:43 - Ask yourself these questions to clarify what you need to be responsible for as a small business owner in your company.

45:57 - What do my essential CEO tasks of content, clients, and connections mean in my business? I share how I apply these to give you some clarity and insight.

• Sara Blakely’s Instagram Post 1 and Post 2

• 90-Day CEO Operating System

• Fired Up and Focused Challenge

• The CEO Collective

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success

Do you feel bogged down in your business?

You might be in your email inbox more often than you want to be. Or chasing people who still need to pay that invoice or scheduling people on your calendar all the time. Or perhaps you’re stuck on the technical side of things every day, messing around with the code on your website or trying to figure out what happened to that client email that seemed to vanish.

Instead of being the CEO of your business, you, my friend, are stuck in employee or manager mode. So how do you shake off those shackles and embody the role you’re meant to? In this new series on the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn the difference between the employee, manager, and CEO roles. And I’ll teach you how to start firing yourself from those first two modes so you can step into your role as CEO.

On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:

2:13 - Why do women start their own business? Believe it or not, money isn’t at the top of the list of reasons.

9:30 - There’s so much glamorization around the entrepreneurship space for women. But you’ll see something different, if you take a peek under the hood.

11:19 - I discuss the role of the employee and how it’s different from being a manager or CEO.

13:58 - You can start off wearing so many hats as CEO of your business. Then as your company grows, you start bringing in team members in this order.

17:03 - You might find yourself becoming an accidental manager by adding team members. What’s the role of a manager?

21:06 - Most entrepreneurs spend their time in the employee or manager mode. How much time do you actually get to spend in CEO mode?

25:29 - Here’s how shifting into CEO mode gives you more freedom, flexibility, and control in your business.

30:10 - What does it truly mean to step into the role of CEO? I reveal what happens when you take a bigger picture view of your business.

36:02 - I talk about the importance of having a vision and values for you, your team, and your company.

• 90-Day CEO Operating System

• Fired Up and Focused Challenge

• Nichole Forsline’s The Solid Bow

• Racheal on Instagram and TikTok

• Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Are you running your business… or is your business running you?

It’s time to get your business in order so you can step into your role as a confident, in control CEO! Join Racheal Cook for this free 4-part training series May 20th-24th to sustainably scale your business with more ease and less stress.

RSVP at http://www.theceocollective.com/success