In this episode, I'm diving into a quick productivity tip called 'Top 5' that is especially helpful during the summer or anytime you're feeling overwhelmed. We all have those days where our to-do lists seem never-ending and it's hard to know where to start. This simple and effective strategy helps you get centered and grounded, allowing you to stop the overwhelm in its tracks and stay productive.

Action Points for Listeners:

1. Each night, review your to-do list and select the top three to five tasks that must be completed the next day.
2. Be realistic about what you can accomplish, especially if you have a day full of calls or other commitments.
3. Schedule an hour in your calendar specifically for completing your top five tasks.
4. If tasks are not completed, move them to the next day's list without adding new tasks.
5. Continuously evaluate if you are over-committing to prevent burnout.

Links:

Join the Sunday Morning Brew Newsletter

Keywords:

productivity tips, summer productivity, feeling overwhelmed, productivity strategies, top five method, daily task list, prioritizing tasks, tackling deadlines, mindful task management, top priorities, balancing tasks and calls, sustainable business growth, avoiding burnout, effective time management, focusing on business growth.

In today's episode we’re diving deep into live coaching with the amazing LinkedIn strategist, Jade Fulton. In this action-packed coaching session, Jade and I cover proposals for collaboration opportunities, protecting your time and intellectual property, setting boundaries, and effective client onboarding.

Action Points:

• Time and Energy Assessment: Evaluate the time and energy you’d need to invest in any collaborative program.
• Proposal Crafting: Ensure your proposals include boundaries, your involvement, intellectual property rights, and pricing.
• Structuring Support: Implement office hours or set Q&A times to handle client questions effectively.
• Intellectual Property Protection: Ensure you retain ownership of your content and detail how it can be used after a collaboration ends.
• Scaling Intelligently: If successful, consider creating group programs to manage increased client loads better.
• Clear Contract Terms: Put clear terms in your contract, including duration and rights to your material.

Connect with Jade Fulton:

Website

LinkedIn

Keywords:

lead generation, marketing expert, social media strategy, time management, intellectual property, collaboration opportunities, pricing strategy, client conversion

In today’s episode, I dive deep into helping you shift your mindset to embrace the CEO inside of you as a business owner. If hearing the word "CEO" feels intimidating or too corporate, I want to change that. Let’s make the title of CEO empowering and aligned with your journey to business success.

Actionable Steps:

• Mindset Shift: Start introducing yourself as the CEO of your business.
• Create Evidence List: Maintain a journal titled “Embracing My Inner CEO” where you note every significant decision, plan, goal, and leadership action you undertake.
• Schedule CEO Days: Dedicate specific days each month to focus on CEO-level tasks such as strategic planning and financial reviews.
• Embrace Expertise: Recognize when to hire experts (like a CPA or a coach) to assist in areas where you lack knowledge.

Links:

Focused Visionary 5 Day Reset

Keywords:

CEO mindset, business owner, skilled professional, solopreneur, small business, decision making, financial oversight, leadership role, operations management, vision and strategy, long-term goals, company values, mission statement, high-level decisions, strategic planning, financial decisions, hiring contractors, team management, proactive decisions, reactive tasks, CEO hat, business growth, strategic growth, embracing CEO role, fractional CEO, business decisions, client management.

Today we're diving into a crucial topic: confusing your audience. We’ll explore how to streamline your offers to avoid overwhelming your potential clients and ensure clarity in your messaging.

Action Steps:

1. Evaluate your current offers. Are they too similar or too spread out?

2. Get feedback from clients and prospects to identify points of confusion.

3. Consider simplifying your offers to two or three distinct ones.

4. Focus on the results each offer delivers and ensure they align with your expertise.

5. Keep room for customization but don't make it public-facing; use it on a case-by-case basis.

Links:

- Summer no-commitment offers

- For a deeper dive into offer creation and client attraction, check out our previous episodes on building an offer suite and understanding your ideal client.

Keywords:

business growth, sustainable business, profitable business, business strategy, business coaching, ideal client, client results, VIP day, group coaching program, mastermind, rapid fire program, DIY offers, high ticket offers, business ownership, offer suite, client feedback.

Tina shares her insights on her latest venture—an online course focused on virtual appreciation gifts. We dive into her promotional strategies, relationship-building techniques, and how to make the most out of a warm audience. We also discuss the power of using custom graphics and templates, and Tina's unique approach to creating engaging content for her private Facebook group.

Key Takeaways:

• Tina's social media strategy: primarily active on Facebook, followed by Instagram, and exploring TikTok. Discussing the importance of community engagement and using custom graphics to build a warm audience.
• Tina's plan to offer a 50% discount on her current membership for a new course launch. The strategy of creating waitlists, offering early access, and discounted prices to warm audiences.
• Exploring the value in done-for-you templates and how teaching clients to use them adds significant value.
• Discussing terms like "mini training" or "training and toolkit" to avoid devaluing the course.
• The importance of referral partners and affiliate programs for promoting new courses.
• Tina's strategy to involve leading brokers and visits to other brokerages for expanding her reach.

Action Steps:

• If you're planning to launch a new course, consider pre-selling to your warm audience and creating a waitlist.
• Engage your community with custom graphics and interactive content such as surveys.
• Explore using referral and affiliate programs to expand your reach.
• Focus on building strong relationships with a small, loyal audience who can help you grow your business.
• Stay within your niche for the initial launch and consider expanding afterward based on audience feedback.

Connect with Tina Divita

Visit Tina's website

Follow Tina on social media:

Facebook

relationship marketing, effective launch strategy, online course launch, referral program, affiliate program, marketing strategy, digital marketing, community engagement, referral partners, virtual course, membership promotion

If you've been struggling with email marketing or have been thinking about incorporating it into your business but feel overwhelmed by the idea, this episode is for you. In this episode, I share my own email marketing journey, including the mindset shifts that helped me stay consistent, and offer practical tips and insights to help you find success with your email marketing efforts.

Key Takeaways:

• Mindset Shift: Overcoming the fear and intimidation of email marketing by modeling after newsletters you love.
• Consistency: Why it's important and how to maintain it.
• Personal Touch: The importance of honesty, vulnerability, and storytelling in your emails.
• Segmentation: How effective segmentation respects your audience and enhances engagement.
• Content Structure: The benefits of having consistent sections in your newsletter.
• Nurturing vs. Selling: Using email marketing more as a nurturing tool rather than just for sales.
• Small Lists: Embracing the value and potential of a small but engaged email list.
• Experimentation: Don't be afraid to play by your own rules and test new email marketing strategies.

Action Steps:

1. Identify Your Favorite Emails: Think about the newsletters you always open and analyze what you love about them.

2. Segment Your List: Implement segmentation to cater to different audience needs and respectfully manage uninterested subscribers.

3. Create Consistent Sections: Develop a newsletter structure that your audience can rely on.

4. Nurturing Mindset: Focus on building relationships and providing value rather than just selling.

5. Monitor and Revise: Track your email marketing results and make necessary adjustments for better engagement.

6. Avoid Perfectionism: Don't let the fear of being perfect prevent you from starting or continuing your email marketing efforts.

Links:

www.sundaymorningbrew.com

Liz Wilcox’s $9 Email Marketing Membership

Keywords:

email marketing, business, Sunday morning brew, nurture strategy, selling, lead magnets, freebies, small email list, marketing strategy

In today's episode, we're diving deep into one of my all-time favorite topics—confidently closing the sale. If the idea of closing makes you cringe, this episode is for you. I'll walk you through how to build the confidence you need to make those sales with ease and authenticity.

Key Takeaways:

• Confidence is key—if you don't believe in your offer, neither will your clients.
• Love your offer suite: Believe in the results you can provide.
• Practice your pitch with a business buddy.
• Learn from discovery calls—record them, listen back, and use client language in your responses.
• Let the client do most of the talking; understand their true needs and pain points.
• Tailor your response to their specific situation while maintaining integrity.
• Ask about their fears and hesitations openly and honestly.
• Take "no" as a learning opportunity.
• Ask for feedback to understand the real reasons behind a client's decision.
• Stay open to follow-up and potential new opportunities.

Action Steps:

• Practice: Find a biz bestie and practice your pitch and closing conversations.
• Record and Reflect: Record your discovery calls and listen to them to improve.
• Ask for Feedback: If a client says no, ask them why to gain valuable insights.
• Schedule a Coffee Chat: Need practice? Schedule a coffee chat with me to refine your closing skills.

**Links, Offers, and Previous Episodes Mentioned:**

Schedule a Coffee Chat with Michelle

Offer Suites

Keywords:

closing the sale, hate selling, overthinking sales, pressure in sales, sales assumptions, taking sales personally, building sales confidence, loving your offer suite, offer results, discovery calls, maximizing profit, handling sales resistance, sales feedback, overcoming sales objections, learning from sales rejection, sales follow-up, sales accountability, virtual sales strategy, business profitability, coaching offers, sales communication.

In today's Focused Action Coaching Episode, we are talking with Lori Stanley from Lori Stanley Nonprofit Consulting based in Canada. Lori found Michelle through a viral LinkedIn post and has since followed the podcast and joined her email list. In this episode, we delve into Lori’s challenges with lead generation for her consulting firm, specifically focusing on improving her content strategy on LinkedIn and fostering better inbound leads.

Key Takeaways:

• Background and Introduction: Lori found Michelle through a viral LinkedIn post and started following the podcast.
• Lori’s Consulting Focus: Lori specializes in strategy and strategic planning for nonprofits.
• Challenges with RFPs: The time-consuming nature of RFPs and the impersonal feel.
• Content Strategy on LinkedIn: Michelle discusses how Lori’s content may be too high-level and broad. Need to focus on immediate pain points and actionable advice.
• Personal Touch in Content: Emphasize personal stories and connections. Be more relatable in posts to foster genuine relationships.
• Using DMs for Engagement: Importance of using DMs to continue conversations and stay top-of-mind. Tips for non-salesy, authentic outreach.
• Hosting Masterclasses or Virtual Coffees: Offer small workshops to give potential clients a taste of Lori’s consulting style. Virtual coffees as a way to connect and build relationships.
• Feedback on “Try Before You Buy” Terminology: Avoiding language that implies a sales pitch immediately.

Action Steps

• Content Adjustment: Shift from broad, high-level posts to those addressing specific, immediate pain points. Incorporate personal stories and experiences to make content more relatable.
• Engage Through DMs: Use DMs to continue conversations started through content interaction. Offer value and ask for permission before sharing resources.
• Offer Interactive Opportunities: Host masterclasses or virtual coffees to provide value and connect on a personal level. Utilize existing content from webinars and podcasts to create new engagement opportunities.

Connect with Lori Stanley:

- LinkedIn: Lori Stanley

- Website

Keywords:

strategic planning, podcast, LinkedIn content, inbound leads,business coaching, pain point marketing, content creation, personal connection, DM outreach, lead magnet, masterclass, live event, webinar, virtual coffee chat