Wow, when I look back at 2015, I marvel at how much has happened. This was a terrific year in the speaking world with clients and colleagues booking 6 figure contracts and multi-gig deals. I’ve been so lucky to bring on a group of really talented “mover and shaker” private coaching clients.
It has also been a year of growth and a year of learning. Here are a few lessons I learned in 2015 that I thought might help you in the year ahead:
Raising Fees: When done with confidence, raising fees can truly change your business. When you raise fees fearlessly, (because you know the value is there) clients are more attracted to you. It is like you are standing a little taller in your value and prospects can sense it.
Is it time for you to think about raising your fees?
[Tweet “When done with confidence, raising #speaker #fees can change your #business”]
Jumping on Bandwagons: Many new apps have launched this year. Two of the most recent being Blab and Periscope. I have two pieces of advice:
- You do not have to jump on every bandwagon that comes along. If you are not tech savvy, give some of them a pass.
- Work them so they work for you. There are days when I have trouble holding a thought from beginning to end so having Periscope hearts shooting at me or people commenting in the middle of an idea was not ideal. So I have my sidekick monitor comments and feed me questions so that I can convey the best content possible on these new mediums.
Building Websites: We built a new website this year, and I learned that it does not have to be a major pain in the tuckus. If you keep a document out on the cloud with your punch list of changes and questions, it can actually be a pleasant experience.
Utilizing Team: Know the strengths of the people on your team and use them accordingly. I knew I had hit the jackpot when I asked my new VA to draft a promo piece in my voice. I did not have to change one word of her first draft. I have another team member whom I can trust 100% to be my voice in client interactions. It took awhile to figure out all of the “players”, but spending my time on $500/hour tasks and farming out $40 tasks has made all of the difference in the world.
Letting Go: This year, I let go of doing my own calendar, and now I let technology do all of the work for me. I use Acuity, but also like Calendly. I now save several hours a month, not having to manually schedule and reschedule coaching calls. I also let go of chasing down credit card declines when we scaled back from 12-pay to 3-pay options. It is nice to have cash flow spread out, but my team and I were spending far too much time on declines and changing credit card numbers.
Creating value filled packages and products: My goal earlier this year was to be less of a slave to my calendar, and I have put programs in place that don’t require nearly as much one-on-one time with me. I love that! I still don’t have a business that I could up and sell, but I am heading in the right direction. Perhaps you consider bundling up your products so that instead of one keynote you offer up a combination of speaking, consulting and webinars.
Investing in Yourself: When I invest in myself, it pays dividends. I was questioning whether I should sign up for another year of coaching or try to do it on my own. I decided to commit once again. It is a lot of money, but when your profits are up by 50%, it is clearly worth it.
I hope these lessons will help you In 2016. Do you have a tip you’d like to share? Please comment below.
