Are You Ready to Reach For a High-End Program in Your Business?

by Valerie "Head Passionista" on February 21, 2012

Many of my spiritual entrepreneur clients get nervous when we start talking about implementing a high-end program in their business.  But honestly, incorporating a program like this into your offerings is the easiest way to greatly increase your income.  These types of programs are a lot easier to pull together than you might think.  And the best part about them is that your clients are ready for them!  I assure you, if you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ll have a certain percentage of clients and students who are ready to learn from you on a deeper level, and are ready to invest in themselves through you.  Higher-end programs mean higher value to your clients, and that in turn means making a difference on a broader scale.

(For my yoga entrepreneurs, a higher-end program can be a teacher training – which focuses on the big result of getting certified as a yoga teacher.  But you can do all sorts of other non-teacher related programs too.  You teach poses, but what else? Health, diet, philosophy, confidence, stress-relief?  There are many different results-oriented programs you can develop, so start brain-storming!)

So what do you need to get started with a higher-end program?  Here are a few tips:

1.  Focus on results, first and foremost.  Often, we get caught up in explaining the minute details of all the things we will be doing for and providing to our clients.  But really what they want is results.  Concrete ones.  And that’s the other dilemma with spirit-rich entrepreneurs.  So many of our so-called results are a little too ethereal to put your finger on.  So focus on how your clients will feel, work, communicate, or function as a result of your program.  And lay it all out there in your marketing.

2.  Use your step-by-step Signature System.  There is a time and place to actually describe your program, and that’s after you’ve gotten your audience sufficiently excited about their results!  Here is where you break down your entire program into an easy to follow, step-by-step plan of attack.  Start by thinking of the end results.  Then, from the beginning, list each important milestone or step your client would need to take to get there.  Americans especially love a plan.  Let them know that you know exactly how to get from point A to point B, and they will surely want to follow.

3.  Add done-for-you elements.   These would include checklists, instructions, templates, and scripts.   People love anything that saves them time and/or a learning curve.  Your clients will find immense value in these add-ons because they help to get started and successful more quickly.

4.  Remember what people really pay for in high-end programs.  Clients want personal, one-on-one guidance and attention from you.  That’s usually a given.  But if you dig down a little deeper, why is it that they want that?  It’s because they desire accountability above all else.  (I learned this from my mentor Elizabeth Purvis – what a great lesson.) They want to know that by investing in your program, you will help them get to where they want to be.  You will be the one to help them overcome all the big and small obstacles that lie in their path to success, and you will stand by them as a pillar of support when they are ready to crumble.

So pulling it all together is where it gets fun.  It’s even better when you realize that you don’t have to be the person with the longest list of credentials, or the one with the most experience, to be able to make a big difference in your clients’ lives (and improve your own bottom line in a big way too. )

I’ll be sharing more on how to create bigger and better programs, and starting earning what you’re worth, over the coming weeks.  So stay tuned!

 

 

 

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Charging What You Are Worth

by Valerie "Head Passionista" on January 31, 2012

Do you ever have one of those months?  You know, where you had your calendar all planned out, but then it’s thrown for a loop for all the things you DIDN’T plan for?  That was my January.   Surprise visit from my mom and sis.  Back to back colds for me and le bebe which gave us many sleepless nights.  And then to top it all off (in a good way!) I discover bebe #2 is making its way into my world!  Whew.

It is a time like this where you need to know that your business is running efficiently.  And one of the best ways to ensure that is to charge what you are worth to clients who are committed to making progress.  There is nothing motivating about working with people who question your fees, look for discounts, cancel appointments, and don’t take you or themselves seriously.  I don’t know about you, but for me, taking time away from my family to mess around with people who don’t value me makes me really peeved!

So how do you get yourself to a point of true professionalism, where you and your work are valued and you are earning what you deserve?  Here are a few tips.

1.  Forget about what other people are charging.  Now, I know this will throw some people up in arms.  And yes, there are certain things that are fairly dictated by the market.  Like class prices for instance.  But if you’ve been following me for any length of time you know that classes are only the beginning of your income earning potential.  Private sessions, workshops, series, and retreats are where you will be making more of your money, and providing a lot more of your value.  So how do you figure how to charge for those?

2.  Uncover your value.  You do this foremost for yourself, so that you know exactly what you bring to the table.  And then you use this information to discuss with clients and students what value they will receive by working with you.  One of the best ways I’ve learned to do this in an industry that can be somewhat esoteric is by pretending to follow around one of your best students for a day or week.  What does their everyday life look like now that they’ve been working with you? What is their stress level?  What can they do now that they couldn’t do before?  What do their relationships look like now?  How is work going for them now?  Also, pick one or two students who would be open to talking to you about these things and ask them yourself.

3.  Use this information to form packages of value-based, results-oriented programs…instead of charging by the hour or weekend.  Boy, I would love it if more businesses did this. I would not hesitate if instead of buying a series of 5 massages, my therapist offered a 6-week comprehensive program that got my neck and shoulders mobile and pain-free. Yes please!   Or if my attorney offered me a full LLC building package with all the tax info and forms I could ever need…instead of charging me $250 an hour for eternity to put this together.  So what big problems do your clients want solved, or big goals do they want to accomplish?  Put together a program that couples results with a time-frame, show them the value that they receive by doing the program (as opposed to private sessions that have no aim or direction) and illustrate for them what they will get for participating, or lose for not joining you.

4.  Now you have basis for charging more – because you are providing more value in accomplishable goals.  A good place to start is consider what you charge by the hour, up this by 50%, and consider how many hours you may put in working.  Now remember, I said this could be the place to start.  Once you get comfortable charging more, don’t stay here for long.  You get your confidence in this new way of thinking, and then you increase by 20% after just a little while.

One of the closely held secrets that people who make good money know is this: when there is perceived value, people commit harder and stronger.  Think about it this way – who would you rather see, the doctor that charges $50 an hour or the one that charges $250?  My guess is that the perceived value of the doctor that charges more is that this is a better doctor, one that maybe gets more results and is worth the extra money.  You may even be more inclined to follow the instructions closely of this doctor, because surely they wouldn’t charge that much if they didn’t know what they were doing…right?

It is a wonderful paradox that when you charge more, you get clients that are more committed to you, which means that they tend to get better results, which ups your perceived value even more. So stop discounting, and consider that as you begin to value yourself more highly, so will your clients!

 

 

 

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The One Mistake You Can’t Afford To Make

by Valerie "Head Passionista" on January 11, 2012

Welcome to the new year, 2012!  It’s nice to have a fresh start, a clean slate, and to get excited for all the possibilities that a new year can hold.  So let’s capitalize on this feeling, since this wonderful euphoria can be so fleeting.

This year I’ll be talking a lot about how yoga teachers and studio owners (and other holistic entrepreneurs – this works for you too) can really earn what they’re worth while changing the world.  A part of my step by step system to building your business is my program – How To Charge What You Are Worth…And Get It.   I’m super excited about this program because it brings together so many facets that not only help you in business but in every area of your life.  It’s all about recognizing your own value, gaining the confidence to overcome fear and get out there in the world with your gift, and then effectively communicating what you offer to others.

With this post I want to talk about getting out there in the world.  To grow any business, you have to have an audience to speak to.  To be really successful, you need more than an audience, you need loyal followers and cheerleaders.   One of the most important jobs you have in your teaching career is to turn brand spankin’ new students into loyal followers and cheerleaders.

But one of the biggest mistakes I see teachers and studio owners make is not paying attention to (or sometimes completely ignoring, yikes!) the brand new student in class.  DON’T do this!  Your brand new student is your clean-slate (new year and all) chance to make a big and lasting impression on someone and turn them into a fan for life.  Not only is this very rewarding from a teaching perspective, but financially could be worth thousands of dollars to you over time.  So how do we keep these awesome newbies coming back?

1. Make sure they feel comfortable in the first class.  Newbies need to know where the bathroom is, where to put their mat, where to put their things.  Beginners also need to know that its ok to have a sip of water, or rest if they are pushing too hard.  Try to see each class you teach from a beginner’s mind and know that these new students are thanking you inside.

2.  Take an idea from the online marketing crowd and offer a free gift in exchange for your new student’s email address.  So few teachers do this, but the one’s I work with who do think it’s the best idea since sticky yoga mats.  You need to be collecting email addresses to keep in touch with your students.  Did you hear that?  YOU MUST collect email addresses.  In exchange, offer them something truly valuable.  This gift can include an ‘invite a friend free’ pass, a short audio meditation, a discount coupon to the retail of your studio ($10 off said mat!),  a 10 minute video of a relaxing yoga sequence, etc etc.  Get creative and watch your return numbers (and referrals) rise.

3.  Stay in touch regularly through your newsletter or blog.  By regularly I mean at least twice a month.  By stay in touch I don’t mean just sending your upcoming schedule changes and workshops.  Continue to offer value in the form of information that your audience finds relevant.  Blog about how you use your yoga off the mat.  Tell a funny yoga story.  Let them see your personality shine through.  Be interesting!

This group that you grow is your most important asset.  Treat it as such.  If you want to change the world and make great money doing it, focus on building a relationship with your audience by taking care of them and interacting with them with respect and compassion…and fun!

 

Xoxo,

Valerie

 

P.S. Remember that the awesome and amazing Vibrant Yoga Entrepreneur Speaker Series kicks off this Thursday, January 12th!  And this series is completely free for you to join in.  Every week my friend Rebecca Snowball of Yoga Soul will be interviewing some top names in the yoga industry on how they authentically grow their businesses.  Do not miss this incredible opportunity to listen to the entire teleseries at no cost!

Click here to go to the Vibrant Yoga Entrepreneur Speaker Series website and register. 

 

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2011: Rebirth

December 16, 2011

Wow!  The year flies by, doesn’t it?  I’m in the midst of doing my planning for 2012, and I’m really excited for what the year holds.  As I look back on 2011, I realize that the pretty obvious theme for me this year was BIRTH.  Most notable was the birth of the Bean: Noah Dean [...]

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3 Tips For Filling Your Programs

November 23, 2011

One of the major components I spend a lot of time with my coaching clients on is creating awesome marketing copy for workshops, classes and programs.   Because I’ll tell you that spending hours and hours creating a program to which not a soul shows up really will make you question your business. (So often [...]

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4 Steps to Banish Bad Beliefs

November 8, 2011

If you listen to The Secret and other attraction theories, you hear them say, “change your beliefs, change your world!” And “As soon as you set your mind to a different vibrational frequency, you will begin to attract wealth!”  Well that’s great.  Have you ever tried to do just that?  You tell yourself over and [...]

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Voluptuous Vegan

November 7, 2011

I wanted to pass along some of my absolute favorite vegan recipes that have been tried and tested in my very particular kitchen (a 6-year old and a committed meat-eater can attest to the yum factor.)   Pecan Mushroom Burgers Every time I make these everyone has seconds.  Good on a bun or by itself, [...]

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Kick the “I’m Sorries” to the Curb

October 26, 2011

I read an interesting article in Psychology Today called The Case of the Disappearing Self.   (I find it so fascinating that when an idea is percolating in my head, I attract all sorts of information about it!)   I had been stewing about how as women, and especially as spirit-centered women, we tend to self-deprecate [...]

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Overcome Fear For Good

October 19, 2011

I had an excellent workshop with an amazing client recently.  This studio owner has it together.  She is a fabulous teacher who cares about her students; she’s not very “woo woo,” yet she holds people to the power that she sees within them.  As we worked on her vision together, one large sticking point surfaced [...]

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6 Ways to Get More Students Right NOW!

October 5, 2011

Okay, so we covered the absolute basics in last week’s post – 6 Traits of Successful Yoga Entrpreneurs.  If you need to review, go do it now.  Those traits are non-negotiable, and you must have them down before anything else I talk about here will grow your yoga business. There are quite a few facets [...]

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