Dream Catcher

It is an exciting time of the year. Next month Dream Catcher will be celebrating its four year anniversary. I will be launching new programs and services. I will be offering you the opportunity to purchase strategy sessions and various home study courses. I will continue to offer 1 on 1 Coaching and my Dynamic Business Owners Coaching Club.

As I end my third year in business it is exciting to announce we have continued to grow despite the economy. In 2009, my business grew by 1900%. This month we have exceeded our gross income for 2009. My clients have also had tremendous success this past year. I contribute my success to refining my follow up procedures.

When you know how you are going to follow up, when you are going to follow up and what you are going to send or say it relieves stress and saves you time. But, most importantly it shows off your professionalism and gets you a signed contract. You must follow up and ask for the sale.

I have designed a home study course that walks you through every step of following up when you get a lead. The home study course contains a checklist for following up with leads, what to do when they say “NO”, and what to do when they say “YES” and after the contract is signed. It contains sample scripts for various objections so you can prepare what you will say. It also contains a list of resources to use for following up. A phone call or email is not your only ways to follow up. The home study course will also help you examine your fear of following up. Procrastination is fear keeping you from moving forward. You will learn to change your mindset and understand the value of following up with leads. Lastly, for those of you that prefer to have something on paper there is a follow up tracker that you can use to record the leads and the dates and times you follow up and action taken. I’ve taken the guess work out of it for you. You just need to slightly modify the home study course for your particular business.

If you are ready to put more money in your bank account and design your follow up procedures I invite you to download my home study course Put More Money In Your Bank Account: Follow Up

As a business coach, my goal for you is to help you make more money. Download your home study course today to that you can turn your dreams into reality.

Dream Catcher is a Veteran Owned and Woman Owned Business providing business and life coaching services to clients nationally and internationally. Coach Jaynine retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2002 and since then has been on a quest to assist individuals in turning their dreams into wealth and success.

Have you ever spent hours speaking with someone that inquired about your business only to find out that they could not afford your services or your services or products were not a “good fit” for their business? I’ve even experienced that after I talked to someone for hours then they revealed they did not like anything to do with computers, social media or learning in a virtual environment. Had I know that I would not have even scheduled an appointment to learn more about their business. They were not my ideal client.

As a business owner we need to think of our time as billable hours. We need to consider every meeting or task whether or not it is a good use of our time. So, I hear you asking…”How do I do this?” The answer lies in your prequalifying procedures. When you follow my steps below you will know that the person you are meeting is your ideal client. Your ideal client wants your service and is willing to invest in it.

Two Steps to Prequalifying Clients

1. When someone visits your website or contacts you on the telephone ask him or her a series of questions.  It may be only three or six questions. This will show you two things. First, it will show you the person is committed by answering the questions and can follow directions. Second, it will let you know more about the person seeking your service or product. This will allow you to determine if the person is your ideal client or whether you may want to refer him or her to another business associate.

2. Your next step after receiving the answers to your questions is to send a reply along with a description of your services and fees. In your reply you will want to schedule a time to follow up in person or on the telephone. The person will have your fee schedule and a list of your products and services. This will allow the person to know before the session whether or not he or she can afford your product or service.

When you prequalify someone interested in your products or services you will save the other person time and embarrassment if they cannot afford your services or products. You will save yourself time and money by not spending hours with someone who is not your ideal client.

Your ideal client may not be able to easily afford your product or service. But, if he or she has the desire to invest in your product or service he or she will find the money. Prequalifying the person based on their ability to pay allows them to save the money until they can pay. It also allows him or her to find the money. Maybe he or she needs to wait a month until a bill is paid off or until it is income tax time. That is ok. They will know not to spend that money. They will also know upfront the value of what you offer. Yes, they may shop around and that is ok. But, if they are your ideal client he or she will hire you when the time is right without you having to do a heavy sales pitch.  Prequalifying your clients will save you both time and money.

Jaynine Howard is a retired United States Marine and former psychotherapist. She is the owner of Dream Catcher Business & Life Coaching. Founded in 2006, Dream Catcher Business & Life Coaching helps business owners, nonprofits, and individuals nationally and internationally turn their dreams into wealth and success. Coach Jaynine and her team of associate coaches will help you jump start your business and life through business, career, and life coaching. Jaynine is a member of the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce, the Carteret Chamber of Commerce, the American Psychological Association, 24/7 Coaching, and Coachville.  You can download your free ecourse My 5 Secrets to Networking http://networkingdetox.com/.

I am back from vacation. I hope you, as a business owner, have your vacation scheduled. In order to take a true vacation from your business you must have systems in place so that your business runs without you. Below are few suggestions to implement so you can enjoy your vacation.

Vacation Systems
1. Use your email auto responder to let people know you are away from your desk and when you will return. I even let people know I did not have internet access so that they did not expect a response until a certain date.

2. Set up your voice mail to let people know when to expect a return call.

3. Announce to your loyal customers in advance that you will be on vacation so that they can stock up on their favorite product etc. (This is a great way to generate income too.)

4. Use socialoomph to continue to your web presence. Since people know you are on vacation use quotes or share tips that pertain to your business. This will enable you to still be “in their face” without spamming or selling.

5. Have “people” who can do the little things that need done while you are gone so you don’t come back to more work. I recommend using ELANCE to hire people to design your newsletter, proofread your blogs or tip booklet while you are away.

I had a business owner comment that she was afraid to announce she was going on vacation because she thought it would make her customers mad or angry. She thought the customer would think she was charging too much since she was able to take a vacation. I told my clients that I was taking a vacation and not one person complained. I prepared them in advance. I ensured they had their homework assignments and that they knew when I was returning.

Do not feel guilty for taking time to vacation. We all deserve a break. When you implement my five strategies above you will be able to take a true vacation.

Yours truly…turning dreams into $$$
Coach Jaynine

P.S. Leave technology home. It was great to not have internet access for a week.

Does your email signature help you promote your expertise and tell potential clients who you are and why they should do business with you? Your email signature can act as a free tool to promote you and your business. It can begin the rapport building between you and the reader.

These are key items you will want to include in your email signature.

Name – yes, you want to have your name listed. Make sure it is spelled correctly. Don’t laugh…even I’ve typed by name wrong once or twice.

Credentials – list your highest degree conferred. If you have a license or certification that is key for your industry then list it. Let people see your expertise. Let them see you are qualified. This is often used by massage therapists. You will see their license number after their name and title.

Title – Are you a business owner, Chief Operating Officer, etc….

Phone Number – I have been told by several people that they do not keep a rolodex any longer. They use their emails as their rolodex. So you will want to ensure you have a phone number on your email so people can call you.

Website – drive traffic to your website so they can sign up for your free newsletter, ecourse or downloadable  PDF.

Social Networking Sites – let people know how to connect with you on a daily basis. When they follow you on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter you can begin developing a rapport and share your expertise with these people.

Email Tag Line – this is a quick way for people to know who you are and what you do and how to connect with you.

There are several free resources available to aid you in designing your email signature. Some will help you insert your signature in your own handwriting. They can add creative colors and fonts.

Another reason to list the above information on your email is that when your email is forwarded to others people love to scroll down and see who sent the email. Admit you do it too. Your email signature is a quick way to connect with these new email recipients.

I encourage you to take a few minutes and update your email signature. Don’t miss another phone call inviting you to an event because your phone number or contact information was not on your email.

Jaynine Howard is The Debt Free Business Coach. She teaches business owners the systems and strategies needed to grow their business while remaining debt free.

She invites you to join her Dynamic Business Owners Coaching Club during its spring membership drive.

How many trade magazines do you read each week? Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes the authors of the articles any different from you? Do they still work in your industry? Do they know the needs of your particular niche? Do you see the authors as the experts in your field or business arena?

People are buying differently right now. They are only buying what they need or what truly inspires them. This buying trend will probably continue for quite some time. Article writing is a free tool that will help you build a relationship with your readers so that they will buy from you when they are ready to make a purchase.

Article writing or article marketing has six key benefits for the business owner.

1.  Develop your expertise. When you sit down to write an article you want it to be factual. No sales pitch. Article writing is a great way to show your readers what you know and what makes you the expert in your niche. As you develop loyal readers they will see you as the expert and you will be the expert in your industry that they call when they need your services.

2. Establish your credibility. As you write your articles and share your knowledge you will develop your credibility. Your readers will resonate with you because you are factual and you are sharing with them. You are not selling them anything. You are sharing and building trust. Just as your readers see you as the expert they will see the information you share as credible. They will see you as someone they trust and believe in.

3.  Increase your visibility. Article writing allows you to speak directing to your niche. If you were to put an advertisement in a newspaper you would not be able to guarantee that the readers are in your niche. When you get your articles published in magazines or journals that are industry specific you have an audience that wants to read what you are writing. As you increase your visibility and credibility in the community you will become known as the expert. This will increase traffic to your blog, website and business.

4.  Focused on your niche. Your niche is very important to keep in mind when writing. Your niche will resonate with what you write. Think about what they want to know. Do they want to know the latest trends, how to save money, or why to do something? I cannot stress enough that you must know your niche. When you know your intended reading audience you will also know where to submit your articles for publication.

5.  It is FREE. Article writing is free. It does take a few minutes of your time but because you are writing about topics that are near and dear to your heart it will only take about 20 minutes to write an article. This is less time than it takes to design an advertisement.

6. Grow your business. When you implement steps one thru five above your business will grow while remaining debt free.

Article writing/article marketing has been the number one resource I have used to grow my business while remaining debt free. It is free. But the greatest benefit to article writing is that it truly aids in establishing you as the expert in your community. It provides you a means to establish your credibility while increasing your visibility. When you are visible and seen as credible you will be the expert in your niche. Article writing is a great free resource to use to drive traffic to your blog, website, or store.

Business owners now is the time to add article writing to your list of skills so that you can increase your visibility and credibility be seen as the expert and grow your business while remaining debt free.

Jaynine Howard is the Debt Free Business Coach. She teaches business owners the strategies needed to grow their business while remaining debt free.

Jaynine is a retired United States Marine, psychologist and business owner residing in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the host of the Dynamic Business Owners Coaching Club and the upcoming Writers Bootcamp.

You can receive her free ecourse Networking Detox by visiting http://networkingdetox.com/

Business owners, wives, and moms often find themselves short on time and energy. They are busy juggling a myriad of tasks. Remember, it only takes someone 15 seconds to sum you up and form an opinion. Whether right or wrong that is what happens.  No one likes to be around a whiney person or someone who looks a mess.

 In order to reclaim YOU so you stop sabotaging your efforts– you must adopt the three L’s:

Love You – Make time each day to do something for you. You must fall in love with yourself all over again. Now is the time to purge your closet of any items that make you feel fat or ugly. Purge your refrigerator and cupboards of all foods that make you feel sluggish or guilty. If you are a business owner does your office reflect your personality? Are your surroundings or where you spend most of your waking hours conducive to good mental health? Many of us cannot function when we are surrounded by clutter. Clutter is not only present in your home or office it is also in your car. Clear the clutter so you can unplug and feel good about you. Do not forget to make time to exercise. This does not require investing in a gym membership or expensive clothing. You can put on a comfortable pair of shoes and go for a walk. When you exercise, you will improve your mental clarity and strengthen your heart. Now is the time to make time to take care of you. It is not greedy to love you.

Lose the Excuses – Now is the time to stop playing the blame game. Lose the excuses. Stop blaming the economy, the children, your spouse, or the family pet. You must accept responsibility. If you are short on cash, rework your budget. If you are short on time start budgeting your time. Learn to say no. You have a voice and it needs to be heard. If the children are making demands that strain the family budget, learn to say “no”. If you have family and friends making demands on your time say “no”. People are not mind readers. They often do not have access to your day planner to see that you are over tasked. People will not stop being your friend or associate if you say “no”. When you lose the excuses you will be organized and in control of your situation. This will result in less stress and anxiety in your daily life.

Learn something new – A fundamental part of being successful is always learning something new. You must invest in you so you can grow personally and professionally. This can be something as inexpensive as reading a library book or article online from a quality source. You may want to invest in a weekend retreat or class at your college. Online learning makes it easy to invest in you. You can often listen and learn from the comforts of your home. Do not dismiss investing in you.  In order to be successful as a business owner, wife, or mother you must invest in learning something new each day.

Regardless of the role we play we all want to be successful. When you adopt the three L’s you will be on the road to reclaiming your life and being successful. You will reap many benefits when you make time to love you, lose the excuses, and invest in you.

 Now go adopt the three L’s so you can turn your dreams into reality.

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free. She provides open and honest feedback to her clients while coaching them on how to turn their dreams into $$$$.

 She is a retired United States Marine and resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the author of Networking Detox and the host of The Dynamic Business Owners Coaching Club.

 To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

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It appears that business owners who send email and receive email have forgotten to use their manners. When you receive an email what do you do with it? Do you have a system in place for replying? Do you ignore it and forget about it?  Do you mark it with a flag? What happens to it? Are you losing money because you forgot to reply to a potential client? Did you miss meeting new people because you forgot to reply or even reread an email about a networking event, ribbon cutting or social event?

Now, let’s flip the scenario. You send an email. How do you know the person received it? Remember, not all email programs will send you a message back when it is read. In addition, many business owners find that system very intimidating or just rude so they don’t open the email until they have time to read it. Do you get frustrated when you do not get a reply to your email? Is it wasting your money and time when people do not reply? Do you end up purchasing more food than is necessary for a meeting or event because people failed to reply to an email invitation?

I know this has happened to all business owners at one time or another. A conversation with a fellow business owner a few weeks ago has prompted me to write on this topic. He was very frustrated with associates who did not reply to his emails. He was wasting his time wondering if the emails were delivered or if his email was broken. Then he spent time and energy being annoyed that no one replied.

I want you to take a few minutes and self reflect on your procedures and systems on sending and replying to emails.

Now let’s implement three key systems for sending and receiving email so you don’t frustrate or offend others and drive business away.

1. Reply to all emails. If you do not reply to an email, you are offending and frustrating the sender. Even if the email you receive is just announcing a date and time for a meeting it is important that you take a few minutes to reply to the sender conveying that you received the email and will or will not attend. This will let the business owner know that you received the email and it will let the business owner know how many people plan on attending the event. If no one replies to an email this will signal to the sender that he or she may have sent an email that was undeliverable and he or she will know to resend it. If the email begs for a detailed response, I highly recommend that you still notify the sender that you received his or her email and that you are working on the formal reply but you wanted him or her to know that you did receive it.  You will want to flag all emails that require a more thorough response or that you want to reread when you have more time.

2. Sort your emails. Business owners often receive emails from vendors, clients, prospective clients and business associates. It is a good idea to sort your emails when they arrive at your inbox. You can do this manually by sending them to the appropriate folder or depending upon your email service you can set up systems that do this automatically. Your email service may also have a feature that allows you to attach a flag or star to key players in your business or life. This will allow you to easily identify when you receive an email from this star player.

3. Auto response. If you are going on vacation or will be away from your desk or business, you will want to use the auto response or auto reply feature. This will automatically send a message back to the sender for each email you receive notifying the sender of when you anticipate answering the email. As a busy business owner, you can also use the auto response or auto reply feature to let people know what time of day you read your emails and anticipate replying. This will alert the sender so he or she can telephone you if the email they sent you requires your immediate attention.

As the debt free business coach email is just one of the many business systems I work with business owners on designing for their business so that they use their time wisely and do not lose money by forgetting to complete a task.

Please save yourself and the email sender time by replying to all emails (of course I do not mean reply to SPAM or newsletters) upon receipt. This will show the sender that you value him or her and that you were taught to use your manners.

Yours truly…turning dreams into $$$

Coach Jaynine

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free.

She is a retired United States Marine and currently resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is a member of the Onslow-Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Carteret Chamber of Commerce, Wilmington Networking Group Circle of Excellence. She is also a member of Coachville and 24/7 Coaching as well as the Amercian Psychological Association.

To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

When was the last time you cleaned your office or home in record time because you had received a phone call that an unexpected guest was dropping by? Do you put that much energy in everything you do? Do you catch yourself dilly-dallying throughout the day?

If you were given one hour to do whatever you wanted what would you do? Would you race around like a crazy person and complete a pile of filing? Would you tackle paying bills or would relax with your favorite beverage and pastry?

For a business owner, time is a very hot commodity. You can accomplish a great deal when you sit and focus on a task. Have you ever watched a child dilly dally with their homework? Yet, they can rush through it in record time when there is something fun they want to do?

How many hours do you work each week on your business? Would you like to slash that amount of time in half? You can spend less time working on your business if you work smarter and with more focus using my three tips.

1. Identify distractions. I challenge you to recognize what distracts you. If it is the telephone, do not answer it. You can return calls later. If it is the television or radio, turn them off. Is it family pets or children? Send them out to daycare, out to play or put them down for a nap. Is it a task you do not know how to complete? Identify your distractions so they can be tamed or eliminated.

2. Identify the purpose. When you sit down at your desk, you need to have a purpose. What is the purpose for why you are at your desk? Do not mindlessly play games or shuffle papers on your desk. If you pick up a piece of paper do what needs to be done with it- read it, answer it, or file it. If you have phone calls to return, sit down and return the calls. Stop staring at the phone messages. Use your time efficiently – don’t waste it. If you need to pretend that you must get those phone calls returned or the filing completed before you can go out to play.

3. Design a Plan. As a profitable busy business owner, you must have a plan. When you schedule time in your day planner and make an appointment with yourself to pay bills, write your newsletter, return phone calls, or meet with new clients you will be focused and accomplish your tasks. You know the hourly rate you charge clients. Pretend you have to pay yourself for working. If you had an employee that was dilly-dallying would you keep him or her on the payroll or would you fire him or her. Is it time to fire you?

When you use my productivity tracker and my three tips to identify your distractions, define your purpose, and design a plan you will accomplish more in less time and have more free time. What would you do with your extra time? Would this free up time to design new profit centers? Would you be able to spend more time on revenue producing activities? I challenge you to track your time and how you are using it. You may be surprised at whom or what is sabotaging your time.

Jaynine Howard is the debt free business coach, who teaches business owners how to grow their business and increase their profits while remaining debt free.

She is a retired United States Marine and resides in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She is the author of Coach Jaynine’s Business Boot Camp and the upcoming Coach Jaynine’s Profit Center Blue Print.

To get your free e-course Networking Detox: My 5 Secrets to Networking Success visit http://www.networkingdetox.com , email jaynine@coachjaynine.com or telephone 910-539-2810.

Are you a small business owner? Do you run a household? Do you manage your life? Well, it is time to take inventory of your supplies and your life. Now is the time to take advantage of end of year sales and restock your shelves with office supplies and other must have items.

Today, I want you to take a few minutes and check your office supply cabinet. What supplies are sitting unused? What supplies are you running low on? Do you have certain supplies that are better savings when bought in bulk? If you are like me when you go to your local office supply store for one item, you end up leaving with a cart full. It will save you money to make one big purchase for 2010. You will save money from not going to the store for one item and bringing home ten.  Think about what items you kept going to the store to purchase. Was it ink for your printer? Paper? Staples? Envelopes? Last year I was shocked when I bought a huge box of envelopes. I saved so much money by buying in bulk vice going to the grocery store or dollar store to purchase a small box of ten envelopes for a dollar. The envelopes are kept clean and dry. It was a great savings. Binder clips was another item I was routinely going to the store to buy one box at a time. Now that I have the bundled pack of them, I seem not to use them as often. Take a few minutes and plan a shopping list. Do not forget to look at your supply of business cards, brochures, and note cards.

Your household, what items do you need to stock up on? Is it the toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, laundry detergent or thank you notes? These again are all items that if you run to the store to buy when you run out you end up throwing more items in the cart. I have made it a practice to only step into Wal-Mart once a month. I make my list of all the items I will need for the month and purchase then. This once a month shopping is typically around $100-125. When I do break my rule and go more than once I still seem to spend at least $70.00- the stuff just jumps in my cart. Do you have this happen to you too? If you shop once a month and stock up you will save money by not impulse shopping. Take time to shop for your home office too. Don’t forget the Dollar Store is a great place to buy birthday cards (2 for a $1), thank you notes, and other household staples. What about the family medicine cabinet? Is there stuff in there that needs to be tossed? The Dollar Store is also a great place to visit to replenish aspirin, Tylenol, Band-Aids, peroxide, etc.

Now let’s focus on the most important topic; YOU!  Let’s take time to conduct a personal inventory. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating the right foods to fuel your body? Do you need to replace worn out clothing and shoes? What about your hair? Is your haircut in style or outdated? You are your biggest asset. You must take care of you. I want you to get out a 2010 calendar or print one from online and start making dates to take care of you.  Do you exercise? Make a date with yourself to go to the gym or go for a walk. Do not feel guilty scheduling dates to get your nails or hair done. It is amazing what just a new dress or blouse can do for your mood. I’m not saying go break the family budget but I am telling you it is ok to spend time and money on YOU. Lastly, take a few minutes to inventory your financial, insurance, and other important documents. Do you have enough insurance for your home? Do you have enough insurance on your vehicles? When was your Will last updated? Do you know where your important documents are located in your home? When your life is in order you will have less stress.

Remember, many of the items you purchase for your business and home office may be tax deductible. Now, go conduct your inventory and get ready for a great 2010!