Lessons

Lesson Info

Elicit the Right Responses

All right. Welcome back. Welcome back. Here is today's goal. Determine what responses will motivate you and get your business closer to your goals. Determine what customer responses will motivate you and get your business closer to your goals. This is something we don't spend a lot of time thinking about. How do we want our customers to respond to the work that we're doing? And how can those responses get us closer to the actual results that we want to be creating? So that's what we're gonna talk about today. But first, let's recap what we did in the previous lesson. So first of all, focus looks good on you. Focus doesn't just change the way you work. It change the changes the way others perceive you and your business. Knowing your destination allows you to craft a route to that destination that stands out. We were just talking amongst ourselves here that, you know, you don't have to know how to get where you're going. Choosing that destination, deciding what you're gonna put into your...

maps. APP is enough to get you started on the right path, and the right path could be many. There could be many right paths to get to where you're going. But if you don't know where you're going, you're not gonna get there. No one ever says, Oh, well, I'm here, I am. It's It's intentional. It's intentional. So everyone has a different way that they like to be responded. Thio. I like applause, preferably standing ovations, So we need to work on that in here. No, I also like when people ask me questions. I love questions. That's a response that makes me really jazz really inspired, really motivated because every time someone asked me a question, my synapses start firing in new ways, and it's in interviews and it's in settings like this, and it's on Q and A calls where someone asked me a question. In a way, I've not really thought about it before, and suddenly I'm on a whole tear of new ideas and it can change the conversation that I'm having, uh, in an instant. That's a response that really gets me excited, which is another reason why I love doing things like this. I love hopping on Q and A calls. I love getting those questions so that I can form new ideas, uh, tell stories in new ways and explain concepts in new ways. But here's the question. Why are you aiming for the same responses as everyone else in your business? Why are you aiming for the same responses as everyone else in your business? This is what I see happening with my clients all the time. It used to be everyone wanted blogged comments, and when people stopped commenting on blog's people freaked out. Do you remember that? I mean, I've been blogging for a long time. I was there when you got comments on your blogged. I don't even have comments on my block anymore. How many of you guys still have comments on your blogged? A comment section? Most of you okay, Um, there's a big trend towards just nixing the comment section on your block. Why? Because the conversation is happening elsewhere. It's happening on Twitter. It's happening on Facebook, but it used to be that everyone wanted to know how to get Mawr. Blawg comments. It didn't matter whether those comments actually led to sales or not. That was the thing people are. We're concentrating on another response that people one is Facebook likes. How many of you get paid in. Facebook likes mhm. No, no, you don't pay your mortgage with Facebook likes? No. Uh huh. So we we go after all of these responses that we're told means something or that we get excited about. But we don't stop and think What are the responses that I really want? What responses makes sense for my business and which responses actually get me closer to the results that I want? You know? So one response that I like in my business is new email subscribers. And so that's something that plays very prominently in my online strategy. I want I've got my home page set up for that. I've got my blog's set up for that. I've got landing pages set up for that. There are all sorts of opportunities to get on my email list because that's another response that excites me. When I see my list grow, it makes me want to send them good stuff that makes me really happy. It also makes me a lot of money. Yes, that's an important part of this too, right? What responses are going to lead ultimately to more sales for you? What responses are going to get you closer to your vision that we defined in the last lesson. So in the last group that I worked with through the quiet power strategy program, we actually had to financial people. And they asked me why their audiences didn't respond to them like this other financial persons audience did. That financial persons audience responded to her with these gushing, gushing Facebook posts, right? They post on her timeline, they post on her page, they post in her group, and they would just gush and gush and gush. And sometimes it would be in praise of this person. Sometimes it would be, uh, you know, out of kind of the sense of sharing their vulnerability. Like I'm just I'm this stuck or I'm in this problem and I just had to share that here. And it was just It was just very open and transparent. And I said to the two women that I was coaching, Is that Is that the response that you want? Do you want clients that would respond to you like that where they would kind of bare their soul on Facebook? Not that there's any problem with that, but is that what you want, and they based it. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I don't I don't want that. I just thought that I had to do that. I had to get people to do that toe Have a successful business. No, you don't have to do what You don't have to mimic the way other people respond toe other people's businesses. You have to be intentional about choosing or understanding what responses really turn you on. And then how you can use those to get results. Referrals is an easy one. Referrals lead directly to sales. You know, Facebook likes or shares or at mentions on Twitter might not lead directly to sales. But, you know, you get a sense over time that this is something that leads to real results. Makes sense. Okay, I appreciate you guys sticking with me on this one. Okay, So the responses that inspire you likely tie into your personal values or guiding principles. Do you see that? The things that you really want the things that are truly important to you are also likely what is influencing or how you want people to respond to you. They also tie into your fascination language. I want a standing ovation because I'm a power person. I'm a power personality that likes to stand on stage and tell you like it ISS. And that means the obvious response to that is applause. I know I'm doing a good job when you respond to my power, you know, maybe you for you, it's, you know, you're doing a good job when someone responds to those mystique qualities. So another one of the responses that I like is getting stories back with the results that clients get. I like the nodding there. Yeah, I love hearing like I got Briones case study back from her. You know, she didn't just beat my $8000 challenge. She added $10,000 of unexpected revenue in the last quarter of last year of her business. That makes me very, very happy. And I also know yeah, makes me happy too. I also know that I can channel that result into sales. So I know that not only do I get that result from her, but then I posted on my site. I send it out via email. I show people Look, this is the response my work got. And then that's part of the sales conversation. I have welcoming a new group into that program, so it's very cyclical. Okay, now I do have to necessary responses. One is signing up for your email list. I'm sorry. Email marketing is one of my non negotiables. It is a quiet power strategy, non negotiable. You may hate email marketing. We're gonna change that for you in Session five. You might hate email, email, marketing, or you might think that it's yucky or icky. But email marketing is a must have response or S or signing up for your email list is a must have response so you can think about what are the other responses that you like to get for people? And how can you channel that into email sign ups? Because email sign ups do always. If you're even doing it remotely right, lead to more cash in your bank account, and then the second one is, of course, making purchases. Your customers need to respond to your your prospects need to respond to you by making a purchase, signing up for your service or you're not really in business. Okay, so those air two responses that we can use to guide the way we you know, those other responses that come along. So all of these things are optional. Responses you have may have been told that any of these things are where it's at. But if it's not where it's at for you, it's optional. It's not necessary. So, you know, we've talked about block comments we've talked about. Facebook likes interview requests. I love getting interview requests. It goes back to that question thing. If you're asking me questions, I'm a very happy camper. So I love getting interview requests. You might not care about inter interview requests whatsoever. It doesn't mean your business can't still be successful. Requests for consultation. That is something I do not want in my business. I don't want requests for consultation. Nowhere on my website doesn't say a email us for a free consultation. No, no, no, no, no, I don't I don't know. And now, no. But you're welcome to talk to me on Twitter. You're welcome to send me a message on. Actually, don't send me a message on Facebook. Post post to my Facebook. I'm happy to answer questions there. There's plenty of opportunities to get in touch with me. That's a response I don't need. All right. So when you pick 2 to 3 responses that really excite you as a creator and business owner, you can focus your actions and your prospects attention on eliciting that response. Then you can use your personal response preference preferences to elicit one of the necessary responses for your business. In other words, you can channel that, uh, that response that you really like into either email sign ups or purchases. And that's the ideas that were creating a path, ah, preferred path of behavior. So let's look at, um, some examples of this. The first is from a former client, Sean Fink, who's the founder of Abundant Mama, the Abundant Mama Project and abundant mama dot com. One of the responses that she really loves to hear about is Mother's changing their behavior at home, changing their habits. So she developed this free welcome gift for her community, called the Habits of Highly Effective Mamas. And so right there in the welcome gift. She's kind of encouraging that response. Here's a habit I'd like you to create or a habit I would like you to change and to do that. She's getting people on her list, So everything's all baked into a really nice little package right there. All right, let's do it. Let's do a quick hot seat because I'd like to break this down a little bit more. Patrice's example was great. Let's do it with somebody else real quick. Melissa, come on up. Let's let's put you in the actual hot seat. So what responses do you really like in your business? Well, like you, I love questions because it shows that people are looking to me as an expert, and it gives me an opportunity to riff Cool, which I really like you like to do. I love riffing, and I like also for the same reasons. I like interview requests because I get to riff with somebody and have them ask me questions and see me as an expert. Cool. So do you have a page on your website that asks for interview requests? No, but I will. Very soon. That would be the first thing I would dio I minus kind of buried into my speaking page now, and it's it's not as prominent, but four or five years ago it was one of the big parts that was actually in the sidebar of my blogged interview. Me, I love being interviewed. Interview me, email this address and we'll set it up. And I would be happy to be interviewed by someone who had 10 block readers or someone who had 10,000 block readers. Because it was it was just It was really good for me. It helped me develop my voice as well as my platform. Absolutely. So I would highly encourage you to either have a page on your site or to put it in a prominent area like your sidebar that call to action. Because that's what this is all about is creating better calls to action at the action being the response, right? That's great. I love that. Okay, fantastic. Let's talk about the question piece. What opportunities do you have for clients or for perspective clients or prospective customers? Toe Ask you a question? Well, I'm about to have a very regular one, because I'm starting a podcast which will feature primarily, like ask Melissa like the dear Abby for creatives. Perfect. That's exactly what I would recommend. Some people are gonna be really drawn to that kind of more produced, uh, type of thing. If I were doing it, I would probably do it. Maura's like a live thing because I like that kind of spontaneity that happens in a lot of information about that. Sure, which is a little bit of a tangent, but I have played around with that with doing like monthly calls where people can come up, come and ask me questions or whatever. And I've gotten a lot of really great, you know, great response from that. It hasn't always lead to sales. Has it led to build on your platform? Um, well, it's been a while since I've done it. My list was a lot smaller when I did that, but perhaps you can help me with this. I've been been told by other sort of mentors and compatriots that part of the thing that people really like about working with me is the access right. And if if they get just unlimited free access every month, then perhaps that makes them less likely to sign up for a program where one of the values is that they get access to me. Well, you know what I mean. Yes. Okay, So I agree with that and I disagree with it and that I think a free monthly call is not unlimited access. Eso You know, if it's half hour, 45 minutes, even an hour long, I think it z that the access piece even goes down further, the bigger your platform grows, too. Because there is Are we going to get to you on the phone today? Um, if you're not in a place where you think you can get enough people on the phone to create that sense of urgency and that sense of not having access, then, yeah, that's probably not the best thing to do. And a podcast where it's much more curated and produced. Sounds like a phenomenal idea. Yeah, that was the other thing. And again, this was a while ago, so I don't know what it would be like now, but, you know, some months I would get a bunch of people on the calls and other months one or two. Yeah, so you know. And that's not a big deal either. As long as there's one or two people are willing to talk to you because sometimes it can be like, Oh, my gosh, I have this transformative experience with Melissa. Now I really understand what she does, and I'm going to sign up for her program. Like I've had that happen before. Uh, you know, whether it's a hot seat here or whether it's, you know, hot seat and kick start labs, where we can really dive into something. Because maybe there's not a lot of people on the phone, and that's when it really clicks for someone, and they see the value in it. Finally, they get why it costs what it costs or, you know, the format that it's in, or whatever s. So there is. I think there is opportunity there. I really like the direction that you're going with it. So we've confirmed that idea, and, uh, you can ask Ashley for the chart on your podcast. I don't know what her fee is, but yeah, and then I think the creating that call to action for interview requests, I think it's gonna be really big. Brilliant. Yeah, Yeah, I'm good. Yeah. Thanks, Melissa. Okay. All right. You guys starting to see how this works? Now it's making it a little bit more concrete. So It's about understanding what responses inspire and motivate may motivate you, creating clearer calls toe action and then turning those responses into the necessary responses. Sign ups to your email list and purchases. So knowing how you want people to respond to your work helps you create compelling calls to action that stand out. If you don't want just another sign up for my email list to get free updates, think about what responses you want that can help people actually decide that signing up for your list is a good idea.