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WANT MORE CLIENTS? JUST SAY NO!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 9:15 AM (Public Entry)
C.J. Hayden, MCC Much of the popular wisdom about how to succeed as an independent professional seems to center around saying yes. You'll hear that you're supposed to market yourself constantly in as many different ways as possible, network with everyone you can find, and take as many clients as possible in order to increase your earnings. The implication is that you should say yes to every opportunity. But it hasn't been my experience that pursuing all opportunities is the true path to success. In fact, my own success increased dramatically when I started saying no more often. Saying yes to everything is like opening too many windows on your computer. Eventually you run out of resources and you crash. When you say yes to every suggestion, request, or invitation, you are letting other people's agendas drive your business. Saying no can put you in charge instead. Here are six examples of situations where you may want to consider saying no. 1. New clients who don't fit into your niche. When business is scarce, it's tempting to take anything you can get. For a one-time or short-term project, working with a client outside your target market or specialty may not harm you. But making a practice of taking any business that shows up will get in the way of establishing your reputation and referral base. These "outsider" clients won't lead to the targeted referrals or testimonials that will build your business. And they can take a lot more energy to serve, because you may need to learn on the job, scramble to assemble needed resources, or do work you simply don't enjoy much. Sticking to your niche, on the other hand, will lead to more business of the kind you really want to have. 2. Networking with people who have no connection to your niche. Your networking time is precious. Say no to attending events that will attract few people from your target market, or to meeting with people whose niche has no relation to yours. Just because someone invites you to a meeting or coffee doesn't mean you have to go. Don't worry, you'll have plenty more invitations to choose from in the future. Plus, you should be spending some time making your own invitations to folks solidly within your niche, who will be much more likely to bring you business. 3. Clients who take more effort to pursue than their business is worth. Watch out for prospects who want to meet with you multiple times, see several proposals, or require a detailed response to a complex RFP before agreeing to work with you. Even when you ultimately land the contract, it may cost you far too much unpaid time. And clients who are so demanding before they hire you may be even worse to actually work for. 4. People and organizations who ask for your time but do nothing for you. Serving as a volunteer in order to give back to your community is a worthwhile activity in itself. But volunteering your time with the primary intent to market your business only pays off when the recipients of your largesse provide the promotional consideration they promised. Beware of offers like online communities who award you a slot as an "expert" required to provide answers to questions, articles, and tools for free, but can't deliver the traffic they promised. Or community organizations who ask you to serve in your professional capacity pro bono, but never so much as acknowledge you in their newsletter. 5. Ads, promotional schemes, and exhibit space that don't fit your budget. The moment you hang out your shingle as a business owner, you become a prime target for people selling print and online ad space, directory listings, search engine optimization, and trade show exhibits. Their offers may be appealing, especially if you're feeling a bit desperate for business. But for the average independent professional, these approaches rarely pay back the required investment. Consider this — if these promotional avenues were as good as the offers say, would they really need to have an army of commissioned salespeople pushing them on you? Before enrolling in any paid promotional scheme, compare its total cost to the value of closed sales you could conservatively expect to gain as a result. Make your own estimates; don't just accept what the salesperson says. Then say no to any offer that may cost you more than it brings in. 6. Flavor-of-the-month marketing approaches. Every time you turn around, it seems that someone has a new marketing idea for you. If you're not seeing immediate results from what you're already doing, it may be appealing to try something new. But keep in mind that every marketing strategy takes consistency and persistence to pay off. When you drop what you're doing to try something new, you may lose out on both the benefit of what you were doing before and the new approach you're trying now, because you'll have given neither of them the attention and longevity they truly require. Here's the bottom line. If you've ever felt like you were being pulled in a million different directions by the requirements of marketing your business, the solution may be right in front of you. Just say no to invitations, offers, and demands that serve the needs of other people better than they do your own. Copyright © 2009, C.J. Hayden C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients Now!™ Thousands of business owners and independent professionals have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free copy of "Five Secrets to Finding All the Clients You'll Ever Need" at www.getclientsnow.com. Foam Rolling
Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009 at 10:04 AM (Public Entry)
Form Rolling 101: Roll Out Those Knots in Your Muscles!
Would you believe that your function could be improved in just 10 minutes a day? Sound too good to be true? By performing self myofascial release techniques on a simple piece of foam, you can improve body composition, flexibility, function, performance, and reduce injuries. Simply stated, use your own body weight to roll on the round foam roll, massaging away restrictions to normal soft-tissue extensibility. Furthermore, you can perform this program in the convenience of your own home. WHAT IS SELF-MYOFASCIAL RELEASE? Self myofascial release (SMR) massage can be defined as an interactive soft tissue release technique that requires feedback from the client to determine the correct position, amount of pressure and duration of the stretch. The main purpose for use includes: Joint stiffness Muscle tightness Identified tenderness (indicating poor circulation) You can also use this technique for a warm-up before exercise and a cool-down after exercise: Exercise preparation Exercise recovery HOW DO I PERFORM THIS TECHNIQUE? SMR techniques use an individual’s body weight and/or force with various tools such as bio-foam rolls, tennis balls, soft balls, thumb pressure or pressure knobs. Body weight and/or muscular force with the chosen tool are used to decrease tenderness in your body’s soft tissues followed by performing slow rhythmical movements which compress and lift the soft tissues, aiding in the breakdown of tissue "knots" (tissues that bond together). BENEFITS OF SELF-MYOFASCIAL MASSAGE Helps alleviate tightness in muscles Increases range of motion at joints such as the shoulder Decreases muscle soreness Keeps muscles at their optimal lengths Helps to relieve joint stress GENERAL GUIDELINES 1. Start by searching the tissues for tenderness. If tenderness is identified, hold foam roll on the "hot-spot" for 10-12 sec. Repeat by coming back to area 3-5 times or until tenderness has subsided. 2. If tenderness is too much to handle simply add another foam roll dispersing body weight over a greater surface. 3. If no tenderness is identified while SLOW rolling, continue in a smooth rhythmical manner. 4. Maintain a tight stomach by pulling the belly button back towards the spine. 5. Do not perform under the following conditions: Feelings of nausea Dizziness Pain Acute rheumatoid arthritis Painful varicose veins 6. You can perform SMR massage 1-2 x daily. SELF MASSAGE FOR THE LOWER BODY The following is a lower body sequence that exercisers at all levels can benefit from. Complete exercises 1-6 before switching legs. Remember to move slow and smoothly. 1. Outside of lower leg Sit on the floor with your lower leg on the roller, near your ankle. Cross one leg over the opposite, resting your ankle on your shin. With your elbows supporting you, lift your glutes and back off the floor and move so that you can slowly roll your calf along the roller. Pause at any tender spots for 10-12 seconds. Re-adjust if needed, and continue to exercise. 2. Front of upper leg Continuing from exercise 1, turn over to a face down position and place the foam roll slightly above the knees. Slowly roll from knee toward hips while keeping quadriceps relaxed. 3. Buttocks Sit on the roller, leaning on your glute, with one foot crossed and resting on opposite knee. Hold that knee, and put one hand behind you for support. Slowly roll along your rear hip, again stopping at tender points. 4. Front of hip Turn over so your front hip is on the roller. Your leg should be straight out, your opposite knee should be bent with foot on the floor for balance. Now, starting at the hip, slowly roll down over the front of your thigh to your knee (see exercise 5). 5. Side of leg Continuing from exercise 4, position yourself side lying on foam roll. Bottom leg is raised slightly off floor. Maintain head in "neutral" with ears aligned with shoulders. Roll slowly to the knee. To transition into exercise 6, simply roll to the front of the thigh progressed by straddling the foam roll (see exercise 6) 6. Inside of leg Straddle the roller, with your inner right thigh resting on it, supporting your upper body on both elbows. Roll from your knee toward your hip. Complete exercises 1-6 on opposite leg. CHOOSING A FOAM ROLL When choosing a foam roll, make sure the foam roll is hard and dense. If the foam is too soft, less than adequate tissue massage is applied. On the other hand, if the foam is too hard, bruising and more advanced soft-tissue trauma may occur. Workout Video
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 9:54 AM (Public Entry)
Inner Circle member:Yun bootcamp Video
Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 10:55 AM (Public Entry)
Make Your Body Your Machine
Wednesday, Apr 8, 2009 at 9:56 AM (Public Entry)
Make Your Body Your Machine The TRX in Action at Bootcamp Corey Belin gives us a glimpse at two workouts he’s put together for his students. During week one, Belin has the students repeat the following sequence of TRX exercises to warm up during the first five minutes of class: Jumping jacks Side lunges Stepovers Next they move on to a more challenging sequence: Squats or Single Leg Squats Bicep Curls Rows “Then we’ll repeat the process back over and do it for about four minutes. Then I’ll have them change positions and...go to some ground work on the TRX with their feet in the cradles.” During the first week of class, students quickly master the basic principles of progression on the TRX and learn how to make exercises easier or more difficult as well as proper form and technique. They also learn how to configure the TRX in single handle mode, and how to utilize the foot cradles for movements that require them. “Once they see how the TRX works, it all makes sense and they learn how to use it fast,” says Belin. “The whole point is to keep moving, keep moving, keep moving! By the fourth week, they’ve already pre-learned all of the exercises, and I keep them moving nonstop for 30 minutes.” Here’s a sample of the paces Belin puts his students through on the TRX during the final week of his course: Jumping Jacks Side Lunges Step Overs Pushups-Rows-Biceps Curls Pushups-Rows-Triceps extensions Pushups-Rows-Triceps extensions-squats “I just keep adding on more exercises to the sequence and keep having them repeat it until 30 minutes have gone by.” It’s a grueling, functional workout unlike any his students have experienced before. And to Belin, that makes the TRX a more than worthy addition to his courses. “It’s an amazing piece of equipment.” When you’re ready to take your bootcamp classes to the next level, the TRX is here to make it happen! http://budurl.com/theTRX |
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