by Kelly Berry
As with many AIIPers (I suspect), much of my work comes from referrals, word of mouth, and repeat business. Some of my fellow AIIP members have recommended me to clients, leading to more work (Go AIIP!)
Continue reading DIY Marketing for Infopreneurs – Part 1: Expanding my Marketing SphereBy Yvonne Davis
Competitive intelligence is a process for evaluating your organization and its business position within a given industry.
Before there is a collective “throwing of hands in the air” and saying we are not Procter & Gamble or Nvidia (big companies familiar with their competitors), let’s take a look at some of the basic steps in competitive intelligence analysis that are also very familiar in the nonprofit world.
Continue reading Nonprofits & Competitive Intelligence: A Good CombinationEditor’s Note: This is the final installment of the Coach’s Corner. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mary Ellen Bates for her many years of sharing invaluable insights and wisdom with our readers through her informative and helpful blog articles.
For an independent info pro, finding and connecting with your ideal clients is crucial for business success. Much like modern dating, attracting the right clients requires a strategic approach, authenticity, and a strong online presence. Let’s explore effective tactics for infopreneurs to find their perfect client matches.
Continue reading Coach’s Corner: The Infopreneur’s Guide to Attracting Ideal ClientsWhy do our repeat clients come back to us? While we would like to believe it’s because of our breathtaking analysis, our brilliant marketing campaign, or our unique training program, it’s often something simpler – we’re easy to work with. We make it easier for our clients to come back to us than to find an alternative.
Continue reading Becoming FrictionlessIn Colorado, where I live, we sometimes experience a weather phenomenon called virga. It is precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before it hits the ground. It’s quite a sight. Infopreneurs often encounter the business equivalent of virga when we see ahead of us a stormy and contentious conversation with a client. But we can help evaporate it before we get drenched.
Continue reading Having Difficult Conversations with ClientsIn my school librarian background, professional development was neither valued nor recognized, so it may be surprising that my career is now based on providing training for the very type of professional I used to be. If your place of employment doesn’t recognize or value your professional development, and your opportunity for upward mobility is minimal, why would you ever bother?
Continue reading Online training: what I learned through lockdownKey to delivering a quality project for a client is making sure that I am answering the right question. That isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. Experience has taught me that the initial question the client asks is often not the one they really need answering.
Continue reading Asking the Right Questions to Get to the Right QuestionAfter the cancellation of the AIIP 2020 conference, Elizabeth Suarez, the designated keynote speaker, presented a webinar called Effective Leadership during Difficult Times.
She began the session by asking participants:
“What keeps you up at night?”
“What is the one thing that could help you stop this worry?”
“What can we do with everything?”
Elizabeth focused on two topics: leadership and to how to pivot an offering. She began with the second point, pivoting an offering.
Three basic factors are compelling business owners to pivot: life changes, uncertainties, and the need to pivot. To do so, Elizabeth said it was important to create a strategic plan to show leadership and get back to the basics. To formulate a plan, it’s essential to establish structure, understand the needs of those you work with, and have transparent conversations.
The goals we made for 2020 may not seem relevant in the age of a pandemic. Many people are experiencing a level of frustration and uncertainty, which leads to questions such as, “Will clients be economically viable in the future and able to pay for my services?”
After asking the participants to share one word to describe their feelings, Elizabeth explained that the current situation can be compared with the stages of grief. Acknowledging and recording feelings in order to express them is critical for leadership, starting with defining reality, ending with saying thank you, and – in between – being a servant leader.
Elizabeth discussed and illustrated six steps for showing leadership:
It’s important to engage others to carry out these six steps. Recognizing strengths, and also getting help in improving skills that are not as strong, can be done best with input from others.
Making a plan can be done easily by going back to basics. Plans written now need to be able to be changed quickly and cover the right content. She recommended the field reporter approach, which consists of gathering information, assembling it, and sharing it with the target market. Understanding what clients need and developing an impactful plan based on the information received can be accomplished by going down a path based on the five “W” and one “H” questions. She mentioned these questions:
Using the answers to these questions with the WEAVE approach – write, edit, assess, vet, and engage – forms the basis of a powerful and effective plan. It’s also important to remember that business owners should continue networking, stay in servant mode, and keep themselves relevant and top of mind with others.
Elizabeth’s webinar was very informative and easy to follow for the more than 50 AIIP members who attended. It was an interesting exercise to see how easily thinking through various these points could be when people may be experiencing difficulties with finding new ways to work in these changing times.
Rhonda L. Bowen has been a communication guide in her own business, bells, since 1988. Having worked with people from more than 70 countries, she provides services for BEST (business, engineering, science, technology) professionals to improve their communication across cultures.
