How to Book Yourself Solid
I have had the good fortune of spending time with best-selling author, speaker trainer, and keynote speaker Michael Port. He is a warm, wise, and sincere guy - my kind of people!
I recently read and loved his best-selling book, Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling. I have already seen an increase in new consulting clients as a result of reading and working through the excerises in his book.
Here are some of my takeaways from Book Yourself Solid. I encourage you to pick up a copy and dig right in today.
17 Takeaways From Book Yourself Solid
You are the company you keep.
I've read this in many of my favorite business and self-help-type books. It's true. Choose your friends wisely. Ditch them if they don't support you.
Your ideal clients are those individuals who energize and inspire you.
This is why I typically work with small business owners and teams. It always seems like small businesses are the most passionate about the work they do. That passion always gets me excited to serve them.
Being everything to everyone just isn't possible.
I'm guilty of trying to please all of the people all of the time - in the past. Michael serves his readers a good reminder of why this doesn't work.
Itโs much easier to carve out a very lucrative domain for yourself once youโve identified a specific target market.
This is something I have been doing with NetworkingForNicePeople.com. I wrote my book all about networking, so I have returned to the topic to teach and build a community. My target market is anyone who wants to jumpstart their career or grow their business.
If your potential clients are going to purchase your services and products, they must see them as investable opportunities; they must feel that the return they receive is greater than the investment they made.
The secret to having a successful business is to know what your clients want and deliver it.
People buy results and the benefits of those results. So think about the solutions you offer and the subsequent results and benefits they provide.
View yourself as a leader in your clientโs life.
Your brand is about making yourself known for your skills and talents. More than that โ your brand is about what you stand for.
Establish an advisory board.
I'm finally in the process of making this happen officially in a private mastermind.
Read one book a month.
You'll know I did this from reading these mini book-report posts.
When you have made the effort to speak and write directly to your ideal client, heโll feel it.
Perform daily tasks that will keep your name in front of potential clients.
I do this with my writing here, at Networking For Nice People, in my email newsletters, and in my column in The Tennessean. I also use a CRM to remind me to check-in with clients and follow-up.
From a practical perspective there may be two simple reasons why you donโt have as many clients as youโd like: Either you donโt know what to do to attract and secure more clients; or You know what to do but youโre not actually doing it.
Guilty as charged with not doing what I knew I needed to be doing. I'm getting better at holding myself accountable, though. The photos of my family in my office help keep me focused.
Each day, introduce two people within your network who do not yet know each other but you think might benefit from knowing each other.
I do this with my Daily Goals Worksheet. You can grab a copy here.
Start by choosing one day of the week that you can focus on where and when you could be asking for referrals.
Instead of focusing on what I do, focus on what I can do for my clients.
Get a Copy of Book Yourself Solid
I pulled each of these quotes from Michael Port's valuable book because they stood out to me. I expect many (if not all) will stand out to you too.
Book Yourself Solid is a must-read book to help you grow your business. Michael Port is definitely somebody you should be following.