When you started your own business to create a more flexible lifestyle, you knew wouldn’t be a walk in the park. But you didn’t expect you’d have to work THIS hard. And STILL feel like your business is stuck on the starting block.

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If this is how you feel right now, you are not alone. Far too many women start out on their own, only to discover a few months in that they have in fact created an expensive hobby instead of a real business.

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But it’s not their fault, and it's not yours either. There is just ONE THING standing between you and success. But it’s not something that many people teach as the first rule of business.

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That one thing? The ability to confidently communicate the True Value of what you offer.

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This one skill sets apart the real business owners from the hobbyists. And when you nail it, you can stop feeling like a failure or a fraud. And instead feel proud of the success you have created and the results you help your clients achieve.

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So why are so many women stuck with a Hobby not a Real Business?

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There is just ONE THING standing between you and success. But it’s not something that many people teach as the first rule of business. This article explains all!

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1: They Can’t Explain the Value They Provide While Networking

Until you can stop getting tongue-tied and learn to clearly articulate the value you offer from the first ‘hello’, you will always struggle to attract enough of the right clients; no matter how hard you hustle.

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When potential clients consistently miss your value and turn to your competition instead, this keeps your business in ‘hobby’ mode. And the constant rejection or blank stares will negatively impact your mindset. This can send you into a dangerous spiral of self-doubt and anxiety.

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The key to turning this around is to understand the true value of what you offer, and then articulate this in ways that feel natural to you and instantly resonate with your ideal client.

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So how do you do this?

• Explore why you believe what you do is better or different to the competition

• Understand your dream client’s biggest problem that your solution addresses

• Express the value you offer in ways are instantly relevant to your dream client’s problem, and show how your solution will guide them to their ideal result.

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This can take some deep thinking, but it’s worth the effort as Kate discovered…

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Kate’s school had been making a loss for two years. She assumed her lack of marketing know-how was keeping her from success. However, this was not the case.

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On our very first call, Kate realised that when a potential client asked her about her school, she was talking about her teaching, rather than the Why behind her approach. This meant, she was saying the same as her competition, instead of sharing her real difference or impact. This led her prospects to buy from the cheaper (and inferior) alternatives instead.

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Once she identified her true value, she could confidently explain her difference, and do so from the heart. And it was a game-changer.

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Now, from their very first conversation, her prospects started signing up for her school on the spot. Since they could now understand her true value, she instantly became their service provider of choice for their young learners, regardless of her higher prices.

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Within days Kate had more clients than ever before since most of parents who she spoke to while networking, or who contacted her school directly, instantly wanted to work with her. Six months later, she was considering opening a second location to keep up with demand!

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Kate's is a common situation. Many businesses lose out to the (often inferior) competition, simply because they haven’t been able to clearly explain the true awesomeness of what they do. The key is to stop talking about what you do, and instead talk about the passion you have for the impact you provide in a laser-sharp way.

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Nail this, and filling your business with dream clients becomes enjoyable and easy, as they quickly recognise you as their preferred choice of service-provider.

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Once you learn to clearly articulate the true awesomeness of what you do, growing your business becomes enjoyable and easy.

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2: They Don't Know How to Explain Their Value Online

Most buyers research people and companies online before making a final decision to buy. So, being able to clearly communicate your true value through your online media and messaging is crucial – even if you deliver your services offline.

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The good news is, once you know how to articulate your value, knowing what to say online, and feeling confident doing so, becomes easy, as Emma discovered.

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Since leaving the corporate world to raise a family, Emma had lost confidence in her expertise, despite her prior success and qualifications. This inability to see her true value, made it hard for her to promote herself online as she felt like an imposter. This caused her to go in circles and become overwhelmed trying to find the right visibility strategy for her business.

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Once Emma identified her true value however, she quickly regained her professional esteem and created a message with instant appeal. This enabled her to comfortably show up online as real herself and connect with her audience – and enjoy doing so.

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As her followers could quickly relate to the value she offered and saw her as a leader in her niche, within weeks Emma was attracting new clients online, without the overwhelm or anxiety. Twelve months later, she was facing her first seven-figure year.

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When building your brand online and seeking new clients, it’s tempting to copy the strategies that appear to work for others, or to feel overwhelmed and like an imposter when looking to what others are doing online.

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However, you don't need to know all the fancy tools or tactics to succeed online. Once you can articulate your true value the right way, you’ll soon break through all the noise as you naturally stand out and feel comfortable showing up online as yourself.

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This is the key to attracting the right people and opportunities to your business online and building the foundation for a thriving business.

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Most buyers research companies online before buying. So, clearly communicating your true value online is crucial – it builds the foundation for a thriving business.

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3: They Struggle to Explain Their Value when Justifying Your Price

You’re at the end of a sales conversation. You worry that your prospect will say ‘no’, so you blurt out a discounted price. Sound familiar? If so, it’s time for a mindset reboot!

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You see discounts don’t add value, they erode it. They tell your prospect that you don’t believe in the value of your offer. And this leads them to doubt your value too.

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What’s more, when you offer discounts regularly, the only way to make ends meet is to hustle hard and work with a high volume of low paying clients. When your clients don't offer you proper compensation or appreciate your value, you'll struggle to do your best work and feel relaxed and fulfilled.

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In this situation, women become disappointed, exhausted and broke. Keeping them forever stuck with a ‘hobby’ business or contemplating quitting their business altogether.

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The solution is to build a simple sales call structure. One that helps your true value shine through while generating real value for your prospect.

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This is much easier than you might think once you know your True Value. And, since sales done well is all about service and caring, I believe you already have some kick-ass sales skills to work with, as Sarah discovered.

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When Sarah first came to me, she had a problem. She had leads, but her low closure rate and frequent discounting was causing her to dislike sales calls. It also meant that while she was able to pay her two employees, she struggled to pay herself.

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On our first call, she realised that her issue wasn't with her clients not understanding her value. It was that she wasn't communicating it!

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She had expected that when she talked about her skills, experience and services, that the value her clients would receive would be obvious to them. But it wasn't. I helped her see that she needed to break down her value into bite-size chunks. She could then focus on showing her clients exactly how their businesses and profits would transform after working with her. She embraced this and within weeks, everything changed.

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Once she understood her true value and how to express this, she was able to structure her sales conversations around it. Her conversations became easy and enjoyable, and now her prospects could quickly understand how awesome her offers were, she was able to stop offering discounts. Within weeks she was able to confidently increase her prices, work with better quality clients and start paying herself as well as her team.

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Since most women start their businesses wanting to make a difference, offering discounts isn’t a viable strategy. Only earning a predictable profit will help you stay in business and serve your clients over the long term.

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When you can communicate the impact of what you do and sell with service, you can confidently justify your prices and enjoy working with more clients who value what you do. Ultimately building a business that gives you the income and flexibility you desire, and makes a difference over the long-term (and is fun to run!).

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When you can communicate the value and impact of what you do, you can confidently justify your prices and enjoy working with more Dream Clients.

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Moving from ‘Hobby’ to Thriving Business Can Be Quicker and Easier than Many Women Realise

You shouldn’t be overwhelmed, working all the hours or offering discounts just to make ends meet in your business. If you feel that way right now, pause. Take time to really identify your true value and how to communicate this clearly to your dream clients.

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Once you can articulate your true value with confidence and clarity in every interaction, you’ll never be left wondering how to attract enough of the right clients to your business.

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If this is the result you are looking for right now, then I’m here to help you. As an award-winning communication consultant and business coach, my signature Value Whispering Blueprint programme will provide all the support you need. It will guide you step-by-step as you uncover your true value and learn how to communicate, market and sell this with ease and integrity. You'll move from hobby to thriving service business in as little as 12-weeks.

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It’s not your fault you feel stuck in your business today. But now you know why and what to do, you have a choice to make. Stay stuck or embrace your value and thrive.

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What will it be?

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Leave me a comment below to let me know about your true value. How will you start to communicate your value ‘from the first hello’? What will you change to ensure you connect authentically online? When are you going raise your prices to reflect your real value?

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Once you can articulate your True Value with #confidence, you’ll never be left wondering how to attract enough of the right clients to your business. Here's how...

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