Leah Neaderthal

My client had just done it again: she had accepted a project for less than her minimum. And now she was kicking herself.

It wasn’t that she was discounting her work. She was just accepting small, one-off projects, when what she REALLY wanted were longer term engagements, which were not only more revenue, but more profitable.

She asked me, “How do I stop doing this? How do I stop sabotaging myself?”

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What about you? Have you ever taken on a client that was smaller than you wanted? Paid you less than you wanted? Wanted work that was slightly different than what you really love to do?

And here’s the question: did you know you were doing it at the time? Or did you only look back later and realize? How did it feel?

If you’ve ever done this, then the list I’m about to share with you may be helpful to identify why you might have allowed that, and how you can avoid it in the future.

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I told her that there are a lot of different reasons. And while I can’t pinpoint the exact reason, or combination of reasons, it’s helpful to look at ALL the reasons and just lay them on the table.

So here’s why you’re sabotaging yourself:

(Note that a lot of these start with “you,” but they’re not meant to be accusatory.)

• You aren’t uncovering the value your prospects are truly looking for, so the conversation is focused on tactics / what you’ll do, vs. the value you provide and the outcomes to their business; this will always drive the price down.
• You’re not fluent in your pricing and the price conversation, so you aren’t having the price conversation upfront, when you could have identified whether they were a good fit budget-wise.
• The prospect can’t afford you, but you want them anyway, so you are willing to abandon your minimum.
• You don’t have enough in your sales pipeline, so you need the work, even though it’s below your minimum.
• You don’t know how to ask for what you want to be paid.
• You don’t feel worthy of being paid what you want to be paid.
• You feel eager to get a yes quickly, because if they go away or have to think about it, you might not know how to keep them engaged, so you are eager to give them a price they can quickly say yes to.
• If there’s pushback, you don’t know how to negotiate to protect your price.
• You are relying on over delivering and “doing the work” in order to sell more later, which is very consistent with the way women typically work – “If I do great work, I’ll be noticed”… rather than communicating your value and selling well

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So what can you learn from this list?

To stop sabotaging yourself, and start getting paid what you want, it’s not about fixing one thing. It’s about learning the SYSTEM of how to get clients at the price you want.

How to get the right leads. How to lead them through the sales process. How to communicate value and talk price. And how to offer a package that’s high value for them and profitable for your business.

Every part of the sales process is connected, and you have to master each step. But the good news is, you CAN master each step. Because people in SIGNED 10-week program are doing it every day.

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I’m curious what you think of these. Which of these ring true for you? Write back and let me know.

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

This is my new Facebook community where badass women like you learn how to get the clients they want, without feeling salesy. Click here to join.

 

2. Learn how to get new clients without feeling salesy, in 10 weeks

If getting new clients is on your to-do list, but you’re not sure where to start, I can help. You’ll learn step-by-step how to get the clients you want, without feeling salesy. And you’ll get the support you need to put learning into practice in your business.  Just reply to this email and put “Clients” in the subject line and I’ll get you the details.

 

3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.

So, I’m not the most woo-woo person. Sure, I meditate sometimes, and I “put things out to the universe,” but for the most part I’m pretty pragmatic.

Which is why I have a problem with something I hear ALL THE TIME from business coaches. It’s about Abundance Mindset.

You know Abundance Mindset, right? It’s the idea that you already have plenty, and there is enough to spare for everybody.

The opposite is Scarcity Mindset: the mentality that you don’t have enough, and there isn’t enough for everyone.

When you have a Scarcity Mindset, you operate from a place of fear. When you have an Abundance Mindset, by contrast, you operate from a place of presence and power.

Don’t get me wrong – having an Abundance Mindset is a good thing. But when you start talking about HOW to get an Abundance Mindset, that’s where it breaks down for me.

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To cultivate an Abundance Mindset, some will tell you to meditate. Others tell you to visualize abundance. Others tell you to surround yourself with people who have an Abundance Mindset.

But all the advice boils down to one message: pretend that you have it already. Maybe I’m too pragmatic, but that’s too Woo Woo for me.

In my experience, there is one surefire, authentic way to cultivate an Abundance Mindset. It’s not meditation, or mantras, or pretending.

It’s this: have a full sales pipeline.

What do I mean by a full sales pipeline? It means that that you’re talking to enough potential clients, and the potential value of those clients adds up to enough revenue, so that you can make the money you want to make, even if some of them go quiet, or delay, or simply say no.

When you have a full sales pipeline, it’s instant, fast-acting Abundance Mindset. And it has immediate impact on your business.

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When your sales pipeline is full, each potential client isn’t so precious. You aren’t walking on eggshells because you’re afraid they’ll say no (because you’re talking to more than enough other potential clients).

You’re more willing to charge what you want, because you’re less afraid that you’ll “scare them off” with your pricing.

And you’re less willing to cave to demands, and more willing to draw better boundaries.

Having a full sales pipeline is the most effective way to adopt an Abundance Mindset, and use that mindset to get the clients you want.

Put another way: Sure, abundance mantras are cool, but have you tried having $500k in potential revenue in your sales pipeline?

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You can calculate whether your sales pipeline is full or not. A general rule of thumb is that you need to have between 2x and 3x as much revenue in your pipeline, as you want to make in the next six months.

That means that if you want to make $50k, then you need between $100k and $150k in your pipeline.

So if you’re only talking to three potential clients, and each client pays you around $10k, then you only have $30k in your pipeline. Time to focus on create new opportunities so you can get to that $100k pipeline number.

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Knowing your pipeline number, and having a plan to fill your pipeline, is so important that I’ve put it first thing in SIGNED (literally – we do this in Week 1). Because brings about a huge mindset and behavior shift, so you can start to get the clients you want, and get paid bigger numbers, without feeling salesy.

Then in Week 4, we start to pack your pipeline with the right opportunities, so you can hit your pipeline number.

If you’re interested in being part of the next SIGNED, applications are opening soon. If you want to get on the list early, get a special bonus, and receive a huge early registration discount, reply to this email with “CLIENTS” in the subject line and I’ll get you the details.

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Now that you’ve done the pipeline exercise above, how does your pipeline stack up? Write back and let me know.

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

This is my new Facebook community where badass women like you learn how to get the clients they want, without feeling salesy. Click here to join.

 

2. Learn how to get new clients without feeling salesy, in 10 weeks

If getting new clients is on your to-do list, but you’re not sure where to start, I can help. You’ll learn step-by-step how to get the clients you want, without feeling salesy. And you’ll get the support you need to put learning into practice in your business.  Just reply to this email and put “Clients” in the subject line and I’ll get you the details.

 

3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.

I have to tell you about my favorite client. He’s a retired doctor in his “second act,” helping doctors and health systems avoid burdensome insurance processes.

He’s also my Dad.

(Want to see his website? Check it out here. Bonus – head to the About Bob page to see a pic of my parents.)

The best part about coaching my Dad is watching him learn a new skill, struggle a little bit, and ultimately figure out how to do it the right way (it’s really endearing.)

One area where he’s spent a lot of time is learning how to get to the right decision-maker inside the companies he’s targeting.

And there was one instance in particular that I want to share with you…

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One of my Dad’s client types are health systems. These are HUGE companies, and getting to the right person is hard.

So here’s exactly how my Dad got connected to the right person among thousands.

In January, my Dad contacted a friend to tell her about the work he’s doing now. She used to work in the legal department of a big health system, and he asked her for the name the right person who would handle this work. She gave him the name of the the Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

Contact count: 1

For the next two months, he tried to make contact with the CMO, but the CMO’s admin kept saying he was away or tied up. After a couple months, he decided to try another route.

Contact count: 2

Months elapsed: 2

His next approach was to contact a physican friend who’s part of a large group of physicians that was purchased by this same huge hospital system. The friend loved what my Dad is doing, and referred him to the president of the physician group.

Contact count: 3

Months elapsed: 3

My Dad then contacted the president of the physican group, who responded in May. He liked the idea, but said that decisions for what my Dad does are made at the corporate level, not in his group. He said my Dad could speak with the office manager in corporate, who may be able to help.

Contact count: 4
Months elapsed: 5

In June, my Dad reached out to the office manager and asked him for the right person who would handle this work. The name he gave was the Chief Medical Officer in charge of Physician Services.

Contact count: 5

Months elapsed: 6

In July, my Dad dashed off an email to the CMO in charge of Physician Services, who wrote him back immediately. He asked my Dad to come in for an in-person meeting as soon as he could.

Right person: REACHED!

Seven months, and five WRONG people, just to get to the right person. But once he got to the right person? The response was immediate.

—

If you’re selling in to companies and you’re worried that you’re not talking to the right person, here are a few guidelines to help you:

1. Talk to anyone you can. Don’t worry if it’s not the right person – even if it’s someone who works in the company mailroom, you have to start somewhere. Connect with them and just start the process.
2. Make the ask. Don’t assume that someone will know that you’re looking for an introduction. Be explicit, explain who you’re looking to connect with, and ask to be connected to them.
3. Think beyond the CEO. Yes, the CEO is the uber-decision-maker, but it’s just as important to have a strong “champion” – someone who will advocate for you inside the company. Working with a champion can be more effective than trying to get to the ultimate decision-maker, because the champion will give you their attention, where the CEO (or other C-level executive) won’t have time.
4. Keep at it. These things can take time. Stay with it, don’t give up, and you’ll get to the right person.

Here’s how my Dad explains it:

“Often getting a foot in the door of a company to explain and sell your service means finding out which door to open.  It may take several tries from different angles. Starting at the top may work in some businesses, while with other customers it is more successful to start lower on the ladder. Friends and acquaintances at that company may be helpful, maybe not.”

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

This is my new Facebook community where badass women like you learn how to get the clients they want, without feeling salesy. Click here to join.

 

2. Learn how to get new clients without feeling salesy, in 10 weeks

If getting new clients is on your to-do list, but you’re not sure where to start, I can help. You’ll learn step-by-step how to get the clients you want, without feeling salesy. And you’ll get the support you need to put learning into practice in your business.  Just reply to this email and put “Clients” in the subject line and I’ll get you the details.

 

3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.

I’m not sure if you saw it, but I released a new guide called Price Up Fast: How to Charge More and Get Paid More, Without Doing More. If you’re looking to raise your prices in the next few months, check it out!

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What I’m about to say might go against everything you’ve heard about running a business, but I feel like I need to say it anyway:

You don’t need to write a business plan.

Yes, SOME businesses need a business plan. And if you’re going to get a bank loan, or get investment in your scalable startup, then you’ll probably be asked to create one.

But for expertise-based service business like ours, we don’t need one. Because the business plan is as simple as it gets:

1. Offer a service
2. Get paid for said service
3. Repeat

With a business plan like this, there are three ways to grow your revenue: get more clients, raise your prices, or increase the number of times clients purchase from you. It’s straightforward and simple.

(There are advanced ways like licensing your methodology, but for most people in the first several years of their business, the three ways I’ve listed are the most common.)

So, why am I bringing this up? Because I’ve been talking to a lot of business owners who lament that they can’t grow their business because they don’t have a business plan.

And I tell each of them what I’m telling you: that you don’t need one. And more than that, you can certainly grow without one.

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The tricky thing about a business plan is that it FEELS like you’re moving the business forward. But you’re not.

It’s busywork. It’s as effective towards getting new clients as changing colors on your website, or fixing a typo in a blog post.

It doesn’t get you closer to clients, or potential revenue, or a new contract.

I’ve started, grown, and sold three businesses, and I’ve never had a business plan. Instead, I optimized my business towards what will make the biggest material impact (read: money): getting clients.

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The question to ask is, which would you rather have: a beautiful business plan, or five new paying clients?

Instead of writing a business plan, spend that time doing things that will actually get you closer to new clients:

• Send out 10 outreach emails to companies you want to work with.
• Email 10 people who might be able to refer you to others, and invite them to coffee.
• Follow up with 5 people who almost hired you, and see if they’re happy with the provider they went with.
• Write 5 social posts about how your work impacts your clients, then post one per day.

These are high-value activities that will actually get you closer to revenue.

Which of these activities can you do this week?

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

This is my new Facebook community where badass women like you learn how to get the clients they want, without feeling salesy. Click here to join.

 

2. Learn how to get new clients without feeling salesy, in 10 weeks

If getting new clients is on your to-do list, but you’re not sure where to start, I can help. You’ll learn step-by-step how to get the clients you want, without feeling salesy. And you’ll get the support you need to put learning into practice in your business.  Just reply to this email and put “Clients” in the subject line and I’ll get you the details.

 

3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.

In 2004, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I felt like a stranger in my own life, like things were happening outside of my control.

The problem, I decided, was that I was living in the wrong city. I needed a change.

I decided that I would leave Chicago, where I had been living, and move to Portland, Oregon. THAT would solve the problem and make me feel comfortable again.

There was a big flaw with that plan, however.

I wasn’t solving the real problem.

Looking back, the issue wasn’t the city where I was living. It was that I was gay and still in the closet.

When I came out a few months later, I started loving my life again, and I stayed in Chicago for 7 more years.

—

I know that not everyone is facing such a big life question, but still, if you look around, you see people solving the wrong problem every day.

For example:

I want to lose 10 pounds → Do Whole 30 (but don’t, say, adopt healthy habits that you can do long term.)

I want to fall in love → Date people even if they don’t treat you well (but don’t, say, love yourself first.)

I want to feel worthy → Buy a bunch of stuff (see above about loving yourself.)

If you’ve ever seen an ad for bra that makes you feel carefree, or a truck that makes you feel like a man, you’re witnessing someone trying to solve the wrong problem.

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How does all of this relate to business? Well, I see a lot of entrepreneurs solving the wrong problem too.

It looks like this:

I have this whole list of potential clients I want to reach out to, but I don’t know what to write… so I’m going to rebrand my company. (Instead of, say, just reaching out.)

I keep having great conversations with clients who never sign on… so I’m going to lower my prices. (Instead of, for example, focusing on selling the value of your work.)

I feel so weird talking to potential clients… so I’m going to focus on building my newsletter list instead. (Instead of learning how to have comfortable sales conversations.)

If you have a problem, and you’re not solving that problem, you’re solving the wrong problem.

And if you aren’t getting the clients you want, you have a selling problem. That’s the problem you need to be solving.

(But Leah, of course you would say that. You’re a sales coach.)

Listen – I want you to solve YOUR real problem, no matter what it is. If your absolute #1 problem is that you have no website and no brand at all, then solve that problem.

But if you have a client and revenue problem, solve that one head-on.

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Why is solving the real problem so hard?

Because it forces you to take a hard look at the parts of yourself, and your business, that aren’t pretty. It forces you to acknowledge the truth. And it makes you realize what you might be avoiding.

But there’s a tremendous benefit too. When you finally do look at the real problem, you no longer kick it down the curb. You fix it. And when you fix it, it’s no longer a problem anymore.

It’s like one of the new SIGNED students said in our call this week: “It’s hard for me to be open to my challenges, but once I’m open to them, I’m more willing to see the solutions and focus on fixing them.”

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So now I want to ask you: what’s one area of your business where you might be solving the wrong problem? How can you address it head-on? And what’s the benefit if you do?

If you’d like, write back and let me know.

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

This is my new Facebook community where badass women like you learn how to get the clients they want, without feeling salesy. Click here to join.

 

2. Learn how to get new clients without feeling salesy, in 10 weeks

If getting new clients is on your to-do list, but you’re not sure where to start, I can help. You’ll learn step-by-step how to get the clients you want, without feeling salesy. And you’ll get the support you need to put learning into practice in your business.

 

3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.

Look at these women. Losers, every one of them.

And I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with them. Why?

Because in the past six weeks, here’s what they’ve LOST:

• Messaging about their business that leaves the client questioning their value
• Fear of raising their prices
• That little voice that says, “Oh, they won’t want to work with me.”
• Anxiety about talking price on the phone
• The selling “ick factor”

Instead, here’s what they’ve GAINED:

• Authentic, deep confidence to go out and get clients
• An easy-to-follow sales process
• Messaging that showcases their value and makes clients say, “Yes! I want that.”
• A system for charging more and getting paid more, without doing more
• Tools and templates for outreach to build their client pipeline
• A system for writing proposals that makes clients want to say yes.

And it’s WORKING – in just a few weeks…

One student closed a client on the phone for the first time, and 15 minutes later, she did it again.

One student closed two new clients in the same week.

One student is about to sign her biggest deal ever.

One student is getting paid thousands more for work she had been giving away for free.

One student, who always felt weird on sales calls, had the best sales call she’s ever had and the client is working on next steps inside her company to hire her.

And the best part? The program isn’t even over yet. I can’t wait to see what they do next!

What about you: In the next 10 weeks, what do YOU want to lose? What do you want to gain?

If you’d like to shed what’s holding you back, so you can gain the clients that will build your business, WITHOUT feeling salesy, click here to schedule a 10-minute call. The next course starts on Wednesday, August 29 at 4pm – don’t miss out.

And to Julie, Meg, Kim, Maggie, Amanda, and Betsy – Thanks for being great sports. 🙂  See you in our next live coaching call on Wednesday!

To your success,

Leah

1. Join the free Smart Gets Paid Group and connect with women entrepreneurs who are learning how to get clients too.

This is my new Facebook community where badass women like you learn how to get the clients they want, without feeling salesy. Click here to join.

 

2. Learn how to get new clients without feeling salesy, in 10 weeks

If getting new clients is on your to-do list, but you’re not sure where to start, I can help. You’ll learn step-by-step how to get the clients you want, without feeling salesy. And you’ll get the support you need to put learning into practice in your business.

 

3. Work with me privately


If you’d like to work directly with me to learn how to sell, get paid more, and get the clients you really want, just reply to this message and put “Private” in the subject line. Tell me a little about your business and what you’re struggling with when it comes to selling, and I’ll get you all the details.