Leah Neaderthal

Hey! Real quick… On Tuesday, July 21st and Thursday, July 23rd I’m hosting our next LIVE workshop to kick off the second half of 2020, about how to secure consulting clients… WITHOUT pitching, cold calling, or lowering your prices. If you want the confidence and know-how to land the clients you REALLY want in your consulting business, this workshop is just for you. Scroll to the end to choose your date and register with one click!

Here’s a personal question for you. How much money did you make in the first half of 2020?

More than the actual number, though, I’m interested in how that number makes you feel.

Does the number excite you and make you feel like you’re in the right place? Does it make you want even more the rest of this year and into 2021?

Or does your number make you sigh? Like you wonder if running this business is really the right thing?

I get it. It was a very weird first half of the year.

Maybe, in response, you’ve focused on putting yourself out there and getting visible. Maybe you’ve spent time refining your messaging, or learning something that’s been on your business to-do list.

But that’s not the same as actually landing new consulting clients.

Even with everything going on, clients are still hiring consultants – like one of my students who does PR, who just signed a six-figure contract for the next six months. The difference is that if your business development strategy so far has looked more like “crossing your fingers and taking what comes your way,” then the next half of the year will require different skills to actually help you land new clients.

And who are those clients? What are those projects? As we go into the second half of 2020, it’s a good time to check in and ask some important questions about your business, so you can be intentional about growing a business that you love.

So here are a few questions you need to ask yourself that go beyond “How much money will I make?”

How do I improve on the first half of this year? That might not mean making more money. It might mean maintaining your income — but working less, or working differently, with clients who respect your time and boundaries, or doing projects that feel less like work.

What clients/projects did I enjoy? Think about the days when you woke up excited to dig in to work. Think about the people whose names you were delighted to see in your inbox.

What clients/projects made me miserable? What made you dread getting out of bed in the morning? What names triggered that PTSD-style reaction in your body?

What do I want more of this year? Do you want to do the same work and charge more for it? Do you want to do only the work you love, and cut out everything else? Do you want more projects you can handle on your terms?

What did I take on for the wrong reasons? How can I step away from that? It happens to all of us. Money is tight, so we say yes despite the red flags. Or the fit isn’t perfect, but we think it’s a stepping stone to something better. Or the client is a nightmare, but the name recognition is too important. Think hard about the times you said yes even when you knew it was a bad idea.

How much did I enjoy my business? Do I want to keep doing this? Remember, “how much money will I make?” is one number — but you have to consider where that money comes from and how hard you’ll work for it. Is it making you miserable?

One of my SIGNED students told me that 2020 has been the first year that she didn’t think to herself, “Should I just give up and go back to my job?” And that’s because she finally feels like she has enough business — and a solid plan for how to get more when she’s ready for it.

If you find yourself constantly thinking, This is too hard, ask yourself why you think it’s too hard.

It’s probably because you don’t know how to close the sales you really want.

Take your 2020 projects and clients and divide them into two lists: the ones you liked, and the ones you didn’t. Do you know how to get more of the ones you liked? Or do you just look at the list and feel frustrated, because you can’t figure out how to get more of what you want and ditch the stuff that makes you crazy?

What if you could only take on the work you absolutely loved, like my client who signed a major contract doing only the strategy work?

What if you could book a year’s worth of revenue in the next few months, like my client who has already made more in the first half of 2019 than she did in all of 2020?

What if you could raise your prices so that every project is more profitable, like my client who’s making $15k more — on average — every month?

What if, even with everything going on, you had a plan to create the year — and the life — that you want, with the clients and projects you love the most?

It’s possible, and best of all, you can do it WITHOUT having to awkwardly pitch your services, without cold-calling, and without lowering your prices just to get in the door.

If you’d like to learn how, join me on Tuesday, July 21st or Thursday, July 23rd, for a live workshop: “Secure Consulting Clients… WITHOUT Pitching, Cold Calling, or Lowering Your Prices.”

In this workshop, you’ll:
Learn the proven, step-by-step system to get the consulting clients you really want (in a way that doesn’t even feel like selling!)
Discover the three things that are actually making it harder for clients to say yes to you (and that you can stop doing right now!).
Learn why you never have to pitch, cold call, or lower your prices …and what to do instead!

LIVE Workshop: Get the consulting clients you want… WITHOUT pitching, cold calling, or lowering your prices. Choose Your Session Below:

Tuesday, July 21st 8:00pm EST | 5:00pm PST
Click here to save your seat with just one click!

Thursday, July 23rd 8:00pm EST | 5:00pm PST
Click here to save your seat with just one click!

See you there!

Leah

Hey,

For the past few months, I’ve been talking to a lot of women who feel like they needed to pivot their entire consulting business because of everything that’s going on.

They’re feeling panicked, and to each one, I tell them: “You don’t have to pivot. In fact, you’re in the best possible position to weather this and even come out on top.” And then we talk about exactly how to do it.

But ever since all of this started, I’ve felt like I’m the only one who believes that way. Everywhere I look, every coach has had the same panicked message: “How to pivot your business!” “10 Ways to Pivot”, and on and on.

That’s why it was refreshing to talk to Darrell Vesterfelt when he invited me to come back on the Copyblogger podcast.

We talked about why you don’t need to pivot your business and what to do instead. We talked about how to mentally and practically approach your business. And we talked about how to get new clients and keep existing clients happy when everyone is a little bit on edge.

Listen to our conversation on the Copyblogger podcast, “How to Get (And Keep) Clients in Uncertain Times.”

In 33 minutes, you’ll learn:
How I started my business right on the heels of a recession
The two most important marketing tools to laser-focus right now
Why your clients need “painkillers, not vitamins.”
Why it’s more important than ever to be visible and valuable
Creative solutions for making yourself the “safest option” for your clients
How to provide a sense of stability for your clients (past, present, and future)
And much more!

Listen to “How to Get (and Keep) Clients” on iTunes/Apple Podcasts

After you’ve listened, message back and let me know one thing you learned in the interview that you could apply to your business!

—

If you liked this, there’s a lot more podcast goodness coming your way! My new podcast, Leads To Clients, is coming out soon. You’ll go behind the scenes and listen in on actual coaching sessions with my clients, and learn strategies you can apply to help you land new clients in your B2B consulting and coaching business.

Stay tuned!

To your success,

Leah

Hey, have you ever shared something personal about yourself to, like, thousands of your potential clients?

I think most women would shy away from that, right?

But a few years ago I did, and it was the best decision I ever made.

About three years ago, just after I married my wife Emily, I wrote a newsletter and included a photo from our wedding.

When I showed it to Emily before I sent it out, she asked, “Are you sure you want to tell everyone that you’re a lesbian?”

Inside, I knew it was the right decision. After all, I work very closely with my clients and students, and if they don’t like who I really am, then we probably shouldn’t be working together in the first place.

Since then, I’ve been really open about who I am. And for all this time, I thought I was doing it for me. But I didn’t realize that it might touch other people too.

Then I got this email from a woman in my SIGNED program.

I wanted to share why I picked you 🙂 When we first met I was explaining that I’d gotten lots of messages on LinkedIn. I read through and yours really resonated with me.

The reason is, because of my daughter. She is 22 and hates the word “gay,” she hates the word “bi,” and describes herself as being more open on the sexuality spectrum than others. She and I are very close and I love being part of her journey as she figures out who she is, who she loves, who she prefers.

I was drawn to you because I love the way you put the word “lesbian” out there, you are open about your wife. It’s so authentic, so real … and I have such respect for the self reflection I know you have been through to put all that out there. It’s real, it’s gritty and it’s wonderful. Thank you!

Being alongside my daughter as she has had to dig deeper than many others to find the courage to be real, has made me so appreciative of women (and men) who are brave enough to be authentic and who pave the way for others to do the same.

Being myself was why she chose me.

I don’t want to say something as uninspired as, “being yourself is a good business decision,” because it goes way beyond that.

When you run a business where YOU are the product, being able to be who you truly are extends well beyond dollars.

YOU will show up better for your clients.
If I had to hide the fact that I have a wife, then I’d essentially be going back in the closet. And ask anyone who’s been there: when you hide parts of yourself, you hold back in other ways. In the type of business you’re running, it requires YOU, and when you can bring all of yourself, you will get better results for your clients.

You will ATTRACT the people you want to work with, and REPEL the ones you don’t.
Not surprisingly, I don’t get a lot of inquiries from clients who think being gay is a sin. (And I am 100% OK with that!) I DO, however, attract clients who are open-minded, progressive, warm, intellectually curious, big thinkers, and lifelong learners – which is exactly who I want to work with. Why? Because that’s what I put out there. When you show up as who you are, you attract your people.

You invite TRUST.
When you can show up as your full self, you inspire the confidence that you’re comfortable with who you are, and you know what you’re doing. And that confidence and capability? Those are the ingredients of trust. And people want to work with people they can trust.

—-

I realize that if you’re reading this, you might not have this Big Life Thing to announce. But you don’t have to – you can show who you are in a hundred small ways.

Since I wrote that email, I’ve written about what my lifelong love of The Beastie Boys taught me about starting over, what getting into triathlon taught me about perseverance, and how I’ve had to overcome my “ghosts of corporate past” in order to fully step up as a business owner. It doesn’t take a huge admission to show up as yourself.

So HOW do you start being fully yourself in your business?

You do it with your words. Talk about life beyond your work or your credentials. Let people see the real you.

And let go of the marketing speak – say things like YOU would really say them. In your marketing, on your site, in your emails… just be yourself.

I promise you that every day in your business will feel better. And you will start to attract the people you really want.

Happy Pride month!

Leah

Hey! Real quick, our next Pack Your Pipeline Accelerator – my 21-day LinkedIn program to position you as an expert and start bringing your ideal consulting clients to you… kicks off TOMORROW at 1 pm ET! Don’t miss out! If you want in, click here to secure your spot now.

Hey, I’ll make this quick. We’ve had an incredible week over here: two max-capacity webinars (guys, I promise, we’re trying to figure out services that can handle more than 100 attendees at a time because you all are SHOWING UP and ready to learn).

And we’re kicking off our next round of the 21-day Pack Your Pipeline Accelerator tomorrow.

But the best thing that happened this week was getting this email below, from a student in the previous Pack Your Pipeline Accelerator.

I’ve been talking to so many incredible B2B consultants and coaches who want to be attracting more clients, and many want to know two things:

1. Will this program really bring my ideal consulting clients to me?

And…

2. How quickly?

So let’s look at this student’s results.

“Revenue from clients using LinkedIn since April 1, 2020: $27,741

That’s $27,741 in just over two months.

People joined my list (without any ad spend) since April 1, 2020: 180

That’s 180 of her ideal clients who signed up for her newsletter with no ad spend, in just over two months.

Fast results are awesome, and the cool thing is that this is just the beginning for her!

But the part that means the most? This part:

“I could never have bounced back from what was a very rocky start to 2020 without you and your team.”

If you’re like a lot of the women I’m talking to, you’ve seen some changes to your business and your clients in the last few months. And it’s left a lot of women feeling panicked about what to do now, and how to get the clients that will keep their business going and growing.

The solution to that problem, and that panic, is having a system that you can activate to get in front of the clients you want.

The women I work with – B2B consultants and coaches like you – aren’t afraid of doing the work. You just want to know you’re doing the RIGHT work.

And when you’re doing the RIGHT work, it shows. Just like my PYP student.

If you’re ready to join the incredible women who have already jumped into this round of the accelerator, click here before we start tomorrow!

To serious results for your business,

Leah

Hey! Real quick, this week I’m hosting free training on Tuesday and Thursday we’ll be talking about positioning yourself as an expert in what you do on LinkedIn, which, when your potential clients are looking for help, makes you the OBVIOUS choice. Scroll to the end of this email to pick a time and register. See you there!

I’m going to embarrass my friend and client Sherry Taylor for a minute here…

A few months ago, Sherry felt invisible online. She was doing her work with nonprofit clients, trying to build her consulting business…

But she felt SUPER uncomfortable putting herself out there. And so, she just wasn’t showing up…at all.

So while potential clients found her every now and then, she was basically invisible to the clients who she really wanted to work with.

She knew she needed to make changes. To be more visible. To step out as an expert who could REALLY help people.

And so she started using my proven LinkedIn strategy to start being seen by her ideal clients: Executive Directors of nonprofits.

And not only be seen – be seen as an expert in helping nonprofits pivot to higher donations. (So nice and specific, right?)

And guess what? Her clients started paying attention.

When she got her first email out of the blue from a nonprofit Executive Director who had been following her LinkedIn posts and wanted to talk, she knew things had changed.

That was just the beginning. She regularly gets invited to be a guest on webinars or to be interviewed on podcast. (In fact, just last week a podcast host reached out and specifically said it was because of the content she posts no LinkedIn.)

And now, when those Executive Directors reach out, she doesn’t have to convince them that she’s the consultant they should hire. They ALREADY KNOW she’s the one. The obvious choice.

I’m hosting a training this week to teach you exactly how you can be the obvious choice to your business clients as well.

You’ll learn exactly what you need to do NOW so you can start attracting your ideal clients in the next half of 2020.

I promise you: this training is NO FLUFF. You don’t have time for fluff. I’m going to be teaching you things you can implement the same day.

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to LinkedIn, or if you’ve been on there a while but never quite knew how to use it for your business. I’m going to show you how to set yourself up to showcase your expertise and start attracting your ideal clients.

The details are below- click the link to pick your time, and you’ll automatically be registered for the online workshop.

TRAINING: Become The Obvious Choice: How To Stand Out As An Expert Consultant on LinkedIn

Tuesday, June 16, 1pm ET / 10am PT CLICK TO REGISTER FOR THIS TIME
Thursday, June 18, 8pm ET / 5pm PT CLICK TO REGISTER FOR THIS TIME

(That’s not a typo! We’re really doing a training at 8pm ET / 5pm PT for the folks who are without childcare due to the pandemic.)

Now I want to hear from you: Send a message and tell me – in what field do YOU want to be seen as an expert?

Here’s to you becoming the OBVIOUS choice!

Leah

Hey! Real quick, I’m hosting a free training on June 16th at 1 pm ET and June 18th at 8 pm ET where we’ll be talking about positioning yourself as an expert in what you do on LinkedIn, which, when your potential clients are looking for help, makes you the OBVIOUS choice. Scroll to the end of this email to pick a time and register.

Have you ever said this phrase?: “I’m more of a behind the scenes person.”

I get it. You’re a do-er, right? When you worked for someone else, you were known as someone who got things done. You were recognized for your expertise, and you didn’t have to trumpet your accomplishments all over the place, right?

I used to say that too. I said it when I was heads-down in the advertising agencies where I started my career. In fact, when I ran my consulting businesses, I was behind the scenes then too, doing the work with our clients while my business partner was out and about… the face of the company.

Behind the scenes was where I was most comfortable. Doing the work.

This phrase, “I’m a behind the scenes person.”

To you, it probably means: “I’m best when I put my head down and work. I don’t need to be a celebrity. I can quietly do an amazing job for my clients and I’m not in it for the attention or recognition.”

And to the businesses that would love to hire you, who would love to pay you for your expertise, “I’m a behind the scenes person” means…

[crickets]

It means, nothing.

Because when you stay behind the scenes, your ideal clients have NO idea who you are or how to find you. You can’t be recognized for your expertise, and have clients seek you out for your expertise, if they don’t know who you are.

Listen, here’s the thing. If you want to be SEEN as an EXPERT, you have to be SEEN.

You have to show up and share your expertise, and how you think about things.
You have to talk about the value you provide your clients.
You have to get visible.
And you have to get visible where your ideal clients are.

It’s one thing if you’re behind the scenes when you work for someone else, and a lot of us spent years that way. I know I did.

But if you’re behind the scenes in YOUR OWN business? How are you going to be FOUND by the clients you want to work with?

If you want to be seen as an expert, you have to be SEEN.

Let’s make this the time you start being SEEN, and for that matter, being seen as an expert.

And once you make your expertise visible and let your potential clients SEE you… then when they’re ready to solve their problems, YOU are the obvious choice to work with.

No more feeling like you have to convince them to say yes. Because they’re already pre-sold on you.

Like Amy, whose client said in their first meeting, “He said he could tell I was an expert in this field and now that he has a need, he knew exactly who to connect with! YEAH!!!’

I’m hosting a training next week to teach you exactly how to do that, and I’d LOVE to show you how.

This training is all about positioning yourself as the obvious choice and expert on LinkedIn, which, if you work with businesses, is where your clients are.

You’ll learn exactly what you need to do NOW so you can start attracting your ideal clients in the next half of 2020.

I promise you: this training is NO FLUFF. You don’t have time for fluff. I’m going to be teaching you things you can implement that same day.

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to LinkedIn, or if you’ve been on there a while, but never quite knew how to use it for your business – I’m going to show you how to set yourself to showcase your expertise and start attracting your ideal clients.

The details are below- click the link to pick your time, and you’ll automatically be registered for the online workshop.

TRAINING: Become The Obvious Choice: How To Stand Out As An Expert Consultant on LinkedIn

Tuesday, June 16, 1 pm ET / 10 am PT CLICK TO REGISTER FOR THIS TIME
Thursday, June 18, 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT CLICK TO REGISTER FOR THIS TIME

(That’s not a typo! We’re really doing a training at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT for the folks who are without childcare due to the pandemic.)

Now I want to hear from you: Hit reply and tell me – in what field do YOU want to be seen as an expert?

Here’s to you being SEEN!

Leah