Entrepreneurs – Communicating Your Value Without Being Pushy , “Salesy,” or Over-Promising – 7 Ideas

Entrepreneurs – Communicating Communication is one of the most important skills entrepreneurs, solo professionals, and small business owners can use to get more clients and make more money in business. As a communication consultant and coach for small and home-based business owners, I get a lot of questions about communicating in business. One of the most popular questions goes something like this:

“How do I communicate the value of what I offer without being pushy, over-selling, or over promising the results of what people will get when they work with me?”
My answer is simple:

Don’t sell. Educate.

The best and easiest way to show your value is to regularly provide nuggets of information that are helpful and immediately applicable to those in your target audience. When you do this, you are demonstrating your knowledge and expertise while at the same time communicating value. Think about your favorite newsletters and ezines. You may read them because you know the information you learn will be something useful.

Ideally, you want to establish a relationship with your prospects by providing them with useful information. One key to succeeding at business is timing. Some people interested in what you offer may not need your services at the time they discover you. But if you continue to provide useful information and communicate the value of what you provide, when they are ready, they will remember you.

Here are the top 7 ways to educate your clients and prospects with free bits of information your readers can use that will help communicate your value:

1. Write articles:

You can write articles to attract people to join your subscription list, certainly. Then, once they’ve joined, keep in touch with them regularly (at least once a month) with an information-packed article.

2. Public speaking:

Anytime you speak to groups, provide them with information they can use even if they never purchase your products or services. If you’re introducing yourself to a group at a networking meeting, for example, give them one quick tip. They’ll definitely remember you if your tip is useful to them.

3. Teleseminars Entrepreneurs – Communicating:

Offer free teleseminars to your subscribers filled with useful content. People have come to expect teleseminars will have some sales component to them. Yet, if most of your teleseminar contains valuable information, people will welcome the sales message to hear how they can learn even more in-depth details.

4. Tip of the Week Entrepreneurs – Communicating:

If you feel intimidated by writing a full article, ezine or newsletter, then don’t! Just send one simple tip each week. I have a business where I teach married couples communication skills and every Friday I send my subscribers a short tip. That’s it. Simple.

5. Social Networking Entrepreneurs – Communicating:

Visit groups where your ideal clients “hang out” and look for questions about what you can help with. Provide a content-rich (not “salesy”) answer. Laura Wheeler, owner of Firelight Web Studio, site builder and search engine optimization expert, is a member of a social networking forum I belong to. Whenever anyone posts a “what do you think of my new website” question, Wheeler provides a detailed response explaining what works and what doesn’t on the site and why. She’s picked up a lot of business from that alone.

6. Free Reports or White Papers:

Write a 7-12-page short report or even smaller 2-3 page white paper about a topic of interest to your audience and give it away. You can do this in exchange for your audience’s email address so you can continue to provide helpful information over a period of time and begin to build a relationship.

7. Free e-course Entrepreneurs – Communicating:

If you have an auto-responder like Aweber or IContact. You can easily set up a 3-, 5- or 7-part e-course showing your subscribers step-by-step how to do something important to them. Most of my subscribers have signed up for a 5-part e-course in communication and credibility. I chose that topic because credibility is one of the most important aspects you need to communicate in order to make money as a small or home-based business owner.

There are many variations on these ideas. So get creative. my business I’ve noticed the more valuable free stuff I give away, the more money I make. Because people can easily see the value in what I offer both for free and later for fee. It’s all about effective communication in your small business.

Regardless of the method you choose. Effective communication with your clients and prospects is the key to making your business successful. The first thing you need to communicate– and continue to communicate — is your credibility. Without credibility, your business will go nowhere. With it, you’ll automatically attract new clients and see positive cash flow.