The music world is going goo goo over Lady Gaga. She’s the hottest act out there and there are branding lessons you need to know from her, even if you don’t follow her music.

Lady Gaga

She came from nowhere to become a headline act, top album on the charts, performance on American Idol and a meeting with the Queen of England. “I”m a fan,” she told the Queen. If you came from nowhere, you won’t end up nowhere, if you follow some of her blueprints.

How can you get so far, so fast? Here are three lessons learned.

1. Create a great name. She wasn’t born Lady Gaga. She created a name and an image. You can’t change your name, but I’ve seen many people start to use their first names only (if it is unique) or create a nickname or monicker, like “America’s Success Coach.” Be bold, not trite.

2. She has a gimmick. She never wears pants. No, she’s not naked, but she captures your imagination with “what will she wear next?” She pushes the envelope. In some ways, this is exactly what Liberace did with his sequined suits and what Elton John did with is costumes and eyeglasses. She picked up a gimmick that other performers used but added her own unique twist. You don’t need 50 different outfits. But find what makes you unique and show the world.

3. She’s not afraid to toot her own horn. Many professional service providers are afraid to do this. Sometimes its because of professional ethics, sometimes its because they are shy. Do what you can — like send out press releases and court the media – and you’ll probably eclipse everyone else in your field.

Follow these tips and maybe one day you’ll meet the Queen, or at least get a few new clients.

Do you need help with your branding? Give me a call or send me an email (dan @ prleads.com) or check out the great tools at PREADSPLUS.COM and let’s see if we can work together.

Most entrepreneurs consider it a lucky day when they make a sale. Even better if the client buys a recurring program, like a subscription to a service, like PRLEADS or a coaching program that meets every month.

But many entrepreneurs don’t realize they might be leaving money on the table.

Growing Your Business

“Most of your prospects, even your customers are not aware of all the services and products you have to offer,” says Mark LeBlanc, a small business success coach based in Minneapolis and author of “Growing Your Business” and the soon-to-be released “Never be the Same.”   “They do know about the product they bought, but that’s about all the know. Many small business owners fail to let clients know about all the ways they can be of good service.”

4 Reasons Clients Don’t Know What You Can Do

1. They are focused on the one product or service they bought from you.
2. You focused on selling one solution and they bought it. Everyone was focused on that one service.
3. Talking about multiple products can lead to confusion. The confused mind does not buy. So most entrepreneurs keep the discussion focused on one product or service that the client needs most.
4. You didn’t tell them that you can do other things.

While it is important to keep the initial sale focused so the prospect makes a buying decision, entrepreneurs should realize this is the start of the relationship, not the end.

3 Reasons Clients Want to Buy More of Your Services

1. People like to buy from people and companies they trust. Since they are using your products and services, they will trust you. Capitalize on that trust.
2. Companies like to buy from a single source. It is easier on their bookkeeping systems to have a single-source vendor.
3. As you get to know the client, you will uncover new ways to help them.

So why don’t entrepreneurs try to sell more services?

Three Reasons Entrepreneurs Don’t Make More Sales

1. They are afraid of appearing “pushy, greedy or salesy.” These thoughts are all misguided. Think of how you can add value to your clients and you won’t focus on these negative thoughts..
2. They are lazy. It’s easy to count the money and rest on your laurels, so you don’t tell the clients about new services.
3. They are afraid of being rejected.

How can you ring up more sales by selling more services to your current clients?

Three Ways to Get the Word Out So You Make More Sales

1. Tell them. If they don’t know, they can’t buy.
2. Get over your fears of failure, rejection or being a pest. Instead, tell yourself that you are doing your clients a favor by letting them know about all the good things you can for them and all the great ways they can benefit. An old sales maxim says “the first sale you make is to yourself.” If you believe in your services, you will find it easier to tell your clients.
3. Practice. The more times you say your message, the easier it will be to communicate with clients.

You can let clients know about your new services by email or by phone calls. You could even do a teleseminar or webinar so you can communicate with many people at one time. If you record the session, you can post it to your website so it can help explain your services.

“It’s a constant educational process to keep your customers aware of your entire menu of programs, products and services,” says LeBlanc.

If you follow these steps, you’ll do more than make more money – you’ll help more people!

Find out about OUR new services at PRLEADSPLUS.com

Publicity thought leader Dan Janal coaches entrepreneurs and small business on how to build profits withlow-cost Internet marketing and publicity tactics via individual and group coaching sessions. For information go to www.PRLEADSPLUS.com

1.    It doesn’t matter how you start. It matters how you finish. The games started with a death and glitch with the torch. They ended on a high note. Life and business are long-term propositions. Brian Tracy says that everyone who is at the top of their profession was once a newcomer who knew nothing. But they read to get smarter, worked with coaches to get better and, eventually, they triumphed.
2.    Don’t get discouraged by initial setbacks. Canada wanted to be the all-time winner of medals. In the first few days, they looked in danger of falling way short. At the end, they had more gold medals than anyone else. Have you invested a lot of time and energy but see disappointing results? Don’t give up. Success is just around the corner.  Keep your eyes on the prize and don’t be dejected by momentary setbacks.

3.    Sacrifice. Every Olympian seems to have endured a lack of time, lack of resources or lack of money. In other words, they are doing exactly the same things that you have done to build your business. To me, you are my Gold-medal hero.

Interested in having me coach you? Check out www.PRLEADStoPROFITS.com for details.

Are you sabotaging your publicity program?

Many people shoot themselves in their feet when it comes to creating and executing their publicity programs.

After 9 years of running PR LEADS and dealing with more than 4,000 people, I’ve seen it happen time and time again for many different reasons.

Join me in the 45-minute teleseminar to learn how to overcome the 12 self-sabotaging shortcomings that speakers, authors, entrepreneurs and small business people do day after day.

By attending this session, you’ll be able to conquer the inner fears that have been holding you back from getting publicity. You’ll also develop essential skills in getting the publicity you deserve to sell more products and services.

Here’s the info:

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009

Time: 1 p.m. Central Time

2 p.m. Eastern

Noon Mountain

11 a.m. Pacific

Length: 45-60 minutes

Investment: $10 fee will go to the Humane Society of America or other “No-Kill” Animal Shelters.

If you can’t attend, we will send you an MP3 file with the complete recording.

Click here to register:

http://www.prleads.com/stopsabotage/register

About your instructor:

The Los Angeles Times called Dan Janal an “internet marketing expert.” He’s written six books on publicity and marketing for John Wiley. An in-demand keynote speaker, Dan Janal has spoken everywhere from Beijing to Budapest. He has taught at Stanford and Berkeley. He is an award-winning daily newspaper reporter and business editor and was on the PR team that launched AOL. Other clients include the National Football League, IBM and The Reader’s Digest. He provides coaching and consulting services to a select number of qualified clients.

Publicity gets results! Here’s a great story that should inspire you!

"I sincerely believe that the PR I’ve gotten through PR LEADS has lead me to this successful conclusion to sell SpeakEasy — now on to my next trick!" wrote Myelita Melton, CEO, SpeakEasy Communications, Inc., www.speakeasyspanish.com

Myelita Melton, SpeakEasy Communications’ president has studied languages since adolescence. At 17 “Lita” entered the prestigious Instituto de Filológica in Saltillo, Mexico.  Later she continued her studies and completed her MA in French and Curriculum Design at Appalachian State University.  Her teaching ability was nationally recognized in 1989 when she was awarded a prestigious Rockefeller Scholarship and used it to produce a documentary film in Europe for PBS.  In 1994, she was named Who’s Who Among Outstanding Americans.  As an educator, Myelita continues to be a consultant to community colleges and corporations in the southeast region.

Myelita’s corporate experience includes owning a television production firm, working with NBC’s Spanish news division Canal de Noticias, and Charlotte’s PBS affiliate WTVI. Currently, in her spare time, she works as an announcer at WDAV, Classical 89.9 FM, an NPR affiliate near Lake Norman, where she lives.

Myelita is a recognized leader in language and cultural diversity training. With her enthusiasm, voice and sense of humor, she never fails to attract attention– and to keep it! She is a natural educator and a born motivator, who continues to develop quality educational programming as president and founder of SpeakEasy Communications.

Shane Ellison, "The People’s Chemist" sent me a very nice note today and I thought you’d like to see it.

"I’m really loving PRLEADS.  Dollar for dollar, nothing compares.  I’ve been featured in several top end magazines from Womens Health, OnFitness to Rocky Mountain News.  Thanks!"

 

Shane Ellison is "The People’s Chemist." He has a BS in biology from Fort Lewis College and an MS in organic chemistry from Northern Arizona University. Dissatisfied with Big Pharma’s aggressive push for 24/7/365 drug use and their unwillingness to acknowledge natural medicine, he abandoned his career as a medicinal chemist for Array BioPharma and Eli Lilly to start Health-FX Nutrition, an on-line nutraceuticals company that offers scientifically sound nutritional supplements free of fillers, sugars and artificial flavors. In his background as a chemist in graduate school and industry, Shane specialized in the design and synthesis of amino acids, peptides as well as hormone replacement and anti-cancer drugs. As an undergraduate, he was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his studies in biochemistry and physiology. Experience taught him a great deal about the effects of drugs on the body and the healing relationship we all have with naturally occurring products.

Shane doesn’t follow trends, hype or medical dogma – just results. With his keen ability to sift through scientific literature and weed out fact from fiction, he has empowered thousands to assert their health freedom by saying "no" to prescription drugs (aka disease care) and yes to natural medicine and a health-promoting lifestyle.

PR LEADS is the “Program of the Week” for My Success Gateway.com, a site that helps provide great information for entrepreneurs and small business.

You can listen to my 35-minute podcast with Jim Peak by going to this page:

http://www.mysuccessgateway.com

The program will go live Thursday morning, February 21, 2007.

If you are not a PR LEADS client, you’ll learn how this terrific service can help authors, experts and solopreneurs get publicity in major newspapers and magazines for a very low cost. You’ll hear about several case studies of our clients who have made money by getting publicity. You’ll also learn how the media likes to be contacted and how to write materials that get their attention.