getfocus, Author at Focus Guru

Why It’s Important To Be Yourself

There are an estimated 7.8 billion people living in the world today. It’s no wonder it feels so hard to stand out in the crowd. If you weren’t who you are, who would you rather be? I’d like to share with you why I believe it’s important to be yourself and why everyone matters, no matter how old, young, tall or small.

You might think being yourself should be the easiest thing in the world. Yet so many of us hide behind a veil or mask. We sometimes present a shadow of our true selves or portray ourselves as something we’re not. The impressions we make on others can be dictated by childhood events, relationships we’ve been in or life changes we’ve gone through.

We may be afraid of showing our true nature in case we are ridiculed, or walked over, or distanced from friends, family, colleagues or business associates. We might want to fit into a circle of friends or be visible in social media groups. To conform, we change. It could be a change in vocabulary, dialect or accent. It could be a change of clothes, car or holiday destination.

Some changes are so subtle you might not realise how far from your true self your alter ego has travelled. Just stop for a moment. Have you done anything recently that felt out of the ordinary, something you wouldn’t usually say or do? This could be a sign you’re not being true to yourself.

When you’re being yourself and when you feel comfortable being yourself, that’s when you can flourish and grow. However, if you continually supress your real thoughts and real emotions it can be draining and stressful, especially if you don’t think your opinion matters or you’re not being heard.

Being yourself means people get to see the real you. They’re not seeing a fake version of you.

Being yourself means you don’t have to act up or act down. Your true friends and clients will stick with you for who you are, not who you’re not.

Being yourself means you can set your own goals and celebrate your own achievements. You don’t have to compete with anyone else to succeed.

Eventually, if you have been wearing a veil or mask, cracks will show. It’s not possible to maintain your cover indefinitely. You will get found out. It could be an innocuous comment or a trail on social media and someone will notice you don’t own three homes and a Ferrari, even though you were adamant you did.

It’s much easier to be up front, genuine and real to begin with. Being yourself, mentally, socially, spiritually, emotionally and physically adds up to the person you truly are. If you want to make changes that’s ok, but keep being yourself.

Through Focus Guru I help small business owners find their inner image and help them to be themselves at work and on social media. I help individuals and teams draw out key skills buried under layers of veils and masks. If you would like to find out more, book a free 15-minute chat, but remember to be yourself.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way with no Squirrels

Are You Avoiding Making Phone Calls To Potential Customers?

Does your business rely on making phone calls to sign up new customers? It’s possibly one of the easiest ways to chat with potential clients, yet many people would rather run a mile than pick up the phone.

This is where chatting through the problems with telephone calls can make a big difference.

In my Focus Guru Power Hour I explore the reasons why making phone calls as a marketing tool is often perceived as futile, forgotten, or even frightening, for some business owners and their employees.

Are Phone Calls Futile?

A client recently said to me they don’t use the telephone to follow up enquiries because it’s a waste of time, that no one answers the phone anymore, they don’t know what to say if they have to leave an answerphone message, no one rings them back, etc. We chatted about their phone call strategy and how to include phone calls in their daily routine.

I recommend allocating a portion of your day to picking up the phone, especially if you’ve recently been to a networking meeting when your company, products and services will be fresh in someone’s mind. Just as you’d rehearse your 40 second introduction, I recommend having a short sentence or two ready in case you have to leave a message. You’ll be surprised at how many calls are returned and how successful phone calls can be.

Are Phone Calls Forgotten?

With social media readily available, the idea of actually making a phone call might be a long way down your list of methods to make contact with customers. Unlike messages, texts and emails, a phone call is one of the quickest ways to reach someone and a great way to get an instant answer.

I recommend aiming to make 5 to 10 phone calls each day. Some calls might be 40 seconds leaving a voicemail. Other calls might take 10 minutes or longer. If you can prepare a list of questions in advance to ask your potential customer then you’ll be able to guide the phone call and draw it to a conclusion, perhaps with a sale or a referral.

Are Phone Calls Frightening?

It’s not unheard of for someone to be scared of using the phone to speak with potential customers. Fear of rejection and fear of failure are common reasons why people are reluctant to pick up the phone. If you’ve just started a new job and are worried about speaking with long-standing clients, or if you don’t know answers to product or service questions, you might prefer to send an email or social media message, and that’s ok.

But, if you can conquer your fears, then there’s a whole world of potential customers out there. I recommend standing up to make important phone calls, to take a sip of water before you dial, to speak slowly and clearly and remember to breathe. Another tip is to reward yourself for small wins. Remember, making 1 phone call is a big achievement.

To find out more about using phone calls in your marketing strategy, please contact me for a free 15-minute no obligation phone call to chat about you, your company and what you would like to achieve. It’s easy to use phone calls as an effective sales tool. Let’s get started!

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way with no Squirrels

Are You A Confident Networker?

Would you describe yourself as a “confident networker”? Are you someone who looks forward to going to networking meetings, or do they fill you with dread? Just like Sales or Marketing, Networking is a skill you can learn, refine and upgrade throughout your career. At Focus Guru, I work with business owners and employees, teaching key networking skills that make a real difference.

Be a confident networker online or off line

Most people have been to a face-to-face networking meeting at some point. Whether it was through choice or recommended by the boss, you might have found yourself attending a sitting down breakfast meeting or a “mix and mingle” walk around the room meeting. While sitting and standing networking have pros and cons the key networking skills remain the same.

In my Focus Guru Power Hours I cover the key networking skills in more detail, however these are my Top 5 Tips for building confidence when attending online or offline networking meetings.

5 tips to being a confident networker

Tip 1 – Know Your Product Inside Out

It might seem obvious but having detailed knowledge of your product or service is essential to ward off difficult questions or embarrassing pauses. If you are asked something unusual, a tip is to thank the person for their question, say you’ll need to research the answer, make a note so you remember after the meeting, and send them the answer at the next available opportunity. It can also help to have a handful of “set phrases” you can reel off to answer common questions.

Tip 2 – Stand Tall And Project Your Voice

If you’re sitting down, stand up when it’s time to deliver your 40 seconds introduction, and speak a little slower and a little louder. This makes sure you have everyone’s attention. It also helps those who are hard of hearing or lip reading. If there are other conversations going on, it ensures your message gets through. In online meetings, it pays to do a sound check on your microphone before the meeting starts and always remember to unmute yourself before you speak.

Tip 3 – Smile And Be The Positive Person

A genuine smile goes a long way in networking circles. Being known as a positive person goes even further. Life is tough and running a business can be even tougher, but if you can share a good news story, find something cheerful to say, make a compliment, or even deliver a “good morning” with a smile, you’ll find people are drawn to you. This forms the “Meet” and “Like” in the 4Networking mantra “Meet, Like, Know, Trust”, the foundation of friendships and business relationships.

Tip 4 – Involve Others, Even Your Competition

A confident networker isn’t scared of the competition. Even if you’re a travel agent and there are three other travel agents in the room, it’s not a problem. The confident networker sees the competition as an opportunity for collaboration, outsourcing surplus work and taking on new clients. You might want to mention another networker in your introduction, someone you’ve helped or who’s helped you. It shows you are a well-connected person, a “go-to” person, which again draws people towards you.

Tip 5 – Look For Your Target Customers

While you’re waiting to talk about your business, listen carefully to how the other networkers introduce themselves. Is there an opportunity lurking in their 40 seconds? I recommend making plenty of notes about who you’d like to speak with, either in the meeting or afterwards. If you sell books to children, who are the parents in the room? If you deep clean houses, who are the estate agents or landlords in the room? If you’re an accountant, how many people will need to submit tax returns this month? From working with clients in different industries over the years, I know this tip alone has brought in many new opportunities for them.

Bonus Tip – Follow Up

I cannot recommend following up enough. It’s the key to forging friendships and the foundation of business relationships. A simple email after the meeting, a text message or a phone call, is all it takes. If you would like help organising a structure to your follow-ups, installing a CRM system, or simply having an Accountability Partner to make sure you do your follow-ups, please contact me and I’d be happy to help.

I offer a free 15-minute chat to talk about what you want to achieve from networking with the opportunity to follow this up with a Focus Guru Power Hour tailored to your needs.

Book your Focus Guru Power Hour now and let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way with no Squirrels

New Business Process have you implemented one?

Starting a new business can be a complicated minefield, especially if it’s your first business venture after a lifetime of employment. You’re setting things up from scratch and no-one’s telling you what to do, how to do it or when. A new business process is a structured way to start your business the right way.

A Focus Guru Power Hour will help you get the right processes and procedures in place.

To help new business owners, especially those starting MLM businesses. I can provide a no-nonsense look at effective and proven strategies to manage your productivity, energy and time. I’ll help identify your time thieves, brain drains and squirrels. I will show you software and tools to make the most of your working hours. Not sure what I mean by Squirrels, then check out my blog “Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel! How to Beat Your Distracting Squirrels”

I give you control of your time, freeing up hours so you do the things you really want to be. It starts with the “Right Attitude”.

New Business Process – Right Attitude

I believe everything starts with the right attitude and it comes down to the way that you speak to yourself. If you say, “it’s too difficult” or “I haven’t got time” or “I’ll do it tomorrow”, your brain listens and the task becomes more difficult, time consuming or never gets started. Equally, don’t listen to the nay-sayers and negative people who, if you let them, will erode your positivity.

“The right attitude starts with confidence and self-belief.”

New Business Process – Track Your Progress

Almost anything within your business can be tracked, monitored and adjusted where necessary. At Focus Guru I help business owners track everything from tasks, to time, to sales, marketing and accounts. Everything is measurable eg visual charts / graphs gives you an overview of your current and projected workload and finances. Would you like to know how much time you give your number one client each month? Or whether you’re on target for this week’s sales? I can show you software tools and apps to measure your progress and I will work with you to help you stay on track.

“Without tracking, how do you know how you’re doing?”

Outsourcing

It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting your business or have been running multiple companies for years, at some point you’ll find you can’t grow while trying to do everything yourself. You’ll either run out of time, or energy, or both. At the same time the quality of the products or service you’re providing may suffer. Consequently your customers may leave to go elsewhere. I work with business owners to identify key areas that can be outsourced. Review and set up safety nets. You will see how much you’re saving in time or money compared with doing the tasks yourself.

“Never outsource something you don’t know how to do yourself.”

Not sure how you could chose what to outsource, check out my blog “How A Time Intensity Grid Will Help You Choose What To Outsource”

These are just some of the tips I give you in the Focus Guru Power Hours. If you’re starting out in business or fancy a fresh look at how technology could save you time and money, please book in a free 15 minute call.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way with No Squirrels

How To Follow Up Your Networking Meetings Efficiently And Effectively

How many times do you go to networking meetings each week? At each meeting you’re likely to see twenty people or more. Over the course of a month you might have made over a hundred contacts. But how do you know who will buy from you? Do you need a Focus Guru Power Hour to help build an efficient and effective follow up system?

It’s not as complicated as you might think. Some of the clients I’ve worked with are amazed how easy it is to connect with people from meetings they attended today, last week or even last year. It’s never too late to follow up.

If it’s that easy, why don’t more people do it?

If it’s that easy, why don’t more people follow up after a meeting? Have they sold a product or service to everyone in the room? Has everyone bought from them already? Are they too busy? Or are they procrastinating, thinking it’s too difficult, too complicated, or not going to make a difference?

With only a small percentage of people following up from a meeting I can guarantee it will make a difference. The simple act of sending a message, email or card to someone you met at a networking meeting shows your attention to detail and that you care about them as a person.

I explain more about this in my Focus Guru Power Hour, showing you efficient systems and software you can implement to simplify your follow up process and to make it much more effective.

These are three of my top tips to help you get started:

Follow up Tip 1 – Make a note of who was at the meeting

When you make a written record of who attended the networking meeting it’s much easier to remember who you have met. I recommend making a note of each person’s first and last name, their company name, email address, website and a summary of the products and services they offer.

If you can also collect any extra information, such as their location, dog’s name, favourite car, last holiday, or other detail, this can kickstart a conversation in the future.

Follow up Tip 2 – Connect with the attendees via social media

Don’t wait for other people to connect with you. Be proactive and send a greeting. Ask to connect with each person via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If you don’t know what to write, try using these template messages (you can copy/paste or change the text):

“Hi, It was great to meet you today. I’m sorry we didn’t get to chat in the meeting, would you like to arrange a 121 to share more about what you do?”

Or, if you had a 121 and want to continue the conversation, try this instead:

“Hi, It was great to meet you today. I enjoyed our 121 chat during the meeting, and I would like to continue our conversation. Would you like to arrange another 121 with me this week?”

If you wish to personalise the message, include their name and the meeting you both attended.

Follow up Tip 3 – Be proactive and arrange the follow up call

After sending your connection requests and receiving the replies, now is the time to arrange those follow up calls. One of the popular methods for keeping control of your time whilst making yourself available for clients and prospective clients is to use an online calendar appointment booking app such as Calendly.

With Calendly you choose when you’re available and send a link for people to book your time. You may find this uncomfortable at first, but the app provides a structure to arrange your working hours. Booking specific timeslots helps you and the caller to focus on the call objectives, whether to get to know each other better, to arrange a future meeting, or to close a sale.

Bonus Tip

Remember, the follow up conversation isn’t supposed to be a sales call. The purpose is to get to know the other person and turn a stranger into a friend. If this sounds odd or unfamiliar remember the saying that “people buy from people they like, know and trust”.

If you’d like to find out more about follow up calls, how to record prospective customer details, how to set up Calendly, or any stage of the follow up process, please book a free 15 minute call let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way, with No Squirrels!

Top 5 Tips for Successful Networking

Would you like more leads? More enquiries? More sales? To find your next customer you might consider attending a business networking event (nothing to do with computer cabling), where business owners and decision makers get together to talk about products and services. Maybe we’ve already met at a 4Networking face-to-face or online meeting.

Also ask yourself, do people actually know what I do?

When running a business, it’s essential to be able to explain what you do as easily and quickly as possible. Being able to describe your business in 40 seconds in an interesting and engaging way is important, especially when meeting new people at 4Networking meetings.

When you’re in a room with 10, 20, 30, 40 or more people from local, national and International businesses, it can be difficult to stand out. It can be harder to stand out if you are in the same industry as someone else in the room. It’s not uncommon for two web designers to attend the same event, or two electricians, or two accountants.

My top 5 tips are:

Successful Networking – Tip 1 – Be You

It sounds simple doesn’t it? Be You. There’s no need to change who you are and those who do soon get found out. This means don’t over-egg or exaggerate but equally don’t undersell yourself or make light of your achievements. Brad Burton, founder of 4Networking, says: “Be you, because you can’t be anyone else.”

Successful Networking – Tip 2 – Everyone is Nervous

Yes, even that person centre stage talking confidently to anyone and everyone. They were nervous once. It takes practice to be confident at anything and networking is no different. Equally, look for those who seem nervous, speak with them, make them feel comfortable. They’ll thank you for it and could even become your next customer. Also make sure people know what you do. If you are unsure how to do this check out the blog I wrote called ” What Do People Think You Do And Are They Right?”

Successful Networking – Tip 3 – Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

I call this “Know What To Expect”. Anything you can find out in advance about the venue, parking, toilets, coffee station, whether you can bring a roller banner, offer samples or advertise an event is always helpful and these details can usually be obtained from the meeting organiser. Some meetings have a structured format, and you may need to prepare a 40 second introduction or elevator pitch. Arriving in plenty of time is a good way to avoid nerves and help you relax and enjoy the meeting. If you struggle with timings, check out this blog I wrote called, “Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel! How to Beat Your Distracting Squirrels”

Successful Networking – Tip 4 – Relax, Smile, Enjoy the Meeting

It’s often said that “People Buy From People They Like” and one of the best ways to be approachable is to be relaxed, smiling and welcoming. A friendly “hello” can make a big difference to someone who’s nervous or attending the meeting for the first time. When you’re relaxed it shows in your face and your voice. Take your time delivering your 40 seconds introduction, remember to breathe, speak slowly and clearly and take a sip of water before you start.

If you’re struggling pick up the phone to whoever invited you, explain you feel nervous and they should address you’re concerns. If even picking the phone up is out of your comfort zone, check out my blog “How you can easily overcome a lack confidence when speaking on the phone.”

Successful Networking – Tip 5 – Don’t Ignore the Follow Up Process

Whether you’re networking online or offline a key part of your networking process to gaining new customers is closing the sale. By this, I mean following up with your potential customer and asking for their business. Unless you’ve made a sale in the room, you’re going to need some sort of follow up process otherwise it can quickly get out of hand. If you attend 4N Online meetings you might meet 20 people in a meeting, perhaps 150 people in a week. How are you going to measure the success of the meeting? How will you know who to contact afterwards? Do you have an effective sales process, a CRM system, or is it all in your head and handwritten notes?

If the answer is “no” please contact me for your free 15 minute chat and find out more about which Focus Guru Power Hours would help your business.

Bonus Tip – Focus on One Thing

Try to focus on one piece of information you want people to remember about you and your business when you deliver your 40 second introduction. It can be hard if you have multiple businesses, have a “side hustle” or “wear many hats”. But, trust me, 40 seconds is just the start of your conversations with people in the room and there will be plenty of time later to let everyone know what you do and why they need your products and services.

I expand on these tips and much more in my Focus Guru Power Hours. For a free 15 minute chat about your business and any areas you’d like to discuss, book your call today.

New Year, New Start – What Are You Changing?

There’s something about the new calendar year that triggers a sudden flurry of activity. It doesn’t matter how hard you worked until the end of the previous year. You quickly forget how many sleepless nights you spent worrying about your work, family or health. As the clock strikes midnight on the 31^st of December it’s as though the slate is wiped clean and a new year brings a fresh new start.

The 1^st week of January is the perfect time to announce your “New Year, New Start”. By letting others know what you intend to do, you make yourself accountable to them and to yourself. Writing down your targets and the steps to reach them re-enforces your good intentions and makes your goals much more likely to happen.

So, my “New Year, New Start” question to you is:

What are you changing?

Is it something at work? Or at home? Do you want to expand your business? Or plan a holiday?

Everyone has a different goal, but many goals have similar skills you’ll need to achieve them. I can help you discover your hidden strengths and use proven strategies to motivate you to finish the variety of projects you’ve started.

I’ve changed and launched my power hours.

I do this through my Focus Guru Power Hours. These are sixty minutes of targeted business focussed knowledge, systems, processes and skills that will fit into any part of your day.

“Rachael’s understanding of my needs and concerns gave me the support I needed to overcome my blocks.” – Elissa Dobson

How does it work?

Your Focus Guru Power Hour begins with a straightforward, no nonsense conversation. You don’t need to prepare anything and there’s no need to take notes as I’ll send a report with action steps afterwards.

You can choose which Focus Guru Power Hour suits you best or combine Power Hours to sharpen multiple skills. For example, you might choose the Focus Guru “Outstanding Content” Power Hour alongside the “Hootsuite” and/or “Mailchimp” Power Hours.

Or if you’re struggling with overwork or overwhelm, the Focus Guru “Time Management” and “Overwhelm” Power Hours could be for you.

“Rachael has been amazing helping me set up mailing campaigns for my Sammy Rambles books and dragons! I feel confident I can send my own mailshots after my Focus Guru Power Hour.” – Jenny Leggott

The first step is to choose your Power Hours and you’ll see areas from social media, technology, general business and niche areas. Each Power Hour is 121 via Zoom and available for you or a member of your team to participate.

Focus Guru Power Hours:

Streamyard
Calend.ly
YouTube
Hootsuite
Mailchimp
Time Management
Procrastination
Overwhelm
New Business
Zoom
Outstanding Content
Follow Up
General Networking
Track Your Finances

Remember, you can combine Focus Guru Power Hours. Would you like to improve your Zoom or Streamyard knowledge? Maybe you’d like to combine this with a General Networking Power Hour or New Business Power Hour?

Focus Guru Power Hours will help you learn a new skill or enhance your existing knowledge in a variety of business sectors. To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please arrange a free 15 minute call and let’s get started.

How Being Consistent On Social Media Is One Of The Keys To Business Success

Nobody says being consistent is easy at first, but I will promise you that it makes a big difference. Just think about the most prominent brands on the market and you’ll spot they all have something in common. They are consistent. They’re always on your social media radar and through Focus Guru I’ll show you how you can do the same for your business too.

It doesn’t matter whether you make and sell your own products or services, or if you’re part of a network marketing team selling pre-packaged items, being consistent in your marketing and on social media makes a huge difference. If you’re part of a network marketing team, perhaps with Arbonne, Utility Warehouse, Forever Living, Enjo, PartyLite, or Tropic, you might already be using your company marketing material and upline support.

But do you use your marketing tools consistently?

Are you posting on social media regularly?

Have you made the most of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs and Email to attract new customers?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, please contact me. If you would like more sales, please contact me and I can help. To do this, I’m offering a free 15 minute chat for business owners to help uncover anything which may be stopping you from being consistent in your social media.

“A quick phone call with Rachael has led to a page of notes with ideas and steps to take to help both of my Wedding and Kids businesses take a step forward!” – Charlotte Elizabeth

The free 15 minute chat may uncover areas in your personal life which are be preventing you spending time on business activities, and vice versa. For example, through the chat we may discover you’re more productive in the morning, perhaps there is less stress or fewer interruptions. It makes sense to keep this time free to complete your core activities, the “big rocks”. Equally, if the chat identifies you’re carrying out the school run ten times a week, don’t count on these hours to write your weekly newsletter.

In the Focus Guru Power Hours I’ll help identify your “best hours”, the times during the day where you can carry out the marketing tasks to propel your business towards a consistent social media presence. I’ll cover how to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs and Email consistently, without any stress or overwhelm. Having a consistent approach pays off in many ways.

“Definitely worth a phone call, Rachael had thought of marketing ideas I hadn’t even considered or thought of!” – Charlotte Elizabeth

Building consistency into your marketing has far-reaching and sometimes unexpected results. It can take many contacts with a prospective customer before they are ready to buy from you. Estimates range from two or three contacts to more than twenty times. That means someone may need to see your marketing message twenty times before they buy from you.

I help make the process of being consistent really simple and easy to implement. Taking out a Focus Guru package makes sure your marketing message is delivered on time each day or each week in front of your targeted customers. You can choose exactly when and where your social media marketing is posted and if you need help writing the content, I can arrange this for you too!

To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please contact me on 07756 772950 and let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Are You A “Messy Desk” Person And Does It Matter?

Albert Einstein is famously quoted as saying, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

and there’s certainly evidence to support a theory that a messy desk belongs to someone with a streak of creativity, thinking outside of the box ideas, an entrepreneur or inventor, perhaps even someone with a touch of genius.

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”

But if your messy desk is causing you stress or overwhelm, don’t panic! I can help. I won’t be able to tidy your desk for you, but I will empower you with real strategies to tackle the mess, to become more organised and show you how to restore order to chaos. I do this through Focus Guru Power Hours, where you’ll learn key skills to apply in your business and at home and achieve your goals.

“Rachael has great ideas and a fantastic system for getting yourself organised. Certainly worth a conversation to explore options.” – Sharon Broer

How Desks Get Messy

For some people, the flat surface of a desk becomes a magnet for clutter. It can only take a few minutes for a coffee cup, unopened post, receipts hastily scooped out of a wallet, a phone charger, loose papers and a multitude of other items start balancing one on top of the other. There comes a point when you don’t know if your desk is black or white or made of wood or metal, because it has vanished out of sight! Was there a mouse and keyboard somewhere under the clutter?

Possible Consequences

Loss of time is almost certainly a possible consequence. How long does it take you to find your car key, a client’s phone number, or the agenda for your next meeting? Not keeping on top of your paperwork can lead to losing client enquiries, failing to attend meetings and missing important deadlines. But it can also lead to feelings of anxiety, stress and depression. You may find you experience a tension headache, or backache. A messy desk also attracts dust, dirt and mould.

How To Change

In my Focus Guru Power Hours I will help identify the messy triggers in your life. Without fail, there is always a reason why you don’t file your receipts, or you have random phone numbers written on post-its. I can teach you systems and processes to manage clutter so that it doesn’t build up unmanageably. I will recommend strategies to make sure you don’t run out of time or energy to keep on top of things. The key skills are “Organisation” and “Accountability” and in your Focus Guru Power Hour you’ll learn exactly how to put these in place.

Why It Matters

Decluttering is proven to make us feel good. It’s satisfying to feel on top of clutter and mess. This doesn’t mean you can’t still have a coffee cup on your desk, or that you have to move every piece of paper into a filing system (or the bin). It’s about creating a positive working environment to enable you to sit at your desk, knowing what needs to be done, by when, and freeing up your time to pursue your goals.

Your Next Step To Achieving A Tidy Desk

I’ve mentioned Focus Guru Power Hours where in sixty minutes we’ll chat and I’ll guide you through proven strategies to improve your organisation and accountability skills. You’ll find the benefits reach far beyond whether your desk is tidy or cluttered. These are strong habits you’ll be forming to help you achieve more in your work and personal life.

Those goals you thought were out of reach will become achievable and the best part is you don’t need to leave your desk to participate! I offer a free 15 minute consultation to establish where you would like to start and give you a choice of Focus Guru Power Hours to help solve your most pressing problems.

To book your free 15 minute consultation, please contact me on 07756 772950 and let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Mailchimp Training – Make Your Mailshots Work For You!

Focus Guru Power Hour Mailchimp Training – Make Your Mailshots Work For You!

Sending a personalised email is still one of the best ways to communicate with your customers. Whether you want to talk about a new product or service, relay industry news or share a special offer, sending an email gets your message directly in front of your customer at any time of the day or night.

There are several ways you can set up an effective mailshot and through Focus Guru, I recommend using Mailchimp, the easy-to-learn software that gives you full control of your mailing list. You can create emails to go to every customer, or set up custom tags, for example to email people you met through 4Networking, or at a trade show, or those who haven’t bought from you for a while.

“I was really impressed with Rachael’s knowledge of Mailchimp and how she helped make it really easy to keep in touch with my customers.” – Jenny Leggott, Transcend Zero

A number of my clients are using Mailchimp to send out a weekly newsletter promoting their services and announcing time-limited special offers. The response rate is excellent and Mailchimp includes a comprehensive dashboard so you can see at a glance how many emails have been opened and who has clicked on your links.

Armed with this level of detailed information, follow up messages can be sent, phone calls can be made, deals can be done, and sales can come flooding in. In your Focus Guru Power Hour covering Mailchimp Training, I show you from start to finish how you can make the most of your list of business contacts.

How does it work?

In your Focus Guru Power Hour, I’ll show you how to set up your Mailchimp account, or if you already have an account, we’ll start in the “Contacts” section. I’ll help you add your contacts and tag them in appropriate categories, which will be used time and time again to match the right contacts with the content you want to share with them.

For example, if you have 1000 email addresses, you can sub-divide your contacts into places where you’ve met, or services they are interested in, by location, or any demographic you choose. Sending relevant content to the right people will automatically increase your read response rate and reduce unsubscribe requests

We’ll run through a test email and then set up a real-world campaign so you can begin using Mailchimp straightaway. Or you can schedule your email if preferred. I’ll show you how the Mailchimp Scheduler enables you to send emails at your chosen time, on your chosen day.

Following the Focus Guru Mailchimp Training Power Hour, some clients choose to send their emails using the scheduler, for example regularly emailing their targeted customers first thing on a Monday morning. Others prefer to only send emails when something happens in their business or business sector.

The final step is the analytics, where I show you how to analyse and act on the response from your email campaign. This is where you can assess the effectiveness of your email. How many people opened your message? Who clicked on a link? What happened next?

“I’d definitely recommend the Focus Guru Power Hours to anyone who wants to learn more about Mailchimp and set up their own campaigns.” – Jenny Leggott, Transcend Zero

If you would like to book a Focus Guru Power Hour on Mailchimp Training, please contact me on 07756 772950. I also offer Focus Guru Power Hours on using Zoom, Hootsuite, online calendars, plus building organisation, networking and accountability. Let’s get started!

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way