One of the biggest challenges of being a business owner is juggling ALL the balls.
You’re the website creator.
You’re writing social posts.
You’re managing customer service.
You’re writing proposals.
You’re even the finance, HR, and operations departments all rolled into one.
So, you probably find it hard to also carve out the time to work on making connections when you have so many priorities screaming for your attention.
There is SO MUCH TO DO every day, that making connections to grow your business might be on the bottle of your long to-do list.
But, cultivating the right connections is an ESSENTIAL part of growing a SUSTAINABLE business. And it can be easy (and not awkward).
The Right Connections Are Waiting for You…
Today I’m making it easier for you to find the right connections for YOUR business.
The right connections can lead you to…
- More of your ideal clients
- Great suppliers that save you money
- Speaking opportunity or publicity to get the word out about your
- Resources that will finally allow you to do that next thing you want to do, like host your online course or develop that new service that you’ll be able to charge more for
- Business besties that you work with and can get support from so that you never feel like you’re doing it alone
When you’ve got great connections — people who GET you and understand what it’s like juggling all the balls and doing all the work to grow a sustainable business — business becomes so much easier.
You’re no longer left feeling like you’re shouting into a vacuum when you have something new to promote or talk about.
Or that you have to make hard decisions while flying solo.
If you want to make connections and learn how to speak up and talk about your business, show up more for your ideal clients and feel like you have a support network that gets what you do and can refer clients to you, I have something that can help.
This is a resource usually only available to members of the HerBusiness Network. But, it’s such a powerful tool for all women, that I want you to have access to it today.
It’s called The Connection Statement® and it’s how we help women inside the HerBusiness Network to speak about their business without feeling salesy or slimy.
When you have this you no longer feel like you’re oversharing or stumbling when asked to introduce yourself. And it helps you get new clients. find suppliers, get publicity, create a waitlist of people read to do business with you, and more.
Maybe you’re thinking: “I don’t have time to network, Suzi”
The good news for you is that I’m not talking about networking or networking events.
Nope. I’m talking about a way to bring the right people around you who can open doors for you that are closed to everyone else who can make the knowledge, connections, resources, and opportunities available to you exactly when you need them.
And here’s the other good news, you don’t need to do all the things. Or show up to all the events. I don’t. I never have.
Focusing on a few specific ways to make connections may be the solution for you. And it starts with creating your Connection Statement.
Make Connections While You Sleep
Your Connection Statement helps you make connections while you sleep because it can be doing the legwork for you 24/7 in your email signature, on your website, on your social platforms, in proposals… in so many places.
Women inside our HerBusiness Network are getting new clients every single day because they’ve crafted, practised and refined their Connection Statement®.
For example:
Stephanie Barros is a certified high-performance coach and founder of a business called Igniting Your Spark. When Yahoo! News interviewed her, the media picked up her Connection Statement® and used it right in the first paragraph of the story in which she was featured.
And this has happened more than once for Stephanie. Her Connection Statement has opened up numerous publicity opportunities and avenues to do business.
Member Debbie Mynett of CanDo VA Solutions has reported this:
“I’ve just had my biggest month in my 18 months in business. I signed three new clients last month and am now BOOKED OUT for the foreseeable future. I may even need to look for a subcontractor. This morning I met seven people and two converted to clients, and two others are getting back to me.” ~ Debbie Mynett, CanDo VA Solutions
It’s how member Frances Pratt of Metisan – has done over $30,850 in business with other members. She says that “the transactions come from the relationships”. By showing up regularly inside of the Network, Fran builds those relationships. She uses her Connection Statement to turn connections into clients.
The Connection Statement makes it easier to show up and talk about your business because you’re never on the back foot, not knowing what to say.
One of the things that we teach inside of HerBusiness is the idea of speaking up more. To get new clients, you need to speak up and ask for the sale and introductions or referrals. But, when we’re not confident about HOW to speak about what we do compellingly, we can be afraid to speak up.
When you’re an introvert, and you’re required to speak up it can be awful! That’s where the Connection Statement® really comes in. It puts you at the top of your game because you finally have a succinct way to introduce yourself – every single time.
The Connection Statement® works because of its simplicity, but getting it “spot on” takes practice.
Practise Your Connection Statement and Get Feedback
When we run our monthly Member Roundtable events we go through the exact framework, and women get to practice with each other — and of course, build connections along the way.
Members have multiple opportunities to get feedback on their Connection Statements and to practice in small groups, making their Statements punchy, succinct and clear over time.
Your Connection Statement won’t be a hundred per cent there when you first start to use it, but with just a little practice, you’ll get it working for you.
- You’ll articulate your ideal client.
- You’ll express the pain or problem that you solve.
- People will get what you sell without their eyes rolling to the back of their heads!
- You’ll tell people how you work succinctly and effortlessly.
Practice, practice, practice, your Connection Statement®. Update it, refine it, and let it evolve. Then use it to show up, speak up and lift up again. This is what underpins the HerBusiness Network, and our membership community. This is how you become known, liked and trusted in any community you belong to.
So, how do you get a hold of this Connection Statement?
I’ve made a template for you.
The Connection Statement Template takes you through the four parts of the Statement. I give you examples so that you can model your statement on the successful Statements that members of the HerBusiness Network have created.
Before you download the template I’d like to take you over the four important elements of your Statement. And while this process might seem straightforward, naturally embedded in the process, four key elements will form an essential foundation for you.
Before creating our Connection Statement first, we need to identify those four things. The first thing is…
- WHO is your ideal client?
- And… what is the PAIN POINT or PROBLEM that they are experiencing that you can help with?
- WHAT exactly is your offer that matches that ideal client. What do you sell?
- And… what is the unique way in HOW you deliver your product or service?
So, let’s break down what that means…
#1 – YOUR “WHO”
Before you can get more clients, it’s important to know WHO you will target. And even though you may have several different ideal clients, there’s likely a particular type of person most suited to your product or service and how you deliver it. Because when we don’t have a specific type of client in mind, we can waste time spending our time and attention on the wrong people.
#2 – THE “PAIN POINT OR PROBLEM” YOU SOLVE
The second thing we need to know before we can truly communicate our value is the PAIN that our ideal client is experiencing that we can help them with. We also want to identify the results that we can get for that ideal client – the result that alleviates the pain.
#3 – YOUR “WHAT”
Next up, we look at WHAT you SELL that gets RESULTS for your clients. When we know and can communicate the results we can get for a client, we have the makings of our offer – what it is that we want to sell them. And when we can package, name, price and bundle our offer in a compelling way, we can stand apart from the competition and have more people say “yes” to buying from us.
#4 – YOUR “HOW”
The fourth thing we need to know before we can communicate our value is HOW we get results for clients… the specific method by which you deliver your product or service. For example – do you have a brick and mortar store, or do you have an eCommerce store? Do you go into corporations, or have people come into a clinic, do you run online workshops, or do you have a monthly subscription that people can join?
Here are some examples from the HerBusiness Network
Amey Lee of Heart Content is really clear that her ideal client is a small business owner who is confused about their positioning and messaging.
So in the HerBusiness Network, she started speaking up, and she got really good at explaining what she did…
Here’s what she said…
“My name is Amey Lee. My business is Heart Content, and I work with passionate business owners to build and implement “brand story” strategy so they can amplify their message and attract their tribe. I do this through brand story, content strategy and copywriting services.”
Here are a few more great examples.
“I help first-time property buyers and investors purchase property confidently by assisting them with their loans, and by providing education and support including online training.” ~ Louise Lucas, The Property Education Company
Felicity Brown lives in Broome. She makes hats, but NOT for anyone who has a head on their shoulders. She makes hats for women in rural and regional areas who otherwise don’t have a lot of buying choices.
Her Connection Statement is:
“I am a Milliner and I create bespoke headwear for rural, regional and remote women who are attending a special event but have limited access to retail stores, or opportunities to shop. I offer one to one consultations both in-person and online, and I showcase my collections by exhibition, through my online store, and as the Milliner on the Move.”
So good!
Louise Davis works inside of large corporations. She says:
“I help HR Managers (in organisations of 200+ people) develop succession ready leaders.
I do this by helping their managers transition into leadership through my Manager to Leader Method Program delivered virtually and face to face.
Now it’s your turn.
TIP: Stay very single-minded when doing this exercise.
Create your Connection Statement for one specific WHO, PAIN/PROBLEM, WHAT and HOW.
And go ahead and grab your Connection Statement template here.
Using this Connection Statement makes your introductions work EVERY time… no confusion…. No false starts and re-explaining.
I can’t wait to hear yours.
The Connection Statement is a registered trademark of HerBusiness Pty Ltd.
