16th Ave Creative Studio

View Original

#10: Beyond the Marketing Buzzwords: A Conversation with Hayley Robertson

Samantha Bell
See this content in the original post

Listen + SUBSCRIBE on Apple Podcasts + Spotify

Are you ready to sidestep marketing misconceptions and build a bulletproof strategy?

That's exactly what you'll get from my enlightening conversation with Hayley Robertson, the innovative founder of My Client Strategy. With her wealth of experience and insightful perspective, Hayley shares her journey from the corporate world to launching a successful online business, and her passion for supporting service-based business owners. Her ability to leverage the pandemic-induced digital shift is not only inspiring but also packed with practical advice you can implement right away.

Our chat peels back the layers of the often-misunderstood world of marketing. Hayley cleverly demystifies marketing, sharing her secrets on prioritising business activities, crafting stand-out strategies, and identifying your ideal target market. We also dissect the importance of packaging and pricing your services effectively, and constructing compelling messaging that sets you apart from your competitors. From an intriguing look at market research to competitor analysis, our talk serves up a feast of tactics to hit the right audience with the right message.

But that's not all, as we delve into the power of email marketing and networking.

Hayley underscores the importance of positioning yourself as a guru in your field, and the magic of a solid marketing strategy. She also offers sage advice on sidestepping overwhelm and the value of surrounding yourself with a supportive network. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just setting out on your business journey, this conversation offers a wealth of wisdom. Tune in and prepare to see your business through a fresh lens.

Main Points

  • 0:04 Starting an Online Business

  • 8:19 Getting Your Packages and Pricing Right

  • 10:28 The Importance of Getting Help Early

  • 12:44 You Don't Have to Be Perfect!

  • 13:46 Misconceptions and Strategies in Marketing

  • 19:37 Marketing Is Not Sales! The Difference Explained

  • 24:01 Effective Marketing Strategies for Business Growth

  • 28:10 Know Your Competitors

  • 30:26 Growing Your Audience

  • 31:43 Networking

Do you have BIG Dreams?

Download the
Brilliant Business Beautiful Life Playbook
and start designing the business and life you deserve today!

Links and Resources

Did you enjoy this episode?

I’d love to know your biggest takeaway from today’s episode and how you can take action today in your life. Pop a comment below!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to hit that subscribe button wherever you listen to the Brilliant Business Beautiful Life podcast and be sure to share it with someone else who may also find it helpful and inspiring.

Plus, I’d be forever grateful if you left me a review. I read each and every one and love hearing from you.

Thank you so much for being here! I look forward to seeing you for the next episode.

LISTEN + SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS + SPOTIFY

The Brilliant Business Beautiful Life Podcast is dedicated to you - because you deserve the business – and life -
of your dreams!

PS. Download the Brilliant Business Beautiful Life Playbook and start designing the business and life you deserve today!

LISTEN + SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS + SPOTIFY

Hi, I’m Samantha Bell

I’m all about helping you build the business – and life – you’ve always wanted.

Listen in for the simple, actionable strategies, mindset shifts, and practices you need to make your business thrive. Plus, a healthy dose of self-care, health, and wellness so you can live the life you absolutely adore while building your beautiful business.

recent episodes

See this gallery in the original post

CHECK OUT THE TEMPLATE STUDIO

See this gallery in the original post

Transcription

Samantha Bell, Host, 00:04

Welcome to the Brilliant Business, beautiful Life podcast, where we share simple, actionable strategies plus the mindset and wellness practices you need to build the business and life you love. Head to 16thavecreative.com/playbook and download your free guide to design the business and life you deserve, today. I'm your host, Samantha Bell, and this is the Brilliant Business, Beautiful Life podcast. Are you ready for the business and life of your dreams? Let's get started.

00:36

Today I am talking with the lovely Hailey Robertson, the founder of my Client Strategy. Hailey is an amazing MBA, qualified marketing coach and business mentor, and she founded my Client Strategy in 2018 after more than 15 years of working in the corporate world. So she's got lots of fabulous experience and advice to bring to you today, and her business is all dedicated to teaching service-based business owners just like you how to develop your marketing strategy, your systems and the structure you need to attract consistent clients and grow your business easily, and that's what this podcast is all about. So I know you're going to get a lot out of this episode Now I've actually worked with Hailey myself so I can speak to how awesome she is. So welcome, Hailey, and thank you so much for joining me today.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 01:32

Thank you, Sam, for having me on. It's very exciting to be here.

Samantha Bell, Host, 01:36

Yes! I love having you on. I've been looking forward to this. So before we dive in, I'd love our audience to get to know you a little better. Can you share why you started my Client Strategy and what you love most about your business?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 01:54

Yeah, sure. So I started my Client Strategy back in 2018 after working, as you said, for more than 15 years in corporate life. I had a number of senior sales and marketing roles, all in service-based industries, and was enjoying kind of the work, but not necessarily the demands and some of the inflexibility I think that comes with having a role in corporate life. So I had been studying part-time as well, doing my MBA, and when that came to a finish in 2017, I was really, I think, starting to look around and wonder kind of what the next 10 or 15 years was going to look like, and I just couldn't see that it was going to be in corporate life. So decided at that point I was going to start my own business. I didn't know exactly at that point in time what it was going to be, but I just knew that it wasn't going to be in corporate life.

02:49

And I probably spent that next 12 months really working in the background on what my business was going to be, what I was going to help people with, and so I had a few things in place before I launched but was sort of spending that time really planning and preparing to leave my corporate role and start my business. So yeah, as I said, about 12 months after making that decision, I left and started my client strategy and taken a few twists and turns, I guess over the last five years, in terms of what I provide for clients, but really wanted to be working with service-based businesses. That was my area of expertise. I guess that's what I knew and what I knew I could help other people with and using those sales and marketing skills that I gained to really help other people learn how to attract the clients that they wanted to be working with.

Samantha Bell, Host, 03:41

That's brilliant and I found it interesting that you had a really long view. You mentioned you were looking at and thinking about the first 10 to 15 years. That's quite unusual. You don't hear people talking about that length of time Initially. They just think about the first, you know, couple of years. So do you think that was really critical in setting up a successful business? Looking at having that deeper strategy in mind?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 04:11

That's a great question! No one's ever asked me that before, but, yeah, definitely. I think that was a really big part of why I decided to set up as an online business, because I knew that you know some of the things that I kind of were passionate about and what my values were aligning around, and it was really about having the flexibility to travel. I have a lot of family that live interstate. I don't live close to my immediate family, and I'm actually from quite a large family, so I always enjoyed travelling around Australia and going and visiting all of my family and friends, and so having that flexibility and being able to take my laptop and work online from wherever I was was a really important part.

04:51

But I also think I was looking at what was going to be the way that people were working into the future and I really thought back in sort of 2017, 2018, there was a real opportunity for online businesses to start evolving, particularly in the service-based space, because I think up until then, a lot of e-commerce businesses were kind of the focus for online, but not necessarily in the kind of coaching or consulting or courses, those types of services. So I was really looking forward to what kind of business model was going to be working into the future and I think in those early days it was a little harder to convince people to jump on a Zoom and get advice and not travel to a meeting. But the COVID pandemic obviously just forced everybody a lot quicker and a lot faster, I think, into that online space. So, whilst it was a very difficult period for small business to go through, for my type of business it actually was a fairly smooth transition because I was already set up online.

Samantha Bell, Host, 05:51

You were a bit ahead of the curve there, Hailey. I think you had a really good foresight into where business could go, but you know, most people only thought about that during the COVID, you know, when we're in the midst of it. And so, yeah, you were already up and running and heading in that path.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 06:13

So that, yeah, I was very fortunate in that space to be kind of set up and ready to go and try to do things easily, and it has given so much more opportunity to people starting their businesses.

Samantha Bell, Host, 06:25

And you can have such a wider reach too, because you don't have to stay within your kilometre zone of being able to reach them.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 06:34

That's it. The reach gives you a lot more opportunity, for sure.

Samantha Bell, Host, 06:39

And when you started your business, My Client Strategy, back in 2018, how was that experience for you? Were you Like, obviously you'd put a whole lot of thought into it, and you'd done that planning for the first 12 months. But when you actually got into it, did you know what you were doing? Did you have that solid plan in place, or were you still just trying to piece it all together? What was that like for you?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 07:09

Yeah, it was a lot more difficult than I think I had anticipated. When I look back on it now and I think initially I spent a lot of time trying to make sure everything was being put together well and it looked good. And I think there's a little bit of hesitation when you start first up to put yourself out there because you're worried about what other people might say or think when they see what you're doing, and it can be quite confronting, I think, to stand up and put your name out there and your photos and all of those types of things. I spent a lot of time, I think, trying to make sure it all looked good and look perfect. I guess it gave me the confidence to get out there a lot, perhaps slower than what I should have perhaps been in terms of getting out there, but I guess you can always look back and wish there was something else that you could have done differently, and I think my strength was in marketing.

08:04

So I did spend a lot of time in the marketing space and trying to get myself out there, build my audience, start marketing myself, and probably I think the hardest challenge I had in those early days was actually working out how I was going to make money.

08:19

So putting my services, my packages, my offers together was something that took a couple of goes. It sort of didn't come sort of straight away. And I would say to anyone else who's out there and trying to get their business off the ground or have left corporate life and trying to start their own business is really spend some time thinking about your business model and your packaging, your pricing and what kind of clients you really want to be working with as well. Because I think initially I decided that I would consult with the my networks and try and create business that way and what I found was that a lot of my network was actually still working in corporate life. So my whole desire to leave corporate life meant that I actually had to go and build a whole new network. So I did have to pivot a little bit in terms of what I was going to do, because I soon realised that consulting back into corporates was not really going to align with what I was trying to achieve.

Samantha Bell, Host, 09:17

It would have been counterproductive and kept you stuck where you were trying to leave.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 09:21

Yeah, yeah. Twists and turns, I think, in terms of trying to work out exactly what my offer was, what I was selling and how I was going to make money in my business, that was probably the biggest challenge that I did face.

Samantha Bell, Host, 09:33

And how did you overcome that? Was it through a bit of trial and error, once you discovered that, oh, I'm talking to the wrong people here, and I need to have a different network and get yourself out there in a different way? How did that look?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 09:51

Yeah, definitely. I think there was a fair bit of trial and error. I mean, you have to put things out there before you can understand how they're going to land and what kind of response you're going to get back from it. So putting it out there made me realise what I didn't want, and so then, when it came to building what I did want to do, that was a bit more of a process of really stepping back, having a look at my marketing strategy and working out where some of my gaps were and then finding someone to help me in terms of what I actually needed to do to be able to create the kind of business and the kind of business model that I wanted into the future.

10:28

So from there, I actually did go out and invest in a couple of different training programs and some coaching just to get on the right track and make sure that I wasn't kind of spinning around in circles just trialling and testing things. Because the biggest problem I think with the trialling and testing is it just takes a lot of time and so when you go to the income coming in, it can start. It can start to build some of that pressure. So anything you can do to get that help to move you forward faster. It can only be beneficial.

Samantha Bell, Host, 11:00

I think that's such an important point you make, because I know a lot of my clients, they say they've been spinning their wheels, like you said, and not just for a short time, it can be for a number of years. Some people have said three, four, five years that they've been trying to piece it all together and then they come to someone like yourself, a business coach, or marketing mentor, and then they start looking at other services to help them do what they've been trying to figure out. And that's the turning point. That's when their business starts to take off because they get a bit of direction and clarity around how to pull it all together. So, yeah, so that would probably be key. Do you think to start a new business getting that advice early rather than waiting?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 11:50

Yeah, and I think a lot of that comes from having had success in our own careers up until that point and being able to make progress and get promoted and be successful in corporate life. You kind of feel like you should be able to just pick that up and replicate that in your own business. But it is very, very different to be working in your own business than what it is to be working for someone else, and I think there's a lot of realisation that kind of comes, that you are doing something new, you're doing something for the first time and you haven't run a business before. So the expectation that you should know what to do, I think is perhaps a little bit misguided for people, because you've never done it before, so why should you know exactly what to do?

Samantha Bell, Host, 12:40

That's it. Yeah, it puts on a whole lot of pressure.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 12:44

It's about being easy on yourself and taking some of that pressure off, because often it is ourselves that are putting the pressure on ourselves to say you should be able to do this, you've been very successful in your corporate career, you think you should be able to just run a business. But it's a very different skill set. It's something you've never done before, so you can always test and trial things and there is a time and a place for doing that. And definitely it is something that you should be trying early on, because you don't know what's going to kind of work and click and get a response from your audience, but at the same time, if you want to get there faster, definitely that help can really boost that along.

Samantha Bell, Host, 13:22

Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. I did the same. I was like you at the beginning. Just you know, piecing it together, working things out, and then you know, eventually getting advice from you and from other people as well, and that really made all the difference and just yeah, it changes the game big time. Marketing is such a hot topic all of the time and there are so many different schools of thought on what's best, what's what works, what doesn't. But there are a whole lot of misconceptions in the marketing world which are quite confusing to people. What do you feel are the biggest misconceptions, and how would you advise people in the right way when they hear these things?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 14:13

Absolutely. There's so many different ways to market your business and I think that's where a lot of the overwhelm, the confusion, comes for people around what type of activities should I be doing and what's going to work for my business and you know, where do I even start is often a question that I get from a lot of people because they might have trialled a few things in the past and it not worked, or they maybe had some success in some areas but then tried it again a second time and it didn't work as well. So there is a bit of up and down. I think when you go through those early days when you're marketing your business, and I think some of the I guess, time consuming places that I see people focusing on when they perhaps couldn't do it, it's more about people doing things, I guess, in the role order. So a lot of people will skip ahead and look at the marketing activities that they're doing. So what are they actually doing to make themselves visible, to be out there in the market? So things like, you know, social media, posting every day, networking, SEO websites, blogging, podcasting all of those types of activities that actually get you out there in the market. A lot of people are using those kind of activities to try and generate sales, whereas a lot of those actually work best when you're trying to build your audience.

15:35

So being really, really clear on what you're actually trying to do with the marketing activities that you're putting out there will help you to see the type of results you're looking for. And I think people kind of have this conception that if you do one type of activity it will work for generating sales and getting clients. Often that's just one piece of the puzzle and you can see other businesses doing that and thinking, well, why aren't I getting the same results as that other person? I'm doing exactly what they're doing. The thing is you're not seeing all of the other things that they've built in and around that that are actually supporting that one activity.

16:10

So marketing is generally a number of different activities kind of linked together and all underpinned by a marketing strategy as well. Before it even gets to that activity stage about you know what you're going to say on social media or what you're going to post this week or what you're going to write your blog post about. If you haven't kind of done the foundational and the strategy pieces first, it does make getting a little bit more ineffective in terms of perhaps you're saying the wrong thing, or maybe you're right in the wrong area, or maybe you're just targeting the wrong people yeah, which is what I found. So, having some of those foundations in place and doing things in the right order, you'll find that you'll move forward a lot faster and a lot more effectively as well.

Samantha Bell, Host, 16:58

So finding the right or creating the right strategy. That's where a lot of people come undone, isn't it? Because, again, they hear different ideas about what a strategy is and quite often they'll think this whole strategy is just posting on social media or that that's not a strategy, is it? That's a component of the overall piece.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 17:23

Yeah, that's kind of what you do with your strategy at the end of it. And I think the word strategy is thrown around a lot and added to the end of a lot of different types of marketing activities. And you're right, posting on social media isn't a complete strategy. It's a part of a strategy in terms of what channel you're going to be using to get your message out there. When I talk about marketing strategy with my clients, I really bring it back to three things at a really simple and starting point is looking at who you're going to be targeting. So selecting an area of expertise Some people call it a niche, some people call it their target market Really deciding where you're going to position yourself to be able to speak to a particular type of customer.

18:09

That's really the first part of it.

18:12

The second part of your strategy is working out what your offer is or what you're selling, so making sure that you're packaged and priced in the right way that's going to appeal to that audience, also enabling you to build a sustainable business where you're getting paid what you're worth and being able to grow that.

18:27

So that's the second part, and the third part is then looking at your messaging and making sure that you're communicating really clearly who it is that you help, so your audience, what it is that you do, so what it is that you're selling. And then, thirdly, what your point of difference is, or how you're going to stand out. So really getting clear on why someone should work with you and not with your competition and putting that into your messaging is the way that you're going to stand out. So just to summarise again I know we talked a bit about marketing strategy it's really about who you're going to work with your niche, what you're going to sell them, so what your services are. And then, thirdly, how you're going to message that and how you're going to stand out with your unique selling point or your point of difference. So those are the three things that you really need to focus on first, around your marketing strategy and getting those right.

Samantha Bell, Host, 19:15

And that's where most people that are struggling with their marketing are falling down, because they don't have those three things in place.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 19:23

Yeah, yeah, I see a lot of people just skipping ahead and posting on social media, but it's not underpinned by the strategy that actually makes sure that they're communicating the right message to the right people with the right offer.

Samantha Bell, Host, 19:37

That's it. And marketing and sales are quite often put in the same bucket, aren't they? But they're two completely different entities really, but they're very closely intertwined. How would you explain that to someone who thinks they're the same thing or is using them as the one strategy?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 19:57

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's a great question because you're right, they're very closely linked, but they are very distinctive activities that are happening in your business. So when I think of marketing, it's really about how you're building visibility and awareness and building your audience with the right kind of people. So you're wanting to make sure that you've got qualified leads coming into your email list or into your Facebook group or your Instagram community, wherever it is that you're growing your audience. So those types of activities that you're doing, they are very much marketing activity. So it's about building your audience so that when you do your promotions, you've actually got an audience to promote to. So very important doing that.

20:41

When it comes to sales, it's more about how you're engaging with that audience and bringing them along the big journey.

20:49

So when it gets to the point where you're actually having a sales conversation whether that's a discovery call or providing a proposal or giving someone a quote you're having the conversation in a way that helps to match what offer you're providing with, what pain point or problem they're trying to solve, and the sales process is really about making sure that you're presenting that information in a way that clearly explains to people how you can solve that pain point or problem that they have and then making sure that you've got the systems and processes in place so that you have a really smooth conversation and the next steps are really quite smooth as well.

21:27

So, whether that's going through agreements or payments or onboarding, just making sure that that whole process is really clear and the next steps are really clear for people. Because when you have that in place as well, it shows people that you're a professional business but also that you're really confident in what you're selling. Because if you don't believe in the offer that you have and what you're selling and that can help other people, then they won't believe in you either. So it really starts with you building all of those sales elements in place as well, but shows that you're really confident, that you know that you can help this person to solve the pain point that they have.

Samantha Bell, Host, 22:05

And that's because most people are very uncomfortable with the sales element. They don't want to come across as being sleazy or whatever, but you come across as being genuine just by being confident, can't you? And that's not sleazy at all and it just gives people the confidence in you to purchase from you or do business with you. So marketing is basically the hook and the sales is the conversation. To go on from that initial interest and get them to do business with you, plus the technicality of pulling it all together.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 22:40

Yeah, yeah, it's really about matching the two, I think. So making sure your market is bringing the right people in and that your sales process brings the right solution to the table and shows people that there's a really good match here between you have this pain point that you want to solve and I have this solution that I know is going to help you to solve that, and bringing those two together really well.

Samantha Bell, Host, 23:03

So earlier we chatted about the misconceptions in the marketing world and how confusing it can be for people. Some of the other things they get confused about is choosing what they're going to focus their marketing activities on. So what would you recommend to people that are trying to figure that out?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 23:24

Yeah, great question. So if you're getting started and you've done the work around your marketing strategy so you understand who you're trying to talk to, what you're selling them, also how you're going to message and talk to these people, so you've got some clear kind of marketing messages developed, the next stage is really to understand where you can put that messaging in a place where your clients are already hanging out. So it can be quite expensive and quite time consuming if you're trying to build your own audience, so you might be running ads or maybe you're just trying to do it organically and it's feeling really slow. So if you can get into a place and start getting your message out there by using either somebody else's audience or by showing up in a place where you know people are already looking for your type of services, then you'll find that you'll connect a lot faster, so you'll get in front of the right people a lot faster. You will have to work on your messaging to be able to stand out, to make sure you're cutting through all the noise and all the other competition that's there. But just to give you some examples if you are a business that people already knows exactly what you do so if you are a hairdresser, or if you're a plumber or a yoga instructor or a physiotherapist someone that people automatically know exactly what it is that you do and they're just trying to get that service. Those kind of people are often just going to go to Google to look for that type of business. So, making sure that your website built, that it's SEO friendly, maybe you're looking at some Google ads. But if you're that type of business and also where you've got a really local audience, where it's only people in your local area that are going to be coming to you, making sure you've got your Google my Business profile set up or I think it's called Google Business Profile now but having those things in place is going to be really important for your type of business.

25:16

If you're a different type of business, though, where people might not know exactly what you do or they might be still wanting to do a fair bit of research, or the other one is where they're spending quite a lot of money, people will want more information before they're ready to make that kind of purchase. So they're probably going to be doing a lot more searching on social media, on Google, talking to family and friends, maybe talking to business colleagues, depending on what type of business you have. So in that sort of scenario, what you're wanting to do is make sure that you're building yourself as the expert in that space so that when they're going looking for that information, you're showing up with the answers that's going to help them to get to the position where they're actually ready to buy. So one is kind of like an active purchaser. So those people that go I just need to find a hairdresser that's in my local area they're very active. They know exactly what they're looking for.

26:10

But if you are someone that's looking for, you know maybe it's a $30,000 cruise that you're thinking about buying you know you're going to want to find a travel agent that knows what they're talking about. You're going to be doing a lot more research. You know you're going to be wanting to look up some blogs or listen to some podcasts or get some advice from family and friends and networks. So just think about the way I think, in which people will buy your services whether they really understand what it is that you do and then you'll be able to help you to decide okay, well, where are those people going and looking for that information? Or where are those people going and looking for that type of business and making sure that you're actually showing up in those areas.

26:47

And I think if you haven't had your first client yet or you're still trying to build that consistent pipeline of business, then making sure that you're putting all of your energy into that type of activity to find clients and get in front of people who are ready to buy is going to help you to build your business a lot faster than then kind of just doing everything because you think you're supposed to be doing it.

27:08

So I think that's probably the best you can give to people is think about how people would actually go go about buying your services. And if you don't know that, it means you need to go and do some market research as well. So ask people how did you find you know that person that you were looking for? Where would you go and look if you were looking for my services? That's going to give you that insight that you need to be able to decide. This is not kind of any one specific answer, I think, for people to kind of you know, go and find the silver bullet when it comes to marketing, but it's just thinking about how your customers are shopping.

Samantha Bell, Host, 27:42

Yeah, you've got to keep it really strategic to your particular circumstances and what you offer, don't you? And market research. I know a lot of people feel uncomfortable doing that. Don't like doing it initially, but it's really where the gold is, isn't it? You really get a deep understanding of your audience and you really target what you do to match what they need or what they want is underrated.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 28:10

It is, and I think it's kind of one of those activities where you feel like you're doing a heap of work but not seeing any immediate results out of it, so it feels like it's a bit of a waste of time, but it's it's definitely not. It's one that you need to do thoroughly to get the right kind of information, and it can make a massive difference to your business and and the other one. Alongside target market research is also competitor research. I see a lot of missing that step and not understanding you know what everyone else is doing, or where they're priced or what kind of services they're offering, and that insight can can really make or break your business.

Samantha Bell, Host, 28:46

Hmm, and competitor research? It's probably important to note that it's not about looking at them to try and replicate what they do. It's looking at them to try and work out what they're doing well or poorly and how you can have a point of difference. Is that what you would class as some good competitor research?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 29:10

Yeah, I think you're doing two things with your competitor research. One You're actually validating that there is demand in the market. So if you can find competition doing exactly what you're doing, that means that yes, you're on the right track with your offers and your services. So it just validates for you that you're you're on the right track.

29:27

If you can't find any competition in your space either, you've got a very unique product that has potential and you may have to spend a fair bit more time kind of educating your buyers on what it is that you do. But also it may also give you a bit of insight to say perhaps you need to have a look at refining some of your services and your offers if you're far away from what everybody else is doing, because I've already gone and tested the market. So in some ways you can kind of piggyback on their market research already. But I think the second thing competitor research does, like you said, it's actually working out how you can do it better or differently. So it's not about being the same. If you're just the same, you're not going to stand out.

Samantha Bell, Host, 30:08

That's exactly right. That's exactly right, so you got to do it. And that's marketing, standing out. Standing out and being noticed in your particular way. So when you're marketing your own business, My Client Strategy, what areas do you spend the most time on?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 30:26

Yeah, so I spend probably a bit of time growing my audience. That's always kind of in the back of my mind that I have activities going all the time to grow my audience, because if you want to grow your business, the more people that you have coming into your business All the time is it is one way to help you grow. So my content marketing strategy, my social media, some of my SEO activity on my website those kind of activities are all really geared at growing my audience. That's a very big part of it. I also spend a lot of time in email marketing. I find email marketing is one of the most effective sales activities that you can do and it helps you to stay top of mind. So if you're wanting to stay top of mind and then continue to build a relationship and engage with your audience, then I do recommend email marketing for a lot of service-based businesses. It is a very effective way and it's very cost-effective too when when you own the database and it also builds a tangibility to your business. So if you ever do want to sell your business in the future or partner or collaborate with other people, you've got that asset there in your in your business. So I guess it goes together with growing your audience, but having that in the system, doing some email marketing Is different. That goes there.

31:43

The other one I think I spend a lot of time on is networking. I find networking a really effective way to market my business that's. I think networking can work for all different types of services business. My one tip there, though, would be to make sure that you're networking is in the right places, because networking can be a very time-consuming task, and you know one where you might have to find half a day to go to a one-hour session, or you know it is your travel time and all of those sorts of things. But if you are networking in the right kind of networks and it's introducing you to people that can help you to collaboratively grow your businesses together, and then it is definitely worth the time and the the energy and the effort.

32:29

So you know, market networking can be really, really effective, and I would say as well, my website is another really big one. I'm a big blogger. I like to to kind of help by putting all of my marketing tips and advice out there through my blog. I think that just that consistency helps me to stay top of mind and it helps just to this position myself as that expert in the marketing space, because there are a lot of different business coaches out there, so it's about making sure that you're telling people what what your area of expertise is. So, yeah, coaches can specialise in anything from marketing to finance, to mindset, to money. You know, really talking to those people that are looking for marketing help and so for your business.

Samantha Bell, Host, 33:15

What's your approach when you're coaching your clients?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 33:22

Yeah, I like to try and keep things really simple and non-complicated for people, I think, because it's it. Marketing is just one of those spaces where it is really overwhelming, particularly when you first start. There's a lot of technology and tools and terminology that you perhaps never heard of, and so anything that I can do to just break down concepts for people and help them to understand how marketing works and I think what that does is actually gives people the, the base and the, the knowledge and the skills that they need to be able To continue to market well after I'm coaching them. So I really want people that not only take away the results that they're going to get from improved marketing and more Effectiveness in their marketing, but also the skills and the knowledge that they need to be able to continue to market their business effectively, because you can't have a successful business unless you have customers, unless you have clients, and being able to market is really an essential skill that people need to have in their business.

Samantha Bell, Host, 34:21

It certainly is. Otherwise you just have a very expensive hobby. Now you have a very good free resource, a free masterclass.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 34:32

Yeah, on my website you'll find a free masterclass which is called 'How to Master Your Marketing Strategy, Without the Overwhelm and the Complexity', and it really just helps you to understand the five key foundational steps that you need to have in your business if you're looking to build your marketing strategy, grow your audience, get your name out there and really stand out from your competition. So you'll find that on my website. There's a free masterclass menu tab at the top of the website, myclientstrategy.com An yeah, you'll be able to sign up for that free masterclass.

Samantha Bell, Host, 35:10

Fabulous that sounds just what everybody needs to get a good, good grasp of their marketing. And then, of course, if they want deeper help, you've got your academy, and you've also got your one-on-one coaching packages as well. So if you had a final piece of advice to give to women who are either thinking about starting a business or have just recently left their job to go in all guns blazing, what would it be? What would you tell them?

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 35:43

Yeah, I would say to people it is okay to reach out for help. Even though you're an incredibly smart, amazing businesswoman, you know have all the knowledge and skills in the particular area that you started your business in. It is a journey to really be able to grow a business and it's something that you don't need to be doing on your own and it is a lot faster when you reach out and get help. So I would definitely say, make sure that you're surrounding yourself with other businesswomen or businessmen that can help you to make that journey a whole lot easier and a whole lot faster.

Samantha Bell, Host, 36:20

Good advice. Thank you so much, Hailey. You've given us some great advice today and I think the main takeaways would be to get help and get it early. Have a really strong marketing strategy, a proper strategy, not just random posting on social media and I didn't ask you specifically about that, so I might backtrack a bit. Posting every day on social media. That's not going to get you sales, is it? That's another misconception.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 36:50

Yeah, absolutely. I see a lot of people spending a lot of time on posts that then don't get seen by very many people. So if there are other activities that you can do that will get you a whole lot more visibility, it can work, but it needs to be part of a bigger overall piece.

Samantha Bell, Host, 37:18

focusing on the overall strategy and having more long-form content on your website, and getting out and doing networking, which the stigma of it being icky.I think those days are past because there's a new way of doing it, and it's much more enjoyable and genuine. Now, if you want to get Hailey's free masterclass, which is Master your Marketing Strategy without the Complexity and Overwhelm, go to www.myclientstrategycom/free-masterclass and you can register for Hailey's masterclass. People who want to work with you, Hailey, they can just go on your website and book a call.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 37:49

Yeah, you'll find all the details there at www.myclientstrategy.com and also on Instagram as well @myclientstrategy If anyone is looking to connect, I'd love to say hi.

Samantha Bell, Host, 38:01

Brilliant. Thank you so much, Hailey. You've been a wealth of knowledge and it's lovely chatting with you, as always.

Hayley Robertson, Guest, 38:08

Thanks so much, Sam, thanks for having me.

Samantha Bell, Host, 38:15

My pleasure! Thanks so much for listening. I'd love to know your biggest takeaway from today's episode, so leave me a comment below or send a DM on Instagram. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the subscribe button wherever you listen to the Brilliant Business, Beautiful Life podcast and feel free to share it with someone else who'll love it too. I look forward to seeing you for the next episode, and remember, the time is now for your Brilliant Business and the beautiful life you adore.