Here in the UK the school holidays have just started, seven long weeks of kids being around the house and asking ‘What are we going to do today Mum?’  Most freelance trainers work from home and whilst we must take the opportunity to enjoy spending time with our children,  there’s no getting away from the fact that it does have an impact on your  working life.

Even if you don’t have children you will find that things tend to be a little quieter in August. Your phone may ring less and your inbox may be a little less full.  And when you try to contact anyone you just might get a recorded message or auto responder to tell you that that person is away.

But don’t panic. August is one of the quiet periods of the year, just like December. And the lesson that I learnt early on in my freelance career is that this summer ‘down time’ is natural and normal and there’s no reason to get stressed. Just accept it and go with it.

The holiday period can also be a great time to get ahead of the game for Autumn. Here are my tips for having a productive summer:

1. Tidy your office. Have a clear out of old paperwork and other junk. You will be amazed at how much more organised and in control you will feel as a result.
2. Organise your contacts. Get rid of any business cards that may be lying around your office or stuck at the bottom or your brief case. Enter all the details onto a database such as Outlook instead.
3. Research relevant networking events and draw up a Networking Plan for September through to December. Decide on a budget, get them booked and paid for and put them in your diary now. Making a firm commitment will mean that you will actually go rather than just think about it.
4. Do some block writing of blog articles and newsletters. Just think how great it will feel in September knowing that you have the next 2 months worth of material all ready to roll.
5. Invest in personal development. Book yourself onto a course, or read that book you have been meaning to get stuck into for ages. The most successful freelance trainers are those who spend money and time working on themselves and their business. Make sure you are one of them.

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I had a great day on Monday filming a video for my new Joint Venture with Simon Jordan of www.gathermoreclients.com. It took us about 3 times as long as we planned due to all the laughing and giggling going on but we both really enjoyed it and hopefully the end result will be worth it! I love working with Simon as he is such a positive person with a real can do attitude and I always feel much more motivated and energised after spending time in his company.

Funnily enough the same topic of conversation came up last week when I was chatting to Gary Morgan - www.milestonetraining.co.uk – another freelance trainer who has a wonderfully optimistic outlook. We both agreed that the most successful people we know are those who are open to opportunities , who find ways to make things happen and say ‘I can’ rather than ‘I can’t’. We also both agreed that they are the people we love to associate with too as they have such a positive effect on both our mindsets and business results.

So what do you think? Do you agree? And who do you like to associate with?

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Most freelance trainers have tight marketing budgets and are always looking for ways to get results with less spend. Did you know that there is one marketing strategy with a high probability of success that won’t cost you anything?

This strategy is actively building links with other freelance trainers.

When you first start out as a freelance trainer and you are considering your marketing strategy  you may think about things like getting referrals from old contacts, going to networking events, or public speaking. I’m pretty sure that actively networking with other trainers wouldn’t be right up there at the top of your list. And the reason why it probably wouldn’t be on the top of your list is that when you first start out as a freelancer it’s natural to assume that other freelance trainers are the competition and so you wouldn’t go anywhere near them, let alone try and network with them!

A really good reason for building links with other trainers is that they can pass you work they don’t want to do.

There are several reasons why this might happen:

• They might be already booked on the day the client wants and it HAS to be on that day
• It might involve travelling a long distance or overnight stay and they don’t want to do it because of family commitments. I used to travel all over the UK and go abroad but I don’t like doing it now because of my children and I know that the same applies to a lot of other people I know too.
• They may not be licenced or qualified to deliver what the client wants – so, I’m thinking here of things like MBTI, SDI or Level A/B.
• It’s not their specialist area and there are other people who could probably do it better than them.
• The rate being offered is less than they would like. This is tough because there’s something that doesn’t feel right about implying ‘Well of course I wouldn’t do if for that but….’  However, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s probably better to give your friends the opportunity and let them make up their own minds whether it’s worth it or not

So, there are at least 5 reasons why – just possibly – another freelance trainer would say no to some work. And when you are in this situation with a client, as I have been myself in the past, you want to be able to recommend someone else – you don’t want the client to have to go to the trouble of finding someone else, you want to still be there on their radar. When you can recommend someone else, when you can provide an alternative the client will generally be very appreciative and more likely to want to carry on using you in the future.

So far I’ve said that the main reason you need to build links with other freelancers is so that you can get work but it’s important to remember that it’s not just 1 way.  By   having a great network you will be able to pass work on to other people too and that makes you feel good.  A win-win situation!

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I am amazed at the number of freelance trainers I meet who are NOT actively using social networks. As I’m a great believer in the value of Twitter in particular I’m really trying to encourage other trainers to get on board and to start using it as part of their marketing mix.

A lot of freelance trainers who come on my workshops are quite non-plussed about it and say that it’s for people who have nothing better to do!  And I’m starting to understand that there are several valid reasons why trainers are not getting involved in social networks.

It could be that people don’t fully understand it or just don’t get it. I remember one client in particular saying to me recently that she wanted to start using Twitter and Linked In but was feeling slightly overwhelmed.

It could be that people have the wrong perception about it and think it’s all about cheese sandwiches! I remember one guy on my workshop being quite adamant about not using Twitter because he didn’t want to read about what people were eating and other such trivia!

It could be that people think it’s a waste of time and that time spent on social networking could be better spent elsewhere.

It could be that people don’t believe they will get any business from it. I think this is a big issue as there is no denying that there are many more self employed professionals and small businesses using social networking than there are large corporates.

I can understand these reasons for not getting involved in social networking. They are all perfectly valid. What I would say however is that:

If you don’t understand how to use social networking or are feeling overwhelmed it’s perfectly possible to learn how to use them.

It’s interesting how there are many social networking workshops and programmes springing up around the UK and I’m sure you’d be able to find one near you.

Simon Jordan and myself ran a 90 minute webcast last week Social Media Confidence for Trainers . If you would like a recording please get in touch.

You can also get tips and advice from other people in your network who are using them already.  And like all these things, the best way is probably to learn by doing, so just get started and get stuck in!

You WILL see a lot of stuff about cheese sandwiches and what  people are doing in their personal lives.

So if you follow me on Twitter for example you will see that I have 2 kids, that I have a son who plays a lot of tennis, that I spend a lot of time hanging round tennis centres, that I have a cute little cocker spaniel etc, but that’s a really good thing as what’s happening is that people are getting to know me as a person and getting to know, like and trust me.  So, cheese sandwiches are good!

It IS possible to waste a lot of time on social networking.

Twitter in particular can be highly addictive as it’s such a lot of fun to connect with people and join in conversations. But there ARE ways of ensuring that your networking time is productive.

Do people get business from social networking?

Well, yes they do. Many of the people who come to my workshops and programmes have found me and built up a relationship with me via Twitter and Linked In. Other trainers have given me several examples recently of business coming to them via social networking. And one of my clients was recently offered the opportunity to pitch to develop and run a Teambulding programme for a pharmaceutical company recently which came via a Twitter contact too.

So, there is really no excuse for not using social networking to promote your training business.  What are you waiting for?

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In the last 2 weeks I’ve been out and about, firstly speaking at the Learning Professionals Gymn, http://lpgym.wordpress.com, then running my own Trainer Talk Live Event http://trainertalklive.wordpress.com and finally presenting a workshop at Training Zone Live 2010 http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/live

On each occasion the subject of specialisation has come up, either in the session itself or in conversations with trainers over coffee (or in my case – tea!)  The one thing that has really struck me is just how many freelance trainers are reluctant to specialise.

Yes, they can see it makes good business sense to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. Yes, they can see that having a niche would provide a focus for their marketing activity. Yes, they can see that they could build a reputation for one thing and attract clients directly to them. And they also know and appreciate that they could charge more.

Yes!

But …..

The one  thing that seems to be getting in the way of doing it is fear.

Fear that if they say ‘I do this’ they can no longer say ‘I can do that’

Fear that if they focus on only one thing it will cut them off from a whole load of other things that they could potentially say yes to.

And the fear that they will be limiting their income as a result.

I can understand that when work is harder to come by you might want to dip your fingers in as many pies as possible.

But let me tell you a little story that might change your mind.

Just recently I was approached by a training company with a request for a trainer who could run workshops on Networking Skills.  This was a great opportunity, not only did it pay well but it had great potential to develop into a long term partnership. Predictably, we had an overwhelming response. Despite the fact that we specified you had to have specific experience in running this type of workshop within a particular industry sector we still got almost 200 applications from trainers who said they could deliver.

When I last spoke to the provider she told me that she was still wading through CV’s but would definitely be talking to one person that really stood out from the rest.  He was a trainer who specialised in running Networking workshops. That was all he did.  And it was all he had been doing for the last 10 years.

I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions!

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One of the truly wonderful things about the internet is the access we all have now to free information. It’s all around us, freely available and every day our inboxes are full of newsletters, blogs, tips and invitations to sign up for more of the same.

Even more remarkable is how much of this stuff is of real quality. I find that most of the things I subscribe to give me genuine nuggets of information that are of real practical value to both myself and my business. Expert help and advice delivered to me personally – for free!

However, the downside of all this is information overload. With so much information flowing into our inboxes it’s easy to get overwhelmed and as a consequence not actually do anything with it. What a waste! What difference would it make to your business if you actually implemented even 25% of the advice you’ve been given.

Here are my tips for getting the most from free information:

1. Have an information amnesty. If you find yourself hitting the delete button before you’ve actually read an email it’s time to unsubscribe.

Only subscribe to information that gives you value.

2. Set up a separate email folder for your newsletters, blogs and audios. If this information is allowed to clog up your inbox with the rest of the stuff it just becomes a distraction and you end up deleting it even though you might want to read it.

3. Assign categories to your folders, for example, Marketing, Web sites, Social Networking or Personal Development.Not only will things become easier to find you will start building up a really good information library that you can use over again.

4. Have a regular time slot for reading newsletters,tips, blogs or listening to audios.

5. Make use of travelling and down time to listen to audios. I’ve listened to many a Teleseminar whilst walking the dog.

6. Always try and write down at least 1 thing you are going to do as a result of reading or listening to the information.

7.Transfer these actions to a Master Action Plan. This should be your list of specific actions you can take as well as target dates. This list could be pure gold. If you commit to doing all of these things they should make a huge difference to the success of your business.

8. Set time aside to regularly review progress. If you haven’t achieved your actions note down the reasons why. Do any patterns emerge? What can you do about it?

9. If you are really struggling hire a business coach or get a business buddy to hold you accountable and track your progress.

10. If you like the information you are receiving and are getting great results – tell the person who gave it to you in the first place. Everyone loves to get feedback!

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Most freelance trainers I know are very confident and outgoing people – when they are in the training room. However, the minute you mention the word ’selling’ they are much less sure of themselves, in fact many trainers I know freely adnmit that they hate this part about being freelance. If only they had to just be in the training room and deliver life wold be be a lot easier wouldn’t it?

I used to feel like this, in fact fear of ’selling’ myself and my services was one of the biggest barriers to going freelance in the first place. I probably would have made the leap a lot sooner if I’d have felt a bit more confident about it.

But once I got to grips with it I soon realised that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and I actually started to enjoy it.

Here are my tips for overcoming your selling gremlins:

1. Don’t make it out to be more than it actually is. Yes, there are some specific sales techniques that you can learn and develop to increase your chances of success but mostly selling is just about building relationshipw with people – which all trainers are naturally good at.

2. Try and identify specifically what your fears around selling actually are. For example it could be a fear of rejection, a feeling you’re not very good at it, or worries about appearing too ‘pushy’. Once you have really pinpointed what’s getting in the way it’s much easier to start working on a solution. with a solution.

3. Observe and model what other people are doing when they try and sell to you. Note the words and behaviours that make you feel inclined to buy. Also record the things that turn you off! Try this exercise over a specific period of time,a week or a month and see what patterns emerge.

4. Don’t put unecessary pressure on yourself to achieve targets. Don’t beat yourself up if people don’t buy from you the first time around. People buy from people who they know like and trust and that process takes time.

5. If people don’t return your calls or emails don’t assume they are not interested in you. I’ve been there so many times myself and beaten myself up unneccessarily. A great NLP tip I learn was to stop mind reading and in this situation ask yourself ‘What else could it mean?’ There are plenty of other reasons why people don’t always respond as quickly as you would like them to such as holidays, pressure of work,budgetary constraints and shifting priorities Try focusing on the positive and see what difference it makes!

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One of the truly wonderful things about the internet is the access we all have now to free information. It’s all around us, freely available and every day our inboxes are full of newsletters, blogs, tips and invitations to sign up for more of the same.

Even more remarkable is how much of this stuff is of real quality. I find that most of the things I subscribe to give me genuine nuggests of information that are of real practical value to both myself and my businesss. Expert help and advice delivered to me personally – for free!

However, the downside of all this is information overload. With so much information flowing into our inboxes it’s easy to get overwhelmed and as a consequence not actually do anything with it. What a waste! What difference would it make to your business if you actually implemented even 25% of the advice you’ve been given.

Here are my tips for getting the most from free information:

1. Have an information amnesty. If you find yourself hitting the delete button before you’ve actually read an email it’s time to unsubscribe.

Only subscribe to information that gives you value.

2. Set up a separate email folder for your newsletters, blogs and audios. If this information is allowed to clog up your inbox with the rest of the stuff it just becomes a distraction and you end up deleting it even though you might want to read it.

3. Assign categories to your folders, for example, Marketing, Web sites, Social Networking or Personal Development.Not only will things become easier to find you will start building up a really good information library that you can use over again.

4. Have a regular time slot for reading newsletters,tips, blogs or listening to audios.

5. Make use of travelling and down time to listen to audios. I’ve listened to many a Teleseminar whilst walking the dog.

6. Always try and write down at least 1 thing you are going to do as a result of reading or listening to the information.

7.Transfer these actions to a Master Action Plan. This should be your list of specific actions you can take as well as target dates. This list could be pure gold. If you commit to doing all of these things they should make a huge difference to the success of your business.

8. Set time aside to regularly review progress. If you haven’t achieved your actions note down the reasons why. Do any patterns emerge? What can you do about it?

9. If you are really struggling hire a business coach or get a business buddy to hold you accountable and track your progress.

10. If you like the information you are receiving and are getting great results – tell the person who gave it to you in the first place. Everyone loves to get feedback!

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