Tired of the "Feast or Famine" Cycle in Your Resume Writing Business?

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from resume writing colleagues is has to do with the "feast or famine" cycle that is common in many businesses -- but especially for career services professionals.

In my annual survey of resume writers, there is definitely a cyclical nature to when jobseekers seem to naturally seek us out (January and September are usually the two busiest months -- which is no surprise, given New Year's Resolutions and kids returning to school after the summer break). But what do you do in June … or October … or December … to keep the phone ringing?

The answer is to do a simple series of marketing activities every day -- incorporating up to 10 simple tasks into your day each day (or at least several days each week) will keep an endless stream of prospective clients coming your way. Some of these tasks may only take 5 minutes, and many of them won't cost you anything. But it's being mindful about your marketing -- instead of waiting until you have a lull -- that will keep your appointment book full.

I wrote a blog post back in December 2013 about the "feast or famine" cycle, and I talked about the GET CLIENTS NOW! book in that post. I've been using C.J. Hayden's GET CLIENTS NOW! system in my own business since I first heard her speak at a resume writing conference back in 2003. But last month, I decided to become a licensed facilitator for the course because I've seen the positive impact that it can have if you learn and implement the system. Although I've been in business for 19 years now, there are still times when I need to reactivate my referral sources or fill a couple of empty spots in my appointment book. (Although I use the program most often now to fill group programs and attract new members to my membership sites, since I'm a strong believer in the power of passive income!)

Earlier this week, I taught a teleseminar that shares some of the principles behind the program. You can listen to the recording of the "5 Secrets to Attracting All The Clients You Will Ever Need" teleseminar here:


I'm offering three upcoming sessions of the GET CLIENTS NOW! program for resume writers. The first, which starts Feb. 23, has already sold out. There are two more sessions with a limited number of spaces available. One session is on Tuesday evenings, starting March 10. The other is on Wednesday mornings, starting March 25. If you take the time to listen to the call recording (it's only 38 minutes), you'll get a special promo code to register for 50% off the regular program price. But that offer expires Feb. 19, so take the time to listen soon!

If you want to learn more about the program, check out this page:
Get Clients Now

Get Clients Now!™ is a trademark of Wings BusinessCoaching LLC and is used under license.

www.getclientsnow.com

4 Advantages of Creating Your Own Little Monthly Payments Membership Site

You know how much I believe in creating passive income and recurring revenue in your resume writing business. If you've been following my trainings and writings for any time, you may have considered creating your own membership site. 

By starting one of these services, you can sell the same item (like short reports or LinkedIn training or even a monthly teleseminar call on a job search-related topic) to hundreds or even thousands of subscribers. But that’s just one benefit of creating a subscription service/membership site. If you’d like to learn more about this business model, then read on to learn more.

Advantage #1: More timeAs a resume writer, time is one of your most valuable assets. With a subscription service, you don’t have to go out looking for new buyers in order to get paid again. You just release a new "product" each month and reap the profits. You’ll save time that you can use to deliver one-to-one resume services or to spend with loved ones.

Advantage #2: Keep costs downWhile you may have to pay for a few technical tools in the beginning, the long-term cost of running a membership site is low. This is not a business model that you’ll have to sink hundreds or thousands of dollars into every year. You pay the initial costs then just up-keep or maintenance costs for things like hosting and domain names. You can spend as little as $25 a month for Wild Apricot membership software and it's as easy to use (or easier!) than Microsoft Word. (It's what I use for BeAResumeWriter.com.)

Advantage #3: Subscriber loyaltyWhen you consistently provide good content to your subscribers, they will become loyal. This is important to growing your business because happy, loyal customers are likely to tell their friends or co-workers about your one-to-one resume services (or become one-to-one resume clients themselves!). This can put even more money into your pocket each month.

Advantage #4: Subscribers spend more
As mentioned in #3, once you’ve converted a subscriber into a loyal customer, then he is likely to look at your other services (and information products). A customer that feels like he’s receiving a lot of value for his $10 subscription will be more willing to pay for a $350 resume than a cold prospect would. This means that you shouldn’t be shy about sharing information about your one-to-one resume services with your current subscribers.

Starting a membership site can feel overwhelming. But that’s where a course like Little Monthly Payments can help you. You’ll find that the process of launching a membership site is broken down into easy-to-follow steps that you can start taking today. Check it out!



Little Monthly Payments will give you the confidence and courage to start your own micro-continuity program. Find out how here: http://bit.ly/littlemonthlypayments
If you are reading this before Feb. 28, 2015: use promo code SAVE30BUCKS

The 5 W's of Client Accomplishments

When collecting client accomplishments, keep in mind the "5 Ws" -- principles most commonly associated with journalism.

The 5 W's are Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

You want to find out:

• Who does your client work with -- both within the company, and outside the company?
• What do they do? Initially, this is about finding out what their responsibilities are, but we need to take it further.
• When -- not in the context of time, but when would they be missed?
• Where -- again, not in the context of geography, but where do they have the biggest impact? Where are their accomplishments most noticed? By their colleagues? By their boss? By their customers?
• Why -- why does your client's specific contributions matter -- in this job, and for this company?

Interested in more strategies to gather client accomplishments? Check out "Write Great Resumes Faster."

Do You Have a Kindle? Use It To Learn

If you have a Kindle, have you heard about the Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL)?

If you have an Amazon Prime membership, one of the benefits of membership is that you can take advantage of the KOLL – allowing you to borrow one book a month from over 500,000 available titles.

Better than a public library because of the sheer volume of books available, you can use the KOLL to learn. Study resume writing techniques, borrow business books, read biographies of successful business owners.

Not an Amazon Prime member? Try the Kindle Owners' Lending Library for free as part of a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime. Use my affiliate link to give it a try:

Leave me a comment below and let me know what book you borrowed first through the Kindle Owners' Lending Library!