Show Notes: What if the reason you’re not getting enough clients has less to do with your marketing plan, and more to do with the fear of talking to the people who could hire you? In this episode of Beyond Six Figures, Ziv Raviv sits down with C.J. Hayden, business coach, writing mentor, and author of the bestselling Get Clients Now! and her newest book, Overcoming the Fear of Self-Promotion. C.J. started coaching self-employed people in the early 1990s, when everyone around her said entrepreneurs didn’t have any money. She turned her Get Clients Now! system into a book that doubled as a lead generator, and a licensed training program with hundreds of facilitators in countries around the world. She explains why it still works decades later: it teaches principles, not tactics, from the four stages of the universal marketing cycle to a daily action plan you quantify and put on your calendar. Then the conversation turns to why so many self-employed professionals buy ads, prospecting systems, and social media help instead of reaching out themselves. C.J. shares why she teaches people to make friends with their fear instead of crushing it, the I AM technique (the very first exercise in her new book), and how a former litigation attorney built a mediation practice on referrals once she named the fear that was holding her back. If you’re a coach, consultant, or service business owner who keeps putting off the outreach you know you need to do, this episode is for you. Episode Highlights: Betting on Self-Employed Clients In the early 1990s, C.J. gave up her clients at mid-sized companies to coach self-employed people, even though everyone around her said entrepreneurs didn’t have any money. One System, Multiple Income Streams Because C.J. built Get Clients Now! to be systematic and replicable, other coaches could teach it too, and one system became a book that generated leads, a licensed program with hundreds of facilitators, and a program business owners paid to take themselves. Principles Outlast Platforms The book was updated in 2005 and again in 2013 for social media, but C.J. says it doesn’t really need a new edition because everything it teaches is still exactly the same. Awareness Is Not Enough Coaches, consultants, accountants, and attorneys get clients through live conversations, and it takes a lot more than posting on social media to get there. Marketing Like a Dinner Invitation, Not a War C.J. wrote Get Clients Now! like a cookbook because she wanted marketing and sales to feel warm, nurturing, and friendly, not like a battle to defeat the prospective client. Find Where You’re Stuck The universal marketing cycle has four stages (filling the pipeline, following up, having sales conversations, and turning those conversations into clients), and the first step is finding the stage that needs more work. An Intention Is Not a Plan “Increase market visibility” is only an intention, so C.J. has people pick their missing success ingredients, choose actions from a daily action plan menu, and quantify and calendar every one of them. The Fear Behind Marketing Shortcuts Buying ads, paying for a LinkedIn prospecting system, or hiring a social media guru is often a way to avoid talking to future clients, and today the same reluctance people once had about phone calls shows up as fear of email. Make Friends With Your Fear Instead of crushing fear, C.J. teaches people to notice it with the I AM technique (“I am aware and I can move forward”), name it, and then give it what it needs, such as confidence or reassurance. From Litigator to Mediator A former lawyer feared her colleagues would laugh at her new mediation work; once she named that fear, she built a successful practice where all of her business came from attorney referrals. About C.J. Hayden: C.J. Hayden is a business coach, writing mentor, and the author of eight books on marketing, self-employment, and nonfiction writing, including the bestselling Get Clients Now! A 28-Day Marketing Program for Professionals, Consultants and Coaches. First published in 1999 and now in its third edition, Get Clients Now! has sold over 100,000 copies and has been translated into Chinese and Vietnamese. The program behind the book has been taught by hundreds of facilitators in countries around the world. Since 1992, C.J. has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and creatives get clients, get strategic, and get their writing done. Before she became a coach, she worked as a business process consultant for mid-sized companies. She holds the Certified Professional Co-Active Coach credential and was one of the first coaches in the world to earn the Master Certified Coach credential from the International Coach Federation. Her newest book, Overcoming the Fear of Self-Promotion, is based on a course taken by hundreds of self-employed professionals over the past two decades, and gives specific techniques for managing fear and resistance about marketing and selling. She also hosts Get It Written Day, a monthly virtual writing retreat for self-employed professionals and creatives. A speaker and workshop leader, C.J. has taught for the International Coach Federation, The Coaches Training Institute, Wells Fargo, SCORE, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. She founded and directs the nonprofit Citizen Angel, which supports economic empowerment for girls and women in the developing world. Links & Resources: C.J. Hayden (Official Website) https://cjhayden.com/ Get Clients Now! (C.J.’s Bestselling Book) https://getclientsnow.com/gcn-book/ Overcoming the Fear of Self-Promotion (C.J.’s Newest Book) https://cjhayden.com/overcoming-fear-book/ Get It Written Day (Monthly Virtual Writing Retreat) https://cjhayden.com/get-it-written-day/ Books and Home-Study Courses by C.J. Hayden https://cjhayden.com/books-courses/
