That’s what I do best, that’s my strength, that’s my deliverable, that’s my offering, that’s my promise. I have the ability to LISTEN… and then connect the dots, pull the pieces together, clear the confusion, explore all the options, light the way, uncover the resources, think outside the box, see from a different perspective… okay, you get my drift!

We can talk privately and in detail during one-on-one information sharing sessions that focus on expanding your thought process and applying easy to implement action plans to your specific entrepreneurial situation.

I work with speakers, trainers, information marketers and other solopreneurs to kick-start them in the direction they want to go or to help them generate new ideas and new directions for their business. So what exactly does that mean? I’ve run into two dominant scenarios that look like this:

1. You know what you want for your business – you just don’t know how to get there.

2. You have no idea what to do – you only know that you need new ideas and new energy to move your business forward.

That’s where I come in. I listen, I ask new questions, I make you think through the details, we uncover new resources. We use our collecive thinking to assess where your business is, how you’ve positioned yourself in the marketplace and what your ultimate goals and objectives are. From there our joint brainstorming process generates a free flow of new ideas, executable possibilities and simple solutions to help grow your business. Together we’ll clearly spell out the objectives, weigh the options, identify the necessary resources and map out the steps it will take to get it done.

I’ll bring fresh eyes, a new perspective, years of varied experience and aggressive, ‘anything’s possible’ thinking to the process. My goal is to see things you might have missed, identify solutions that fit your specific situation and find simple, affordable ways to make things a reality. I’ll encourage you think outside the box, consider options that you may have previously deemed risky or out of reach and even revisit things you’ve tried in the past with limited success. We’ll be bold and creative in our thinking and nothing will be out of bounds.

If that sounds like you, let’s do this!

In the end, all final decisions will be up to you about which ideas are executed and which ones don’t make the cut. The bottom line is that all of our efforts are worthless unless the ideas lead to action, so you’ll leave our brainstorming with an action-oriented strategy that will propel you to your goal.

To maximize our time together, I’ll encourage you to list any ideas you already have before coming to brainstorming sessions. I’ll often do research between our sessions and ask that you do the same. All of our sessions are recorded and forwarded to you to supplement your session notes and document some of the ideas that spontaneously arise through our conversations.

These are my Brainstorming Programs. Each one usually consists of four (4) 60-90 minute coaching/brainstorming session by telephone. That usually enough time for us to be thorough yet get off the amrk and take action instead of spending all of our time yacking! 

1. SPEAKER BRANDING – As a speaker, trainer or information marketer it helps to have a clearly defined brand that identifies you as an expert and differentiates your from your competitors. I’ll bring a fresh perspective to understanding what your particular strengths are and emphasizing them in a way that solidifies your identity in your customer’s mind. We’ll also do some brainstorm and research to identify and target the markets most likely to buy your kind of expertise.

2. SPEAKER MATERIALS REVIEW – I’ll conduct a review of your current marketing materials (web copy, one-sheets, brochure, bio, speech descriptions, etc.) and take an overall look at your speaking business. I’ll review your current materials for strong marketing copy that effectively describes you as a speaker as well as each of the topics you deliver. I’ll also take a look at the copy and materials that describe any of your speaker products and services. I’ll ask you to send me ALL of your current marketing materials for evaluation including professional photographs, professional and/or promotional and all of your speaker products. Our goal is to upgrade the copy and visual appeal of your materials to sell you and your services better.

3. A KEEP IT SIMPLE STRATEGY – Even as a speaker, trainer or solopreneur you need a sound business strategy. We’re NOT talking about that full-blown, complicated, take six months to write doctoral dissertation/business plan for getting a loan or courting investors that sits on the shelf and collects dust. We ARE talking about a personal operating strategy that’s about running your business better. A Keep It Simple Strategy is a plan that you can create, implement and use RIGHT NOW to make a difference in your business.

4. SPEAKING AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES – The college market is a great place for up-and-coming speakers to get a start and for experienced speakers to expand their market. During these sessions we’ll discuss the hot topics for the college market, where to get booked on college campuses, the campus activities calendar and working with organizations that provide special opportunities for college market speakers.

5. DEVELOPING POWERFUL ONLINE CONTENT – With today’s user-friendly, high-tech tools creating a blog, website or e-newsletter is easy. Figuring out what the heck to say – that people will care about – is the hard part. Marrying the disciplines of journalism and marketing, I help you develop focused, theme-based, content-rich information that positions you as an information leader in your field. Once l help you inform, educate and empower your readers, you’ll soon discover that an informed customer is a loyal customer. And yes, I can even do the technical stuff to help you get your blog, website or e-newsletter set up.

6. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SPEAKERS – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace? Social networks have replaced many of the publicity and advertising avenues represented by traditional media. That’s a great equalizer for small business and is especially powerful for communicators. But there are so many to choose from which ones are right for you and your objectives? I’ll show you how to use social media to strengthen your BRAND, establish you as a SUBJECT-MATTER-EXPERT, shorten your LEARNING CURVE, simplify the technology and make it easy to maintain and grow what we’ve started without being overwhelmed or spending way too much time doing it!

7. THE POWER INTERVIEW – Create information products or just hammer out the details of your own message. As a former journalist, editor and researcher I know how to assess your business and ask the in-depth questions that will professionally guide you through a deeper thought process and help you deliver the details of your own process, message or philosophy. I also know how to get into the shoes of your customer and ask the questions that lead to your solutions. We’ll also record the interview(s) and you can easily turn them into a book, ebook, articles, an MP3 or CD product for resale.

8. BACK-OF-ROOM PRODUCT SALES – We’ll evaluate and understand your speaking style and format to understand how your products sales tie in with your speaking engagements. I’ll help you understand the most effective ways for ‘TELLING not SELLING’ that will lead to better product sales at every speaking gig. You’ll uncover comfortable ways to make more sales without drowning your audience in a sales pitch.

9. CONDUCT A KILLER TELECLASS – Teleclasses are an awesome tool that allows speakers and marketers broaden their audience and deliver their message to more people by removing geographic boundaries. But conducting a class or giving a talk without the benefit of face-to-face contact, body language and your audiences’ exclusive attention is a whole different ball game. These sessions arm you with the tools of an experienced teleclass leader and lays the groundwork for teleclass success.

10. QUALITY SPEAKER AUDIO AND VIDEO ON A BUDGET – As a speaker, your potential clients want to hear you and see you. After all, they’re hiring your expertise, your ability to deliver quality information and your ability to connect with the audience – not your marketing copy. Today’s technology makes it possible and affordable to record professional audio and video. Sure, it takes as few technical skills, but those aren’t hard to master once you know the right tools to use. Many of them are right at your fingertips – if you know where to look.

Want to know more? Email me at Rick@RickSherrell.com or leave me a message at 404-393-9792 and we’ll discuss how a PowerPlan Brainstorming Session will work for you.

More about my approach to working with you and your business…

When I join your team and we become partners in each other’s mutual success. My diverse background in entrepreneurship, micro-business development, information technology, journalism, marketing, publishing, web development, radio, television, project management, special events and volunteer leadership gives me a lot of unique and empowering information to share with you and I love sharing.

As a small/micro-business owner, entrepreneur or start-up whose limited resources may require you to improvise, you need strategies to make something out of nothing and a partner that thinks ‘outside of the box.’ Having limited resources doesn’t have to limit your possibilities if you focus on the right business strategies. Bringing more than a cookie-cutter approach to business planning, I work with you to develop a personal, action-oriented operating plan that goes beyond theory and produces immediate impact on your day-to-day operations.

My approach is a result of nearly two decades of working hand-in-hand with micro-businesses – and being a micro-business owner myself. I use my practical experience to create simple strategies that impact your bottom line.

My competitive edge is that nothing that I share with you is just theory. I’ve been an entrepreneur and have worked with micro business owners since leaving a corporate career in 1988. Because of limited resources, I often struggled in business more than anyone else I know. But the thought of returning to a job kept me motivated. I consider myself a true entrepreneur – one who creates products and projects, leads instead of follows and thinks outside the box – and I am happily unemployable.

My past business challenges have helped me relate to the micro entrepreneur in a way that positions me at your level and makes me focus on simplifying the business management process. I focus on what can be done with your available resources and showing you how the little decisions you make every day that can have big consequences. I’ve made the mistakes myself, and don’t want you to do the same.

PEACE.

Rick

    

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