3 Keys to Claiming Your POWER in Business

Hello everyone, and welcome, welcome, welcome along to this workshop, Three Keys to Claiming Your Power in Business. I'm so excited to be sharing this with you. This is the first time that this material in this format has has come out, and so there's some new things in there. So. You're the first. You're the first to experience it. So I'd like to say thank you for coming along, and I'd love to know what you think and, and how you find the material, what you love, what you would change. That would be really important to me. So thank you again for coming along, and I'm really excited to, to dig in. So let's do that now. So today I'm running through a workshop with you. I love questions, so please, please, please ask questions as we go through. The reason I love questions is because I want to make this relevant to you, and the more you interact with me and ask me questions and tell me what you like or don't like or whatever, whatever you feel called to say, the better I am able to tailor it to you. And that's absolutely what I want. I want you to get value out of your time with me here today. So post away. There's a chat. And so pop it in the chat and then we'll work through that. As with all my webinars, I will be sending you a workbook and a copy of the recording because what I know about this material and the things that I do is it's often in the iteration of listening to it, you'll get different things, you'll learn different things, you'll try different things. And to me, that's what learning is all about. It's about the action. It's about the activity. It's about trying. And all I'm here to do today is to give you some ideas and explore with you some things that will absolutely help you claim the power that is there for you in your business. So I know some of you on here today have met me and know me and have worked with me before, but some of you haven't. So just as an introduction, I've been selling probably my whole life, but professionally for more than 20 years, and I love it. I love influencing other people. I love helping them solve a problem. And the interesting thing is in the last 6 years I've been working with people and consulting and teaching other people selling. And the biggest thing I've learned about that is why I'm so great at it and what, what is it about what I do that has such a great impact on other people. And they're all the things that I share with you, all the discoveries that I've made. And that's what I love. My biggest joy now is showing people these hidden rules, these little tips and ideas, and the psychology that underlines buying and selling. And seeing that aha moment in them and hearing from them about the successes that they've had. And that's what brings me my greatest joy. And there's been various iterations of that, but I'm Pleased to say that the coaching product, the group coaching product, it's an intimate group of only 8 women. And I started that last year and, oh, it's absolutely my favorite thing to do because it brings together all of those things that I'm talking about. It brings together the information going out, the practice, and then the coaching so that I can really make sure that you get a the words that you need to say and the things that you need to do. And this year I came up with a name for that. So that's called Me Powered Selling. And that's the basis of what we'll be talking about today. So that's enough about me and Me Powered Selling. Now I want to make it about you. So today is the day. So let's embrace it. Again, thank you for coming along. And I want to start with my view of the world. The world has changed, and I want to show you and tell you what my view of that world is and why I think it's changed. I want to show you from all the work that I've done with women in business, the 3 key mistakes that I see women making. And then I use those mistakes to flip it. What are the things that we can do to overcome those and to reclaim your power, you, your value, and your stories? And it would give me great joy, and it gives me great joy today, to help you uncover that and think about that. So I really know that the world has changed. People all over the world are making new choices that are more aligned with their heart, more aligned with what they want, more aligned with their families. People who've had long corporate careers are leaving that so that they can deliver value in a different way. There's a whole generation of young people who are not choosing to get into that rat race. And I think the old world is built on that you are there to do what you're told, that you aren't there to deliver necessarily value to you or value to others. The value is created by this hierarchy of people who know far more than we do. And I think that's not true anymore. We all have inherent skills and values to provide and value to provide the world. And I know that some of you listening will be going, yep, I've been there, I know those people. And I want to tell you a little story about dinosaurs and crocodiles. So absolutely, there are still crocodiles in the world. There are still those organizations that are run by the people at the top telling everybody else what to do, and everybody just having to do what they're told. They're not told— they're not asked to think. They're not asked to contribute and collaborate and co-create. And those businesses still exist, absolutely. And some of them are big, and some of them we would probably think of in the modern sense or in the olden-day sense as still being successful. But they are dying. That way of working is dying and dead. And just because there are still crocodiles In this world, it doesn't mean that we're in the age of the dinosaurs. So I want to encourage you that when you feel like it's not right and it doesn't work anymore, you are absolutely right. And I want to show you the keys to changing that for yourself. So here's the 3 mistakes that I see women make time and time again. And when I talk about women, I'm not isolating myself from that. I absolutely make these mistakes, have made these mistakes, and know that in the future I will still have these around me. So it's not like you think, oh, that's a mistake, I'll learn to spell that word correctly and I'll never make that mistake again. It's not about that. It's about bringing the awareness to these issues and then being resilient. resilient and mindful about when they pop up, what we can actually do about it. Mistake number 1, the self-doubt, the imposter syndrome. And I've been listening to a really great TED Talk this week, and I'll include that in the workbook when I send everything out for you. But that imposter syndrome, that little voice on our shoulder that says we're not good enough, we don't know enough, we're not smart enough. What if everything goes wrong? What will people say? All of those things. And I know I focus on women, and there's lots of studies and evidence to show that women suffer with this doubt, self-doubt, and it impacts their lives far more than men. I don't know why. But just one local example with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. When a woman is thinking about getting a directorship, being on a board, they do the course first and then they get the board position. And the majority of men get the board position first and then do the course. And that's just a really telling example of exactly what's going on here. So that's the first mistake. Second mistake. And I think all of these things are related and intertwined. We don't understand our value. We struggle to talk about where we add value, to think about ourselves in that, in that value equation, and to listen and open up and find out from the people around us. how great we are at what we do and how we add value to them. And I think we're trained from a very young age to serve others. And I think that's one of the things that I love about working with women. We're so focused on the other people and focused on helping others. And that's what makes us great in business. But sometimes they say in the shadow of your greatest strength lies your greatest weakness. And I think sometimes we don't spend the time valuing and loving and looking after ourselves. And I think this is, this is the second mistake. I think the third thing is that we don't speak up. We don't ask for what we want. We don't ask for help. We don't go and get that loan. We don't ask for time for ourselves when, when, you know, the kids are screaming and everything else is going on. We put other people first and we forget to speak up and ask and tell our story. And so these are the 3 things that I want to work with you today on. And, and I think that— and I don't think, I know that these are foundational to you getting more success in your life and your business. And I would love to hear what you find and what you, what you uncover from working on these things with me today and as you work through the workbook. So before we kick off into the material, here's the woman who's at the center of what I do. Deep down in their heart, they know they're great. They know they have value. They know that what they do exists for a reason. But they're scared. There's something stopping them selling themselves. There's something stopping them growing their business. And so when I put together this material, here's the woman that I focused on. So I'm sure that all of you can take something out of what she's thinking and how she's feeling. And I want to see that frown turn into a smile. So I should get another picture of her with a nice smile, actually. That would be good to put at the end of the workshop. Okay. So the first thing and area where I would like you to claim your power with you. You have power. You are power. You hold together a family. You hold together a business. You hold together the community. You hold together others in times of crisis. We, we are powerful. And I think we need to spend some time uncovering those doubts and just owning the travel and the work that we've done and the things that we've discovered. And I've got a couple of things, and these are in your workbook, and I'd love to go through some activities for you to do just to sit with that. And when we do these exercises, that's really where our power comes from. So the first exercise I call Find Your True North. So what I'd love you to do is grab a piece of paper, put a love heart— I love love hearts— Love it. But it doesn't have to be a love heart. It can be a circle. It can be a square. It can be whatever you like. And I want you to put your name in the center of that. And I want to— I want you to think about all the things that you've done in your life that have added to your value and what that means now for you and for your clients and what they experience with you. And I actually have done this activity recently because in preparation for this workshop, I thought, well, you know, I am part of my client. And so I'm going to run through this for myself. So the things that I came out with is I want to make life simple. I want to make sales simple for people. I want to give you the simple tools that I know work from all the experience that I've had. And so that you don't have to guess and work out and find, you've got all the tools there for you. The second thing is, I know that there's things that block you. And I also know that until we acknowledge and minimize or even get rid of those blocks, I can't help you, or you can't help you. So— Uncovering, listening, working out what they are, and flipping them around and giving you an alternative is absolutely key to what I do and how I can— how I help people. I'm absolutely about helping you understand the psychology and the why of what underpins sales and selling. So, um, to me, there's real power in knowing why a buyer does a certain thing or why someone who's selling chooses a certain action. And once you know the psychology underneath that, you can recognize that and go, oh yeah, Fran talked about that. And now I need to do this, or now I need to ask more about that. So it gives you the tools when you're live in the throes of sales, because sales is an action sport. And the last thing that I really focus on is women and empowering women. I know that women are— and this empowering women and the way women work is central to the new economy that I'm talking about, central to that new way of doing business. And we do business differently, and that's deeply okay. And I want you to think about when you go and discover a brand new city. You can get a map and you can have the roads and the streets and the key places and the rivers and the whatever on a map. And that's awesome. And that gives you some information. It's very scanty, really, when you think about it. Or you can get someone's journal, personal travel journal of that city. It gives you their experience. It gives you their richness. You can, you can follow what they did. You can You can learn from what they did, and that's absolutely what I want you to do in this activity. This is your journal of your experience of how you've traveled, and there's gold in there. The second thing that I would love you to do is get another piece of paper. Now that you've got your true north or your central position of the power and your value, I want you to dream. What's next for you? What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to be? What sort of clients do you want to work with? I want to free you from having to do what you've done before because you don't. Putting on a piece of paper the things that you would love, the things that would fill your heart with joy, the things that would, would make you smile. I give you permission to do that, and I ask you to do that. And together with those 2 pieces, with all of that beautiful journaling on what you— where you have been and what you've learned, and then taking that into the future and looking at what you want, there's real power in that because Once you know your compass, you can go anywhere. And when I say journaling, I don't actually mean— I mean, you absolutely can if you want, but I don't mean that you need to do pages and pages and pages. The exercise before that I did, and I'll show you here, it's just a simple one page. And they're just— I've been on that journey. I don't need to write pages and pages. I just need to write Little key reminders about me and about the value that I add. So I want you to claim your value. You are unique. There is no one else like you. There is no other business like you. I know that there's lots of accountants or masseuses or healers or whatever, but there is no one else That has traveled your path, that has learned all the things that you learned, and has put them together in quite the same way as you. And that uniqueness has power. And I want you to own that and acknowledge that and use that when you're talking about yourself and thinking about yourself. And that, to me, overcomes that self-doubt. So when— now that we're on the second key to claiming your power, I want you to go back to the genesis of your business. And if you're only just starting, that's easier for you. But for those of you who've been in business for a little while, I want you to think about why. Why did you start this business? What was it that you saw? What, what problem did you see that you wanted to solve? What people did you want to help? And for those of you who've been in business for a little while, what I know about your why, it changes over time. We learn new things. So it doesn't have to be just about why you started in the beginning. But I want you to connect with your heart because that story about why you started, what you see in the world, what drives you is powerful. And I showed you an example of that at the beginning of this workshop. I showed you why, like, why I'm driven. I'm driven because this economy has changed and I want you to claim your power. And I'm driven because I know that I have the keys to help people with this. And I know that women struggle with selling. And so my— there are other people who help people with the same problem, and I know that. But my uniqueness isn't about how I view the world. It's about how I work with people. It's about me sharing that information. And when I share that, I'm Giving my clients the power to choose. When they know and can listen and understand how I work, it gives them the power to say yes or no. It gives them the power to understand how I work and understand how I might help them and understand what I can deliver for them. And that's where that power is. So when you understand your why and connect with that and use that, Absolutely, it gives you power. Once you've come to yourself and discovered that and, and, and owned that, another fabulous thing to do is to go and visit with your clients. And to find out from them what they value about you. What is it about the way that you work? What have they learned from working with you? What value do they get in their everyday life, in their business? And what I know from doing these exercises for myself and also for other clients is You will— if you do 3 or 4, you can absolutely do more, but you don't, you don't actually need to if you don't want to. But if you do 3 or 4 of these interviews, and in the workbook I'm going to give you a series of questions. Those questions look at the client journey. So what I want to know from the client's perspective is where did they start? What problem did they have? How did they describe that? How did they feel? I want them to know— I want to know from them, why did they say yes to me? What was that pivotal point? I want to know what the experience of working with me was. How did they find that? What did they like? What was expected? What was unexpected? And I really want to know what results they got. How did they feel at the end of it? And through that process, I want to know, is there anything that I should change? Is there anything that would help them or more that I could do. Once you do this exercise, you will find some common words. And having helped women and done this exercise for other businesses, what I know is that sometimes the business owner or the person listening struggles to own that word. Because let's say that everybody says that you are trustworthy or awesome or I don't know, there's going to be a common word, whatever that word is. After you hear that, what you need to do is go through a process of accepting it and using it. And in your workbook I've put a mandala and what I want you to do is put that word, whatever that keyword is that encompasses you, and it could be you can do a number of words if you want, and I want you to play with that. And that could be coloring in, it could be adding some more pictures, it could be drawing, it could be singing, it could be adding more words. I just want you to get comfortable with that word, and I want to— once you finish that mandala and whatever you've done with it to make it about you, I want you to put that somewhere prominent because you need to own that, because this is who you are. This is the value that you deliver to your clients. And, um, the more you can own that and then talk about that, the more you will attract other clients just like that. And that's what it's all about. You want to be able to attract those clients. You want to be able to engage with them and convert them and help them and get them to have the value that these other clients have had. And that's why this is pivotal in, um, you discovering and claiming your power. So when I think about you claiming your power, which is the second, second key, it's about you. It's about you owning all of the things that you've done and what you've learned. It's about them, and by them I mean your clients. And the combination of those two pictures gives you absolute clarity. And a path forward. So, if we go back to the, to the first key, which was about you, the first thing I did was said, I want you to map about you, and then I want you to dream about the future. And then we've gone into a little bit more depth in the second key, which is around your power. Where is your power, and how does that power play out for your clients? And again, what I want you to do is bring that back and say the clarity of where you are today. And then I want you to see the clarity of the path forward that will take you towards those dreams, that dream that you put out there for yourself, and they're the keys to helping you do that. The 3rd key that I would love to talk to you about today is You've got to claim your story. Once you understand you, you get your true north, you, you know, minimize— and I don't say get rid of, but you minimize those doubts, you feel the fear and do it anyway— then you have the power to speak up about you, speak up about the clients that you work with, problems that you solve and the value that you provide. And once you start engaging with people, the second step in that claiming your story is then asking for what you want, asking them to take the next step with you on that journey, asking them to buy from you. And together, this is what selling is. Selling isn't telling people what to do. It's not forcing someone to do something they don't want to do. It's about you helping other people understand your view of the world, helping under— helping people understand the problem that you solve, the value you provide, how you solve that, and then asking them to take that next step. And that's what I do. When I take you through the 8-week Me Powered Selling course is help you understand each step and all the tools and all of the words and ways that you can phrase things that will help you do exactly this. So again, in your workbook, I want you to— there'll be an area where I'll give you some prompts to telling your story. I want you to tell the story of you. You are unique and there is no other story quite like it. But what I'll do in the workbook is give you some context around how to deliver that story. But basically, the story is about you. It's about— it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. There's a reason that we use stories with our children, and that's because they engage with them, they resonate, and they're memorable. And there's lots to learn from our kids in life. And I've just had a comment here from Maxie. Hi, Maxie. Thank you and welcome. And she says, I have to say, Fran, that after our first meeting, I am now applying for the types of jobs I should be applying for. I changed my story and my why and have changed my perspective. That's great. But it has taken me a month or so to work through it. And absolutely. And, you know, I happened to meet Maxie at a lunch and I just said a few key things. And what I know is that when people work with what I talk about, it can take time. But the people who work with me through the 8-week course, Get that a little bit faster. So thank you, Maxie. I am so excited for you. And, um, that's exactly what makes my heart sing. So if I can add value to someone like Maxie and give her some, some things that she can go and work with, and then it makes a difference in her life. Um, and that just— yeah, thank you, Maxie, for sharing. That's really awesome. So, back to the activity. So, just like with Maxi, I want you to tell your story. Your story is about you and what you've learned, and it's about your clients and the value that they get. The second part or activity that I'd like you to think about is just learning how to ask. One of the things that I often— the analogies that I use with people is that selling is just like a dance, and— but we need to know our roles in that dance, don't we? You are asking the client to dance. You are saying, would you like to foxtrot? And they are saying yes, and you are putting on the music, and then you are leading them in that dance. So what actually happens when we forget to ask for the next step? Our clients get confused. It's a bit like going and asking someone to dance and then saying yes, and you putting on the music and then not leading. They get confused. No one knows where to put their feet and Selling is exactly the same. So it's really interesting when you flip it that way and your client is actually waiting for you to ask and wanting you to ask. And when you think about it that way, when you have that mindset, it actually changes how we approach that. And I think that being more transparent is so important. And if you— someone says something, a client says something that makes you want to know more, then ask. And transparency and honesty has real power. And this is one of the foundations, or one of the key foundations, of the new economy— being open, being honest, being vulnerable, asking for what we want, asking if we have a question. And what we show in that is that we respect people and trust people, and we ask other people to do the same with us. And that's foundational when we think about bringing new clients into our business. We want them to trust us, we want them to ask us, we want them to work with us. But in order for them to do that, we, we need to, and we want to, have to ask them ask them to buy from us. Oh, and I've got another comment here from Jo. Hi, Jo. Welcome along. She says, this has been really important to me because I cringed about asking for what my time is worth. Oh my goodness, Jo. Absolutely. And I'm the same. And all the women that I work with have this fear, or it doesn't have to be a fear, but it is a question. What am I worth? And at the end of the day, we need to come up with a figure that we feel comfortable with, and that can change over time. Absolutely. Um, and then we need to go and ask because the only people who can tell us whether they will pay that price is our market, is our, are our clients. And I know, um, one time when I put up my prices and I went into a meeting with this brand new price and, um, I was scared. I was, And I put the price out there and I know that there was a twinge in my voice when I said it. It didn't come across completely confidently. And when they said yes to that price, I did a little happy dance, not kind of in the meeting, but when I got back to my car or as I was skipping down the road to my car. And so there's, you know, there is, even for someone like me who's so experienced and so awesome at selling, When I raise my prices and when I go and ask people to pay that, I stop and wait. I take a breath and wait to see what they're going to say, because only they can actually tell me. But it's that action that shows me whether that is the right price or not. Thank you, Jo, for sharing that. That's really great. So here are some tips and some ideas about learning to ask. The first thing that I know about great selling, and I had that on a slide before, is it's helping people buy. So we've got to focus on our clients. The second key is that you need to know what the dance is. Is it a foxtrot? Is it a waltz? Know that map. Know what the The steps are and how you can guide and walk or dance with that client. A great way to share the experience on that roadmap is to tell your stories. And if you go back to the analogy that I was using before between, you know, you can have a map with key points on it and you can have someone's travel journey. Your stories are your travel journey. Your stories are the markers that show people that you understand how to travel on this road and the things for them to look out for and. Experience. And then you have to ask. You have to ask people to hold your hand. You have to ask people to travel with you. You have to ask people to buy from you. So thank you for spending some time with me today, and I Hope that you've got value, and as I said, this is the first outing for this information in this style, and I would love your feedback. So if you've loved something, hated something, want more of something, less of something, I would love to know about that. Please get in touch with me. I love questions, as I said. So anything that has come up for you, I would love you to put that on. But while I'm waiting for that to come through on the chat box, I'm just. I was going to explain to you a little bit more about Me Powered Selling. So if getting better and more intentional at selling in your business is something that you want to do this week, this year, then I would love you to join me. I— Me Powered Selling is a new name, and it is an 8-week coaching course. And you get me for 8 weeks and you get, you travel with me and I travel with you through a journey to discover just the things that we've talked about today, but in more depth. And I give you all the tools and ideas that you need. So every week you get a video and a workbook. I'm big on you doing activities and taking action because that's where the power is. What I say to people is watch the video. There's 3 key elements in each video and they go for about 15 to 20 minutes. Listen to the video, watch the video, and there will be one thing that stands out for you. So go to that thing in the workbook and work through that. And if there's 2 things that stand out for you, then work through those. There's a private Facebook group where you can ask questions at any time during the week. And at the end of each week, I run a 1.5 to 2-hour coaching call. And that's the opportunity. And I do that via Zoom. So everybody gets to interact. And that's my opportunity to use my superpower around words. And for those of you who have worked with me, you will know that one of the things that I can do really well is put things into words, tell you the story, and perhaps an analogy that you can use to encompass that. I'm great at showing you the words that you can— the phrasing that you can use to work with a particular client or a difficulty that you're having. And that's why I make it only 8 women at a time, because I want to give you the individual love and care. And I want you to have that experience. And what I know is that all of the women learn from each other because they've all got different businesses. There's products, there's services, there's intuitives, there's more corporatey and business-orientated people. And it doesn't seem to matter. And I love that because it just creates a rich tapestry. Someone will learn from someone else even though their business is completely different. And they go, oh my goodness, I can apply that. So I love it. When I get off those coaching calls, I could run a marathon. It just fills my heart with joy because I see the women exploring things. I see them getting it. I see them getting excited about trying new things. And from week to week, I know that they're going out there and doing that and winning new clients and just unleashing their power on the world. And that's my purpose. That's my mission in life. And I've been coming up with a new idea which I haven't finished formulating yet, but I wanted to share with you today. And I call it having or giving permission. And the mission part of permission is knowing your why and being centered with that and having the stories around that and really understanding what your mission is and what that looks like in your eyes and what you want to achieve, but also in the eyes of your customer and your client. And there's some of the exercises that I went through with you earlier. And the per bit of permission is personal. It's you. You have to do that. You are the one who can drive this in the world. And it's only you who can take that mission out into the world in your unique way. And when you put those things together, when you put you and your mission together, then you have permission. I give you, or it gives you permission to go out and do this. And when we feel like we have permission, then we go out and do it. And that's absolutely what I'm about. So I've got some comments here from the beautiful Wilma. Hi Wilma, thank you for coming along. Wilma was one of the people who actually did the first version of my coach So she was one of my guinea pigs. Thank you, Wilma. And she says, it's so good to get a refresher of what you taught us in the 8-week course. It helps us to go to a deeper level. And that's absolutely right. And that's why I give you the material, the videos, the workbook for life, because I know that there'll be times you'll need to go back and you'll listen to a video again and then something else will stand out for you. I also give you access to the coaching calls and the videos of those for 12 months. And it's true. What I know is that when people go back and listen to those again, they get new things out of them. They remember new things and they can apply new things into their business. And I have an early bird special which is on till this Sunday, the 22nd of April, and it saves you $200. So if this sounds like something that you would like to do, then please reach out to me if you've got any questions at all. And there's a page, a link there that takes you to the sales page that shows you everything that we do. But you get a video, you get a workbook, we have a private Facebook group to ask any questions. You have access to me through the 8 weeks. And I also do a beginning and an end one-on-one with you. The reason that's important for me, just as I said at the beginning of this workshop, is that what I want to do is I want to make it about you. There is value in me applying this or helping you apply this to you. And so that opening one-on-one really helps me to understand who you are, what you want, where you're at in business, so that I can call out some things for you as we're going through and work with you at that deeper level from the beginning. Oh, and Wilma, Wilma's made another comment here. Thank you again, Wilma. She says, in my experience, people focus on their everyday work. So true. Then I learned about selling through Frances's course and loved it. And I wanted to keep reviewing the recorded sessions, but I didn't. Well, they're there for you, Wilma. Go and do it. Then I really— what I realized today is it is important to keep going back to what you learned because no one can learn everything in one go. Absolutely. Thanks for all your blogs and your free webinars. You're very welcome, Wilma. I love sharing this information. And Wilma's absolutely right. The way we learn is through action, but we can't action everything that we learn. So we'll take a bit and we'll do it. We'll take a bit and we do it. And as we grow, and what I know from my experience with taking women through this 8-week course is about halfway through, most of them are flying and making new sales. And yeah, it— and then, yeah, anyway, I just get so excited about it. So if any of you would like to come along and join me in this, it's starting on the 7th of May. And by starting on the 7th of May, I mean, that's when the first material goes out. There are only 8 spots and a couple of them are already taken. So I absolutely encourage you to get in touch with me, reach out. Bye. If that's— if you're ready to do that. And I so look forward to working with you. And please come along to my Facebook group and come along to the free workshops that I do every month. And I want to give you the power. So thank you, thank you, thank you for coming along today. I've so enjoyed your questions and your comments and working with you today, and I really hope that you've got value, and I would love to get some feedback from you. So please email me, and I will be sending you out this video and the workbook so that you can apply some of this beautiful goodness in your life and your business. And thank you again, and have a beautiful day. Take care.