This is the fourth installment of Christine and my monthly Peer-to-Peer Mentoring series. On her blog, I answered her question:
“Social optimization is at the heart of all my business endeavors. For this reason, any pitch I offer to a potential client is always authentic – I aim to reveal how working together will mutually accentuate their product, service and relationships with their potential customers and clients. Unlike many businesses that wait for clients to come to them, I approach clients to help them see the need for my specialized services.
What creative design ideas or tips can you suggest that will help make my pitch strategy more fun and multi-dimensional?“
My Question to My Mentor:
“I’ve never collected testimonials and I’m examining why? that is. Can you tell me how you received the testimonials you have collected, and how it felt to get them?”
Christine’s Answer:
Beginning to collect testimonials was a purely organic experience. A business development client of mine bestowed a very complimentary, but objective email upon me after we achieved a few really cool milestones within his business. At the end of the email he said, “hint, hint, hint… hope this will serve as the start to your new testimonial section on your website.” Of course, this felt amazing because I had not yet asked for my clients or patients to acknowledge their experiences of working with me. I was flattered and inspired to ask clients and patients to reflect after receiving this first one though!
I have always thought the word testimonial sounds cheesy. Most of the ones I would read on websites seemed quite contrived and lacking in objective feedback. I can clearly see the purpose they are meant to serve, but was never thrilled with the ones I came across. This definitely deterred me from including a testimonial section on my site.
I decided to take some of my own advice-if you don’t like it, fix it, re-frame it, make it more fun, create something more fitting or tangible for your own personal niche or personality. At the same time I decided I would create a space for feedback, I began jotting down different ideas of a fun title that would catch people’s eyes and get them to click away on the website. I came up with “Patient Raves” and “Client Raves” to avoid using that cheesy sounding word, testimonial.
This is the fourth installment of Christine and my monthly Peer-to-Peer Mentoring series. On her blog, I answered her question:
“What methods do you have in place or have made use of that allow you to obtain objective feedback on your web-design to be sure you’re reaching your target markets? Do you have anybody who specifically markets in your field or perhaps an un-biased colleague who helps ‘test’ your site to be sure that they would ‘buy’? Please share how you research and refine this topic in your work.“
My Question to My Mentor:
“You’re a multi-talented lady, and I fancy myself the same. You’re baking a number of very interesting pies at the moment. How do you ensure each pie (i.e., each interest/passion/business/avenue of expression) gets adequate attention? How do you make the time for everything you do and still do your best? I am in a constant struggle with making more time for my writing… and, less imperatively, my cross-stitching, and I want to learn from your ability to manage multiple interests.”
Christine’s Answer:
Great question, one I’m constantly re-visiting in my own work! But wait, you didn’t get an intern yet so you can go out joy-riding? Just kidding…
Entrepreneurship is about transformation, flexibility and openness to try new things. Multi-talented business persons are great at creating activities and projects, but sometimes develop a tendency to become over-committed. Despite this, as talented as you are at creating projects, so are you smart enough to create time for your cross-stitching my multi-talented friend!
July was the second installment of Christine and my monthly Peer-to-Peer Mentoring series. On her blog, I answered her question: Along my career path, I travel wearing many hats. From a writer and designer’s perspective, what tools do you use to portray career evolution to your audience? More specifically, how do you keep your bio updated to portray the ever-evolving you so it represents your business as extension of yourself rather than a mere list of accomplishments?
My Question to My Mentor:
Do you have difficulty feeling confident about the work you do and the value it adds? If so, how does it manifest itself? And do you have any tools you use to boost your confidence when you feel it faltering?
Christine’s Answer:
For starters, I’ve never felt like I fit into the status quo. Not at school as a kid, not at other jobs etc. Now I can look back to see this was an opportunity I’ve been able to grow exponentially from. Not fitting in raises questions early on, “why am I not like the others?” “don’t they like me?” “what should I be doing to fit in?” Turns out when I pushed and pulled to fit myself into the confines of spaces I wasn’t shaped for, it felt uncomfortable. And, when I did at times wedge myself into spaces I didn’t fit, turned out a lot of the other people in there, weren’t so happy either. So, I decided, (sub-consciously perhaps), early on to be a shaper. It was a risk I had to take because the other reality wasn’t working for me.
Okay, here we go! Today is the first installment of Christine and my Peer-to-Peer Mentoring series. I’m excited to see how we will learn from each other. On her blog, I answered her question: How do you apply the advice and suggestions you offer your clients to your own projects and endeavors?
My Question to My Mentor:
What do you do to cultivate mutually supportive female relationships in your life?
Christine’s Answer:
Historically, I’ve been a “guy’s girl” so answering this great question took a bit of thought! Cultivating supportive female relationships wasn’t always part of my Modus Operandi. Quite frankly, I always felt more at home with my male counterparts. I had more (or so I thought) in common in both my business and personal life. And then, one day out of ( ? ) somewhere I had a feeling that I needed some relationship balancing.
