"Self-doubt, fear and indecision were a constant in my entrepreneurial journey. Course after course, there was always that elusive missing piece of the puzzle. How do I weed out the duds and trust self-proclaimed guru after guru, when I was not having any traction at all? How do I sort out the influx of one-size fits all programs and find The One that would move the needle in my business?
Enter EPM. The 12 weeks of the gamified course was the missing piece. The way the lessons are structured paved the way for clarity in my niche and eliminated overwhelm from start to finish. Chatterboxing has got to be one of my favorite words now. How can something so simple be so brilliant?
I have been trolling open houses since my course started taking shape, practicing my pitch house after house. I took it as practice sessions with every realtor or homeowner that I met and who would care to listen to what I have to offer. Each encounter was an opportunity for me to practice my pitch. When nos started becoming yesses, I knew something big had shifted in my belief system. Clarity builds confidence. It’s not only what I have to say but in how I say it.
Just in the nick of time, I managed to complete one premium staging (@$997) and two minis (@497 each). And I may even be close to hitting the next tiers in the coming weeks. Since there's only one me, the staging appointments cannot happen fast enough.
These were all from chatterboxing since the course started taking shape. I'm still in the process of finishing my marketing assets, creating my portfolio, getting my business license, etc. so no website/funnels/squeeze pages to speak of yet. All I had were some business cards and a brochure that I whipped up pretty fast, and the big ideas in my head.
I got a text shortly from the realtor of the first house that I staged that the sellers received several offers (all above the asking price), after sitting on the market for 12 weeks (the average listing time right now in my area is four weeks). The property is currently in escrow. Needless to say, this realtor is now a fan and I'm looking at doing a few more of her listings.
In all of these, I realized that not every home is ""stageable"" right away because of So. Much. Stuff. The decluttering phase is a module in my course but for some homes, I realized it is a course/service in and of itself. So a light bulb turned on and in a few of the homes, I first offered a separate decluttering/organization service and was making it up as I talked to the homeowners. I had nothing written down, but as a neat freak and self-proclaimed organizing OCD, I knew exactly how to help these people. I priced it at $297 for a two-hour consultation. I am scheduled to do three homes next week and I'm doing the staging in the next couple of weeks before their houses hit the market.
Mindset is everything! Every time I’m in front of someone, I have to remind myself that it’s not my job to explain why I charge what I charge but rather, to make the client understand the value of the transformation that he/she will get when they hire me, and how I can solve their problem.
Self doubt is real, but the solid support system I had from my coach and Wednesday pod made such a big impact to keep my eye on the price. The EPM community of givers was invaluable in getting to MA.
Another important factor is believing in my Mission Statement, that I can provide that coveted solution to my ideal client’s problem. I printed it out and posted it where I can see it daily, I even used it as a screen saver on my phone. And just like in one of the modules, I celebrated my constant wins. Although it would be great to get all yesses every single time, I recognized that it’s not always possible. I considered a “no” as simply a detour to MA. It was one conversation I didn’t have yesterday. And if I mess up, it’s not a big deal. I can almost hear Marisa say “keep pedaling.” As the great Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
Hitting that Mission Accomplished button must be the most exciting thing I’ve done in a long time! If I only knew how this whole journey would turn out, I would have set loftier goals! But who says I have to stop now? The fun has just started!
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