10 Tips to Build Your Self-Confidence so You can Manifest Your Ideal Client and Collect with Confidence
It’s all about energy, attitude and consistency. These ten tips will help you magnetically draw clients to you and make you happy in the process:
- Use Music
One of the simplest tricks for helping yourself to both take action and feel more confident: Creating your own inspiring musical playlist, and playing it whenever appropriate. (Athletes know this secret and use music all the time, while training at the gym.)
Just as sad music in minor keys can help us process feelings when life deals blows like relationship breakups, so can energizing music or inspiring music actually raise our confidence level to the point where we take action.
Choose your own favorite “theme song.” It will automatically boost your confidence whenever you hear it.
Here’s one of my theme songs:
It’s by Mary J. Blige- Just Fine
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- Dress for Success
This doesn’t mean putting on a formal business suit. It does mean dressing in a way that boosts your self-confidence and makes you feel good about yourself.
Don’t try to copy your ideal client or niche influencer unless that’s a look you totally relate to. It’s more important to dress in a way that makes you feel you have already achieved your top goal. If you see yourself with gypsy-style earrings and Afrocentric skirts in many colors and layers, go for it. If you see yourself as edgy and trendy, go for it. If you see yourself in a red coat, wear that! And take note of how it makes you feel, when you dress for success.
Change your hairstyle. Buy those shoes you’ve been wistfully drooling over. Don’t worry about what other people think. Wearing what makes you feel successful and confident will attract the right client—for you.
- Make On-going Learning Part of Your Business Life
Knowing you are ahead of your peers (and abreast of top influencers) in the latest changes, improvements or information in your field is another good way to automatically boost your confidence. Sign up for our Virtual Conference, here.
Take innovative courses, attend lectures, keep your certifications updated or upgraded, and subscribe to—and read—industry journals, in order to keep ahead of the pack and provide your clients with the best service. Proactively do primary research yourself. Contact organizations, companies and experts. That way, you won’t just be following top influencers: You’ll BE one.
- Start Small
Do you have a big change to make? Don’t wait for the “right time”—start small. For example, if you want a new office but can’t afford it, try buying a new piece of furniture or an accessory for your office that will make your life easier—like a bookshelf; or even just a shelf. Or a new lamp, to reduce the chronic eyestrain you suffer. Or even just some flowers because you deserve them!
When you start to surround yourself with things that signify success or make life easier, you are sending yourself a strong message – “I CAN have this in my life! I deserve this!”
- Make Confidence a Habit
Contrary to what others might think, no one is born with supreme self-confidence. It has to be learned. And it CAN be learned.
So consciously work on changing your habits. Take actions you need to take, change negative self-talk to realistic and more positive talk, and actively adopt the attitude of what you define as a successful person.
Confidence is not only for the few who “succeed.” Anyone can have it—all you have to do is make it a habit.
- Practice Makes Perfect
My number one way to walk in confidence is to be prepared – or over prepared if necessary. There is nothing better for increasing confidence than knowing you are absolutely ready to give that speech, approach that media personality or promote your book.
So read over the notes or listen to the recording you made for that new client’s free consultation, in plenty of time for their first appointment. Write down what you need to accomplish before tackling some event or project or task that makes you nervous. Make sure you try everything out in advance.
Practice that speech (many times!) Practice using that new webinar software. Anticipate questions. Make sure you have everything you need assembled and ready to go.
Being prepared is the best way to step out in genuine confidence. You will avoid that “imposter syndrome” that tries to kill your confidence.
- Do It until It’s a Yawn
Does phoning people to ask for interview opportunities terrify you? Remember that doing it once is only an ice-breaker. Once you’ve done it, the next one is easier (even if only marginally)—but if you don’t get straight back on the horse, the effect will wane.
Resist the urge to make just one phone call, or send one custom email, or approach one person at a conference. Set a goal of reaching ten, or twenty, or even fifty (if there are enough people to converse with). Sure, it’s a great breakthrough if you do something like pitch the media or do a book-signing for the first time—but the way to REALLY start enjoying these activities is to do it again and again, until you feel confident and sure of yourself.
- Realize Your Clients Need—and Want—Your Coaching
Instead of expending energy trying to attract new clients, focus on the ones you already have. They already trust you. They have “bought” from you and they are still coming back for more.
Make sure you meet and exceed their expectations. Be proactive. Anticipate their needs at the next level. Provide aides, extras and resources at the right time. Go over their notes, think about them. Empathize with their problems and dreams.
If you do this—if you treat your existing clients as if they are diamonds—you will automatically attract the same type of client who already wants your services.
- Know Your Own Value
The most confident people are those who know their own worth: What their time is worth, what their life experience and expertise is worth and what their services are worth.
Track your time. Look over your achievements and credentials. Read your client testimonials and emails. Identify the area where you help people make the biggest shifts.
Realizing how truly unique and valuable you are to clients can give you the confidence to set a realistic and healthy value on your services… so you can stop over-delivering and under-charging, and have the confidence to know you deserve your fees.
- Take Action
Speaking of small steps, one of the best you can take for yourself is to stop thinking and “just do it”—whatever “it” is.
Thinking leads to over-thinking, which leads to procrastination, which leads to a loss of self-worth. So be the person who takes action when others are still tossing around possible solutions.
Taking action is empowering. So, give your clients the best example, and be that “action person” they look up to, and admire. Tidy your desk. Send that email. Make those phone calls. Feel accomplished and gain momentum – and you’ll collect with confidence.
Pam Perry one of the speakers at the BacktoBusiness.me conference featured above. She is an award-winning PR Coach & social media strategist delivering online branding and marketing solutions for best-selling authors, nonprofits and entrepreneurs/authorpreneurs. She is also the publisher of SPEAKERS MAGAZINE.