FOUNDER+COACH+EXPERT. Christine Gallagher is dedicated to coaching women entrepreneurs how to use marketing and online strategies to grow their businesses and their freedom. Her Knowledge, savvy and proven experience in her field, has helped countless others to reach their goals in their business. Let’s chat with her now…
I really love your name, She’s Got Clients! It’s simple, unique and it speaks volumes and it makes me want to say, hey, she’s got clients; I want to be that girl that’s got clients, too! In a business where everyone is a marketer and a strategist, how do you describe your style of training and coaching and what separates you from others? Is it as unique as your name? Does it stand out as attractive as your name?
That’s a great question. So what’s different about me – initially, this is how I started. I started my business with my techy background. People were coming to me to learn the technical side of things and I think I have a unique mix with that.
I’m good with the marketing where I can teach you, coach you and train you on marketing but I also have that techy side that I can help you break through roadblocks that you may run into. Let’s face it, a lot of people are trying to run on my businesses and a lot of them get thrown off with the obstacles like tech so I think that made me unique from the beginning.
My thing is that I am very hands-on with my clients. I am very much wanting to support them on a one-on-one basis. I know there’s a lot of programs out there that people run, coaches, consultants, whatever you want to call them that you don’t as much access to the person that’s actually running the program and people say that appreciate me for that.
That’s awesome. What intrigues you about technology? Is it a passion that you turned into a business or is it something that you fell into and you were in business with from the beginning?
Yes, how it started was when I was in college, I was always interested in technology and mass media. When I was in college I was majoring in television production and I was taking classes on radio and things like that.
What happened was that I ended up going to grad school and my major was information systems and information science, so I learned more about the techy side that way but what happened was I started to see social media blowing up and really becoming popular and at the same time that was happening, I got bit by the entrepreneurial bug and decided that I wanted to work for myself.
So what I did was, while I was still on the job, I got coaching myself and started looking at how am I going to work for myself and what am I going to offer people. My coaches helped me to start looking at my strengths and look at what I can offer. I realized that I have the technical side of things but social media is blowing up and there are a lot of people that I am noticing, like business owners, who aren’t getting it, don’t know how to use it or need help with it.
So initially, I started out as a consultant for people who wanted to learn more about how to use social media and so that’s where I took the techiness from. So it’s a combination of passion and sort of “that’s my background.” People started to see social media as a bullet and I had to tell people, “No, it’s not the only think that you do to market yourself. There’s always other things that you can be doing.” So my business ended up being re-branded and broadened so that my focus isn’t just social media anymore; that’s part of it but it’s more about all the different ways you can get clients and really leverage yourself in your business.
Great! That’s actually leading into the next question that I was going to ask. Do you think that people, entrepreneurs, think they can just create an online presence, i.e. create this Facebook account and say that I have this product or service and that the client is automatically going to follow? Do you get that a lot?
I do. That’s why I think that I ended up broadening and re-branding because it’s like there was this romance about social media and how great it was and they thought that they could put a Facebook page or a Twitter profile and get the clients and my thing is that social media is a great tool to get out there and build relationships and promoting your brand but there’s so much more to it. There’s so much more to getting successful online; building your list and building a great website and all of that. I think that people need to understand that social media is only a piece of the pie.
So, you are selective about who you work with and take on as a client. So who is your ideal client?
Oh, that is a good question. My ideal client is working with a woman entrepreneur. I always say work with women entrepreneurs but I do also work with cool men, too and that’s on my website. It’s not that I don’t work with men but typically a woman entrepreneur who is anywhere from the ages of 25 to 60 and they are service professionals so typically a coach, a consultant, an author professional organizer – they provide some kind of service – and they want to know how to market smart so they get their name out there to build a platform but also wanting leverage, meaning that having lots of clients is great but I also know that that women want to have a life because they have kids, they have families, they have other interests.
So my big thing is that you can build a business and leverage technology and not have it take over your entire life. There are ways that we can use the technology to leverage you that you have more of what I like to think of as a lifestyle business, where you can build your business around the life that you want to have and it is very possible and we’re blessed these days with the tools and technology that allow us to do that a lot easier than it used to be.
So I would say that’s probably the best description of my idea client, somebody that’s looking for all those things and really wants to build a name for themselves so that it’s easier to sell. So if you’re seen as an expert, more people are willing to hire and buy from you and I train and coach a lot on how to build that expert status for yourself.
So do you work with entrepreneurs that are not computer or tech-savvy?
Absolutely! I work with entrepreneurs at all different tech levels, meaning that some people are completely clueless about technology, some of them are intermediate and then some of them have more advanced skills but to me, it’s marketing is marketing is marketing.
If you can learn the marketing then I can also help you with some of the tools that can make it easier for you and I can help you get leverage by hiring people to do some of the techy things that you don’t want to do because that is also important in order to grow your business.
So after working with you, because you offer many different types of coaching and trainings, what can one expect to achieve after they finish working with you, whatever the duration is?
So what they can expect is obviously more clients, if that’s what they’re looking for and not just any old clients but ideal high-paying clients for them.
One of the big things I work on for my clients and my students in my IMPACT Academy, which is how I work with people, I teach them how to create the ideal client profile so they know who they exactly best work with because when you work with your idea client, everything just seems a lot easier and a lot smoother and it’s also great for marketing because you know who they are so you know how to reach them. You have to have that clarity first. So you’re going to get clarity on that and they’re going to get more of those type of clients and they’re also going to know how, again, to do the leverage so they don’t have to be an “hours for dollars” model if they don’t want to.
A lot of people love working with clients one-on-one but we only have so many hours in the day so I help people look at things how to create their own signature system or how to create e-books or information products or do bigger events and things like that so that they’re not just doing the one-on-one but they’re still making really good money. So they’re going to have that and they’re going to have recognition in their field because they’re going to have the expert status and they are going to have a lot of tools to continue to bring the income in.
I’m all about sustaining ability and consistent income because too many entrepreneurs suffer from the “roller coaster” where one month is good and one month is really terrible, which can be very stressful to live that way. So one of the big things that I like to be sure that my clients are armed with is knowledge and the tools that not only is the income is consistent but that it’s growing.
Do you customize your program to meet the needs of your clients or is it something that is pretty standard that everybody can use?
When I am coaching clients, there is some customization because every client is different and every business is different. I actually pride myself on the fact that I work with clients based on their individual particular needs. I don’t believe in cookie-cutter formulas for everybody, so yes, because people work with me and they get access to me one-on-one in my coaching, they do get some of that custom attention, for sure.
With so many changes in technology and marketing, how do you stay abreast of the trends?
I’m really a big believer of really staying connected to the post of what’s going on in your industry. I’m really big on reading blogs and paying attention to news about social media, technology and marketing. I like to stay informed just by reading and being on top of it. Things change really fast especially in the online world because they have new things coming out and new changes every day so I love to learn new things and pass them on to my clients and my students and I love to try new things like marketing techniques and things like that and if that’s working well then to pass that on to people. So I’m always on top of those type of things.
Do you have any particular social media platform that you prefer or a particular marketing technique that works for you?
Well, if we’re still talking about social media, then I really like Facebook just for the conversation but I really think the tried and true relationship marketing is the best way to turn people into clients from being prospects so for me that means staying in touch. So I use an e-zine, I do an e-zine every week and I have for five years; it goes out like clockwork. Some of my clients end up sending a weekly video or every other week they are sending some kind of article.
You need to have some kind of “keep in touch” because even if you meet people on social media or if you people on Facebook, they’re not going to necessarily buy from you right off Facebook; in fact, that almost never happens. So you have to actually connect and build that new link of trust, so I think that “stay in touch” marketing is a huge part of that and it’s really important.
You spend a great deal of time online and teaching others online techniques. How do you take off the work hat and just get online and like get on Pinterest or follow your favorite celebrity? How do you not do any work online?
I have to be careful because it’s true, I’m online a lot because of the business so what I try to do, it’s really about productivity and time management, make certain times of the day focused times and also certain days of the week like focused times where I only check emails a couple of times a day and I try to stick to checking them at certain times of the day, like once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I don’t keep Hoot Suite open all the time with all the tweets going because it’s too distracting and I reward myself at the end of the day or at night where I can do more of the social thing on Facebook when I’m drinking a glass of wine or when I’m on the couch. I just tell myself that really needs to happen during my down time.
Now if I am doing marketing or something on Facebook, we can pre-schedule those things to go out ahead of time and that helps with time management as well but I do like to compartmentalize as much as I can so I can check out the celebrity gossip but it usually has to wait until after work hours or on the weekends.
Do you find that since you spend so much time online that you have to get personal with people and maybe get off the computer to either meet people in person, talk on the phone and maybe sending a card rather than an email?
Yes, absolutely, and that is huge. Everyone is so focused on emails and online marketing and I think it’s great but there’s something to be said about getting out from behind the computer. So, the best experiences that I have had with meeting clients, prospects, partners, joint ventures partners and strategic alliances have been at live, offline events through sponsoring events, speaking at events, just going to events as an attendee. I think that’s huge and important and I tell my clients that they should be doing that on a regular basis in parallel with online marketing.
If you’re just getting started and you’re brand new, it takes time to build up a following. It takes time to build up a list. It takes time to make money online, so in the meantime, you need to be doing other things that are going to fill the pipeline. So the best things to do – speaking, networking, going to events – I think that’s really, really important and also doing things like sending a letter or a physical card because everyone’s so used to emails. So with IMPACT Academy, with my students there, I am always sending them things in the mail, whether it’s a little note of encouragement or like a book. I think that’s really important too because so many things get lost in the inbox.
One other thing I’ll say about that is that I do a live event every year, a big three-day live event in New Jersey and so that’s huge because people get to see me live and in person, I get to meet people so that can that I am “real;” I’m not just the girl that sends the e-zine every week – I am a real person. I get a lot of clients that way as well because I think it’s a big deal to get in front of people like “live!”
Are you finding that more women are becoming online experts or is it a male-dominated field and that women bring something to the table that is a little bit different than men?
Yes, absolutely! I would say that, I think that women are really making a big splash online, especially in the last ten years, almost more than men because men were the original people in the internet marketing world. What happened was that women started to use the teachings of internet marketing and realized, “Oh, my gosh, I can create a flexible business where I can stay home with my kids,” or, “I can quit that job and I can create something online and work from home.” So I think that women have leveled the playing field and come out really strong and here’s also why I think women bring something extra to the table.
Women are naturally great at social media because I think that we’re just natural connectors and relationship builders. So I think that women have actually done better with that from men because men sometimes in the old model are more “sales-y,” they’re marketers, where women are more about creating the relationships and the connections which has helped women a lot when it comes to using the modern tools we have online to connect with people.
What do you think that most people are lacking on the assistant’s end when they’re having to implement or maintain an online presence?
Well, consistency is really a big issue because I find a lot of times that people will easily give up or they’ll think, “Well, this launch failed, so maybe I shouldn’t be a business owner,” you know, that kind of stuff and so consistency and persistence are huge.
Like I said, when you first get online, it takes time to build an online business and a platform. So, you can’t give up early because it’s harder or it takes longer, so I think that’s huge. I also find that some people wait too long to get help; they do the Lone Ranger thing and they go at it alone. I’m always saying that, “I’ve always had coaches, I’ve always had mentors and you should, too! You should get help in the form of a mentor or a coach, even on the other side of it, in terms of help for your business.
I know that I personally waited too long to get my first virtual assistant. I was like, “Oh, I can do everything myself. Why spend the money?” and all of that but as soon as I got my virtual assistant, my income doubled right away because I finally free to do more of the marketing and the money making and I had someone else taking care of the details. So I think that’s another thing that people need to realize: if they can get help, even if it’s only for a few hours a month, they really should.
I would imagine that it’s extremely gratifying to start your own business, make it successful and then help other people do the same; I’m sure that’s huge as well. Do you remember the results from your first client and your first success story where they used what they learned from you and applied it to their own business?
Yes, I do. In the beginning, there were some of my very first clients who it was so great to see them take my teachings and get results with the teachings. For example, early on, clients were like, “Oh, my gosh, with what you taught me to do in social media, I added hundreds more people to my email list” or they’ll say, “I did my first webinar with your help and I sold xx number of products on the webinar,” so, it is really exciting to see the people take the teachings and actually implement them because that is the key, right?
I mean we can all learn the information but we have to implement it. So my clients that do the best and have the best results, they tend to be the implementers who are consistent and persistent and take the action and so it’s always exciting to see that, even today. It’s still so exciting to see my clients get great results.
What’s been your biggest lesson through all of this?
Wow! I think probably my biggest lesson was one that sort of hit me over the head early on and that was it’s not enough to just be good at the marketing or really good at what your mastery is. You need more than just being good at what you do and you need more than marketing. I didn’t really get that at first. I thought as long as I was the best trainer, the best coach, or I’m marketing until I’m blue in the face and what I realized that there’s a whole mindset piece to it, there’s a whole head-game piece to it where all those things that people tell us all the time and you’re going, “Yeah, yeah,” and it’s true –believing in yourself and having faith and understanding that the things you think about yourself are the things that actually end up coming true so you should believe that great things are happening.
All of that mindset piece has come true to me. Like people told me about all of that has always proved true. I’ll give you an example. In setting an intention, one of the things I talk about with my clients when they say they want to launch a new program, I say, “What is your intention for the number of people who are going to join the program and what is your intention for the amount of money you want to make?” So they’re like, “Why does that really matter; I just want as many people as possible.” It matters because you need to put a number on it or a specific thing on it because it’s the power of intention. If you would love 20 people in your group program, then keep thinking about the fact that you want 20 people in your program because then you’re going to start taking the action in order to get those 20 people because you’re sort of imprinting it in your mind. So that’s just one example that stuff is just as important as being good at the marketing.
Do you have a technology hero or shero that you follow or look up to?
I don’t know about technology but I think that there are a lot of women entrepreneurs out there that are inspiring and have inspired me. I know one of the first ones that really opened up my eyes to this world was a lady named Allie Brown. The reason why she was inspirational was because I didn’t know that this internet marketing world existed and I came across her and was like, “Ok, there’s a woman doing this,” and she’s got products and programs and this is really awesome. So she was really inspiring and to take it even further than that, just successful women entrepreneurs in general.
I look at people like the founder of Spanx; she’s a billion-dollar company and she started with nothing and I still look at Oprah and I still say, “Wow, look at what Oprah has done?” from where she came from and starting from scratch. So those kind of people are always inspiring to me and I like to read about them and I tell my clients that you should read about inspiring entrepreneurs, whether they’re women or men because I think that can really show you that yes, there’s going to be ups and downs but it’s ultimately worth it in the end.
Is there anything that’s new, whether it’s technology, online or social media that’s peaking your interest and you’re excited about it and looking forward to it developing and growing?
Yes, it’s interesting. There’s always new social media platforms popping up and there hasn’t been anything super lately that has caught my eye. The thing that has caught my eye lately are those things that make our jobs as online marketers easier.
For example, there’s software for you to make landing pages and sales pages really easily even if you’re not a techy person or if you’re not a designer. So things like lead pages, Optimum Press – that’s a software for WordPress that allows you to run your business easier; there’s a product that just came out that allows you to do webinars that you can also use to share your screen and have a live stream and I think that’s called Webinar Jam. So I’m always looking at these new tools coming out that make things easier because like I said, not everyone has the techy side to them but they still really want to kick butt online, so these types of tools make things really exciting and easier.
What words would you say are synonymous with you and your brand what do you hope to accomplish when you’re getting across to your clients?
That’s hard. One that comes to mind is the word FREEDOM and that is because that’s my number one value and that’s why I became an entrepreneur. I think that the things that I teach my clients help them to attain more freedom in their life and in their business and more financial freedom, too. So I think that’s a great word to be associated with.
I would also say AUTHENTICITY. I’d like to think that people are drawn to me over some other people because I am authentic and I try to really be straight with people about what I’ve been through and what it’s taken to build my business and people say that they really appreciate that.
What events or traits connect you to other women? What makes you a Connected Woman?
One big thing that makes me connected to my community is staying in touch with them through social media, sending my e-zine regularly, going to events online and offline. I like keeping in touch with entrepreneurial colleagues because some of them have become really good friends of mine. So I connect with them so we can share our struggles, share things we’ve learned and really help each other.
So I’d like to think that I am a connector and that I help other people connect to because I am introducing my clients to other people I think they should know or would benefit from. I’m always giving referrals for service providers, so I’d like to think that I connect people that way. So I’d say that those are the big things.
Any upcoming projects, books type of events for the year?
If anyone’s interested in what I have going on, they can join my list at www.shesgotclients.com. We have a free CD that you can request right there on the home page and once you request that you’ll be kept in the loop of all my programs. My live event is around every November, it’s called, “Get Out There Live.” It’s three days of immersion and learning of all the marketing that I teach so people will hear about that and they will hear more about that if they get on my list and they will also hear about the courses and programs throughout the year because I teach virtual training programs as well.
How can the readers get in touch with you outside of your website?
They can contact me on Facebook on my fan page, ChristineGallagerFan or my Twitter handle is @ChristineJ
Do you have a last piece of encouragement that you would like to leave with the readers?
Yes, I would like to say that people who really thrive as business owners and as women entrepreneurs, they know that they have a mission to serve certain people in this world. They know that they have a gift that they’re trying to serve people with, so just hold on to that knowing that you have that special gift to give to people because things will get hard and things will get tough and if you keep the mission and the “why” in your mind, you’ll be more likely to stick with your business even when there’s rocky times. So just remember to have the faith and remember all the people that you can help.
If you give up, you can’t help those people. That’s important to remember, too.
Interview facilitated by Sharisa Robertson. For more information visit www.sharisarobertson.com
