Podchaser Logo Rate on Podchaser

Episode 40

E40: Unleashing Your Hidden Advantage with Patty Block

In this episode, our repeat guest, Patty Block, shares another brilliant concept to help women grow their businesses. 62% of women rely on their businesses for their primary income, yet 88% of these businesses generate less than $100,000 in annual revenue. Having seen the same struggles time and again, Patty teaches women how to shift their mindset and build their confidence to generate more revenue with less stress. 

Listen while she details her framework, SNAP, and discusses the following:

  • The common profit-limiting myths that women believe
  • Training your ideal buyers to become your ideal clients through setting boundaries

Are you ready to uncover those hidden advantages and start putting them to good use for your business? 

Other Resources Mentioned:

More About Our Guest:

Patty Block is a business advisor, pricing expert, author, and speaker. She works exclusively with women business owner experts to strategically fine-tune their operations, attract right-fit clients, and boost their revenue. She firmly believes business success and wealth in the hands of women elevates society as a whole. In her book, Your Hidden Advantage: Unlock the Power to Attract Right-fit Clients and Boost Your Revenue, Patty reveals a new perspective and proven, practical solutions, guiding women to unleash their inner power to run their business with more confidence, profit, and joy.

Connect with Patty Block:

Connect with Erin and find the resources mentioned in this episode at hourlytoexit.com/podcast.

Erin's LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

Think Beyond IP YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztXnDYnZ83oIb-EGX9IGA/videos

Music credit: Yes She Can by Tiny Music

A Team Dklutr production

Transcript
Erin Austin:

Hello ladies.

Erin Austin:

Welcome back to the Hourly to Exit podcast.

Erin Austin:

I am very excited to have my first repeat guest this week.

Erin Austin:

Patty Block.

Erin Austin:

Welcome

Patty Block:

Patty.

Patty Block:

Thank you.

Patty Block:

I'm so glad to be here.

Patty Block:

Yeah.

Patty Block:

Oh, I'm very

Erin Austin:

excited to have you back.

Erin Austin:

as I mentioned the last time you were here, there are a million things that

Erin Austin:

you can talk to this audience about.

Erin Austin:

Very accomplished in many areas of helping women entrepreneurs, but we're

Erin Austin:

excited today to talk about your new book.

Erin Austin:

So first, please introduce yourself to the audience, and then tell us about the book.

Patty Block:

I'm Patty Block.

Patty Block:

I focus on helping women business owners.

Patty Block:

Unmask their hidden advantage and then unlock it so that that special something,

Patty Block:

that special attribute that you have that brings value to your clients can really

Patty Block:

help you build your business, attract right fit clients, and boost your revenue.

Erin Austin:

That's wonderful.

Erin Austin:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

We both have in common that we primarily work with, women entrepreneurs.

Erin Austin:

And as I was reading your description of your book helping women unleash

Erin Austin:

their inner power, so you used words, kind of feminine words

Erin Austin:

like inner power and prophet.

Erin Austin:

Well, prophet is not feminine, but I think of it as a feminine word and

Patty Block:

joy and so.

Patty Block:

For your book, like is it geared to

Erin Austin:

women and are there specific issues that women have around these

Erin Austin:

issues about understanding their hidden advantage that you help them work with?

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

So, my book, I wrote it specifically because I had seen

Patty Block:

so many patterns and I didn't hear anyone else talking about this.

Patty Block:

there are patterns specifically for women and roadblocks that I.

Patty Block:

I am helping my clients overcome, but I realized I wanted to reach a

Patty Block:

larger audience because running your business does not have to be a burden.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And I can teach you how to do that in a way where you really are working

Patty Block:

with the people who value you the most and are willing to pay for

Patty Block:

the kinds of results that you get.

Patty Block:

So what I teach is a several step process of how you can achieve that.

Patty Block:

So, Finding your hidden advantage.

Patty Block:

It may be hidden from you as well as we're often not talking about ourselves.

Patty Block:

So that means it's hidden from others as well, and it's time to unmask

Patty Block:

unlock and unleash that inner power.

Patty Block:

So some of the things that I see that are so common and pervasive for women

Patty Block:

business owners, probably the biggest.

Patty Block:

It's so big.

Patty Block:

I named it.

Patty Block:

And it's called the broken cookie Effect.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

We'll

Erin Austin:

put, we'll put a link to your last, time here where we

Erin Austin:

talk about the broken cookie effect.

Erin Austin:

That's great.

Erin Austin:

Thank

Patty Block:

you.

Patty Block:

Okay, great.

Patty Block:

And that is a dynamic of undervaluing ourselves, underpricing our

Patty Block:

services, and then overdelivering.

Patty Block:

And every woman I know ends up overdelivering.

Patty Block:

The work that they're doing because we're high achievers and we want great results.

Patty Block:

So that broken cookie effect is affecting how we operate in the world and how we

Patty Block:

manage our pricing and talking about it.

Patty Block:

So that's probably the biggest challenge that I've seen.

Patty Block:

There are many, many others.

Patty Block:

In addition to the sacrificing your profit, which is what you're doing with

Patty Block:

the broken cookie effect, there's also.

Patty Block:

Beliefs that we have that may keep us stuck and we may not be aware of that.

Patty Block:

So offering a discount nobody asked for because you're

Patty Block:

afraid you won't make the sale.

Patty Block:

That's a belief that impacts how you're operating.

Patty Block:

And the challenge with not bringing in a high level of revenue is

Patty Block:

that it limits your choices.

Patty Block:

So in my view, everything flows from pricing.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And it's about if you want to hire people to help you, when you can hire

Patty Block:

who you can hire, what you can pay, how you can support yourself by having

Patty Block:

others who will support the work.

Patty Block:

it's really hard to do if you are not even taking a paycheck.

Patty Block:

So, which actually is pretty common for women.

Patty Block:

They'll pay employees before they pay themselves, and sometimes

Patty Block:

they don't pay themselves.

Patty Block:

So that's a far play to make a living.

Patty Block:

It is, and it's only one of many, many challenges in those limiting beliefs.

Patty Block:

The second piece is we're often talking to the wrong people,

Patty Block:

thinking they're the right buyer.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So in the book, and for years I've been talking about how do you

Patty Block:

define and find your ideal buyer?

Patty Block:

What does that look like?

Patty Block:

And how do you determine instead of waiting for the phone to ring, right,

Patty Block:

finding who you want to work with.

Patty Block:

And the third piece is pricing, which of course is such a challenge

Patty Block:

because you feel like you're guessing.

Patty Block:

And if you're guessing with your pricing, I promise you, you're guessing.

Patty Block:

Mm.

Patty Block:

And we tend to think everybody thinks the same way we do about

Patty Block:

money, and so we end up pricing low.

Patty Block:

And then the fourth piece is how do you communicate effectively?

Patty Block:

How do you talk about yourself, your pricing, your company, your solutions?

Patty Block:

How do you do that in a way that conveys value with everything you.

Patty Block:

so those are the four main pieces that I teach in the book.

Patty Block:

And I also offer an accelerator program to help women customize all

Patty Block:

of these steps inside their business.

Patty Block:

Okay.

Patty Block:

So

Erin Austin:

is this framework that the forceps you mentioned,

Erin Austin:

that is also what you do with your one-on-one or your clients as well.

Erin Austin:

Is that

Patty Block:

basically the same?

Patty Block:

It is.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And I've named.

Patty Block:

In conjunction with the broken cookie effect.

Patty Block:

It is the SNAP System.

Patty Block:

And part of that is because my mom had a nickname.

Patty Block:

She was called Little Miss Gingersnap because in 2014 she went to Burning Man.

Patty Block:

And if you're not familiar, Yes.

Patty Block:

If you're not familiar with Burning Man, it started out as an art festival and it

Patty Block:

is designed for artists and musicians.

Patty Block:

It's held once a year in the BlackRock Desert of Nevada,

Patty Block:

and they have a gift economy.

Patty Block:

So no money is exchanged for anything.

Patty Block:

Okay.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

It's really fascinating.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And my sister has been a lifelong burner and had talked to my mom about

Patty Block:

going, and my dad had died the year.

Patty Block:

So my mom was feeling pretty lost.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And decided this was gonna be a grand adventure.

Patty Block:

So she decided her gift was gonna be a card that had her motto on

Patty Block:

it, which is the only thing that divides when multiplied is love.

Patty Block:

Ah.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And.

Patty Block:

Alright.

Patty Block:

I think I said it backwards.

Patty Block:

The only thing that multiplies when divided is love.

Patty Block:

Yeah.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

And then she bought these giant tins of Swedish ginger snap cookies.

Patty Block:

Oh.

Patty Block:

And handed those out with the card and got her nickname of Little Miss Ginger Snap.

Patty Block:

And so I remembered that as I was working on the book.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And.

Patty Block:

Putting the pieces together with the broken cookie effect.

Patty Block:

And so in the book you'll see there are ginger snap exercises all

Patty Block:

through the book, which you can also download from my website so that

Patty Block:

you can type into the exercises.

Patty Block:

Cuz I was taught you never write in a book.

Patty Block:

So I needed to accommodate just see my books and see everyone

Patty Block:

feels differently about that.

Patty Block:

Some people think it's fine.

Patty Block:

I was raised, you never write in a book.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

The exercise is not available.

Patty Block:

Right.

Erin Austin:

Well, I wanted to go back and, go through those steps again now.

Erin Austin:

The, under promising and over delivery.

Erin Austin:

So you mentioned over delivery in terms of the way it hit your profit.

Erin Austin:

And there's another way I think that I know I've done and that I imagine other

Erin Austin:

women have done is over delivery in terms.

Erin Austin:

what we give of ourselves.

Erin Austin:

And so for me, I have a history of having retainer clients so I feel like

Erin Austin:

I have to be instantly responsive and available, basically all the time.

Erin Austin:

And so there's no boundaries about, when or how you can reach me.

Erin Austin:

And it was very important to me to feel like, well, if they're gonna

Erin Austin:

pay me like in advance every month, like I gotta, make sure that they're

Erin Austin:

super happy.

Erin Austin:

And have, we have a common friend who's so good, like, you'll send her

Erin Austin:

an email and you'll get this thing.

Erin Austin:

Like, to protect my peace.

Erin Austin:

I only, like, Oh my God, I can't even imagine.

Erin Austin:

that makes me like clench inside the idea of me, like creating

Erin Austin:

those kinds of boundaries.

Erin Austin:

but that's another way that we over give by not having those boundaries.

Patty Block:

Absolutely.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

It's not all about money.

Patty Block:

Although when you limit your income, you're also limiting your choices.

Patty Block:

So it's where I start in terms of those limiting beliefs and your pricing.

Patty Block:

Because once you have that and you feel so much more confident, then a

Patty Block:

lot of other things will flow better.

Patty Block:

And you're right, we were high achievers.

Patty Block:

In everything we do, and that often makes it difficult to establish

Patty Block:

boundaries because then we feel like we might have a conflict.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So if I have a boundary and somebody pushes against it, then I have a choice.

Patty Block:

Right.

Patty Block:

Do I.

Patty Block:

Say something.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Do I do something or do I just stay quiet?

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And most of us just stay quiet because we don't want the client to be unhappy.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And we want to feel like we're giving 110%.

Patty Block:

So, yes, I agree with that.

Patty Block:

It's not just that we're underpricing and over delivering from a

Patty Block:

price, from a profit standpoint.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

It is very much about.

Patty Block:

What we're giving of ourselves.

Patty Block:

Yeah.

Patty Block:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

Agreed.

Erin Austin:

And then you mentioned the ideal buyer, and the question by that do you mean

Erin Austin:

like, who is your ideal client or who within a corporation should you

Erin Austin:

be talking to and how to find them?

Patty Block:

So let me start with a distinction between an

Patty Block:

ideal buyer and an ideal client.

Patty Block:

So an ideal buyer.

Patty Block:

Is someone that you've defined and found, or they've been attracted to you,

Patty Block:

they've self-identified that they want to work with you, and an ideal client,

Patty Block:

in my view, does not happen by accident.

Patty Block:

That happens when you start with an ideal buyer.

Patty Block:

They go on the journey.

Patty Block:

Through your sales process, so they're ready to buy.

Patty Block:

And then once they, you start the onboarding and they have become a

Patty Block:

client in many ways, you're training them to be an ideal client by setting

Patty Block:

and maintaining those expectations, and that's the perfect time to set boundaries.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

But you have to be clear on what those boundaries are.

Patty Block:

if you don't want a client calling you at nine o'clock at night, then

Patty Block:

you need to find a nice way to say, my typical hours are nine to five or

Patty Block:

nine to six, Monday through Friday.

Patty Block:

If there's something really urgent, please e-mail me.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And I will get back to you as quickly as possible So you're

Patty Block:

setting that expectation.

Patty Block:

And then if they end up calling you in the evening, a, you don't have to answer.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And B, you can.

Patty Block:

Send them an email saying, I saw that you called, I'll get back to

Patty Block:

you first thing in the morning.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So reinforcing those boundaries is really important.

Patty Block:

It gets harder to do that as you have a longer relationship with your client.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And if you haven't set those boundaries at the beginning.

Erin Austin:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

That's for sure.

Erin Austin:

So that is a great distinction.

Erin Austin:

I'd never, I mean, for me and probably for a lot of our listeners, the idea.

Erin Austin:

Are judging our clients and training our clients, like, we think about

Erin Austin:

like, who's our best client?

Erin Austin:

Who do we love to work with?

Erin Austin:

But we never think about like, how do we create the circumstances

Erin Austin:

to have that ideal client?

Erin Austin:

We just kind of, maybe we get lucky, we don't get lucky, but, it is within our

Erin Austin:

control to set the stage for having that ideal client and that ideal relationship.

Patty Block:

Exactly.

Patty Block:

And.

Patty Block:

Your client can't read your mind, right?

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And they don't know.

Patty Block:

Unless you tell them What those boundaries are.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And it's the same thing if you are giving a company a proposal.

Patty Block:

You've gone through the sales process, now you're at the proposal

Patty Block:

phase in that proposal, and verbally, you need to explain the.

Patty Block:

Because we've all experienced scope creep.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

and it feels like conflict when they come back and say, and can

Patty Block:

you do this, this, and this?

Patty Block:

And we wanna say, well, of course we can do that.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Right.

Patty Block:

But you're undercutting your profit and in many ways you're devaluing.

Patty Block:

What you're providing because you're saying, this is not valuable

Patty Block:

enough for me to charge you more.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So I'm just gonna throw it in.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And they won't value it the same way they did when they hired you.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So there's a lot of psychology underneath what you're doing and what you're saying.

Patty Block:

And let me go back to your original question of, so how

Patty Block:

do you find an ideal buyer?

Patty Block:

Where do you find them?

Patty Block:

How do you find them?

Patty Block:

How do you define that?

Patty Block:

And that's a lot of what I teach, that we do wanna define your ideal buyer, but it's

Patty Block:

very rare that they're gonna find you.

Patty Block:

No matter how much marketing you do No matter, you know, we've all been

Patty Block:

sold this idea that if we just use the right messaging and market in

Patty Block:

just a particular way that resonates with this exact audience, that

Patty Block:

they're gonna come flocking to us.

Patty Block:

And it really doesn't work that way.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So really having a balance between your inbound people

Patty Block:

who do find you and outbound.

Patty Block:

Where you go out and find the right people to work with.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

That balance is really critical and it doesn't really matter if

Patty Block:

you change your pricing if you don't have an audience to buy.

Erin Austin:

That's true.

Erin Austin:

That's true, right?

Erin Austin:

You can have the best service in the world, but,

Patty Block:

and at the same time, if you find all the right buyers,

Patty Block:

but you haven't priced appropriate, You're gonna undercut your profit.

Patty Block:

You're not building value in your company.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And you're not building value for your client, Because they're not gonna

Patty Block:

really understand what it takes to get the kinds of results that you get.

Patty Block:

So all of those things conspire to undermine the credibility of your company,

Patty Block:

and it's kind of a cascade effect.

Patty Block:

We're not always aware of.

Patty Block:

So when I talk about finding your ideal buyers, it's

Patty Block:

knowing where to look for them.

Patty Block:

So let me share an example.

Patty Block:

So attorneys and accountants, I work with a lot of attorneys and

Patty Block:

accountants and technical experts.

Patty Block:

And we like to have a collegial environment and we like to be

Patty Block:

surrounded by our colleagues and sometimes our competitors.

Patty Block:

And so we join organizations and we put our time and energy into organizations

Patty Block:

where our buyers are not there.

Patty Block:

Hmm.

Patty Block:

That is very, very interesting.

Patty Block:

Colleagues are there.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

That's And so when you go into a room full of attorneys, You're very

Patty Block:

unlikely to find a buyer there, right?

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And you're in a room full of competitors.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

So it's critical that you pick an area that you think is, where you have maybe

Patty Block:

a particular expertise or you think there's a real need in the market,

Patty Block:

and you go into those organizations.

Patty Block:

So for example, I have a client who is an outsourced chief financial officer.

Patty Block:

She is a cpa.

Patty Block:

Who doesn't do taxes.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And she focuses on advising small business owners.

Patty Block:

Well, every time she goes into a group of CPAs, she may find great information.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And she may feel good about being in that group, but she isn't gonna find buyers.

Patty Block:

So we niche down to commercial real estate companies because that's

Patty Block:

where she has 25 years of experience.

Patty Block:

Then she can get involved in organizations that support commercial

Patty Block:

real estate brokers, and that's where she can find ideal buyers.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So that thinking is different than what we've learned or what

Patty Block:

we think we should be doing.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And that's one way to go out and find your ideal buyer once you've identified.

Patty Block:

Right.

Patty Block:

That's excellent.

Erin Austin:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

I wanted to go back to one of the things about when you mentioned the conflicts

Erin Austin:

that you may have with your client about, adding services and things like that.

Erin Austin:

And of course, you know, my solution to that would be having a contract that has a

Erin Austin:

clear statement of work with, deliverables and timings and, mountain it and the like.

Erin Austin:

Some point I have to figure out when, I wrote about.

Erin Austin:

That contracts are really kind of relationship manuals like, so

Erin Austin:

that it can head off, make sure everyone's on the same page, make

Erin Austin:

sure there's a clear understanding.

Erin Austin:

Set those boundaries, set expectations and all those things to make sure everyone's

Erin Austin:

on the same page when you get started.

Erin Austin:

That you have a process for resolving any conflicts or any misunderstandings.

Erin Austin:

And so, I'll beat that drum all day long that you need to

Erin Austin:

have that contract in place.

Erin Austin:

So, all right.

Erin Austin:

So you talked about pricing as well, and you said, you're guessing

Erin Austin:

then you're probably wrong.

Erin Austin:

And I will say, and from what I hear, like pricing is literally

Erin Austin:

the single most, largest challenges that we have as service providers?

Erin Austin:

unlike people with products, you can look at the market

Erin Austin:

and figure out, where you are.

Erin Austin:

But with service providers, it's really is unique.

Erin Austin:

And so why is it so, difficult other than not knowing what everyone else is doing?

Erin Austin:

But why do we second guess ourselves so much and how do we get a firmer grounding?

Erin Austin:

I, Database, like how do we get a better grounding for pricing?

Patty Block:

Well, one of the things that I do in my programs

Patty Block:

is I have a template mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Where I help women build their pricing model.

Patty Block:

And a pricing model could be something like a membership model.

Patty Block:

So Costco and, Microsoft, they all have subscription models.

Patty Block:

Yeah.

Patty Block:

And membership models.

Patty Block:

Or it may be something like the retainer model you had mentioned earlier.

Patty Block:

Where you have a retainer and there's certain services

Patty Block:

that are included in that.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Or it could be a package where you have certain services in the silver package

Patty Block:

and you have more in the gold package.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So there's lots of different configurations.

Patty Block:

What that does for you when you have that structure is it builds your confidence.

Patty Block:

And the calculation is actually the easy part, especially for my clients

Patty Block:

that are all technical experts, we can do those calculations all day long.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

The hard part is talking about it.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And that's what building a model really buys for you is that confidence.

Patty Block:

Because we tend to take things personally.

Patty Block:

And so when someone asks a question, we might hear that as a criticism

Patty Block:

or pushback or an objection.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

It may be none of those things.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

But that's how we hear it.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And so one way to take away that feeling of it's, you know, they're personally

Patty Block:

questioning my experience or they're questioning my pricing, is to flip it and

Patty Block:

understand, first of all, it's not person.

Patty Block:

It's structural and exactly what you said about having a contract in place.

Patty Block:

I completely agree with you.

Patty Block:

The challenge is even when you have a contract in place, you have to

Patty Block:

enforce it and three months down the line, when they say, oh, could

Patty Block:

you add this to what we're doing?

Patty Block:

Having a contract is helpful because you can go back to.

Patty Block:

You know, that's not in our agreement.

Patty Block:

I can go back and add an addendum or I can call my attorney or whatever,

Patty Block:

however you wanna answer that question.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

But it's the same thing with a pricing model, because it's

Patty Block:

structural, not personal.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So you can say, my pricing is structured in this way.

Patty Block:

I have a reason for doing it that way because I know that

Patty Block:

I'll get the best results.

Patty Block:

So what often happens when you package your services is that

Patty Block:

people will think it's a menu.

Patty Block:

And they'll say, could we do A and B, but not d and e?

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And then you have to enforce and say, My pricing is structured this way.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Because this will get the best result.

Patty Block:

Right.

Patty Block:

And this is how we do this.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

This is why we do this.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And then there's nothing personal about it.

Patty Block:

Right.

Patty Block:

Right.

Patty Block:

It's structural.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So the contract and the pricing really go hand in hand.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And they serve that same function of building your confidence.

Patty Block:

And being really crystal clear about the scope mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And helping you down the line when they start asking that you throw in

Patty Block:

things for free because they think, well, it isn't gonna take you long.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And the fallacy, yeah.

Patty Block:

The fallacy in that is you're not selling your time, right?

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

You're selling your expertise.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

I mean, so long as you get the result, why are you

Erin Austin:

worried about how long it takes me?

Erin Austin:

Right.

Erin Austin:

You, you get the outcome that you seek.

Erin Austin:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

So then finally, communication.

Erin Austin:

So I guess you, that's part of the, being able to, hold your boundaries and be able

Erin Austin:

to communicate your offer and the value.

Erin Austin:

Tell us more about how the communication piece works.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

Well, I start by teaching specific techniques.

Patty Block:

And in a former life, I was a political consultant and a lobbyist.

Patty Block:

Mm.

Patty Block:

Loved it.

Patty Block:

It was fascinating and I'd never do it again, but one of the things that I did

Patty Block:

was train candidates and a lot of the techniques that I learned and taught.

Patty Block:

As a political consultant, I still teach today, but now I teach it to an

Patty Block:

audience where my heart is really with them, which are women business owners

Patty Block:

that are experts, and the focus is on understanding, learning these techniques.

Patty Block:

And then practicing them so you become confident and you don't feel like that

Patty Block:

deer in the headlights caught off guard.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And one of those techniques is having key points.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So that you plan ahead of time what you wanna communicate, and regardless of how

Patty Block:

that conversation progresses, you have opportunities to bring in your key points.

Patty Block:

And that helps you feel in.

Patty Block:

Clear about your messaging and you will be more confident, but also

Patty Block:

you'll be perceived as more confident.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And what we often misunderstand in terms of communication, it really

Patty Block:

doesn't matter what we say, it really matters what the buyer hears.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And there's often a disconnect.

Patty Block:

And we're like so proud and we keep talking and the buyer, we can't really

Patty Block:

guess and maybe shouldn't guess.

Patty Block:

What they're interpreting or how they're hearing that, or

Patty Block:

if they're self-identifying as a good fit to work with you.

Patty Block:

So, Having key points is an important first step, but there are many other

Patty Block:

techniques that I teach so that they all fit together and you are perceived in

Patty Block:

a particular way and you don't have to let your reputation happen by accident.

Patty Block:

Wonderful.

Patty Block:

Wonderful.

Patty Block:

Well,

Erin Austin:

thank you for that.

Erin Austin:

And so do you go through this, as a, a group coaching or is this

Erin Austin:

one-on-one that you're doing?

Patty Block:

So I do both.

Patty Block:

I have one-on-one consulting and then I have an accelerator program for the book

Patty Block:

called Your Hidden Advantage Accelerator.

Patty Block:

Okay.

Patty Block:

And we go through, this is what I call the SNAP system.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

Based on ginger snap.

Patty Block:

And it stands for the S is stop Believing the myths.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

N is narrow your focus.

Patty Block:

So that's all about finding your ideal buyers.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

A is assess your value, that's pricing.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

The last P is practice your power, which is all about communicating.

Patty Block:

And using the SNAP system.

Patty Block:

I use that both in the private consulting and in the accelerator.

Patty Block:

And the accelerator is a 12 week.

Patty Block:

Intensive.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

That is group coaching.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And there's an option to add sessions with me individually if

Patty Block:

you'd like to do that as well.

Patty Block:

And the accelerator is designed for me to be able to guide you and make sure that

Patty Block:

you are able to customize what you've learned and apply it inside your company.

Patty Block:

So I'm a big believer that we don't necessarily learn.

Patty Block:

Just from reading or just from attending a class?

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

It needs to be practiced over time.

Patty Block:

Yes.

Patty Block:

Especially things where you may come into it not feeling terribly confident,

Patty Block:

or maybe you're learning new skills.

Patty Block:

Having someone to guide you I think is really important.

Patty Block:

It's been important for me personally, and I know it's been important for my clients.

Erin Austin:

Wonderful.

Erin Austin:

Wonderful.

Erin Austin:

Thank you for that.

Erin Austin:

So, We're at the Hourly to Exit podcast and, we have talked before

Erin Austin:

about, your plans for growing your business and has anything changed?

Erin Austin:

Uh, do you have any new, goals in mind about scaling and eventually selling your

Patty Block:

business?

Patty Block:

Well, for me, I always kid around that I'm gonna die at

Patty Block:

my desk, but as long as I find.

Patty Block:

Which I do every day.

Patty Block:

Then I'm gonna continue to work with women business owners.

Patty Block:

I think it is, there are still so many roadblocks for us that

Patty Block:

I feel so compelled mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

To help.

Patty Block:

So in terms of, building value to exit my business someday, that is also part

Patty Block:

of the work that I do with my clients.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

And I believe that we are building value every.

Patty Block:

In their company.

Patty Block:

In my company.

Patty Block:

Because all of the activities that you do in terms of your pricing, how

Patty Block:

you're perceived, how you communicate, all of that also builds value.

Patty Block:

And sometimes we lose sight of that.

Patty Block:

So that is what I focus on now and my main goal for this year is the launch of

Patty Block:

my book and the accelerator program and, continuing to work with clients one-on.

Erin Austin:

Fantastic.

Erin Austin:

Well, I would like to point out that a key part of your strategy, both in your

Erin Austin:

business, and I assume with your clients, is the creation of intellectual property.

Erin Austin:

And I still come across every day, those who don't understand the.

Erin Austin:

applicability of intellectual property to their service-based business.

Erin Austin:

So do

Patty Block:

you talk explicitly to

Erin Austin:

your clients about creating intellectual property

Erin Austin:

assets or is that just something that kind of happens naturally?

Erin Austin:

Cuz of course we're creating it all the time.

Erin Austin:

But is it a

Patty Block:

specific focus?

Patty Block:

So we do talk about that.

Patty Block:

And of course, I'm not an expert mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

In that, so I refer them to you or to an attorney who does specialize in that.

Patty Block:

And I will share with you that I have quite a bit of intellectual property

Patty Block:

and content that I have trademarked and.

Patty Block:

Including the broken cookie effect.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

it's kind of a long process.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So you have to be really patient and it's so helpful when you have a guide

Patty Block:

like you who can guide through that process so you don't make mistakes

Patty Block:

and lose out on those opportunities.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So yes, I absolutely do that in my business and I do talk

Patty Block:

with my clients about that.

Erin Austin:

Great.

Erin Austin:

Yeah.

Erin Austin:

And just so everyone, is aware that you don't have to have a registered,

Erin Austin:

trademark or registered copyright in order to have an electrical property.

Erin Austin:

as you create it, you get the rights to it.

Erin Austin:

And so, yeah.

Erin Austin:

Read some of my stuff and find out more about that.

Erin Austin:

But it's all, as experts, whenever we're using our intellect, we're creating ip.

Erin Austin:

So we wanna make sure that we understand it and, aren't shy about it.

Erin Austin:

Okay.

Erin Austin:

So as we wrap up, we believe in creating a more equitable society, and having

Erin Austin:

an economy that works for everyone.

Erin Austin:

And so is there an organization or person who's doing work in this area that you'd

Patty Block:

like to share with the audience.

Patty Block:

Yes, for many years I have Supported Girls Inc.

Patty Block:

Which is a national organization and they have chapters in major

Patty Block:

cities, and the idea is to, help.

Patty Block:

Typically underprivileged girls, but in particular girls that are entering their

Patty Block:

teenage years and need that additional support to think differently, behave

Patty Block:

differently, and to grow up into women who are capable and well educated

Patty Block:

and can influence those around them.

Patty Block:

Mm-hmm.

Patty Block:

So Girls Inc.

Patty Block:

Has been a favorite charity of mine for many.

Patty Block:

Wonderful,

Erin Austin:

and we will have the link to that in the show notes.

Erin Austin:

I have a teenage boy.

Erin Austin:

And I am so grateful that I have a boy, not a girl.

Erin Austin:

Cause I don't know what I would do.

Erin Austin:

the pressures on them are just extraordinary, honestly.

Erin Austin:

and so the support that's wonderful.

Erin Austin:

An organization that supports them and helping them through this super stressful

Erin Austin:

time in their lives is fantastic.

Erin Austin:

So thank you for sharing that.

Erin Austin:

So, I know we've been talking about your book and, I believe you have an offer

Patty Block:

for the.

Patty Block:

I do, I offer a free bonus training called the Value Equation that will help

Patty Block:

you understand if you're ever tempted to offer a discount that nobody asked for.

Patty Block:

That's what I call an invisible discount.

Patty Block:

Ah.

Patty Block:

This training will help you understand why you're doing that and what you

Patty Block:

can do differently, and you can find the training and you can buy

Patty Block:

my book at yourhiddenadvantage.com.

Patty Block:

And if you're interested in the accelerator program that is at

Patty Block:

unlockyourhiddenadvantage.com.

Erin Austin:

Fantastic.

Erin Austin:

And so you mentioned a couple places we can find you.

Erin Austin:

Can we also find you on LinkedIn or where else can people find you?

Patty Block:

Absolutely.

Patty Block:

You can find me on LinkedIn.

Patty Block:

It's Patty with a y patty block and I love connecting with people.

Patty Block:

So please, and when you send me an, invitation to connect, please

Patty Block:

reference this podcast so I can make that mental connection.

Patty Block:

Yay.

Patty Block:

And you can also contact me through my.

Patty Block:

Fantastic.

Erin Austin:

Thank you so much, Patty.

Erin Austin:

This has been wonderful to have you back

Patty Block:

and we'll talk again soon.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Hourly to Exit
Hourly to Exit

Listen for free

About your host

Profile picture for Erin Austin

Erin Austin

Meet Erin Austin, a Harvard Law alum with over 25 years of copyright and contracts experience. As the go-to advisor for professionals with corporate clients, Erin empowers entrepreneurs to be their own advocates, standing out for her commitment to transforming expertise into empires through the creation, protection and leveraging of intellectual property assets. Explore her blend of legal expertise and entrepreneurial insight on ThinkBeyondIP.com and the "Hourly to Exit" podcast. Off the clock, you'll find Erin in the great outdoors or connecting with business coaches to elevate 6-figure consultants into 7-figure powerhouses.