Dale King Interviews Communication Guru, Felicia Slattery

Felicia Slattery: Sure. I'm a Communication Consultant, Speaker & Coach and I specialize in training busy entrepreneurs and sales professionals to succeed by communicating effectively with clients and prospects. I teach teleseminars, lead workshops, write articles, and offer private coaching to individual clients on improving their communication skills in order to present their best image. One of the communication skills I help business people develop is public speaking. I have a 4-week teleclass coming up where I'll teach folks step-by-step how to put together what I call a Signature Speech http://www.cashinonspeaking.com/ to market their businesses, and how to find places to deliver it.

Dale King: Felicia, tell my readers how and when you got started marketing on the Internet.

Felicia Slattery: Two and a half years ago I nearly died giving birth to my
second daughter. After that, I looked at my life and asked, "Why am I still
here?" I knew I had to find my next big thing - my work today helps me
fulfill my life purpose. My internet marketing began about a year ago when
I developed my first website, which focused on coaching people to develop stronger personal relationships.

After some initial trial and error, I determined my first market wasn't the best for what I could offer: all-around communication skills, particularly for business owners. So in February 2007 I introduced my free e-course, Increase Business by Communicating Your Credibility, made some changes, created a new website to reflect those changes and have been going full-force ever since.
http://www.communicationtransformation.com/creating-credibility-ecourse.htm

Dale King: Some Internet Marketing experts advise newbies to steer clear of certain areas of Internet Marketing, like selling e-books on how to make money, advertising services, SEO services, copywriting, etc., because those particular niches are deemed to be "too competitive." Do you agree with that assessment?

Felicia Slattery: If a person has credibility to offer one of these "taboo"
products, I say go for it. But, in order to be successful quickly, it would
be much easier to narrow the e-book to a particular niche group who you know
needs your expertise; "Copywriting for Coaches" for example, or "SEO for
Virtual Assistants" written in the language specific to that industry.
Internet marketers can use the tools available to research keyword searches
and pair that with a viable industry full of people who need their help.

Dale King: How is Internet Marketing different now, as opposed to when you first got started online?

Felicia Slattery: There are so many people who have no idea there is an
entire cyberworld where people do big business. When I first began I had no
idea everything that is available to me as a business owner. I think each
day more people realize the power of the internet and begin to take
advantage of it. In the last year I have noticed that every online forum I
belong to continues to grow at amazing rates with new people marketing their
businesses. I try to help bridge the gap for people getting started. I
teach simple strategies people can use to easily tap into their local
markets in order to introduce those internet newbies to the world where the
rest of us work every day.

Dale King: How important has goal-setting been to your overall success?

Felicia Slattery: I'm a coach and goals are what we focus on often. Not
only is goal-setting important for me and my success, but teaching others to
properly set goals and teaching them strategies for attaining those goals is
what has helped me grow my business. Earlier this year I ran a 12-week
Resolutions Results Program where participants met weekly with me to work on
goal-setting and attainment. I was proud that everyone in the group met
their program goals.

Dale King: How important has reading been to your overall success?

Felicia Slattery: I'm a big reader, but I try not to get bogged down by
reading too much. There is always something hot and new to learn and read
about. But the "secret" to any success is to stop reading and start DOING.
It's action that will lead you to success. All the knowledge in the world
won't do anything for you until you apply it. How I run my business? Being
the kind of person who takes action (often leaping first and asking
questions later!), I've had to stop myself from jumping too quickly. I get
an idea of what I want to do next. I read and learn as much as I can about
it and then determine if my original idea is worth doing now or waiting for
later. I've saved a lot of hassle for myself by shelving some great ideas
because the timing for my business has not been right.

Dale King: If you could recommend one book that all Internet marketers should read, what would it be?

Felicia Slattery: I prefer to check books out from my public library, so I
own very few business books. Every once in a while there is one that is so
fantastic I know I will want to refer to it over and over again, so I add it
to my own library. In my experience, most people who get an idea for a
business are in love with the idea of their business and what they will get
to do in their business. But many, myself included, don't take the time to
plan at the beginning as well as we should. After I read CJ Hayden's Get
Clients Now in January 2007 I created a marketing plan for the first time.
And wow-was it life-altering! I like it because CJ shows service businesses
how to develop a simple 30-day plan. This is one business book I own and
use all the time and I recommend it to everyone who is ready to Get Clients
Now.

Dale King: In your opinion, what technology has changed Internet Marketing the most over the last 5 years?

Felicia Slattery: The Internet has enabled people from all over the world to
get together in ways we never thought possible. The world continues to
shrink as a result, which has allowed me to become an international speaker
and have clients all over the world. As far as a specific technology,
well... let's just say I can help human communication and I leave the
technical stuff to the experts.

Dale King: What new technology do you see changing Internet Marketing over the next 5 years?

Felicia Slattery: I'd like to see some genius come up with a way to prevent
spam for good so those of us with honest-to-goodness businesses who work
ethically and with integrity can be heard above the din, but I'm not holding
my breath. I just do my best to know what I need to know and hire people to
do the technical things they can do better and more quickly than I could.

Dale King: What person or persons have influenced you the most in your lifetime, and how?

Felicia Slattery: Can I say my Mom? It's true. From when I was a little
girl, my Mom told me I could be anything I wanted. I came from a family
where no one went to college, but my Mom told me from early on that I would.
I was the first person on either side of my family to graduate from a 4-year
institution and the only one to get a master's degree. It's all because my
Mom believed in me and supported me. She continues to support me today by
taking care of my two young daughters when I have work commitments that
demand my time out of my home office. When my Mom thinks something sounds
like a bad idea, it usually is, so I run a lot of my ideas by her. She may
not understand the ins and outs of internet marketing, but she knows a good
idea when she hears one and steers me clear of the not-so-great ideas.

Dale King: If you could give my readers one piece of advice, what would it be?

Felicia Slattery: Learn what you need to learn, take action, focus on the
goal, and never give up. Don't be afraid to try new things and look at the
world from a different perspective form time to time. There will be good
days and bad days. Take it all as it comes and know you can do this.

Dale King: Thank you very much, Felicia . I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview.

Felicia Slattery: This was great, Dale. Thank you for the opportunity! I
invite your readers will take a look at my site, http://www.communicationtransformation.com and take advantage of my free e-course and check out some of the freebies I offer.

This interview is the exclusive property of Felicia Slattery. It may not be republished in any format - period.