Too many people ride the 'feast or famine' roller coaster
of having clients, especially SUCCESSFUL entrepreneurs.
Some months they have almost too many clients and are WAY
too busy, and other months, they're feeling the pinch. The
well is dry and they're digging their well when they're
thirsty. I've been there in the past, and there's nothing
worse than experiencing those two extremes on a regular
basis. It'll make you want to go back to Corporate for
good! (NOT ME!)
You've heard me talk about my NO EXCUSES approach to
getting clients. That means that the number one rule I have
is that I do SOMETHING to bring clients or client referrals
towards me every single day. Otherwise, you'll find that no
matter how good you are, your pipeline will eventually dry
up.
The key is to shoot for OVERFILLING your prospect pipeline.
Most people just shoot for having SOME people in it. That's
not enough. If you aim for something WAY bigger than what
you've already gotten so far, you're more likely to reach
even a medium level, than if you were to aim low.
When I talk to my clients about this, the number one answer
that comes back is, "But what if I get TOO many prospects?
What do I do then?" I've even heard, "What if I get TOO
big? Then what?" That's when I usually laugh out loud and
say, "GOOD! That's a good problem to have!"
There are at least 2 solutions for having too many people
wanting to work with you at the same time:
1. Put them on a waiting list. It's OK to do this. What
you'll actually notice is the opposite of what you might
think would happen. Instead of leaving and saying, "I don't
want to wait," most prospects will chomp at the bit to find
out how high up on the waiting list they are and will want
to see if they can do anything to start earlier. It's
actually VERY Client Attractive.
2. Leverage your time and efforts by creating group
programs and charging less than your regular one-on-one
fee. You'll end up being able to work with MORE people at
once AND make more money per hour or project than you would
with a single person. Leveraging is one of the best things
ever "invented" and having too many prospects is one way to
set yourself up for this.
So, how do you get to this point? Discipline. I've often
said that I wasn't born a very disciplined person (or
organized for that matter) but as a result of having a full
practice and wanting to keep it that way, I've taken the NO
EXCUSES approach to marketing. So, I've worked on setting
up systems, being organized (or getting help with it) and
learning to master the discipline thing.
That means doing some marketing every single day, no matter
how bogged down you are with work and existing clients. Get
that newsletter out the door, rip out the newspaper article
and send it to an existing client or prospect, send that
quick email to the association asking if they accept
outside speakers or write a thank you note. Whatever! Just
make the time for it and do it.
The key is to do SOMETHING that stimulates future business
and referrals because the reason that most entrepreneurs
have financial problems is THAT, nothing else, especially
the seemingly successful ones. They go to work and only do
the work, while everything else gets backed up, especially
the marketing.
Your Assignment:
Make a list of the little things you can start doing DAILY
for OVERFILLING your pipeline. Then, make the time for it.
Yeah, yeah, I know you're busy, but maybe it's first thing
in the morning, before you even open up Outlook to check
your emails. Maybe it's right before you turn off the
office light and close down your computer. Again, it
doesn't matter, as long as you make a commitment to doing
this for the rest of your career. Catch my drift?
It's actually easy once you get going. You'll find that
you'll never experience that feast and famine again.
Guaranteed.
----------------------------------------------------
Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is
founder of the Client Attraction System™ and
http://www.ClientAttraction.com , the proven step-by-step
program to attract more clients, make more m'oney being
self-employed, while having more time off to enjoy it all.
To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and get weekly
how-to articles on attracting more clients, visit
http://www.ClientAttraction.com .
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