Plan Out Your 3-Year Vision for Attracting Clients
In practice building (and getting clients) it seems to be
that most self-employed people just hope for the best. They
simply keep doing what they’ve been doing and don’t have a
strategy for creating the practice they’d be truly and
deeply happy with. This is a big mistake in my opinion.
I used to write down my goals each year, but it never
really worked for me. I just didn’t feel really excited
about my new goals. They didn’t seem to propel me in motion
and so I kind of viewed them as being useless. I never
really looked at them, probably because they seemed like
“shoulds” rather than “really-meaningful-wants.”
Then I came across the concept of creating 3-year visions
instead of just a list of goals for the upcoming year. This
visioning wasn’t just about business goals, but also
family, financial, spiritual, and relationship goals. It
became a “holistic” way of looking at what you wanted in
your life. All the pieces looked like they would work
together, but only because you were compelled to make it
all work together, which was the first time I’d done that
in such depth.
The coolest thing about visioning 3 years out came to me
after I started doing this regularly. I noticed that ONE
year goals were never too much of a stretch. They seemed
like timid goals, goals that didn’t really get me excited.
But having to create a vision of what 3 years down the line
would look like allowed me to REALLY think BIG.
The Secrets to Acquiring new Customers
One of the many reasons that get people interested in using
direct marketing is its value as a means of acquiring new
customers or clients. With the ever increasing costs of
doing business it is critically important for the retail
automotive dealership and management to be cost-effective
in marketing.
That means that good control is exercised over the cost of
getting a new customer. Many businesses grow their gross at
the expense of their net. At least partially through
uncontrolled new customer acquisition cost. With that
approach, they can literally grow themselves right out of
business.
I’ve found that the best way to develop methods that work
consistently, predictably and cost-effectively in acquiring
new customers is through direct mail marketing. When you
develop a successful cost-effective direct mail program
you’ve got an extremely valuable asset. You’ve got a system
that you can use over and over again for a long time with
predictable results. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t
take the time or effort to do this.
4 Reasons Customer Loyalty Is Vital To Your Business
Have you ever wondered why some businesses may set up shop
in areas that might not be very conducive to business and
do quite well, while others are placed at major
thoroughfares where walk by and drive by traffic are all
but guaranteed, yet within six months they fold and the
place goes up for lease or sale? The truth of the matter is
that success is not always determined by your location –
although it does play a vital role – but more often than
not it is dictated by customer loyalty.
Here are four reasons customer loyalty is vital to your
business:
1. First and foremost is the fact that a loyal customer is
a repeat customer. This person will know about your
business practices, about what to expect from your goods or
service, the advantages and the disadvantages, and she or
he will do business with you in such a way that it is a
mutually satisfying transaction.
2. As you establish a relationship with your customer, you
are also establishing a relationship with the customer’s
family. Thus, it is not uncommon to have the wife bring in
the dry cleaning for the family and turns her mother,
mother in law, aunt, and best girlfriend on to your
business. As the husband is sent one day to pick up the dry
cleaning he becomes familiar with the business, and he will
tell his brother, business associates, and others who are
looking for a dry cleaner. Thus, you are suddenly becoming
a commodity which is being shared with others.
How Client Attraction Marketing Works
I am a specialist in “Client Attraction” because I find that this form of marketing is the least expensive and most powerful way to grow a thriving business.
I have been doing what I do for many years and sadly, I
have seen way too many business professionals struggle to
bring in more clients and to build thriving businesses.
I see good people leaving their chosen professions every
day because they are unaware of ways to get a steady stream
of good clients.  It is all so unnecessary. If only they
had taken the time to learn marketing strategies that
actually work.
Unfortunately, they wind up spinning their wheels and going
nowhere because they are doing everything under the sun
they think they should do to go after clients instead of
concentrating their efforts where they belong: on getting
clients to come to them.
Let’s look at how client attraction works. Instead of
becoming a nuisance by pushing yourself on people who may
or may not be in the market for your services at the time
you’re sending your marketing message, client attraction
allows you to “pull” potential customers towards you in an
incredibly powerful way.
Building Great Customer Experiences – Or beware consultants with no clothes!
It must be one my personal business nightmares, if you can
imagine having just flown to New York to meet a new client
and the airline has lost all your clothes! So what can one
learn from such events about delivering great customer
service experiences?
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”
To give you the background, I’d just been to California and
had arranged to meet the COO of a potential great new
client in New York on my way back home to England. I’d
visited them a few weeks before and I’d felt as though I’d
wandered onto the set of ” The Devil Wears Prada” (or should
that be “Ugly Betty“?). So not wanting to be left too far
behind the “New York Chic look” of my hosts, I’d gone out
and purchased the very best of shirts & ties that London
has to offer (OK anyone from Milan is allowed a note of
scepticism at this point) combined with my new Italian suit
& cuff links, I knew I’d look the part 
My plane was several hours late into New York due to
“unexpected delays” – I was little nervous as I’d arranged
to go out to dinner that evening. Still with my Platinum
Frequent Flyer card my suitcase had qualified for a special
“Priority Handling” label so I was looking forward to
getting my suitcase quickly and rushing off ahead of the
pack to the taxi rank. Sadly, after all of the luggage had
disappeared off the carousel there was no sign of my case,
so I made my way to the airline’s baggage handling office.
I was joined by another passenger who had experienced a
similar fate. The Airline staff assured me that my suitcase
had landed and recommended I went back to check the
carousel again. This experience was repeated another 3
times.
From my interactions with the airline staff, I managed to
get the impression that losing one’s baggage was not a
completely unusual experience. My heart sank as I looked at
the back wall of the hall which was filled floor to ceiling
with damaged suitcases in glass cases awaiting collection
from their owners.
After an hour and a half of going back & forth from the
luggage carousel to the airline desk, the airline staff
finally conceded that perhaps my bag was lost after all and
I was given a claim form to fill in. I was given an 0800
number to contact and a tracking reference number and that
was it. I had a sense of disappointment and unfinished
business but I had to move on and let other passengers
register their lost baggage too.
“There’s no such thing as a free breakfast”
5 Great Ways to Find Referrals
While referrals are one of the most important sources of
new clients for therapists and coaches, how to get them
seems to be something of a mystery. Below is a five-step
referral strategy that can switch on your referral faucet,
or turn a trickle into a steady flow.
#1-Focus on Your Ideal Clients 
 Do you want to work
with men in career transition? People dealing with health
issues? Families in crisis? Females with eating disorders?
Newly retired individuals? You may serve a narrow niche of
clientele, or a broad swath. For example, your market may
be “stay-at-home mothers in their 30s who used to be
corporate executives with six-figure incomes,” or you may
help your clients deal with an assortment of issues, such
as: depression, addictions, marital issues, stress and
sexual trauma. It doesn’t matter for these purposes. What
does matter is getting clear: Whom do you serve?
#2-Discover Where They Gather 
 Where do the people
who could benefit from your services gather? If you’re a
therapist specializing in grief, for example, think about
mortuaries and churches. People dealing with addiction
issues might be found at AA or other 12-step meetings,
including Al-Anon. If you work with couples in crisis,
consider coffee shops, beauty salons, the offices of family
lawyers and mom groups.
Small business owners might meet at the local Chamber of
Commerce or at professional networking gatherings. People
concerned with their health and fitness might be found at
gyms, day spas or the offices of massage therapists,
personal trainers or holistic practitioners. Retired
people? Think volunteer organizations, travel agencies,
hobby shops, golf courses. Get the picture? When you’re
clear about where your ideal clients gather, you can take
the next step, which is to build a relationship with the
professional or person in charge at each of these locations.
Clients or Customers? You Decide
In the English language, we make an interesting semantic
distinction between the words “customer” and “client.” This
distinction does not seem to appear in all languages;
several use the same term to mean both.
Sometimes we use these expressions interchangeably in
English, but more often than not, we intend them to mean
something different. Below are some composite definitions
from various dictionaries:
* Customer: A person who purchases goods or services from
another; a buyer or patron.
* Client: The party for whom professional services are
rendered; anyone under the patronage of, or receiving the
benefits and services of, another person.
Notice how the term “client” implies much more of a caring,
fiduciary role for the benefit provider? It strongly
suggests the presence of a relationship — one that will
endure over time to enable the benefit provider to continue
providing benefits. The term “customer,” on the other hand,
suggests that a relationship, if any, forms only when a
purchase is made — and that the relationship might
dissipate soon after.
Customer Service is No Accident
It’s true that the buck stops with the leader of an
organization, but when the buck stops because the customer
stops walking in the door, it can be a little too late to
start asking why they’re going to our competitors, not
renewing contracts, or worse still not wanting to do
business with us again. But go on, be brave ASK your
customers what they think – they will still respect you in
the morning…
There is little doubt that the ability to prepare and
deliver excellent customer service is one of the most
important skill sets that is necessary to succeed in any
business. Therefore in order to be a profitable and
effective business we need a number of strategic plans in
place to be well positioned for success – especially when
financial success is part of the deal.
Ten Myths About Multicultural Customers
Copyright (c) 2007 Michael Soon Lee
Over one-third of all Americans today are minorities. The
numbers of people from diverse cultures are growing so
rapidly that the U.S. Census Bureau expects this group to
be nearly half of the population by 2038. This is a huge
market for retailers and service providers all across the
country – if you know how to meet the unique needs of
customers and clients from other cultures.
MYTH #1: “PEOPLE FROM OTHER CULTURES ONLY WANT TO WORK WITH
SOMEONE FROM THEIR OWN CULTURE.”
Nothing could be further from the truth unless there is a
language issue. Most of the people who complain about
having trouble with multicultural customers are European
American salespeople. They just need to understand how to
meet the wants and needs of people from other cultures.
In fact, many cultural groups would prefer to work with a
salesperson from outside their own culture. Asians, for
example, are very private about their financial affairs and
many are afraid that if they work with an Asian salesperson
they might disclose their income, debts, and purchases, to
others in their community.
MYTH #2: “MULTICULTURAL PEOPLE HAVE SUPERSTITIONS AND
BELIEFS THAT ARE TOTALLY INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO AMERICANS.”
Remember that people in the United States have beliefs that
often baffle outsiders such as the fact that black cats,
walking under ladders, and the number thirteen are unlucky.
Most other cultures have their own beliefs that are just
different.
Many cultural beliefs happen to directly affect the
purchase of goods and services such as how items are
packaged, colors that goods are wrapped in and how items
are priced. For instance, many Asians believe that the
number four is unlucky because when pronounced in Japanese
or Chinese it sounds very similar to those cultures’ word
for “death”. Items packaged in groups of four can
symbolize bad luck for those people who believe in
numerology. Notice, for instance, that if you buy a tea
set it is usually packaged with five cups, not four, for
this reason.
Connecting With Your Customers Through Your Brand Identity
Your logo and marketing materials have many jobs, but one
of the things that they can do really well for you is to
introduce you to new clients and to help those potential
customers feel a connection with you and your business.
Alas, many small business owners overlook this valuable
role for their materials when designing them, and so any
connection often happens by accident alone.
Considering that the connections that most small businesses
are making with their logos marketing materials, and
websites are happening by accident, these businesses are
actually doing rather well. But what could their business
growth and sales cycle look like if they could improve the
way that they connect with their ideal clients?
The top 3 ways to ensure that your designs will appeal to
your target audience and begin to form this connection with
them are:
1. Design your materials with your customer’s preferences
in mind. The most common mistake that small business owners
make when designing their brand identities is to create the
design to reflect their own tastes. I met a financial
planning consultant at a networking event a few months
back, and she wanted to “pick my brain” about her thoughts
for a logo. She mentioned that she wanted her logo to be an
aqua-blue seahorse, because those were her favorite image
and color. But when I questioned her further about her
business, I found that she worked largely with male heads
of households on their families’ financial planning needs.
While an aqua seahorse might represent her preferences, I
suggested that it might not catch the eye and the
imagination of her projected client, and that she think
more about the types of images and color palettes that
would appeal men who were hiring her to manage their money.
I believe that I convinced her that this approach will
result in a better connection with her potential customer
base, and will help her to close more business with her
prospects.
