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.

Inhibitions dropped. My creative side started going and I
really took time to see, “Hey, what WOULD I want my life to
look like in 3 years, if I could have time to create it?”
SHAZAM! I felt like I’d hit the jackpot.

The 3-year vision was a way for me to create something to
strive for that REALLY spoke to me. Something that made my
heart beat a little faster after I read it, excited to get
going, and just a little bit scared of the thought of me
reaching it. Now THAT would propel me into motion the way a
yearly list of goals wouldn’t be able to do. (By the way,
my deep down secret is that I strive to reach these in 1 or
2 years, not 3, and that’s usually what happens.)

So, each year, around this time, I create a 3-year vision
of what I want my practice to look like. I write it in the
present tense, as if it were 3 years later, that same day.
For example, this past year I wrote mine on January 4, 2007
as if it was January 4, 2010, and I talked about all the
things that had happened since 2007. All the things I’d
accomplished in my business, with my finances, my
investments, my family, and myself over the “last 3 years,”
which obviously hadn’t actually happened yet.

Such a cool exercise and it really gets the blood flowing
when you read it back to yourself, now and over the year.

“When you can clearly see yourself being there, you can see
much more clearly how to get there. You can imagine the
path to your dreams, and then start to actually walk it.
Play an active role in your own future. Imagine with
passion and detail how you’d most like it to be.”
—Ralph Marston, http://greatday.com

You see, I’ve figured out that it’s not just about goals.
Yes, goals are important, but the way I look at it, it’s
about focusing on what you REALLY want for your life, not
the “shoulds.” It’s also about putting into effect the Law
of Attraction in a big way. When you know what you want for
your life, when you can imagine it with passion and feel
what it feels like to have it, it’s almost guaranteed to
come to you.

So, this weekend, I’ll be taking a couple of hours to work
on my own 3-year vision. I wouldn’t dream of not doing it.
My success depends on it and it does for you too.

YOUR CLIENT ATTRACTION ASSIGNMENT:

Your turn. Sometime this week, create a 3-year vision dated
January 4, 2011. Your 3-year vision must be one that will
literally PULL you into your future, will scare you just a
little bit, and make your heart beat a little faster than
normal whenever you read this.

Make your 3-year vision very specific, realistic, and a big
STRETCH (that’s what’s going to move you forward quicker
than you would if you didn’t have it). If you’re right
brained, use bullet points for categories such as business,
finances, personal, family, spiritual, fun, health, etc. If
you’re left-brained, then write freely, and remember to
keep it all grounded in the specific, with lots of
MEASURABLES and TANGIBLES thrown in there so you can keep
track of your progress over the next 3 years (that’s what I
do).

Be sure to write in the present tense as if it were 3 years
from now… If it doesn’t scare you just a little bit or
get your mind racing, then it’s probably not enough of a
stretch. By the way, I just looked back to last year’s
3-year vision and I was SHOCKED to see how many of the
goals in my 3-year vision I’d already achieved in just a
little over a year. This stuff really works!!

—————————————————-
Once you’ve done your 3-year vision and are ready to get
marketing in a big way for 2008, invest in your success by
getting yourself the Client Attraction Home Study
System™. It’s all step-by-step, not a big mishmash of
things. So, you do step one of the system, and when you’re
done with that, you move on to step two, and so on.   You
can get it at http://www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com .

According to a survey conducted by SBA (Small Business Administration) 60 out a 100 small business owners claim that over 60% of their new business comes from referrals.

But only a handful of professionals can clearly pinpoint where their referrals come from and the exact process they use to turn them into paying clients.

Amazingly – when it comes to referral marketing – majority of entrepreneurs seem to rely on luck! Ouch – this is not exactly the best formula for business success!

When asked about how they turn referrals into clients, most professionals have a deer-caught-in-the-headlights, puzzled look on their faces and keep quiet.

The First Two Key Success Factors of Referral Marketing

Those who truly can sleep peacefully at night knowing their referral generating process is working with the predictable precision of a Swiss banking system understand the power of using FREQUENCY of EXPOSURE.

To best illustrate this, let’s look at how two consultants handle their referrals.

At first glance John and Steve have virtually identical Businesses:

But there is a difference…

How Is John Getting 5 Times More Referrals?

John gets almost five times as many referrals as Steve, and he turns an astounding 95% of them into new clients.

How, you ask? See if you can spot a difference…

Steve’s name occasionally pops up in conversations his clients have with their business associates. Since he does a good job people are often intrigued by the results he creates for his clients. They ask for his contact info and call him to inquire about his services.

Those calls typically lead to an appointment.

But in terms of frequency of exposure Steve’s potential clients might hear his marketing message only twice before the meeting: when they initially get his information from a colleague, and again during the initial phone conversation.

Here Is What John Does Differently:

At first glance, John’s situation isn’t much different. His name comes up in conversations where he’s praised for his great work. His contact information is passed on, and he too gets an inquiring phone call leading to an appointment with a prospective client.

But that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.

Immediately after the call, John sends out a hand-written card saying “thank you for interest in my services. I’m looking forward to our meeting.”

John makes an additional smart move – he sends another hand -written thank-you card and a small gift (like a Starbucks gift card) to the person who gave him the referral.

He does it because he understands the best way to develop a habit is to reward it in the first place (remember Pavlov’s dog experiment?) so he tries to make his referral sources feel good about mentioning his name. And it works – they talk about him more often!

The following day, John sends out a small package with POSITIONING MATERIALS: a welcome letter, an article relevant to prospect’s situation, his short self-published book, and an audio CD.

This allows the potential client to “sample” John’s expertise on the subject. It also builds trust, increases prospect’s appetite for his services, and position him as an authority. Now he’ll be treated as a trusted adviser and not just another salesman trying to close a deal.

Incidentally, John knows that many of his best prospects won’t have time to fully review those materials. He also knows it really doesn’t matter. All he wants is to see his stuff” sitting on prospect’s desk when he walks into their office.

But he’s still not done. A couple of days before the scheduled meeting he calls his potential client to briefly confirm the meeting objectives, time and place.

After the meeting, John immediately sends out another handwritten “pleasure meeting you/thank you” card.

Higher Frequency Leads to Greater Familiarity

Visibility equals credibility. And frequency translates into familiarity. Don’t believe me? Just ask yourself how many people you “feel like you know” because you see them or hear from (about) them frequently… Point made!

So let’s now review how many times John’s referrals are exposed to his marketing message:

1. When they first are referred to him in a conversation with a business colleague.

2. When they call him to inquire about his services.

3. When they get his handwritten “looking forward to meeting you” card.

4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out)

5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.

6. During the first meeting.

Notice, that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times – comparing to only  two times in Steve’s process. That’s a 150% increase in frequency of exposure!

7. When they get the handwritten “thank you” card after the meeting.

Now, that they “know” John so well, they TUST him enough to start doing business with him. (Can you say KA-CHING!)

Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source proves helpful as well. Motivated by his small gesture of appreciation, John’s referral sources now take a more active part in the process, inquire about how things are going, and frequently offer additional help.

Clear Expectations and Education Lead to More Referrals

There is one other thing that separates John from Steve.

Hi understands that his clients want to give him referrals but often don’t know how to do this. So he takes the time to educate them and makes it easy for them to “give him away as a gift”!

Say what?!

He hands each new client a sample of a great Attraction Tool (most likely an audio program or a book), and informs them that he’ll gladly send this Attraction Tool to any of his new client’s business associates at absolutely no cost and no obligation – all they have to do is ask for it.

He might even hand the new client a few postcards promoting the Attraction Tool and encourage him to send it to their associates.

Why bother? Because by sharing this information John’s new clients are actually helping their colleagues. And it’s easier and less awkward to send out a postcard and to share a resource, than to hand over names of business friends.

All this increases the chances of John’s name coming up in many casual conversations.

Here Is the Final Key Success Factor to Referral Success

I can already hear you whining, “but that’s too much work, I can’t do that in my business”, etc., etc. And you are right – but consider the upside: getting more clients!

And the key is to SYSTEMIZE, AUTOMATE, and DELEGATE.

Do you have to do this? Hey, it’s your business – you don’t have to do anything you don’t want!

But the fact is – frequency builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. And we all do business with people we know, like and trust.

So you decide if getting more referrals and turning them into paying clients is worth adding a few easy steps to your marketing system.

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The author, Adam Urbanski, teaches service professionals and business owners how to develop better marketing strategies to increase sales and profits. His http://www.themarketingmentors.com

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, or find local 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.

#3 Cultivate These Locations as Referral Sources. How you build these relationships will differ from person to person and location to location. Face-to-face is usually best, especially if you’re “armed” with a good leave-behind. Here’s one strategy that Laisha Knueven, a wellness and empowerment coach for women, has used to develop a lucrative referral source in her small Oregon town:

Using the newsletter she orders from us (the life coaching hardcopy newsletter), Laisha has walked through all the medical center offices in her town. Every office she enters, she offers the female office workers and nursing staff one of her newsletters, calling it a community service newsletter for women on well-being. Invariably, the staffers are thankful and receptive to conversations about women’s issues and what Laisha does. She points out the one-page insert she has stuffed into the newsletter, which lists her workshops, seminar and other events and about her practice.

#4 Leave Stacks of Newsletters at These Locations. After establishing a rapport with the women, Laisha asks if they would like to keep a stack of her newsletters in the waiting room for their patients to read. Nearly all have happily agreed.

This is how you leverage these relationships. And when you do, both of you win.

“When people see my newsletter, it gives the practitioner instant credibility-and me, too!” Laisha says, noting that she gives out about 1,500 newsletters every other month. “This newsletter is probably the best advertising tool I have.”

A newsletter is far more effective than leaving a brochure. It gives people helpful information for their lives-from you-whereas a brochure is typically a short sales pitch. It’s the difference between “It’s all about you” and “It’s all about me.” People are much more likely to pick up and read a newsletter than a brochure-plus they’re left with a very positive impression of you as the provider of great information.

Wherever you place the newsletter, don’t forget to bring this “secret weapon”: a clear, acrylic literature holder. Placing your newsletters in this makes them more visible and keeps the countertop neat, as well.

#5 Follow Up. Make a phone call or a personal visit periodically to check on whether your newsletter needs restocking. This is a good opportunity to continue to build relationship with your referral sources, and it keeps you abreast of how quickly your newsletters are being snapped up. When your new issue comes out, add it to the stacks of existing newsletters. It shows you’re a solid professional, not a flash in the pan.

So the question is: Are you OK with a drop or two in your cup, or do you want it to “runneth over?” Get your referral sources on board and you might just find a deluge of new clients!

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Linda Puig is a newsletter marketing expert, a writer with nearly 30 years professional experience and president of Claire Communications, which provides high-quality, low-cost articles to busy professionals who don’t have the time or inclination to write articles. http://www.articlesforsale.net