What I’ve noticed from years and years of successful networking is that there are smart ways to wear your nametag and ways to avoid wearing it. This may seem like a small, inconsequential detail but really it can make ALL the difference in attracting more clients.

The first thing is WHERE to put your nametag or sticker. Most people are right- handed and if you put your sticker or nametag on the left hand side, you make it more difficult for the person to actually see your name. Put it on the RIGHT hand side instead, and it falls right in their line of vision. (more…)

“The only difference between salad and garbage is timing!” At least that’s what I’ve been focusing on recently, especially for businesses that are time sensitive. Some chiropractors have this problem, so do lawyers, but my thought is when you’re in a service business, timing is EVERYTHING. If you wait around, let the proverbial ‘hot iron’ get cold, that hot lead turns into a cold lead, and you can just forget about turning it into a happy paying client. (more…)

Would you be surprised if I told you I’ve actually mentored a LOT of marketing consultants and business coaches who help others build their businesses? Many of these consultants and coaches come to me because, even though they know how to put these steps into practice, they still don’t have a full practice, or at least not consistently. WHY?

The reason is simple. They don’t market consistently. What usually happens to most self-employed professionals is they get caught up in the everyday of their business and when they have clients, they focus their entire days on those clients. (more…)

The last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about aiming for MUCH bigger in our business, in our life, and in our purpose. We’ve stretched, looked into the fears of dreaming TOO big (is there such a thing?!) and looked at all the other emotions that come up once we’ve actually MADE the decision to play a bigger game. These are related to issues of safety, not rocking the boat, and self-doubt as to whether we really CAN play a bigger game in life and business. (more…)

The quote, “The opera ain’t over until the fat lady sings” originated with San Antonio sports broadcaster Dan Cook during a television newscast in April 1978. He coined the famous phrase after the first basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Washington Bullets during the 1977-78 National Basketball Association playoffs, to illustrate that while the Spurs had won once, the series was not over yet. (more…)

When talking about their business, most solo-preneurs make the mistake of describing exactly what they do, in boring detail. “My company has been in business for X number of years and we use the newest technology systems. We use a complicated series of… blah blah blah.” Many coaches and consultants talk about coaching ad nauseam, “What is coaching, are you coachable, what is your coachability index, who is the coach, blah blah blah”. (more…)

Imagine you’ve worked hard to market your services; you’ve attracted a prospective client, set up a “sales conversation” and gone through the whole sales process. Great job, but sometimes, no matter how hard we try, prospects don’t always sign up on the spot.

Sometimes, a prospect needs some time to make the decision on whether or when they’d like to start working with you. What I’ve noticed over the years is that when this happens, most always, the sale never happens, probably because life gets in the way and what’s out of sight is out of mind.

Often, this means you’ve lost them for good. UNLESS you use the proven method to get indecisive prospects to slide right into your practice, instead of slipping through your fingers.

So I’ve come up with a fantastic remedy for this, which again, helps me close the deal 97-98% of the times that I use it.

If they don’t bite on the sales call, use what I call the “bookend” method. Here’s how it works:

When a prospect tells me they need to talk to their spouse or needs some time to decide, or wants to ideally start in 2 months, I schedule a 5 minute “check-in” call with them (next Tuesday at 3pm, for example) so that we can follow up with each other without having to play phone tag or have to follow up with one another.

The great thing about this technique is that it puts a time limit in the prospect’s mind as to when THEY would like to make the decision, and obviously, you let them choose when they’d like to have that 5 minute chat.

I essentially came up with this because I really dislike following up in this situation. It makes me feel like I’m chasing after them and I don’t feel that this is Client Attractive. So instead, we agree that they’ll call me on set date and 90% of the time they do, and out of those times, they don’t feel pressured, have had time to think about what we talked about, and are ready to make a decision to move forward. It’s a great tool!

If for whatever reason they don’t call during the time of your 5 minute check-in appointment, you can then call them or e-mail them asking if anything went wrong. This usually puts the prospect into a mode where they feel obliged to get back you, as they were the one who missed the appointment. Again, this is much more Client Attractive and ends up saving you a lot of time.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
If a client doesn’t sign up on the spot, make sure to bookend another date so you don’t have to follow up on each other for weeks. Use it as a “let’s see where you are in your decision making process then.” It works like a charm.

Having trouble with actually getting the prospect INTO the sales conversation in the first place? You’re definitely not the only one. The good news is, I’ve developed a way to close the sale 97-98% of the time and I share the entire process in my Client Attraction Home Study System™. It’ll help you fill your practice quickly and consistently, Guaranteed. Here’s where you can get your own copy: www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

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No problem! But here’s what you MUST include:

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System , the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your income, visit www.ClientAttraction.com.

Every time I speak in front of an audience, whether it’s 50 or 1,200 small business owners, I get the same old question. Then following my answer, I always see a roomful of dropped jaws and gaping mouths.

The question? How often do I need to reach out to my prospective clients and clients?

The answer? A minimum of 25 times a year, preferably 52 or more times a year.
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We may have a different idea of service, a product that has more benefits, a specialty or niche that we know better than anyone else… Whatever sets you and your business apart from others is crucial for you to identify and communicate. Why? Imagine one of your potential clients looking through the phone book and seeing 65 listings and ads for your category. How would you stand out? What would make them call YOU as opposed to the next listing? (more…)

OK, so you’ve figured out where your best clients have come from and where your Ideal Clients can be found in large numbers, and inexpensively. It’s time to create a marketing plan that has you focusing on “fishing where the fish are.” The more focus you have, the better the results.

When coaching clients to do this in private sessions, I ask them to draw a large circle on a blank sheet of paper, and draw 4 lines to create a pie with 8 slices.

Then I ask them to fill out each slice of the pie with what they’re currently doing to attract clients (only the things that really work) and then fill in the rest of the marketing pie with marketing tools we’ve agreed will PULL their clients in. This comes from the list of where their Ideal Clients congregate, remember?
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