The only way to make sure that you always have a full practice is to always market. And the best way to do that is to make all the pieces of your marketing pie run on a system, like a well-oiled machine that doesn’t need you to be there the whole time, just once in a while to make sure everything’s going smoothly.
As clients get to know me in our one-on-one private coaching, they tend to see how fanatical I can be about systems. I’ve created systems for EVERYTHING, probably because I’m not a very disciplined person by nature. (And I know I’m not the only one.)

So to counteract that (and because I need to consistently have high-paying clients) I make sure that everything I do runs like clockwork.

Here’s how I do it and how I’ve taught countless clients how to do it too.

Let’s go back to the example of my Marketing Pie:

• Breakfast networking group (WEEKLY MEETING, paid for once a year and booked in my calendar for the entire year)
• Associations (MONTHLY MEETING, paid for once a year and booked in my calendar for the entire year)
• Free teleclasses on how to attract clients, MONTHLY
• My own seminars (BIMONTHLY, paid for and booked at the beginning of the year)
•  E-zine (BIWEEKLY, goes out every other week, without exception—my assistant makes sure that it does)
• Articles for association newsletters (MONTHLY, schedule of article and deadlines are set by the association)
• Speaking for associations/organizations/conferences (OFTEN WEEKLY OR BIWEEKLY, I have a list of speaking opportunities that I’m constantly following up on to get booked regularly)
• Strategic alliances (OFTEN WEEKLY OR BIWEEKLY, I have a list of strategic alliances that I’m constantly following up on to do things with regularly)

Do you see a trend? Everything I do in terms of Client Attraction, every single piece of my own Marketing Pie, is set up to work automatically and systematically. I set these things up ahead of time and then all I have to do is show up. I don’t ever have to worry about what I have to do next. It’s already in my calendar. And because of all the Prioritized Daily Task Lists, the Daily Breakout Schedule, the Low-Hanging Fruit list, etc. I end up doing things daily to make sure these systems stay on track.

This is the one thing that I have rarely seen in any book or course that teaches you how to get clients, yet I think it’s one of the most crucial. If you don’t set things up to be systematic, then you won’t stay on track. And if you don’t stay on track, you won’t market consistently. And if you don’t market consistently, then you won’t take action and get results consistently. And that means that you’re going to have a much harder time keeping your practice consistently full, UNLESS you set things up to work on their own, with a little tweak from you here and there.

Your Client Attraction Assignment

Set up systems for everything that is marketing and Client Attraction. Figure out what you will do daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly so that you too can go from being undisciplined with not enough clients, to disciplined with a full practice.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. 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. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

Sometimes, it’s best to not reinvent the wheel or “fix what ain’t broke,” as the saying goes. Let’s say you have several clients you absolutely LOVE. Look at where all of these clients have come from. Perhaps it’s a particular networking group, or a talk that you gave, a referral from a strategic alliance or Center Of Influence, or a referral from a client. It’s important to see where your clients have come from, so that you can do more of the same.

Avoid focusing too much on what hasn’t helped you attract many clients in your Marketing Pie, but rather, what HAS worked. That’s what you want to focus on.

One way to keep track is to set up a system for this. Each time a new private coaching client signs up to work with me, they fill out a section of my Welcome Packet that says “Whom may I thank for your referral?” This is a great way to keep track, because you’ll forget, but they won’t.

I have a section in my database that I’ve labeled “Referred by” next to the client’s name and in that section, I note who referred that person, where I originally met them, or what talk they came to hear. At the end of the quarter or the year, it helps me to eliminate the marketing efforts or networking groups that aren’t working and focus on the ones that are.

This also has the added bonus of tracking which referral sources have given me the most leads and reminds me to thank them appropriately for each and every referral.

Your Client Attraction Assignment:

• Start tracking where your clients come from so that you can continue marketing there.
• Ask each and every client whom they were referred by or where you met.
• Create a worksheet to keep track of this.
• Review this often to see what’s working and what’s not.
• Focus on (and do more of) what works and eliminate the efforts. that don’t produce results.

Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. 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. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

To get more clients from networking, 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 some 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 things marketing tools we’ve agreed will PULL their clients in. This comes from the list of where their Ideal Clients congregate.

So, the list could look like this:

• Network where they network
• Join associations that allow you to rub elbows with them
• Write articles for the publications they read
• Create a Signature Talk for a workshop/seminar they attend
• List your events in publications they read
• Set up referral partnerships with people they do business with on a regular basis
• Get booked as a speaker for organizations they belong to
• Write articles for websites they visit often or rely upon
• Write an e-zine they would be interested to read
• Give free (or paid) teleseminars they call in and listen

Avoid marketing where your ideal clients are NOT spending time, as you will attract people who DON’T fit that profile.

Know that although you DO want a multi-pronged marketing approach so that you don’t ever put all your eggs in one basket, you want to take it slow and not try to put into place ALL the pieces of the pie at the same time. You’d overwhelm yourself and exhaust yourself completely, and exhaustion is not very Client Attractive.

So the idea is to start putting a couple of “slices” of the pie in place, to make them run like a well-oiled machine and THEN move on to adding another slice, one at a time.

Your Client Attraction Assignment:

Spend some time thinking about all the different avenues for reaching you target audience with your compelling marketing message and plot it out on a marketing pie. Then start putting one piece of the pie in place, one after the other, until you’re Marketing Pie is in full swing and always working to help you attract clients. No more ad hoc marketing with no results.
Now, if you’re just starting out and trying to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. 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. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com.

It’s a phenomenon that happens to most people in business for themselves after a few years. When solo-entrepreneurs first get started in marketing their business, they have gusto, they have energy, and many take a no-excuses approach to getting clients. They’re WILLING to do what it takes, and they do it often (most of them).

But after a few years, they begin to rest on their laurels, they get lazy, and after a while, they stop doing what they used to do to get clients. Some stop networking; some stop doing free intro classes, either in person or over the phone; some no longer do as much speaking as they used to. They’ve slowed down their marketing, and then they wonder what’s happened to their pipeline: it’s empty.

Oh, and I hear a whole bunch of excuses as to why they’re no longer doing these things, too. There’s always a YEAH-BUT… “I don’t FEEL like doing that anymore,” or “I’ve already done that, it won’t work again,” or even “I’m tired, I don’t want to work that hard.” Some even begin to wonder if they should stay self-employed, ready to give up.

As a result of the excuses, the well continues to dry up and they find themselves digging the well when they’re thirsty (Not fun: it creates sleepless nights and financial troubles.) Then, the fear sets in and they scramble for NEW things to do. Ever done that?

It seems they want to reinvent the wheel. They’re looking for new ways of doing things and this creates a sometimes frenetic, frantic approach to getting clients. I believe this ties into the “Bright Shiny Object Syndrome” we talked about recently, always looking for something new to do, something exciting, while leaving behind the proven stuff.

However, what I’ve learned over the years is, doing something new doesn’t always create results as quickly. The systems aren’t as easy to put in place and there’s always a learning curve for new stuff. What clients are surprised to hear is that, instead of creating BRAND new strategies, sometimes, we begin by going back to doing the tried-and-true, proven things that worked very well for us in the past. We go back to the basics: Marketing Pie 101.

Why reinvent the wheel when you can go back and do the simple things that are proven to work?

Your Client Attraction Assignment:

My thoughts on this: You either have EXCUSES or you have RESULTS.

So, my questions for you are:

• What have you been UNWILLING to do recently to get clients that USED to work for you?
• Have you stopped doing something that you did regularly in the beginning?
• Where have you gotten lazy?
• What used to work for you in the early days?
• Are you doing this now?
• Are you WILLING to do this now?

If now’s the time for you to ramp up your client load, then stop everything and take a look at your Marketing Pie. Which slices of the pie are you implementing regularly? Are you not being consistent with your marketing?

It’s time to go back to the basics. And, it’s time to recommit.The funny thing is, when you recommit and you start doing these things again, they WORK. And what happens is, you start getting clients, more mo’ney starts pouring in, and you begin to LIKE doing these things again. Marketing becomes FUN again. Your whole demeanor changes. And, you instantly become more Client Attractive as a result. THEN, once the foundation is in, you can start adding in all the new stuff. Try it. It always works for me and my clients.

Now, if you’re stuck with what to do to fill your practice in the FIRST place, then follow a step-by-step system that feels easy and authentic to you. The Client Attraction Home Study System™ avoids the “Bright Shiny Object Syndrome” and instead gives you the most important things to do to set up simple, solid systems, so that you consistently fill your pipeline and continually get new clients. 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. All the tools, scripts, templates, and examples are handed to you on a silver platter. Easy. You can get it at TheClientAttractionSystem.com. And you’re in luck because right now I have my Back-to-School Extravaganza taking place, where you can save 60% (wow!) on my best-selling Home Study System and other popular products as well. But this offer ends TONIGHT at midnight. Check it out here.
© 2011 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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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.attractclients.com.