Friday, October 12, 2007
Start Making Real Money: Get Better Known By Clients and Colleagues By Pat Wiklund
Recently I had the opportunity to meet a one-person business owner who "commanded" high fees, was held in great regard by his colleagues and peers, but wasn't making the money his skills and reputation would have warranted.
The clues were evident: too quick to come way down on his fees, taking work outside his primary skill area, being cranky with his low fee clients who didn't understand or appreciate his skills and contributions, not going to his professional association because the meeting costs were too high, not following through with former clients because he hadn't done anything worth sharing with them, his minimal web site hadn't been updated in ages and didn't have much copy that would sell anyone anything, the list could go on and on.
In short, he was selling himself short, just to get work, and then getting resentful of the work he had, and the clients he was working with.
Of course this doesn't have much to do with you, right? (It did w! ith me for much too long!)
Just in case, let's use him, I'll call him Mike, as an example of what he could do to turn around his business and quickly start making real money.
I suggested Mike could do three simple things to turn his business around: be better known and connected with potential clients and colleagues, build a web site that helped sell him and his services, and develop a system for keeping in touch with former clients, or prospects that hadn't used him, but were interested in his work.
Get Better Known By Clients and Colleagues:
The classic marketing methods most one-person professional services business owners use to get better known are speaking to service groups or associations, writing articles or position papers, and networking.
As you might guess, Mike had quick objections to all of these. He compared networking with trying to break into the dating scene in high school.
Many of us feel the same way. ! It's hard to meet a group of strangers, say your spiel, listen! to thei rs, and then find another group of strangers and repeat the process.
Instead of traditional networking, I suggested Mike focus on getting better known by two groups of people: potential clients and colleagues.
He needed to join an organization where his potential, full fee clients would hang out. Then, he needed to not only to show up at the meetings, but get involved.
Mike, like many professionals, was really a pretty shy guy. Meeting lots of strangers and making small talk wasn't his primary skill area. To give him a "commanded" space in the organization, he needed a defined role, a reason for being there. So, he joined a committee and volunteered to contribute to the annual fund raising campaign by donating some of his professional services.
He was quickly chairing the committee as his new associates saw his level of expertise and the quality of his contributions. It soon became a wonderful showcase for what he does in his business and ! what a difference he could make in their businesses.
Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/95688-1-start-making-real-money-get-better-known-by-clients-and-colleagues/
home based business idea, home based small business
The clues were evident: too quick to come way down on his fees, taking work outside his primary skill area, being cranky with his low fee clients who didn't understand or appreciate his skills and contributions, not going to his professional association because the meeting costs were too high, not following through with former clients because he hadn't done anything worth sharing with them, his minimal web site hadn't been updated in ages and didn't have much copy that would sell anyone anything, the list could go on and on.
In short, he was selling himself short, just to get work, and then getting resentful of the work he had, and the clients he was working with.
Of course this doesn't have much to do with you, right? (It did w! ith me for much too long!)
Just in case, let's use him, I'll call him Mike, as an example of what he could do to turn around his business and quickly start making real money.
I suggested Mike could do three simple things to turn his business around: be better known and connected with potential clients and colleagues, build a web site that helped sell him and his services, and develop a system for keeping in touch with former clients, or prospects that hadn't used him, but were interested in his work.
Get Better Known By Clients and Colleagues:
The classic marketing methods most one-person professional services business owners use to get better known are speaking to service groups or associations, writing articles or position papers, and networking.
As you might guess, Mike had quick objections to all of these. He compared networking with trying to break into the dating scene in high school.
Many of us feel the same way. ! It's hard to meet a group of strangers, say your spiel, listen! to thei rs, and then find another group of strangers and repeat the process.
Instead of traditional networking, I suggested Mike focus on getting better known by two groups of people: potential clients and colleagues.
He needed to join an organization where his potential, full fee clients would hang out. Then, he needed to not only to show up at the meetings, but get involved.
Mike, like many professionals, was really a pretty shy guy. Meeting lots of strangers and making small talk wasn't his primary skill area. To give him a "commanded" space in the organization, he needed a defined role, a reason for being there. So, he joined a committee and volunteered to contribute to the annual fund raising campaign by donating some of his professional services.
He was quickly chairing the committee as his new associates saw his level of expertise and the quality of his contributions. It soon became a wonderful showcase for what he does in his business and ! what a difference he could make in their businesses.
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Need to get your small business more strategic, organized, automated? Click here => http://www.1PersonBusiness.com for Pat Wiklund's complimentary introductory course on How to Run a One-Person Business Without It Running You.
Need to get your small business more strategic, organized, automated? Click here => htt! p://www.1PersonBusiness.com for Pat Wiklund's complimentar! y introd uctory course on How to Run a One-Person Business Without It Running You.
Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/95688-1-start-making-real-money-get-better-known-by-clients-and-colleagues/
home based business idea, home based small business
# posted by Kek @ 4:31 PM 
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