Specifically:  Your ability to take action immediately when you spot a great opportunity.

Successful people live and breathe this philosophy.

Most people do not take action fast enough.

They make excuses.  They complain.  They blame others.

Most people wallow in their own self-pity.

They waste their days away waiting to win the lottery – looking for a giant bag of money to fall from the sky into the back seat of their car.

But that still won’t be enough.  They’d still need someone to come over, start the car, hop in the driver’s seat and take all that cash to the bank and deposit it in their account.

Blame the government, blame the economy, blame the competition, and blame anyone but the guy in the mirror.

Here are some of the crappy things I’ve heard MOST people say this week:

“I can’t get my bills out because I have too much work to do and I can’t hire someone because I don’t make enough money.”

“I can’t raise my fees because everyone else charges the same thing I charge.”

“If I don’t offer a payment plan, the clients who cannot pay me won’t work with me.”

“Writing, speaking and networking takes too long and I need money now.  Shouldn’t I just invest $1,000 per month in Search Engine Optimization?”

These ridiculous statements were made to me, by actual people, within the last seven days.  But they are not unique.  I hear similar things every week.

While MOST people are bitching and moaning, successful people are taking action.

Here is my challenge to you:  Prove to me you are not like MOST people.

Listen to this week’s Valtimax Podcast on how to properly use the Internet to attract more clients.  Then email me with something you’ve done as a result.

Here’s the link:  Step-By-Step Guide to On-Line Marketing

I need to restore my faith in humanity.  Help me do that.

Listen and take action. Step-by-Step Guide to On-Line Marketing

He asked questions.  He followed me around.  He even offered to get me a cup of coffee while he went to get the keys for the test drive of the car.

It was at that point I turned the tables on him.

You see, having developed the sales process for a major car company (as well as a company that sold timeshares and a different company that sold corporate aircraft) I knew what time of the month it was.  The date was the 28^th and, by that time, every salesperson on the lot was either struggling to keep his/her job or vying for a prize in a monthly contest.

At the end of the month in a pure sales job (a job with no salary just straight commission) there is no ambiguity.  There are winners, losers and survivors.

So I stepped onto the lot knowing I was going to get a car at dealer invoice (or slightly below) because the salesman and the dealer needed to close deals – lots of them.

The salesman I was working with needed to close the deal to keep his job.  His boss, the owner, needed the deal (and a few others) to earn a “hold back” – a special incentive from the manufacturer given to dealers who sold a certain number of cars by the end of the month.

I sensed this neediness and, like a shark sensing blood in the water, I toyed with my prey and then finally swallowed it whole.

Neediness is the kiss of death for anyone looking to close a deal.

Period.  End of story.

If you need money and the other guy knows you need money, you’re dead.

It’s a fact.

You must not, under any circumstance, wear your neediness on your sleeve.

When times get tough and you are tightening your belt, that’s the time to appear as if everything is under control.

The guy who can walk away from the deal will always be the winner.

This is the first rule I teach my clients.

The minute you negotiate your price down without reducing the value you provide, you are demonstrating your neediness.

When you allow the client to dictate payment terms, you are demonstrating your neediness.

If you find yourself feeling trapped into doing more for the client than you originally agreed to do, you are demonstrating your neediness.

Don’t do this.

Respect yourself.  Respect the agreement you made with the client.  Honor it and be fair.

But don’t be needy.

Want to learn the easiest antidote to being needy?

Listen to this podcast on Self Esteem by clicking the link below.

High Self Esteem: The Key to Business Success

As such, we all answer it regularly.

Yet the answers I hear from people often make me cringe.

When you have an opportunity to talk about yourself do you downplay your accomplishments?

Or do you go in the other direction and talk, ad nauseam, about who you are, what you’ve done, and why you are the greatest person in the world?

There is a delicate balance in describing yourself to someone else.  Here’s how to do it effectively:

First:  Frame your accomplishments in a context based in their world.

To do this, compare your greatest success to something with which they are familiar.  Here’s an example:

“Thanks for asking, Joe.  Just like you, I’m known as a professional litigator.  All of us have cases we are most proud of.  One of mine is the case of Jones vs. Smith where my client was awarded a $2 million judgment. “

Next:   Point out a particular passion.

“In my personal time I work with the Autism Research Foundation.  I was drawn to it because of the impact this issue has had on my family. My kids mean everything to me and this is a way for me to give back to people who are looking to make life better for their family. ”

Finally: Wrap things up by asking the other person a question about them.

“Tell me Joe, how old are your kids?”

Note that I included only one business accomplishment and one area of personal passion. The reason is not because I think you should be humble.  It is because of the psychological principle of primacy.  Our brain will remember and associate people with the first thing we hear.  In an initial meeting, you want the other party to walk away remembering the big business impact ($2 million success) and the passion (helping kids with autism).

The tendency is for us to list a string of accomplishments to impress the other party.  This has a discounting effect on in the mind of the other person.  The human brain will unconsciously average all the things we have done and often blunt impact of our accomplishments.

So the next time someone asks you for information about yourself, prepare your initial response as outlined above.  Then watch how they introduce you to others.  You will notice that they use the exact same language you use and it will have a memorable impact.

If you want to maximize your impact when meeting someone, listen to the podcast I have highlighted by following the link below.

Click this link now:  How to Promote Yourself Without Looking Stupid

Whenever you start a new relationship you take some risks.

The biggest risk you face is that the other person will reject you.

Rejection hurts.

And no matter how many people love you, some will always reject you and inevitably, you’ll feel the sting of that rejection.

For every hundred positive reviews of one of my books or audio podcasts, there are always a few people who expend energy telling the world how bad they think my work is.

And, as is human nature, I don’t remember many of the positive reviews but I remember EVERY negative one.

But rather than bring me down, the negative reviews fire me up.  They help steel my resolve. Every time I read a negative review I double my marketing effort.  I do twice as much writing, I speak to twice as many groups, and I make twice as many phone calls, compared to the time prior to the venomous critique.

I turn the energy from one sour review into a tsunami of positive relationships.

Negative people can only bring you down if you let them.  Turn their energy into action and use that action to develop new relationships.

Want more information on developing relationships?

Listen to this audio program right now:

The Power of Relationship Marketing

Your relationships are the clay that molds your future.  Let your future take shape exactly as you design it.

Let’s call him Mr. Wells.

At breakfast, Mr. Wells went to great lengths to talk about the type of litigation matters he wanted to work on.    He spent fifteen minutes telling me how great he was and how successful he had been in his law practice.

Later that day I logged into a discussion forum for attorneys.  One of the posts in this forum had Mr. Wells’ name next to it.  Having just met with him, I was interested in what he had to say, so I clicked on the post.  I was shocked when I saw him asking this discussion group, with over 1,000 members, for help with basic trial procedure.

This made me wonder how he expected to get referrals from the group of lawyers if he was asking for help with the basics of something in his area of supposed expertise.

It turns out Mr. Wells just became a trial lawyer.  Previously he had been practicing in another area of the law.

Last week I took my car to a mechanic because some fluid was leaking from the undercarriage.  The mechanic and another man put my car up on the lift and proceeded to examine every inch of the chassis.  At the completion of the examination, the mechanic and his associate met me in the garage.  Just as the diagnosis was about to be delivered, someone pulled the mechanic away.

“So” I said to the other man who was clad in overalls and had a flashlight in hand, “what’s wrong with my car?”

He said:

“I’m an apprentice, sir.  I only have six months of training on this type of vehicle.  I am not qualified to answer.  Let’s wait for the mechanic to return.  It will only be a moment.”

Which story inspires more confidence?

It is amazing how many professionals believe they have to fake it until they make it.

They believe marketing is the art of deception.

They know they can be anything on the Internet and they trick themselves into believing they can be anything in real life just through the process of self-appointment.

There is nothing wrong with trying something new.

There is nothing wrong with changing careers (or practice areas).

But there is something wrong with being deceptive.

I do not want my lawyer, my heart surgeon or my parachute manufacturer to try and “figure things out as they go along.”

I want you to study under an expert.  I want you to practice while being observed by someone who has talent and experience.

If there are risks, I want to know about them ahead of time and I want to know how you have handled those risks in the past.

If you lie or exaggerate about your experience, you rob me of my ability to assess that risk.

If I trust your advice, thinking you are an expert, when really you are a novice – who should be apprenticing before going out on your own – you are perpetrating a fraud.

It only takes one mistake to ruin your reputation.  It takes one mistake to devastate your client and potentially end your career.

That mistake can be prevented by following one simple rule in your marketing:

Tell the truth.

Give it a try.  You’ll sleep better and attract more clients.

“Good afternoon sir.  My name is Ronald and this is Bernard.  (Big kid smiles sheepishly.) We’re here today selling chocolate bars to help raise money for our trip to Tallahassee.   I know other kids will be coming to your house with the same offer and I know it’s hard to say ‘yes’ to everyone.  But I want you to know that these candy bars were donated.  That means we don’t have to give any money to any company.  Any candy you buy will go directly to helping us pay for our trip.  I also want you to know that you can write a check, directly to my school (he hands me a card with the name of the school on it and his name – first and last and the chubby kid’s name – first and last) so you can be sure the money will be used for funding my trip or Bernard’s trip.”

I was stunned.  A great pitch from a kid in fourth grade.

“How much?” I asked.

That’s when I realized I hadn’t seen anything yet.

“That’s up to you sir.  The trip costs $130 per kid.  My parents are covering half of my trip and half of Bernard’s trip.  You see, Bernard is my cousin and he moved here from Georgia when his mom lost her job.  His dad drives a truck, so they moved in with us to save a little money during the winter.  We’ve sold 48 candy bars so far and most people give us $1 apiece.   But you can give us whatever you want.”

Not wanting to add 82 chocolate bars to my waistline, I flicked away the tear from my eye and bought one chocolate bar for $82.

Yes, I am a soft touch, but that’s not the point.

I share this anecdote with you to illustrate the power of a story.

Each day all of us have an opportunity to make an impression on someone just as Ronald made an impression on me.

When someone asks you why you do what you do, how do you answer?

Do you give them some mundane two sentence response or do you tell them a compelling version of a story that helps them FEEL the emotion you FELT when you decided to get into this profession?

If you don’t have a story that illustrates why you do what you do, tell them a story about your best day.   Tell them a story that demonstrates the effect you have on people with your work.

Stories are powerful because they put people into a state that makes them emotionally receptive to your message.

Anytime you ask for money you should start by telling a story.

Anytime you want to connect with an audience during a speech or with direct mail, you should tell a story.

Whenever you want to get people moving in a certain direction, you need to get them emotionally engaged with a story.

Yes, this is work.

Yes, you need to remember the details of the story and rehearse it a few times.

And yes, some people will not believe your story.

But that will not take away from its impact. And, as long as it’s true, and you tell it with passion, you will achieve the desired result.

Want to learn more about adding a story to a speech?

The link below is to a podcast on giving a great speech.  Listen to it today and create a compelling reaction tomorrow from your next audience.

 Seven Elements of a Great Business Speech

Persistence.

Back when I worked with a large consulting firm I consulted with FORTUNE 500 companies.   Each year I would hang a list on my office wall of “future clients”.  The list contained some prestigious names.    And next to the name of the business would be a list of potential contacts with whom I wanted to work.

Each month I would send something to these folks.   Most often it was a letter with something included to make the package unusually shaped.

For example:

One month we sent a CD with an audio interview of me with a radio host discussing a topic relevant to their business.  Another month it was a signed copy of a book.  A third month it was a small whiteboard with a formula written on it.

Then, about two weeks after the package went out, I’d follow up with a telephone call.

Every month.

Then I would send them a weekly educational email.

Every month.

I’d also find out what organizations my future clients belonged to and I would go to those organizations’ events.

Every month.

I’d host seminars in my office on our company’s latest research and I’d invite my future clients to these events.

Every month.

I would scour the trade magazines and newspapers for articles and mentions of these folks.  I’d clip the articles and send them a handwritten congratulatory note when they appeared in the press.

Every month.

There were no more than 50 companies on my list of future clients every year.  And each year I would initiate new work with at least 12 of them.

When I left the large consulting firm, in my portfolio of clients I had 18 Chief Executive Officers, 32 Chief Marketing Officers and dozens and dozens of other “C” level executives.

All of these relationships started with this same persistent method.

Now you may have tried some of this before.  Maybe it didn’t work.

Know why?

You gave up too soon.

Developing good strategy is only half of the success equation.  The second half is persistence.   Once you have sound business strategy you must execute, consistently and persistently over time.

I decide who I want my clients to be (and who I want to refer me business) and then I send them valuable information – forever.

Think about the things you have tried that didn’t work.  Did you give them a fair shot? For a few years?

If a strategy has worked for someone else, it can work for you.  It just requires sound execution and time.

If you want to learn more about the strategies that can make your future clients, current clients, listen to my weekly podcast on business strategy.

It costs nothing and it contains some of the best marketing and business strategy information around.

Below is a link to a directory with all of the episodes I have recorded to date.

Listen and then take action.  And don’t give up.

Valtimax Podcast Directory

This is a smart guy.  He’s well educated.  He has a couple of decades of experience.  He is politically savvy and financially adept.   Yet this particular issue has him vexed and perplexed.

Throughout his entire career this executive has confronted issues head-on, identified his options, and made the best decision for his business.   But this time his options appear to have narrowed and the “good” solution is not easy to identify.  The choices he faces appear to be degrees of “bad.”

As light begins to peer through the curtain in his bedroom, he makes a decision to pick up the telephone and call a person whose counsel he has sought on similar issues.   He knows he will receive solid, objective guidance, from this person.  Based, in part, on this guidance, he will bet the future of his company.

As he reaches for the telephone he confidently has one person in mind.

————————————————————————————–

You may not have given that exact scenario any thought.   After all, you are working hard, being a good lawyer, being a good medical professional, or being a good business leader.

Why would you spend any time thinking about the problems faced by the owner of a huge business?

You think about those problems because helping this guy make good decisions is important to your relationship with him.

Relationships lead to business for you.

Make no mistake; there is no Request for Proposal published when a business leader is looking for a trusted advisor.   There is no committee formed when a CEO needs someone to bounce ideas off.   There is only the trust you have developed.

How do you get to this point?  How do you develop a relationship with a guy like this?

There are four aspects of a deep relationship.

Visibility

This relationship with the senior decision maker begins when he first recognizes you and your talent.  This can be through reading a book or an article you have written, it can be through seeing you speak at an event, it can be through the introduction by a mutual friend, or in a dozen other ways.

At some point, you appear on this guy’s radar screen because of something you said or something you did.

Credibility

Just knowing you is not enough.  The decision maker must get a glimpse of your brilliance.  He must know what you know.

Most often this comes from personal, direct conversations.   It comes from being yourself.  It comes from telling the truth, even when it is difficult.  It comes from offering your unvarnished opinion even when it may get you thrown out of the room.

The executive needs to know you are going to give him your best thinking even when it exposes you to ridicule.

Differentiation

There are lots of people out there who do what you do.  There are hundreds of top notch trial lawyers.  There are dozens of outstanding physicians in every area of practice.  There are tens of thousands of business consultants who are qualified to help executives.

Why should the CEO call you?  Why is it important the General Counsel seek your guidance?

You need to be able to articulate a clear differentiating factor.  Something that matters.  Something that cannot be easily replicated.

Trust

It’s lonely at the top.  The people who enter the CEO’s office, the people who enter the General Counsel’s office, are almost always angling for something.  If you provide guidance and support without any motive other than acting in the best interest of your friend/client, you will develop trust.

The four aspects of this kind of relationship are easy to comprehend but difficult to develop.

Why?

Because they require emotional investment – on your part.

You must invest in this person.  You must invest in a relationship with him.  You must invest in helping him succeed.

That’s tough.

It’s tough because we live in a NOW world.  You want that big trial TODAY.  You want the huge order IMMEDIATELY.  You want to be the GO TO person post haste.

These relationships are built brick by brick.  They are built by giving good guidance on lots of small issues.  They are built by people sharing your reputation in boardrooms and at cocktail parties.

It starts with the relationships you have right now.  It starts with the guidance you provide today.  It starts with your activity, your personality, and your focus, right now.

————————————————————————————–

The executive’s legs swing around to the side of his bed.  His feet hit the floor and he pulls back the curtain.  He reaches down and picks up his phone.  As he scrolls through the contacts, he stops on a name and pushes the green button.

Somewhere across the country, a telephone is ringing on a nightstand.

The sound startles you out of a peaceful slumber.  As you reach for the phone you don’t realize it but answering that call may very well change the trajectory of a career…for both of you.

“How do I get more clients?”

Set aside, just for a moment, the fact that this is the wrong question to ask…let’s take a moment and address the issue that is keeping most professionals up at night.

Common Myth:  You must be a great salesperson to be good at client attraction.

You are not out looking for “targets” to approach to draft into service as your clients.

You are trying to establish relationships.

Relationships develop when two people believe there is mutual benefit in getting together.

Think about this in terms of personal relationships.

If you were seeking the company of someone with whom you could potentially spend the rest of your life, you would not wade into a sea of prospective suitors, grab one, and say:

“You are beautiful. I am fantastic.  Would you spend the rest of your life with me?”

Yet each day people hit the airwaves, Internet and hundreds of other forms of media saying something similar in a business context.  Think about it:

“If you’ve been arrested for a DUI, call so-and-so law firm.”

“Need cash fast?  Call XYZ bank.”

“Want clean floors? Buy my mop.”

A better approach:

Educate people.  Teach them about your industry, your business, and the criteria for selecting an expert to help them.

Offering guidance and education is a great way to get people interested in what you have to say.

Then, when people come to you seeking the knowledge you provide, give it to them.

Finally:

Follow up often to deepen the relationship.

Let’s go back to the dating analogy.

If you were interested in a potential spouse, would you stop by and see him/her only once each month?  Or occasionally?  Or when you got around to it?

Of course not.

Engage people and keep deepening your relationship with them over time.

Eventually, the people with whom you have developed enough trust, will walk down the aisle and give you some cash.

Want more specifics?

I lay out the details in this 23 minute podcast.  Listen now:

Do This Get Clients

In case you are wondering, I am demonstrating the exact principle I just outlined.

You and I have a relationship.  I share great information with you every week.  You have the opportunity to reach out to me, at any time, and deepen our relationship.

You may not be ready now.

You may not be ready six months from now.

But when you are ready, I’ll be here.

For now, let’s spend 23 more minutes together.  Listen to this podcast today:

Do This Get Clients

Here’s hoping you make a great living and live a great life®.

Everyone wants the magic pill or secret formula to use in order to get more clients, immediately.

Those things don’t exist.

Know what works?

Good, old fashioned persistence aligned with the right actions.

Here are five things you can do today to help grow your business.

Make a telephone call to one of your current clients.

Ask how things are going.  Ask what his goals are for the year.  Offer to help him achieve his goals.

When you approach the conversation in this way, you are viewed as a trusted advisor.  That results in new business.

Ask each of your employees and your vendors to make a list of people they know who are successful and influential in the community.

Have them select the five most successful and influential people on each of their lists.  Invite those folks to an open house in your office.  Serve food and beverages.  Introduce people to each other.   Thank them for coming.

You will be amazed at the business that comes from this event.  If you have five employees and five vendors you will have 25 -50 influential and successful people in your office learning about the value you provide.

Write one hand written note to someone you admire.

This note should go to a person you would like to do business with.   Be genuine in your note.  If he recently won an award, or was mentioned in the paper, congratulate him.

About 20% of the people who receive your note will reach out to you.  60% of people who receive your note will take your call if you reach out to them.

Go to an event where you are the only person from your profession.

There’s a line in a Seinfeld episode when Kramer says: “Have you ever been at a cocktail party with a proctologist? If you meet a proctologist at a party stay close to him.  Those guys are a laugh a minute.”

Be the proctologist at the party.

I tell lawyers to go to meetings of accountants.  I tell doctors to go to conventions of gym owners.   I tell business owners to find the industry, profession or demographic group that purchases their product en mass and attend their conventions and hang out where they congregate.

Why?

Well, for research purposes for one thing.   In order to sell to these people you must understand the way they think and the way they speak.

The second reason you should go is because you will most likely stumble into several potential clients.

Learn something new about your industry or your clients every day. 

Do a little research each day.  Read a trade journal.  Call someone who does what you in another part of the country and brainstorm with him for ten minutes.

You may bristle at these five tips because they require a little work.  I understand.   But if you invest your time in these five strategies, you will be regularly rewarded with new clients and new revenue.  You just need to make the effort.

Now here’s something else you may enjoy.  Below is a link to a podcast I recorded on how to create a marketing plan that will deliver clients to your doorstep.  Click the link below to spend fifteen minutes with me as I give you a step-by-step guide to creating a great plan to bring business in the door.

How to Create a Diverse Marketing Plan