A 30-second commercial, also known as an “elevator speech,” is a brief verbal summary of what you do, who you do it for, and the key benefits and results you deliver. Here’s a template for composing your commercial, including the essential elements you should incorporate, and suggestions for powerful words to use. Read more

Clients and students often ask me, “C.J., you always seem to have a million things going on. How do you keep track of it all?” Their questions imply that they believe I am more organized, focused, or productive than the average bear. Personally, I’m not so sure that’s true. You should see my desk, for example! But I do have a system, and in honor of New Year’s resolution-makers everywhere, I’m going to share it with y’all. Read more

A helpful tool for presenting your services to prospective clients is a repertoire of success stories about the results your clients get from your work. Here’s a template and example for composing some success stories of your own. Read more

In order to get booked as a speaker, an essential tool is a one-page description of your speaking topic, and a capsule bio describing your expertise. The example below will give you a model to follow. Read more

The end of each quarter is the perfect time to review what you’ve accomplished so far this year, what you have learned, and where you would like to go next. Set aside some time each quarter to conduct a review of your life, career, or business with this thoughtful exercise. Read more

I frequently recommend to entrepreneurs that they focus their marketing on building referral partnerships instead of attracting clients by advertising and promotion or approaching them cold. With a few pointers, most entrepreneurs can identify many possible referral sources. But I’m often asked how to best go about approaching these potential partners. Read more

If you’d like to fill out your GET CLIENTS NOW! Action Worksheet on your computer instead of on paper, you’ll find this Word version of the worksheet handy. You can download the file, fill in your action plan, and update as often as you’d like. Read more

The GET CLIENTS NOW! book was written with action groups and reading groups in mind. The 28-day program outlined in the book is ideal for use by a group of independent professionals working together, and the book has been adopted as a text by entrepreneurial support groups Read more

This sample proposal for a corporate training program could easily be modified to use for a consulting or coaching proposal. It includes a summary of the client’s needs, description of the trainer’s qualifications, outline of the proposed program, and two pricing options. Read more

The waning days of the year are the perfect time to look back at what you’ve accomplished this year, where you are now, and where you would like to go next. Set aside some time to conduct a year-end review of your life, career, or business with this thoughtful exercise. Read more