Recently I talked with a professional who is thinking of leaving her corporate job and going out on her own. As this was an introductory conversation to see if she and I might work together as coach and client, we quickly covered some of the basics: Did she have an idea of what her business would be? Who would she target as a client? How would she find those clients? We went on like that for an hour; it was a delightful conversation, with her sharing her vision and us looking at ways to create that for her. Read more

Our lives as professionals marketing our own services would be much easier if clients would simply read our sales copy and decide to hire us. But in the real world, it rarely works that way. Instead, we must have conversations with our prospects before a sale takes place -– sometimes several conversations. Read more

Most of the information and effort aimed at getting more clients focuses on promotion and attraction. You’ll find plenty of advice on how to tell the world about your business, make the phone ring, or get inquiries to arrive in your email inbox. But once you’ve been marketing yourself for a while, you discover that turning those prospects into paying clients can be pretty darned difficult. I find that many professionals are simply not prepared to sell to the prospects they attract. Read more

You know you need to follow up with prospective clients, but you often find yourself putting it off. “I already called them three times,” you think. Or, “They never answer my emails anyway.” Or, “I hate hearing no.” Or, “I don’t want to bug them.” Or, “What do I say that’s new?”

It’s only natural to resist placing phone calls or sending more emails to prospects who didn’t return your last call, never seem to reply, may not be ready to buy, or might say they’re not interested. But here’s the good news. Calling and emailing prospects and asking them to hire you is not the only way to follow up!

Yes, you can call or email your prospects and ask if they’re ready to work with you, but you can also send a letter or note by postal mail, overnight them a package, send a text message, tweet them, tag them on social media, or instant message them online. And those are just different communication channels you might use. The type of messages you deliver can be much more varied than simply asking prospects to do business.

Consider the following 44 ways that you can follow up with your prospects via any communication channel you choose, in order to build a relationship, remind them of what you do, and present yourself as a valuable resource and expert in your field. Many of these follow-up approaches can also be used with potential referral sources and networking contacts.

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One of the most persistent barriers to success for self-employed professionals is fear of rejection. Sometimes this fear is quite conscious. You know that you are avoiding marketing and sales because you’re afraid your prospects will say no.

Other times the fear is lurking in the background, making an impact you’re not always aware of. You may find yourself procrastinating about making a phone call or setting up a sales appointment, and blame it on laziness or poor time management. Or you may avoid following up because you “don’t want to bug people.” Or perhaps it feels pushy to ask directly for a sale. Read more

Why is it that some people seem to be naturals at selling, while others struggle to close every sale or even fail completely in a role that requires them to sell? In 1982, psychologist Martin Seligman, PhD, set out to answer that question for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Seligman had been studying optimism and pessimism in the laboratory for almost 20 years when Met Life heard about his research. Could Seligman help them learn how to hire more effective salespeople, they asked? Read more

Recently I taught a class at the Small Business Administration, where we discussed many characteristics of successful business owners. When discussing communication, and differing communication styles, it became apparent that most of us assumed that others communicated the way we did — or at the very least, could hear and understand what we were communicating. Turns out that’s an assumption that isn’t always correct. Read more

Q. I’m recently seeing an increase in email inquiries about my services. That’s good news, but most of these don’t seem to turn into clients. What’s the most effective way to follow up on email queries?

A. In my experience, a significant number of email inquiries are from window shoppers, tire kickers, and looky-loos. What I’ve found is that those that turn into business are the queries from people who tell me they were referred by someone I know, heard me speak, read my book/an article, subscribed to my newsletter, etc. Read more

Hardly a week goes by without someone asking me to help them compose a winning sales letter to market their professional services. “What is the magic formula,” they ask, “for writing a letter that results in clients?” Unfortunately, there isn’t one. And a whole lot of folks are wasting precious marketing time trying to create the perfect letter to jumpstart their marketing. Read more

One of the biggest complaints I hear today is that entrepreneurs aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. Many business owners looking to land more lucrative clients and contracts struggle to distinguish themselves in an authentic and profitable way. Recently, I’ve honed in on what it takes to turn what I call “The Scorching Hot Sweet Spot™” in your business into cold, hard cash! Read more