Did you know that for EVERYTHING you want to do in your business you need to create a system for it? The real secret to a successful business is having the right systems in place that support and grow that business.
And this comes down to getting new clients too. If you’re finding that you don’t yet have a full practice of clients, or your flow of clients is very inconsistent (think feast or famine), then I suggest you look at the systems you currently have in place for getting more clients.
You want to be in a position where you have a constant flow of:
>> New client enquiries.
>> Strategy sessions (on your calendar every week).
>> Adding potential clients to your contact management system.
>> Follow-up processes for converting a potential client into a paying client.
And so the cycle goes on in your business. It happens regularly, like clockwork, and because you have the RIGHT client systems set up to support your new client flow, everything runs smoothly.
In order to make this happen, here are the steps you need to take:
Step 1: KNOW Your Numbers. Knowing exactly how many people you need to speak to on a daily basis is key to maintaining a steady flow of clients coming into your business. Once you know this number it completely eliminates all of the guesswork out of running your business. If you’re not working with the number of clients you want to be working with, it’s probably because you haven’t figured this number out yet.
Step 2: ASK for The Strategy Session. This is where many business owners fall down! They don’t ASK clients to have a strategy session with them. Instead they will kid themselves that it’s more important that they [update their website / connect on Facebook / fill-in-the-blank here] rather than ASK a client to have a strategy session with them. Once you take a systemized approach to ASKING clients to have strategy sessions with you, it becomes so much easier to maintain a new client flow.
Step 3: BOOK Your Strategy Sessions. By creating a system, which I call your Client Booking System, you can very easily eliminate those tyre-kickers, and ensure that your potential clients actually TURN UP for their Strategy Sessions … no more frustrating no-shows!
Step 4: PREP for Your Strategy Sessions. Once you get on the phone (or in a face-to-face meeting) with a potential client you want to make sure that your Strategy Sessions lead to a successful outcome … i.e. a new client. So it’s really important that you take the necessary steps beforehand to prepare for your strategy sessions.
Step 5: FOLLOW-UP with ALL of Your Clients. All of your hard work up to this point won’t be worth a hill of beans unless you have a robust follow-up system in place. Not all of your clients who you have a strategy session with will say YES right away… some may want to think about it; and for others it may not be the right time. I have a client working with me right now at my highest level. We didn’t start our work together until almost a year after her initial strategy session. And she told me that it was because I’d kept up with the follow-up and stayed in touch with her that when she was ready, I was right there. Had I not had such a robust follow-up system in place that would have meant lost revenue.
So, if you need more clients in order to reach the income level that you want to get to, take a look at at what you’re currently doing to make that happen. Do you have your new client systems in place? If you take a systemized approach to getting new clients, as outlined above, you will very quickly see your practice fill.
