My 2¢ Worth

s the year 2005 is on the horizon, I think a little new years history is in order. Did you know the new year didn't always begin January 1^st?

n the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox. In other words, the first day of Spring; which is a logical time to start a new year. It is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1^st, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It's purely arbitrary.

t was the Romans who gave us the current date for the new year. Specifically, Julius Caesar. You see the calendar was continually being tampered with by various Roman emperors so that it soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

n order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1^st to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1^st as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

he song, "Auld Lang Syne," is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. I have no idea what auld lang syne means. Why do we sing it? Anyone care to fill me in?

Feature Article

How To Get The Right Clients And Avoid The Wrong Ones

by: Charlie Cook charliecook.net

If you are like most service professionals and small business owners one of your primary concerns is generating as many leads as possible. And that may be your biggest mistake, resulting in wasting time on unqualified prospects and working with to many clients you wish you didn't have to.

Bill is a financial advisor looking for clients. Working from his stack of leads he picks up the phonë and starts making calls. The first person he gets on the phonë has lots of quëstions and it turns out is just looking for free advice. After a half hour Bill finally gets him off the phonë. Bill's next call finds a highly interested prospect. After forty-five minutes, he's ready to sign her up, when he discovers she only has a couple of hundred dollars to invest.

At the end of the day, Bill has spent eight hours on the phonë and still hasn't signed up any new clients.

Do you ever spend time chasing leads that are just a waste of time?

Martha is a graphic designer who has plenty of clients but her profits have been shrinking instead of growing lately. One of her long-term clients calls her daily with a question or a complaint. Just when Martha thinks a project is done, this one client changes her mind and wants it redone. And while the customer is always right, this customer's lack of respect and professionalism is starting to get under Martha's skin.

Have you ever had to deal with clients who waste your time or are unrealistic in their demands?

A common mistake is to try to appeal to everyone, with the result that you attract to many people who don't want to pay for your services and clients you'd rather not work with. A more profitable marketing strategy is to position yourself and your firm to attract just those clients that want to work with you and who you'd enjoy sharing your expertise.

Imagine that every lead you pursued turned into a client, one who you could be honest and direct with, a client who you looked forward to working with. You'd make more money and have more fun.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could pick and choose your clients?

While you can't completely control who contacts you, you can use your marketing to position yourself to attract promising prospects and people who would make good clients. Here's how.

Define Your Ideal Client

If you want to attract the perfect client, you need to know who they are. Take out a piece of paper and write a couple of paragraphs describing their characteristics.

• What business is your ideal client in?
• What's their role in the organization?
• Where are they located?
• What type of person are they?
• What's their situation?
• What are the problems they want solved?
• What are other characteristics that are important to you?

Use Your Marketing Message

People are far more likely to contact you whey they have a clear idea of who you help and how. Increase the number of qualified prospects who contact you with an effective marketing message and you'll reduce the number of "tire kickers" who waste your time.

Use Articles

Write and distribute an article and/or provide it on your web site, to help people understand your approach, who you help and how you can help them. Prospects who like and agree with your thinking will want to contact you and work with you.

Use quëstions to Qualify Prospects

You can't be everything to everybody and it's a waste of time to try. Create a short list of quëstions to qualify prospects. Use these quëstions when you call them on the phonë and in the service inquiry forms you provide on your web site. If prospects don't meet your criteria, you can keep them on your mailing list, but avoid wasting your time by calling them.

If you've called one of them and they don't seem like a good prospect, get off the phonë in 3 minutes or less and move on to a more promising prospect.

Clarify Expectations

It is tempting to want to sign up every prospect that wants to work with you. This is particularly true when you are just starting up your business or when business is slow. But before you close a deal or sign an agreement, make sure they clearly understand what you will do and when. You don't want them emailing you every five minutes or expecting you'll answer their phonë calls at two in the morning or provide additional services for free.

Make a short list of quëstions to ask that will help clients define what they are looking for. When you talk with clients use these quëstions to clarify their expectations. If you can meet these requests, use their answers to provide a summary of services. That way you will both be working from the same script.

Get Rid of Problem Clients

With only a limited number of hours a day and years in your life, you'll be happier and more profitable if you focus your marketing on clients that understand and appreciate your expertise. They'll be far more likely to return and refer you to others. If you have clients who are unpleasant to work with or are taking up too much of your time, find a way to tactfully get them to look elsewhere.

Use these marketing strategies to position your firm to attract the prospects you want so you can pick and choose your clients. You'll have more fun, increase your profits and be more successful.

**************

The author, Marketing Coach, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals and small business owners attract more clients and increase their earnings with the 5 Principles of Highly Effective Marketing. Sign up for the Free Marketing Guide and the 'More Business' newsletter, full of practical marketing tips at www.charliecook.net

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Second Article

Consistency: The Major Key to Your Success

by: Michael Angier Success Networks International

We live in an age where the desire for Instant gratification is common. People expect quick results.

And in some cases, we DO get results quickly.

However, real, lasting and meaningful success requires sustained and consistent effort. Anyone can diet for a day. Anyone can work hard for brief periods of time. We can take a class to increase our knowledge or generate and act upon a good idea.

But to really produce what we want, we must consistently think and act in productive ways. Sometimes the results come rapidly, but most of the time they come over time from hanging in there and constantly and religiously practicing the things we need to do.

The same is true for NEGATIVE results. We don't become obese with a one-timë, high-fat indulgence. One cigarette probably won't kill us—although it might—and one lapse in judgment will rarely ruine our future.

But sustained and prolonged, unhealthy or counterproductive activities will almost certainly produce catastrophic outcomes.

Consistency is an admired trait in our political leaders—when we can find it. We value consistency in our health care. We require consistency in accounting principles. We appreciate consistency in government. So why should we be any different?

The flash in the pan may be dramatic, but it can't stand up to the constant heat and the resulting success that comes from consistent, steady and reliable efforts.

Action Point
What are the things you know you need to do on a consistent basis to accomplish your goals and live an abundant life? Determine the things you're NOT regularly doing and decide which ones you're willing to commit to doing every day. Then, stick to it. Your consistency will pay off.

**************

Copyright Michael Angier. SuccessNet.org and WorldClassBusiness.com help you and your business grow. Get their frëë report, 10 Pillars of a World Class Business, by sending an email to wcb@SuccessNet.org No-cost subscriptions, memberships, eCourses, eBooks and more are available at SuccessNet.org and InfoPlease@SuccessNet.org

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