The Client Letter
August 25, 2011
Sedona Arizona
RE: The Power of Blinders (including a Time Sensitive Announcement)
Do you ever wish there’d be more (well-paying) projects marching through your front door?
I can relate…
Today’s issue of the Client Letter is about that. So let’s go…
I grew up in Lancaster County, PA. Right smack dab in the middle of Amish country. (No, I’m not Amish…)
So I never really thought it was odd to see a horse drawn buggy on the side of a 45 MPH road through town.
Often times, the horses would be wearing blinders. Two pieces of leather/cloth that prevented them from using their peripheral vision.
The blinders kept them looking straight ahead.
In other words, the blinders kept them from getting distracted on things that could harm them.
Rabbits, moving cars, flashing lights… all the stuff that had NOTHING to do with the horse’s goal, which was simply to GET where it was going in one piece.
Professional service providers might benefit from a set of “blinders” me thinks.
Because if there’s anything that slows down the success of the majority of freelancers and independent professionals out there, it’s the lack of focus on the prize.
You might say I used to be the poster child for “The Lack of Focus Foundation.”
I used to waste a lot of time staring at my computer screen, browsing the web, trying to figure out where to get new clients.
Oh, I HAD clients, and work to do, but for some reason, I wanted MORE.
I knew I had to take action to get what I wanted, but I always had that yearning inside for MORE business. If I could JUST get another client, THEN I’d have it made.
What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was misplacing my energy in a terrible terrible way.
I was sending my energy out, unfocused, hoping it came back as something specific.
Success is energy. Money is energy. People are energy. Everything is energy. To the extent that you learn how to use energy to your advantage, the smoother your journey through life will be.
Do not put your energy OUTSIDE of you in an unfocused way and expect it to do anything other than tire and frustrate you.
Imagine your energy (focus is energy) blasting out in a tiny laser beam. Aim it DIRECTLY on your goal.
You DO know what your goal is right? Your goal is what YOU want, not what anyone else wants for you. So get clear on that. That’s step one.
I spent many days sending my energy out THERE into the marketplace and watching what came back.
Enough came back to live well. But NOT the amount I knew I was capable of.
NOW I know better. Now I know that my responsiblity is to set my intention for where I want to go.
Kidding myself into thinking I KNOW how to get there is something I stay away from.
The “how” is not something you need to control.
You just have to focus on the prize.
Now if all this talk of energy and stuff is a little too woo woo for you (I live in Sedona AZ, give me a break…), then keep reading and take what you want from this.
Because we’re getting to the important part:
Why ARE you in business anyway?
I’ve said it before, but I feel pretty strongly that you are NOT in the [insert whatever your skill is] business. I know that’s what you DO, but it’s not the point of a business. The POINT of a business, from the view of the owner, is to make a profit.
So how much time do you focus on PROFIT and how much of your time do you focus on making your client happy… or doing “good” work… or living up to some other standard you’ve set for yourself?
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve let my focus slip. I stopped focusing on PROFIT and focused too much on what I do and hoping my clients liked me.
Doing that is a profit killer.
Copywriting might be part of what I DO, but it’s not the point of my business.
But we’ve all been taught to “do good work, be a nice person, please others.” And when you’re providing a professional service DIRECTLY, it’s really easy to let your ego and your need to please run the show.
I know I’ve been doing it ever since I was a kid. And the whole idea of being “good” was reinforced every day of school.
“Be a good boy, do what the teacher says…”
Perhaps you were blessed enough to never set foot in a school. I wasn’t so lucky.
So is your business profitable?
I’m not asking if you’re making money… I’m asking if you’re getting more OUT of it than you are putting in.
How will your business be more profitable tomorrow than it is today?
Are the clients you have NOW going to help you get where you want to go?
If not, it’s time to get NEW ones. There are a lot of them out there.
Start balancing your focus on your WORK with your focus on PROFIT.
All your good work won’t matter if you end up overworked, burned out and strapped for cash.
Here’s something that might help in your client “getting” activities…
Give yourself a little credit.
Don’t ever, for a minute, forget just how special what you are doing TRULY is.
You are doing what a good 96% of society will never, COULD never do.
And that is to stand up and become an entrepreneur. To be judged on nothing but the VALUE you provide to the market place.
To stand out from the crowd, and PROFIT from what you do well.
And to KEEP standing even when that marketplace throws dirt in your face.
Do you KNOW how valuable that is?
And that is regardless of what your income is today. Because income can change quickly.
It’s a lot harder to change the stuff that’s in between your ears. The stuff that controls your actions… and directly influences your success.
Does that make you feel good to realize just how valuable being an entrepreneur is?
USE that feeling when you’re talking to clients.
That FEELING will make you confident. And the people you come in contact with will KNOW there is something different, unique and special about you.
Confidence is ENERGY.
Be unique. Be special. Be valuable.
That’s the path to wealth.
See you tomorrow,
Jason Leister
Clients Suck
Creating Success for Independent Professionals
ClientsSuck.net
P.S. About a week ago, I arranged for you to receive a complimentary copy of Michael Silk’s The Silk Report Dossier. The Dossier is almost 200 pages long and is packed with some of the world’s most innovative (and effective) strategies for landing dream clients… generating higher fees… and… pulling in extra cash flow revenue.
It’s quite a resource.
Unfortunately, there were quite a few people who missed out on this offer.
If you missed the details, you can read about them here. The offer has expired, but you can see what you missed.
As it stands today, the only way to get access to information like this is to become a subscriber to Michael’s monthly print newsletter, The Silk Report.
Speed is important here, because the subscription price will keep going up the longer you delay. It’s quite interesting how this is set up because quick action will be rewarded.
And you’ll especially want to check out some of the free bonus options… including one with a complimentary $497 group coaching package.
If you missed out last Thursday, don’t miss out again.
The letter on the page above mentions the original Dossier (no longer available) offer. But just keep reading to find out how you can get the additional free reports valued at over $209!