The Desert of Arizona
I had a run in not long ago with a certain bug that lives in our part of the country.
You can’t even see this bug, but its bite has some serious side effects. Luckily, those side effects are GOOD!
I call it, “the process bug.”
OK, so it’s not a real bug. But it’s a valuable one. And here’s the reason:
Making decisions based on your emotions when you work with clients leads to misery. You probably don’t have to think too hard to come up with some proof that’s true.
(If we ever meet in person, ask me about that and I can tell you some stories.)
Right now, I’m doing something I should have done a long time ago in my business. I’m automating everything that can be automated.
As the days progress, I can do less and achieve more.
(I’ve got a lot of diapers to change and work to do around home, so being smart about work time is a must.)
In the client business, one of the first and most valuable things you can automate is your decision making.
No, we’re not going to outsource your decisions to some guy on the other side of the world. We’re going to automate them. By that, I mean that you’re going to sit down and think through the decisions you have to make over and over again with prospects and clients.
Then, you set criteria for how you will make those decisions. You’re actually making all of these future decisions NOW, without the fog that comes when your emotions get involved.
That way, when you come to the next fork in the road with a prospect, you don’t make up a new path, you simply look at your automation system and let it run.
Another word for this type of automation is “PROCESS.”
Do you have any processes? If you don’t, you’re putting yourself through unnecessary stress.
That’s the stress you feel when the client asks you if you’ll “do the work for X.” X is always lower than what you quoted.
If you don’t like that feeling, then process can free you.
What’s your process for fee setting? Get one, use it and be confident in the product that comes out. Once your process is set, decision making is easy. It’s not really up for discussion, this is just how you work.
(We’re not robots, so sometimes you ignore your process, maybe on purpose or maybe you just screw it up. But you’ll still be better off over the long term.)
You can also have a process for client attraction. This frees you from waking up every day saying, “How can I get some clients?”
If you’re depending on your good work to bring the clients running, you’re kidding yourself. That’s just not the way it works.
The client attraction process begins with the Platform. It is a client attraction PROCESS, it is NOT a one-time client attraction EVENT. If you want to create your own, here are the steps.
If you want me to walk you through it and take the quickest route to DONE, you’ll find information about that here.
Time is ticking…
Despite what we’d like, success with this approach is a function of time. So the longer you wait, the longer it’ll take.