Are you spending more time trying to get new clients than 
actually working with them?  

If the answer is yes, then these three simple ideas will help 
you.

First, have you ever asked for something and got something 
different to what you thought you'd asked for? Or have you ever 
thought you had asked for something and got a blank expression 
or worse... just got completely ignored? Or even worse, been 
half-way through telling someone what you do for a living and 
had it dawn on you that they have lost interest in you the 
moment you began to speak. Of course not... that kind of stuff 
only happens to me... right?

A year or so ago if someone asked me what I did, I'd have gone 
into my ten-second-elevator speech. Some people were interested 
and said they'd heard about what I did, some dismissed it and 
occasionally, I picked up a client.

More recently I began to define myself more clearly. Then I 
redefined my coaching practice. Then I found a new way of 
introducing myself.  What I found was the more I honed in one 
specific purpose of my business the more interested people 
became in me and in what I did. 

Here is a quick example for you. A local insurance broker once 
brokered over 120 policies to ensure they were competitive. Then 
one day they slashed the policies they sold down to just 26. The 
result? They increased sales by 40%. By getting specific, really 
knowing yourself, your product and its purpose in the market 
place you come over with greater clarity. That clarity brings 
greater congruency to your message. Congruency gets people to 
buy from you. 

If your business is not getting clients, then pinpoint what you 
do first then consider my second suggestion.

The day before something big happened in my business life I had 
coached a client, invoiced my corporate clients and generally 
tidied my admin. I'm glad that the day had been quiet because 
the next day a storm of sales hit. 

A friend sent a multi-fax to her staff advertising my new 
workshop. Based on past perceptions of advertising my expectation
was a zero to minor response. As you can tell I was mentally 
unprepared for a deluge of calls. My phone rang all day long. 
Essentially I filled a workshop in that one day just based on 
that one advert and within a month I had coached more people 
than ever before. But what was the secret?

Was it the way the advert sold it too them using slick words 
and phrases? Certainly not. The secret lay deeper than that.

The secret was this: I now knew clearly what I wanted to do. 

I thought I was clear. I was a coach. I coached people. Health, 
fitness, jobs, relationships, finances... you name it I coached 
it. What I learned was that, that isn't enough. The definition 
had to be clearer than "coach".

The workshops I designed now help people discover clarity in who 
they are, what they do and how they do it. Basically they are 
designed so people can put real purpose into what they do.   

When you mean it, you make things happen!

It's simple... if you want to spend more time working with 
clients as opposed to finding them then get clear on who you 
are, what you do and how you do it. 

My third point is about, clarity, clarity, clarity. 

When I created clarity I set out with an intention. When I move 
that intention forward each day I create momentum. Every small 
action I take each day over a sustained period just builds up, 
like a giant ball of snow rolling down a mountainside. 

Think about this. The best sales people are the best because 
they are clear on their product. They are also clear on who 
they are and how they best sell to people. Other sales people, 
the ones who don't know their product, and don't seem congruent 
are more like confidence tricksters. You can fool some of your 
prospects, but you can't fool them all.

Everything we want is out there somewhere. All we have to do 
is put out the right signals and make the right noises. May 
I suggest to you that if you are not succeeding getting your 
business to as many clients, or the right clients, then it is 
all to do with your clarity and very little to do with anything 
else.

I'm sure you've found what I've been talking about isn't rocket 
science.  There is no whizzy initiative.  There is magic though, 
and that happens when you are completely clear on who and what 
you are.  

 · Define who you are - your values, identity and purpose
 · Define what you want to offer.  Get really specific on what 
   your business is about and make sure it's congruent with who 
   you are.
 · Define who you want as your clients.  Their age, employment 
   status, demographics, etc. 

With these steps done you should now be able to hone in to your 
target market and approach your prospective clients communicating 
clearly that you have designed your service specifically for 
them.