10 Tips For Maximizing Your Time By Finding and Working Only With “A” Clients

In a world where things move at lightning speed, and infinite possibilities lie before us; it’s easy to get overwhelmed about HOW to spend our time. Especially when it comes to serving our clients.   Being the rainmaker around here for 12 years has taught me some great lessons. Lessons that at times may sound harsh, mean, inconsiderate and witchy with a capital B. I understand and accept that. And I am compelled to share what I’ve learned anyway, because there was a time when my life literally depended on it. At 32 I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease (that means my thyroid went wacko rendering me about 60% of the woman I normally am). After being diagnosed, I chose to move beyond the grim tale my doctor put forth – monthly tests, a year of being sick, a lifetime of hormonal imbalances - and to heal myself quickly. What I did not choose was the vertigo, the night sweats, the hair falling out and the deep fatigue that became the theme of my daily existence.   While I was focused on healing, I was also running my business, serving as the President of the Board of a non-profit and remodeling a 4 plex I’d purchased months before Graves' entered my life. Guarding my time, the most precious thing we have, became a skill born of shear necessity.   In addition to learning how darn resilient the human body is, I learned that we create the experiences of our lives, moment by moment. And I learned that I get to decide who and what gets my time and attention. This couldn’t be more true than when evaluating prospective clients and strategic business partners. Here are some straight shooting, no BS tips that helped me be more effective when my body wouldn’t allow me to fully function 8, 10 or 12 hours a day. 1. Guard your time like your life depends on it. It does. How you spend your time, and who you spend it with literally creates your life. 2. Say bye-bye to toxic people.  Get them out of your orbit. Bless them and release them. Period. 3. Avoid the “let’s do lunch” syndrome. Back burner coffee and lunch dates with prospects until you know there’s a fit. Discover each other by phone for 15 minutes instead. Then schedule a face to face if you believe you can serve them. 4. Rediscover the “delete” key.  Two or three emails to schedule a meeting or connect for the first time, and you are done. Be polite. 5. If it’s a “no” say so. Do this within five minutes of the first interaction with a referral. Listen to your gut and don’t waste your time and theirs if you are not going to pursue a relationship 6. Only take the best. Everyone deserves A+, values-aligned clients. Choose to work with great people that value your product or service.   7. A, B, C, D and F. Rate your current clients and graciously jettison any below B. Then, jettison the B’s. Life is short. 8. Design your ideal client. Yes, you get to make this up. Dream big. Ask. And they’ll appear. 9. Become a magnet. Visualize your “ideal client”. Ask for referrals. They’ll come. 10. Celebrate! It’s easy to get into a habit of moving forward all the time. People who celebrate past successes – especially with their clients and team members – have more fun, and attract more GREAT people. Guarding your time like this might be awkward at first. Remember to be authentic, gracious, thoughtful and polite. And trust me, once you value your time by using these techniques, others will too. I encourage you to pick one idea listed here and put it into practice to experience the results yourself. Imagine freeing up an hour, four, or more simply by being more rigorous with how you spend your day. You’ll be amazed at how great it feels to have more time to do the things you want. 2008-08-25T03:00:30Z

2008-08-26T09:20:50Z

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10-tips-for-maximizing-your-time-by-finding-and-working-only-with-a-clients

2008-08-26T09:20:27Z

There is one thing that every person on the planet has the same amount of: time. How we spend our time literally makes our lives.

10 Tips For Maximizing Your Time By Finding and Working Only With “A” Clients

2009-02-24T09:45:43Z