#112: Stop Trying To Find Clients [Podcast]

Many a professional, and many a freelancer, find themselves asking, "How can I get more clients?" May I suggest this is the wrong question?  in fact, it is precisely the wrong question. A better question to ask would be, "how can I build a business where clients come looking for me?" We will explore the construction of such a scenario in today's episode. Plus, here are some additional reasons to keep listening… The greatest headset I've ever used for doing tele-seminars. The very first thing you should do every day. And how to turn this episode into money… Announcements: If you're tired of not making any money with your online business and you'd like to finally just get things jumpstarted… I'm getting together with a small group of serious entrepreneurs here in Spokane in July. Were going to spend three days and just build your business from the ground up. Or rebuilt it if what you're doing is not working. It's not cheap, and the only way to get in is to pass through and " interview"  with me personally. We have 12 seats, two of them are already spoken for, and I promise you every single one will be filled. I do not promise to ever do this again. If you think you would like to be part of this group, to finally stop "talking" a big game and asked a start PLAYING the big game, click here and fill out this application in full. If your application seems to merit further consideration, my assistant will set up a call between you and me. Tip Of The Week  I just got a new wireless headset for use with my telephone, and I absolutely love it. It has crystal clear sound, a noise canceling microphone, 10 hours of battery life, and incredible range. It's the Plantronics Savi 740. Spiritual Foundations Living a life of joy and peace is not difficult. Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33   Feature Segment:  Stop Trying To Find Clients Constructing a business so that clients seek you instead of vice versa is a lot like farming. First you have till the soil, then you have to sow the seeds, and then you cultivate the rows. Only then can you begin to see the harvest. At every year you must repeat the cycle, because the year you don't, there will surely be no harvest. Think in terms of three different crops. The crops each take a different amount of time to bear fruit. The short-term crop: you can plant and harvest in the next 30 to 60 days. Of course the still takes time, and you may be hungry today in which case you have to resort to hunting instead of agriculture. I get that. But if you spend all your time hunting and no time planting, you will never harvested crop. So hunt today if you must, and also each day be busy about working on that short-term harvest. The medium-term crop: this is where your thinking and 1 to 3 year harvest times. It's the result of consistently doing a podcast like this one, writing guest posts on high-profile blogs, publishing books and speaking at seminars and workshops. It may be hard to see, but you definitely can do work today that will pay you until three years from now. Long-term crop: this is 3 to 5 years or more in the future. Work you did, people you worked with, project she worked on, relationships you've built, have a progressive momentum. Those were all dominoes that were tipped in the past, and each domino is a little bigger, and one day five years later what started as a tiny handheld domino is you knocking over a massive victory the size of a small skyscraper. It's the famous client, the multimillion dollar product launch, the New York Times bestseller, etc. that never would've happened without you plugging away for five years or more. Won't feed you today, but may feed you for the rest of your life. What To Do Now Grab three calendars, or three different-colored markers for one calendar, or whatever floats your boat. You're going to make three timelines. For each of the three different crops, put an activity every week on the calendar for that specific crop: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. Make these action items that you can do, measure, and point to and say, "that is done." Do two activities every week in the short-term and medium-term timelines. That will put more income in the pipeline for you over the next six months, and give you capital to finance the long-term campaign. And finally, a rule of thumb: on the farm, there is no such thing as "a day off". While I do believe we need free days, where we can rest and recuperate every week, make it a point each day of the week to either (a) do something or (b) make sure something is being done that cultivates future business. Every day. Without fail. If you do as I recommended, you will very quickly find yourself no longer hunting for clients. Clients will be hunting for you.   Question:   What activities will you commit to in each of the three different time frames? Click here to leave your comments.