How to get your phone ringing after vacation

I thought this is a good piece to repost - this is what I'm doing this morning to get the phone ringing again! See the original article here.

One of the biggest problems that solopreneurs have when coming back from vacation or an extended absence is that the phone is not ringing and the bills are piling up.

Here's a quick little game to get things moving again.

Take a piece of paper, and make a little list of ten people whom you can call right away (or when you get back from vacation).

These can be past clients, networking colleagues, or even among all those business cards you have collected and which are still not filed.

The object of the game is to find at least four people on this list who are willing to meet with you over coffee or lunch in the next five working days, for a little "discovery" session.

Share with your coffee partner your goals for the next ninety days, and what kind of clients you like to work with. Encourage your partner to do the same. Do a little brainstorming, aim to come up with at least one referral name for the other person and for you, then do the same with the name referred to you.

The key to making this game work is the two-level request for referrals: first with the person that you contact, second with the person that is referred to you, whether that person is a potential client or not. If the referral is truly ready to work with you, they will do so and give you a referral right away!

This will start to stir the energy around you, and before you know it, that phone will start ringing again with clients who are looking for what you have to offer.

That is, if you make that list right now... Do it! This little game can pay off big. Once you've made your list, and your calls, you've won!

This article is published on EzineArticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1649237

Article: How To Barter Your Services Profitably

When starting out as a self-employed service provider, especially in a difficult economy, you are often faced with clients who need your services, want to hire you, but are unable to pay you in cash. In your eagerness to start doing what you really love to do, the temptation to lower your price or give your service away is irresistible - and dangerous.

The danger of giving away your service is that it tends to devalue what you offer in the mind of the receiver. As an alternative, consider non-money transactions such as barter (exchange of goods and services in kind) or pro-bono (as a gift, freely offered).

The advantage of creating a barter or pro-bono arrangement is that you can gain experience right away. Creating momentum around your business is very important, so the more clients you have, the better. The biggest disadvantage is that a barter or pro-bono arrangement can be a trap, because it is very difficult to grow a successful livelihood based only on barter or pro-bono, because there is no positive cash flow. And isn't that why you're in business anyways, to make a living doing what you love?

It is possible to create barter arrangements that work for you and for your client, if you are prudent and clear about what you want. Successful solopreneurs know that they deserve to be well compensated for the results they create for their clients. Here are ten tips to create and maintain a successful barter or pro-bono arrangement that results in a win-win outcome for both you and your client.

1. Barter is a commercial transaction where you accept goods or services in lieu of money.

This is the Golden Rule of successful barter. Barter is a commercial transaction, with all of the privileges and responsibilities attached to it. You simply accept that the client provide you with goods and services instead of cash. You are the supplier, you set a price for your offerings, and the client proposes to compensate you with goods or services of equal value to the cash price you set. You have the final say as to whether what is offered in barter is agreeable to you. You do not have to accept barter or pro-bono.

2. Be choosy, reserve barter or pro-bono for special cases or as a last resort.

For many people, spending money for an intangible result is the hardest act they can do. Make sure that your clients are not offering barter simply because they are not really ready to commit to results, or because they are trying to take advantage of you. If a client is not able or willing to pay money, it is a strong signal that they are not ready to make a real commitment to you, even though they might really need your help. There should be a very compelling reason for you to work with them for barter or pro-bono: a unique situation where you can gain a lot of experience (far more than usual), because working with this client would give you prestige, or because you can build your business on the references that this particular barter work would give you.

3. The client should offer in barter something that you really need.

Does the barter offer replace something or some service that you already use, saving you time, effort and money? If you regularly pay for massage therapy, and a prospective client offers massage therapy in barter for your services, then it is real barter, since you can redirect your money and see real savings. But if you don't ordinarily go to massage therapy, then basically you are giving away your services for nothing (is that how much you value your services?). The most effective barter arrangements provide you with the goods and services that you need, in a way that works for you, first, and the client, second. If what you need is not what the client offers in the normal course of the client's business, then it is up to the client to go out of their way to provide you with something that you really need (see point #4).

4. What the client offers in barter must represent a substantial commitment on their part.

The client should offer something that requires additional time and effort to create specially for you - it must represent a substantial commitment on their part. If your client makes pies and offers you free pie for your services, this is not a substantial commitment on their part, because they will not be as invested in creating results as you are. The barter must represent for them a visible, conscious commitment, but not extreme hardship. When they are providing you with the goods or services, the barter client must be mindful of the real purpose of the barter. Use your judgment. After all, you are giving up time, money and effort, and you are doing them a favor by accepting barter.

5. Keep the barter/pro-bono relationship business-like.

A big pitfall of pro-bono or barter arrangements is that the commercial nature of the transaction tends to get blurred, and emotions become involved. Create a written, signed contract and issue an invoice for the full amount. Have your barter client do the same. The two invoices should cancel out. Then exchange signed, cashable checks made out to each other on the same date (the date of payment). Issue receipts for the transaction, then cash the checks at the same time. Declare the value of barter transaction as income (for what your barter partner paid you) and expense (for what you paid your barter partner). Pay all applicable fees and taxes, this will keep the taxman happy and encourage you to evolve the relationship to a cash basis as soon as possible. You will perceive yourself to have a real business, not a hobby, and your business will grow much faster. Your client will be reminded of the nature of the barter. It will also be easier for you to maintain the professional-client relationship.

6. Measure your effort in the relationship proportionately to the value of the exchange to the client.

What the client offers in barter has value to the client, but not necessarily to you. Your time and energy is limited and valuable to you, but not necessarily to your client. You have to measure the real value of the barter goods in the client's mind, something that the client would not normally think of. Don't make the error of counting the retail value of the barter goods. A fairer assessment would be to consider the wholesale or bulk value of the goods. Make sure you don't give more effort to the client than what they pay for. This does not respect the value you place on yourself, and it cheapens what you have to offer. It then becomes a lose-lose situation that can end in resentment or hurt feelings.

7. At the beginning of the relationship, set a time limit or conditions to the barter or pro-bono.

You are in business to create a livelihood for yourself, so sooner or later you need to convert the barter relationship to cash. At the beginning of the relationship, in the written contract, specify a time limit to the barter relationship (guideline: no more than 60 days), and specific results that must be attained to maintain the barter relationship. Make sure that the conditions lock the client to the results and the time period, considering even a cash penalty payable to you if the client terminates the deal early (remember, you want to make sure the client is fully committed to working with you). Make timelines short and results tangible and measurable. The client has to see the real worth of what you can provide. Finally, the barter agreement should allow you (and only you) to terminate the relationship at anytime or to ask for cash instead of barter at any stage of the transaction.

8. Make it clear paying clients come first, and barter/pro-bono clients second.

You are offering your livelihood to create results for your client. Other clients who are ready to pay money deserve higher priority and attention. You are doing the client a favor by accepting barter, and this arrangement should not limit the growth of your business in any way. Barter clients get the privilege of your surplus time or resources that are not otherwise committed to your paying clients or to yourself. Don't overextend yourself for your barter clients. Actually, this tip should read: yourself first, paying clients second, and barter/pro-bono clients get what's left.

9. Keep control of the situation.

Barter clients are not regular clients. Barter is NOT a two way street: the client is offering goods or services in kind for your services, instead of paying by cash. You do not become a customer of the client because you accept barter. Failing to remember this cheapens the relationship and works against you. Make sure the barter does not get out of hand: you deserve to be well-paid for the results that you create. This is a favor you extend to the barter client. As soon as you see that the barter client is not as committed to the relationship as he/she was at the beginning, you should seriously consider ending the relationship.

10. Create low-cost opportunities for participation for clients who do not have enough cash to pay your full rate.

Create options that can help lots of people at once, in ways that don't require as much investment of your time, money and energy. Options such as teleclasses, free introductory workshops, group coaching, newsletters, etc can still help people who don't have, or are not ready to commit, money for your most valuable services. Clients who spend time in your group activities also become longer term and more valuable customers, since they will get to know you and understand how you operate and what you have to offer. Reserve your most valuable time and energy for clients who are willing to fully commit their time, money and effort to have you help them create powerful results in their lives. Creating a "tiered" structure of offerings will ensure that the right people will come to you at the right time, ready to pay you what you deserve for a successful livelihood. And if this does not satisfy the client, say no and look elsewhere. There are always people who value what you offer and who are ready to pay you the rate you deserve!

Davender Gupta is a business leadership coach and Certified "Book Yourself Solid" Coach whose mission is to guide passion-driven solopreneurs, professionals and people with Big Ideas to accelerate their Vision from Passion to Profit. Join the discussion on his blog frompassiontoprofit.com and his main site coachdavender.com He welcomes your questions by e-mail at coach@davender.com or by phone, toll-free, at 1-888-788-8844.

As posted on EZineArticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1747213

Article: Your Two-Page Business Plan - Cut the Fluff, Get to the Good Stuff

One of the biggest advantages of being a solo-professional in the hyper-dynamic marketplace is the ability to quickly make decisions that adapt to changing conditions.

The value of your business plan is not its weight in paper, but rather in the clarity of the thinking at its core. Too many solo-professionals get stalled by their business plan, because they get caught up in details that are eventually inconsequential to their desired result or overtaken by events in the real world.

To make good decisions in a quickly changing environment, a clear strategy, based on simple principles, provides better guidance than a plan that is thick, detailed and difficult to adjust. By cutting out the fluff and focusing on six core questions, you can create a concise, dynamic template that will clarify the core of your success strategy for yourself and your colleagues.

The purpose of a clear, concise two-page business plan for solo-professionals, is to demonstrate that:

1. that your business project can make money,

2. that you can attract and serve clients who value what you have to offer and who can commit to you, and

3. that you are clear about what the resources you need and the actions to take.

When you can make your case using brief, precise statements, then you will be able to transform your passion into profit.

Set aside your old business plan brick and answer each of the following questions in a couple of sentences:

1. What is the key, compelling result you create for your client?

People don't buy your product or service, they invest in the results that your product or service provides for them. Describe your business in terms of the impact you make on your customer, how their life is changed for the better. Aim for the impact with the greatest value. Keep it simple, go for the WOW. In reading your statement, the response should be "this is something I gladly would spend my own energy, time and money for!"

Bonus points if you can state your compelling result in ONE sentence, 10 words or less.

2. How do you generate profit?

A successful business must have, at its core, a profit engine, where you input your products and services and the client inputs their investment of time, money and attention, and both of you benefit. What is your "value proposition"? A strong value proposition is a tight, focused mechanism that involves an offer, a customer, a consideration (money, time, effort commitment), to create the compelling result. How is this effect created? How do customers invest in it? Where do you generate your income, and your profit?

What is the reason why customers care that you exist? What is your long-term value proposition that will keep customers coming back again and again? Or that will create a permanent, powerful and positive change in the client's situation?

Is your value proposition scalable (i.e. can you quickly grow the number of customers without adding appreciably to costs)? Are there multiple points where customers can interface with you?

Note that your value proposition must focus on something other than reducing a customer's costs or saving money, because this is only a temporary advantage.

The simpler your value proposition, the simpler your profit engine, the sooner you can generate revenue, and the more successful you will be.

3. What can get in your way?

You can bet that at least five other people in the world are working on the same idea as you. How will you anticipate the obstacles that can slow you down:

- who has a business who can make the need for your product or service evaporate?

- where can you be blocked or sideswiped (technology, legislation, economy, environment)

- by what alternative ways can customers can achieve similar results?

In a couple of sentences each, identify the primary traps and how you can overcome them. Be brief and to the point.

4. What is your secret sauce?

What makes you THE go-to person for what you have to offer? What are the most compelling features that make you stand out from everyone else? How are your advantages something that make it difficult or impossible for someone to copy? Think long and hard about your answer to this question, because the more special your "secret sauce", the stronger your business will be.

5. Who is involved with you to make this happen?

Your partnering strategy can make or break your execution. Partners can give you the weight and leverage you need to make a big impact fast. What kind of partners and team do you need to make this happen? How quickly can you spool up your idea? How much are you going to do in house, and how much outsourcing? Who is in charge of what?

6. What is your next step to build your business, and what do you need to make it happen?

Be very specific about the next step you are taking, and what resources you need to make it happen. Have specific 90-day, 6-month, 12-month and 36-month goals.

Remember: keep each response short and powerful. Cut out the fluff and get to the good stuff. Your answers to these six questions should fit on the front and back of one standard letter-sized sheet at 10 to 12 point font. Bonus points if you only need one side.

The more concise and precise your answers to these six questions, the more successful and profitable your business project will be!

Davender Gupta is a business leadership coach and Certified "Book Yourself Solid" Coach whose mission is to guide passion-driven solopreneurs and beginning network marketers to accelerate their Vision from Passion to Profit. Join the discussion on his blog frompassiontoprofit.com and his main site coachdavender.com He welcomes your questions by e-mail at coach@davender.com or by phone, toll-free, at 1-888-788-8844.

Posted on EzineArticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1694982

New articles on EzineArticles.com: The Right Questions, Get The Phone To Ring

I'm participating in the EzineArticles.com article-writing challenge (30 articles in 30 days). Here are two pieces I adapted from previous blog posts:

On The Right Questions
Too often, in business and in life, we spend all of our time looking for the "right answers" - this mythical book of instructions which contains all of the recipes to create what we say we want. We live in a time where the common citizen has at hand more information than at any other moment in the history of humanity. This knowledge is constantly changing and evolving at an accelerating rate.
link: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1649421

How To Get Your Phone Ringing After Vacation
Coming back from vacation or an extended absence? Here's how to get your phone ringing with clients who want what you offer!
link: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1649237

Maybe I'm a bit behind the curve in terms of article output but at least I'm started!

A stranger is a customer that you have not yet met

"A stranger is a friend you have not yet met."
-- Jim Reeves (among others)

When planning strategies to find new customers or business associates, the usual reflex is to approach people we know well: friends, family, colleagues.

But this is probably the WORST source of good contacts. Why?

First, these people know you. They have a preconceived idea of who you are: brother, mother, employee, professional. And all of a sudden, you show up with a crazy idea that you are now Mister or Miss Businessman, and you want them to buy this fabulous opportunity you are selling, because all of a sudden you "believe"? Yeah, right ... Be too pushy, and you quickly become a member of the NFL club (exclusively for those who have no friends left).

Second, sooner or later (probably sooner), you will exhaust your list of contacts. And once someone tells you no, it's much harder to go back to ask for references (and even less to ask if they have "changed their mind")...

That is why you must go beyond your circle of known contacts. You must develop the habit of approaching strangers.

The advantage of introducing yourself to someone who does not know you, is that the person has no preconceived idea of who you are. It is much easier in this case to get "in character". They do not know that you are a beginner (or experienced) in business, or that you just endured ten "NO"s in a row. For them, you are someone new, with no reason to doubt your conviction and sincerity.

And if things don't click with the stranger you have just met, no problem, what are the chances that you'll ever see this person again?

The important thing is to approach the people you meet for the first time with no other intention than simply to introduce yourself and your project. That's all. The decision to go further becomes theirs, and you've done your duty to make yourself known.

I have personally experienced the need to approach strangers. My professional and financial survival depended on it. During my last move to my present home, more than 3000 kms from where I lived my adult life up to that point, to a new city where I had no job, no contacts, no friends, no family except my old mother, necessity dictated that I start somewhere to rebuild a customer base. So I hitched up my courage to the engine of bold action, and I plunged into the adventure of meeting new people. Fortunately, the process was much easier than I thought because I could just be myself and thus attract people who were really interested to connect with me and even participate in my project.

Now my best customers and business partners, and even my best friends, all these are people I did not know before.

Banish your discomfort and step outside the circle of people you know. Go meet new people, simply for the pleasure of meeting them. Be visible, real, open, honest, enthusiastic. You will see that it is possible and fun to create an entire network of contacts who appreciate who you are and what you have to offer.

Because your best customer, and even your new business partner, is most likely someone that you have not met yet!

A little game to get back on track after your holiday

One of the biggest problems that solos have when coming back from vacation is that the phone ain't ringing and the bills are piling up!

Here's a quick little game to get things moving again.

Take a piece of paper, and make a little list... of ten people that you can call right away (or when you get back from vacation).

These can be past clients, networking colleagues, or even all those business cards you collected last spring and that are still not filed!

The object of the game is to find at least four people on this list who are willing to meet with you over coffee (ice cappucino?) or lunch in the next five working days, for a little "discovery" session.

Share with your coffee partner your goals for the new season, and what kind of clients you like to work with. Encourage your partner to do the same. Do a little brainstorming, aim to come up with at least one referral name for the other person and for you, then do the same with the name you get referred to you.

This will start to stir things up around you, and I'm convinced that before you know it, that phone will start ringing again!

That is, if you make that list right now... Do it! I'm convinced this little game will pay off big for you!

Now that you've made your list, and your calls, you've won! Go out and enjoy the rest of the day!

Put some gas in the tank (i.e. go get clients!)

This came to me in a discussion this morning:

"A business without clients is like a car without gas... pretty to look at but doesn't get you far."
- Coach Davender