If you’re a professional in:

• Accounting
• Banking
• Coaching
• Consulting & Training
• Financial Services
• HR & Recruitment
• Law
• Professional Speaking

then you’re constantly searching for ways to attract and acquire clients, increase business revenues, grow profits, and retain what business you have already. Many in the professional and personal services arena, however, are uncomfortable with this, as they’ve never been educated in how to do it.

Ric’s Rules to fast-track results in professional and personal services:

1. Control your use of language. Your language informs the conversation. The conversation informs the relationship. The relationship informs the business. It all starts with your use of language. You need excellent language skills so you can talk less and learn more; done best by asking intelligent questions. This way you learn a great deal more about the prospect and how your professional services are best suited to help them.
2. Develop a mind for facts, figures, names and faces. It will be invaluable to your results–and your career–if you can walk into a crowded room and spot someone you met a year ago, can remember their name, their company, and what line of business they are in.
3. Develop a niche. Create one particular area of business, either by industry (such as manufacturing) or problem (such as international copyright). Consider what exactly you thoroughly and completely enjoy about your profession and determine if you find your personal brand. “Daisy is the go-to-person for health industry recruitment. Speak with her!”
4. Get noticed. Join committees, associations, charities, and the like.
5. Be fresh. Ensure your ideas, concepts, approaches and techniques offer strong value to improve your client’s condition. There are way too many accountants that DO deserve to be identified as: boring.
6. Read. The more you read about your profession, marketing and general business, the more your knowledge base will grow and the more useful you will be to your clients.
7. Share some free time to develop as many relationships as you can. Unlike marriage where you choose one person and that’s it, this type of courtship–new business–is totally permissive. Differentiate yourself by making time for people.
8. Remember to ask for the business. Seriously! You’d be amazed how accountants and lawyers, especially, think that just because they’ve met someone and exchanged business cards that the other person will remember them and give them their business.

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