Lloyd Williams

Creating a professional image is doing the small things right. Throughout my career we used a channel lock binding system to create hard cover presentations. ChannelBind is the best company on the market today. After you purchase your binding machine you can baind as many covers as you desire. We had the cover embossed with “Confidential” and our contact information so we could use them for any type of presentation.

The website includes a video that explains how the system works. This will separate you from the herd.

Occasionally a book comes along that helps us understand our own behavior in a meaningful way. Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art defines for us the nature of our greatest enemy and how to combat what holds us back from the results we desire.

Whether you are an artist, writer, entrepreneur, or professional this short book clearly identifies the source of procrastination and internal obstacles to our success in part one. The cure is clearly defined in part two. Like Robert McKee, who wrote the foreword, I too see in part three the effect of inspiration the same and the cause of inspiration differently.

This is a quick read and can immediately be applied to your current practice. Great books can change your life. This in one of them. For more information on The War of Art.

A client recently introduced me to 99designs.com and I am amazed at the quality of the design work. This site is a exchange where you can describe the project you need and thousands of designers will submit their designs, allowing you to select from the best.

The website says “99designs connects clients needing design work such as logo designs, business cards or web sites to a thriving community of 29,936 talented designers.”

If you need something designed this is the place to go first:

www.99designs.com

Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen revolutionized productivity, though many find it overly complicated. For those of us less inclined to be engineers or lacking follow through, we need a simpler solution. Thank you Leo Babauta for writing Zen to Done: The Ultimate Simple Productivity System.

This short book simplifies the entire GTD system down to very specific actions that are easily implemented into your current routine. No longer are you burdened with maintaining a large organization system. You can apply the concepts at you own pace and decide what is most important for your needs.

Leo writes a great blog at ZenHabits.net which is a valuable resource. Take a moment and read this short book, then apply one habit this week and add another when you master the first.

I finally had the opportunity to use an Amazon Kindle and fell in love with this technology. What a great way to read a book or newspaper. I enjoyed the PC Tablet when it first came out because of its ease of use and comfort in reading. This is even better. If you are in the US this is great technology.
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Attract Clients is now available in Chinese through China Machine Press. The book can be purchased online at http://www.china-pub.com/191718.

If you know a Chinese language advisor please send them the link. Thank you.

David Allen as just released his new book Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life, following the success of Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything. His new book Making It All Work pulls all his thoughts together in a very organized way. This book is much easier to read and implement and has many new tools. I recommend it highly.

John Bogle the founder of Vanguard Funds has written another important book. Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life is a must read.

The economy will always go up and down. The important habit to master is knowing what to do during the bad times. When things are good focus on your clients because during these times clients are difficult to replace. Everyone is happy with their current relationships. Therefore strengthen your client relationships by helping them fulfill their dreams. This will be easier during the good times.

During difficult times, first prepare yourself, see earlier Mastery Habit: Crisis Management. Then settle your clients worries quickly. Remind them that times like these have occurred in the past and will occur in the future. Help them establish a long view of the economy. They have no need to worry. Reconfirm the disciplined process that you have taken them through to determine their needs and the unique solution that they have working for them currently. Do not try to call or contact each client personally, use mass communication tools like email, broadcast fax, letter, podcast, or conference call. The exception to this would be your Top 20 Clients who you should call after you have sent the mass communication information.

Your mass communication email or letter should include the following:

1. A clear, positive, reasonable response to what is happening currently
2. A statement to calm their worries about the future
3. An opportunity to reassess their risk or comfort level
4. An offer to others they know who are scared or worried and do not have someone like you in their life to help them assess their situation. This offer should be a “no cost, no obligation” offer to assess where they are today, where they want to be in the future, and an action plan to get there.

The last part of your mass communication is most important. This is one of the rare opportunities when you can ask your clients to introduce you to others without any risk. Your clients know others who are scared in times like these and they may not have someone who is returning their calls. You will be surprised at the number of introductions that are only available during difficult times.

Your last action is to renew contact with every prospect you have. They are more open to change during difficult times than any other time.

One important point. This opportunity to focus on prospects is for a limited time only. Once the economy strengthens and the good times return prospects are difficult to move because they are once again happy with their current relationship. Do not miss this opportunity when it comes around. The greatest new growth for a business occurs in difficult times and is exponentially leveraged when things improve.

To review:
1. Prepare yourself
2. Settle clients’ worries through a rational argument using mass communication
3. Ask if they feel a need to reassess there risk and comfort level
4. Offer an opportunity to help others they know who are not being communicated with properly
5. Focus on prospects

Check out the new link on the sidebar for book recommendations. I will be updating this page monthly with new books.