1. Develop a clear Value Proposition - why should clients deal with you and what will they get.  Mission Statements are all about you.  A Value Proposition is all about what's in it for your client.  These should set the foundations for all of your business practices.
  2. Segment your clients and understand where the strongest revenue streams are coming from. From there you will understand where to spend most of your energy
  3. Identify your ideal client and place your energy there. If your block is big enough - you should only take new clients in this category. If you are growing - you should focus all of your marketing energies with this group. These clients become the benchmark for your processes and service model.
  4. Establish efficient processes ensuring that everyone on you team understands how and when to interact with each client
  5. Eliminate the message clutter - you can't be everything to everyone - so don't try. Make sure your message is crisp and consistent - and make sure everyone knows what it is. And then repeat.
  6. Ask for the business.  Your best source of referrals is with those who already know and love what you have to offer.  So make sure you let them know you are not to be kept a secret and have a formal process in place to make you easily referrable.

Sometimes just following the basics can go a long way.  That's why we thought we'd remind you what they are.

The 5 golden rules

Tip of the day

Links to some stuff that might help

Start a client advisory board

Invite 5 or 6 top clients to meet with you together once every six months.  Ask them not only about your service, but other service providers and find out what delights them.