I have gotten into a terrible habit of letting my inbox be the first thing I tackle in the day. Part of it is become I’m a control freak and want that inbox cleared out. But today I needed to prep for a presentation I’m giving, so before I turned on the computer and checked email, I grabbed my notes and sat down to review my notes and take care of the prep.
It was AWESOME. I wasn’t worried about some stupid email I got, or stressed about the mountain of email to return. I was clear and focused on getting what I needed to do done.
Try it. It’s awesome.
Don’t be Weird!
I was at a networking event this morning and afterwards was talking with a good friend of mine, who worked for the host of the event. A woman came over and took our picture, but she wasn’t related to the organization. She never introduced herself, or asked our names. As we were starting to leave, she came over and said she’d love to connect and do I have a card.
What I SHOULD Have done was say NO, I forgot them.
What I DID do though was say yes and give her one. At this point, she has STILL not asked my name or what I do. I finally asked what she did, and she said full service marketing, so I replied with, “so do I.” “oh that’s great, I’m talking with some other folks about doing a tradeshow if you’d be interested.” “oh good luck with that, sounds interesting.” (friend chimes in) “yeah, done those, good luck!”
We awkwardly walk away, and she’s STILL never asked our names.
And guess what I had in my inbox at the end of the day? a LinkedIn invite. Someone needs a lesson on polite etiquette and networking techniques!
Don’t be weird. People like to talk about themselves. What’s your name? What do you do? Who’s a good client for you? Where do you live? How was your holiday weekend? How long have you been/owned the company?
There are a lot of questions you can ask besides “can I have your business card.”
Just a reminder.
Don’t Negotiate
I’m not a big fan of negotiating. I know that sounds weird if you know me, and as someone in sales. And, I LOVE a good deal. But in business, I’m not a fan of negotiating or discounting rates. Your rate is what you have decided you’re worth. And, your clients are paying you for that, so it’s proven that your rate is valid. But negotiating your rate makes it look like you don’t think you are worth what you say you are.
I recently raised my rates, and instead of negotiating or putting clients on a sliding scale, as their contract came up, I simply said:
“I’ve recently reviewed my rates and found you’re getting a great deal! I have looked at what others in my industry are charging and have increased my rate to $XXX, when we setup your next Statement of Work, it will be at this rate.”
No room to negotiate. Have a lost clients? One. And the next day I talked to a new client who didn’t flinch at the rate. I also had a client email me and say he’s not leaving unless I fire him. I want clients who want to work with me, and have the budget to do so. I don’t want clients who will stress out every time my invoice shows up in their inbox. I’ll gladly negotiate the work we do and the hours of work that happen, but you have to pay me what I’m worth.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- …
- 78
- Next Page »