Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Preparing Your Clients for Your Move

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imagesAs you hopefully read in my newsletter yesterday, we’re moving to Portland! And while I don’t usually recommend moving and house hunting during the holiday season, in working with my clients it was a natural time to discuss next year’s work and contracts.

One of the things I was LEAST concerned about with this move was my business. I built Yellow Dog Consulting to be mobile, to move wherever I move. I meet with 1/3 of my clients in person each month. I meet with another 1/3 of clients once or twice a year in person. And 1/3 we’re all via email or phone. So, the hardest part was telling clients what this means and how it should not effect our business and working together.

My plan for the first year is to be up in Seattle every other month to meet with clients. As I told my clients this past week, it won’t be a big change, we will schedule a phone call or Skype in the off months and we’ll keep working just fine. One client had a look of panic, the rest barely flinched. A couple even started talking about coming down to visit and do a beer or wine tour of the region. I have the best clients. 

Will there be bumps along the way? Yes. But it’s time to hone and refine my practices to become the new best practices as I make changes. Telling my clients early was key to this success. I don’t move for another 6 weeks. For the clients I need to see in person, that’ll be no problem to get scheduled in January.

I often over communicate with my clients, and often apologize for their full inbox. But they also always know what’s going on so that there’s no fires. During this past week when I met with clients they also knew that I’d be taking time off for the holiday’s so we need to get things planned around our vacations. Setting expectations and communication will save me during this transition period, and I’m not worried.

Ask Yellow Dog…That Stack of Business Cards

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imagesI recently spoke at an event  about my favorite topic, FOLLOW UP. The first thing I talk about is putting systems and schedules in place, which includes getting your business cards out of a box and into a spreadsheet and/or CRM. Here’s a note I sent to one of the attendees afterwards…

For that stack of business cards  put them in a box, and just start doing it. Last night when I got home I took all the cards from the day and while I was watching TV and drinking a glass (or so…) of wine, I input all the business cards.

Just start doing it. As I also mentioned, neighbor kids or family members looking to make extra money are GREAT for this. Depending on the quantity of cards, you could pay from $.10-$.25 per card I’d say (or an hourly rate depending). You could also outsource it to a virtual assistant.

Get those business cards out of the box!

This holiday season when you have a quiet day, or are getting your office cleaned up for the end of the year, make those business cards a priority!

Hey Experts: Show Don’t Tell

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imgresA friend of mine tweeted a question the other day about a new fad in Social Media she’s seeing. She said social media “experts” were doing it and she wondered if it was working. And it got me thinking, if you have to put EXPERT in your title, you probably aren’t.

If you truly are an expert in your industry, show me, don’t tell me. Share quality content on social media and give me helpful information that will guide me. Don’t tell me that I should hire you because you’re the best, show me what it’s like to work with you and how your mind works.

The reason my newsletter has 3 things in it every month is so folks get an idea of how my mind works. And it usually gives them something that they can work on. Of course I’m here to help (and that’s the goal right?), but some of that work they can do on their own. I am not the kind of person who hires people site unseen. And when I do, it doesn’t usually work out great.

Next time you see “expert” next to a name or in a social media description, check to see if they show you, or tell you.