Tools - Growing The Business

How do you get more work? How do you overcome the income ceiling? How can you charge higher fees? Any tips for getting referrals? What business models work for you?

Easy peasy one. Christmas cards. Send them to agents, ex-clients and people who you think might be clients. It doesn't have to be cheesy, just has to say best wishes and remind them that you still exist.

Sounds too simple? It is, but the return on investment is fabulous. Every January I get lots of contacts back in return, some of which turn into business. But even those that don't are usually worth it as a way of keeping in touch.

On Coaching, I think this is a great idea and take a similar approach whilst doing a part-time MSc. We use a technique called "Active Learning" and it is a lot like a coaching group. The added benefit is that I am underlining my experience with an MSc and this adds value to my proposition. This leads me to add - INVEST in yourself! Professional and Academic qualifications add to your perceived value but also you'll be surprised how much you can learn from study in your given field, even if you have loads of experience already.

I'd go even further than Carol and say get yourself a Coach and into a Coaching Group.

When there's a whole roomful of like-minded people helping your business with its business problems, more great ideas emerge.

And you just have to understand what great Sales and Marketing looks like. Even if you get someone else to do it for you, you won't get the best unless you know what they should be doing. You need to be the dog and they need to be tail, not vice versa!

Colin Butcher 2010-09-02 18:18
Don't sit back and wait for things to happen. You have to get out there and talk to people. It's never who you know, it's who other people you know might know and who they're prepared to introduce you.

The key thing is trust - if you recommend someone, you're lending them your reputation. You both need to understand the influence and risk of that - by lending someone else your reputation, they can destroy it or damage it very easily. That's fine, provided that you all "play fair" and understand it.

All the interesting work I've ever done has come about as a result of some kind of referral and trust. Someone somewhere has trusted their judgement to bring you into their organisation. That person has to some extent put their career on the line to involve you. Understand that and behave accordingly towards them and their organisation.