Settling for the wrong customer can be a huge waste of time and money. You’ll find yourself running around in circles trying to please this high-maintenance customer and miss viable opportunities to truly make a difference in your best customers life or business.

Develop a profile for your ideal client so that you are not tempted to close any old Joe Smoe that comes along. To assist you getting really clear who this may be, let’s take a look at your existing clients. This is the ONE individual in your business that you simply can’t believe you get paid to work with. The one who happily pays your fees and appreciates the value you bring to their lives.  What does this person look like?

Take a few minutes to reflect on all of your clients and write down demographics of each person, make a list of…

• What problems your ideal clients have?

• What issues they need a solution for to get to the next level in their business or personal life?

• What roadblocks do they face when trying to achieve their desired goals?

A pattern should emerge so look for it. What do they have in common? When you know who your ideal clients are, you will stop wasting time by chasing the wrong kind of prospects.

As you enter the “dating” stage, you may have a list with thousands of prospects on it.  But just as in love, so is it in business:  Timing is everything.  Not everyone will want to work with you or as I like to refer to it, have a relationship with you.  It’s important to realize, these prospects will move forward according to their timeframe, not yours.  Now that doesn’t mean you have to wait around for them to take notice of you.

You will need a plan, a strategy, to move them through your sales funnel allowing them to essentially raise their hand to let you know they are interested in you.  You will become more efficient when following up if you have a system in place to find out who’s really into you, who kind of likes you, and who is still deciding what they think of you.  What are the deal breakers?

Don’t be a serial dater and don’t wait too long to call after a date!  Failing to follow up is a common problem for many entrepreneurs because they are busy chasing other opportunities. Too many business owners give up on their prospects way too early by thinking that if the sale doesn’t happen on the first meeting, it never will. Statically it’s been proven most consumers (81%) do not buy until at least the fifth contact.

What system do you have in place to make sure you are not the guy or gal who didn’t call?  To ensure that your leads don’t get lost, automate your email with auto-responders that deliver quality content from free reports, video tutorials, email series that they can learn from so that when they are ready to buy, they buy from you.  This is called nurturing your prospects.

But be careful not to move too fast!  Give the relationship time to grow before you ask for the sale.  Would you ask someone to marry you after only knowing him or her for five minutes?  Put yourself in his or her shoes, would you say, “yes” to a marriage proposal to someone you just met?  There are still discoveries to make about your prospects and they most certainly want to know more about you, too.  It’s crucial to their success as well as yours to make sure you are a right match before asking them to commit to a purchase.

So before you get down on one knee to propose, make sure:

• Your prospect knows the benefit you provide by educating them.

• Use social proof to demonstrate how you’ve served others and the successful outcomes of working with you.

• Give them a free trial so they can experience the benefits you provide.  This will make them realize they can’t go another day without you!

• Implement an automatic “warm fuzzy touch” plan with email or direct mail that will gradually take them by the hand and lead them through your sales funnel.

When you take your prospects through this simple and easy process, your ideal clients will naturally progress forward while the others opt-out…this is a beautiful thing!

Marketing is like dating and can be fun. Especially when you provide a valuable product or service that people really need and can benefit from.  You’ve got something worthwhile to offer the world so get out there and get in the game!  Attract your ideal clients by playing up your positives, differentiate yourself from the competition, build meaningful relationships, and apply the rules of dating to your marketing and you’ll see your efforts consistently turn interested prospects into sales.

Brenda Tillmann, The Sales and Client Relationship Mentor, is founder of Brenda Tillmann International and the creator of the Romance of Selling System^™, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to utilize your natural relationship skill set to sell with ease, make more money and have lots more fun doing it…guaranteed! You can get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD plus receive her weekly sales & client relationship building articles on establishing more high-value relationships while consistently closing more sales at TheRomanceofSelling.com.

For the entrepreneur, it’s vitally important to learn how to build a base of customers who return to your business time and again. Here are five tips and strategies to foster loyalty with your customers with style, ease and grace:

1. Be Committed.

Being committed doesn’t mean that you have to leave everything else and cater to the needs of just one client and forget about the others. It means being fully invested in their success; dedicate yourself to helping them achieve the results they desire. Go out of your way, do what needs to be done, what you agreed on in the first place, and above all, treat your customers as you would want to be treated.

2. Appreciate your customers.

You can never thank someone enough if it is sincere. A “thank you” can go a long way. Tell someone you appreciate his or her business in person, on the phone, or better yet, a personal hand-written note by mail. When was the last time you received a note saying, “Thank you for your business. I appreciate the opportunity to have you as my customer”?

3. Provide Quality, Not Just Quantity.

Make sure your services are the best value for the money. You do not need to lower your prices simply because your competitors do, make sure your customers know that you are worth the extra money and why. To do this, you must give value first, don’t add it. Put value in your customers’ hands before you even ask them to buy anything from you. Find something you customers’ value and give it to them.

4. Continue To Understand Your Customers Needs.

OK, so you’re good at what you do, but that doesn’t make you the best there is, because there is always someone that can do better than you on your heels. You must stay current with what your customers expect and need from you. It’s a terrible feeling to discover your customers have left because you were not providing what they needed. Needs change, so thrive to make yourself better, sharpen your skills everyday, that’s what makes you money.

5. Keep In Touch.

One of the most important, and so often over-looked, ways of getting repeat business is to simply follow-up with your customers. If you’re in the habit of providing a service/product to a customer, then you cash the check, and forget about him or her, I can assure you that you won’t get business from that client again. With a Follow Up Strategy in place, it only takes a minute to send an e-mail, a post-card or give a call to a previous client, tell her you really enjoyed working for her, was a fun project, and that you’re always available to answer any questions she may have. Build a relationship with your clients, get to know them, they’ll come back and be more likely to send business your way.

Bottom line: You cannot afford to lose your hard earned customers. What are you going to do today to make sure they continue to do business with you?

Brenda Tillmann specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract idea clients, build strong client relationships and close more sales in less time with her customized programs and mentoring. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you chasing them, visit her to schedule your complimentary 30-minute 1-on-1 Define Your Sales Success Analysis and Strategy session at http://www.BrendaTillmann.com.

Do Your Homework – Research the People You’re Meeting

If you’re meeting someone in particular, research the person or people you’re meeting. Lots of resources exist that can give you both professional and personal reference material. The Web is a source of unlimited information, with things like company websites, personal bios, work histories, resumes, and portfolios; depending on who you’re meeting, you may be able to find a wide range of information about your contact.

If the Web doesn’t produce any useful information, you could check with the company where your contact works, to see if they have any marketing information containing professional info about your contact. You could also check your local library for periodicals, such as magazine stories, newspaper articles or professional interviews. Depending on how public the person is that you’re meeting, you may be able to find everything from the name of a spouse to the first place they worked after college.

Use the information you find when you meet your contact. Talk about common interests, such as being a parent, alma mater, hobbies; whatever common bond you can form with your contact can help you form a good relationship. Ask about things near and dear to the person’s heart – not just business talk – and you’re well on your way to forming a real connection.

Show Genuine Interest by Asking Questions

Getting to know people to form real connections is an art that can easily be mastered. Ask questions about everything; not just their professional life, but their personal interests and family life, too. The more you show that you’re genuinely interested in them and understand, know and really “get” the person, the better your relationship will be, and the more business opportunities you’re likely to gain. Be a real person to your connections, too – if your new business partner volunteer’s information about their spouse then open up and talk about your spouse. The more personal you can make your relationships with people, the better your long-term success with those relationships will be.

You Must Be Sincere

Everyone can have fun building good relationships – all you have to do is be genuinely interested in people. Enjoy getting to know your business colleagues, or even the person you met in the coffee line today. Forming connections with people can help in all aspects of your life, and even random connections can help your business in unexpected ways. You never know when someone will refer a key contact; an affiliate who may have great products for your prospects, or a business associate that could make your product a high-demand success!

Remember what your mother taught you as a child: to have friends you must be a friend. Don’t just see people as stepping stone to a better business or more money. Take the time and make the effort to form real, legitimate connections by getting to know people, and I promise good business will follow naturally.

Brenda Tillmann specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract ideal clients, build strong client relationships and close more sales in less time with her customized programs and mentoring. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you chasing them, visit her to schedule your complimentary Sales Breakthrough analysis and strategy session at http://www.BrendaTillmann.com.