PAST/CURRENT CLIENTS- SECTION 2

Your business is only as healthy as those with whom you've chosen to work. Develop a "screening process" for clients so you don't ask for referrals from the wrong people and waste time and money on bad clusters who don't have a significant likelihood of turning into good clients.

Get your clients' e-mail addresses! Technology will become (and in some cases already is) available in the next six to twelve months that will allow you to contact an unprecedented number of people, and it hinges on the simplicity of e-mail. Having to go back and collect e-mail addresses is an oft-frustrating and always time-consuming process, so start now if you haven't already.

When you're working with a client (and even when he becomes a past client), analyze, manage, and--above all--ORGANIZE all information you have on him. If you don't have a well-organized, updated database already, get one right away. No one wants to hunt through a stack of business cards when they know they need to call someone.

When you set up a mailing or newsletter system, don't set out to explain your products/services or changes in your business in every letter. People do business based on relationships much more than on products and services, even when they're the best in the industry. Maintain relationships through your mailings, and when you make your quarterly phone calls to past clients, ask them how they've liked your letters. Follow that up with, "What's one suggestion you'd have for me to make my letters more effective and relevant to you?" Finally, DON'T forget to ask for referrals. Take advantage of those phone calls; certainly continue to build your relationship with the client, but make sure you're maximizing that relationship.