This is a guest blog from Stephanie Ward. I was really impressed with the content and advice, therefore, with her permission I am pleased to pass it on!

Every summer I get an unexpected phone call that I’m actually delighted to receive. It’s usually on a warm and sunny day when the last thing on my mind is the impending winter and how cold it will be in a few months.

The call I get is from the fireplace cleaning company. They call to schedule the appointment to clean the fireplace so that it’s safe and ready when it comes time for it to be used.

I happily make the appointment which is within a defined one hour time frame (so I don’t have to wait around all day).

I love it that I don’t have to ever think about it. I don’t have to remember the name of the company or try to find their phone number. They proactively reach out to me and make me an offer.

If they didn’t call me every year I can only guess at how many times the fireplace would have been cleaned.

Another variation of this is that when I visit my dentist for my six month check-up they always ask if I’d like to schedule my next appointment while I’m there.

Of course I would, and I do. If it were up to me to remember to make an appointment six months later I’m sure I’d forget about it.

It’s pure genius! And the benefits are obviously not only for me. The fireplace company is able to spread out the appointments and they’re getting a ton of business they would NOT be getting if they waited for their clients to call them.

Same goes for the dentist, he ensures that I’ll be back sooner than later by asking me to schedule while I’m there.

So how can you apply this concept to your business? Think about which products or services you could offer in connection with a celebration, special event, specific time of year, or time frame.

Here are some ideas to get the wheels turning:

- Celebrations: birthday, anniversary, Valentine’s Day, Christmas (decorations, special dinners, gift ideas)

- Special events: Earth Day, Entrepreneurs week, industry specific trade shows, Oscars, Mardi Gras, Mother’s Day, Secretary’s Day

- Time of year: summer (vacation, get in shape), start of a new year (diet, business plan), winter (ski vacation), spring (garden, cleaning)

- Time frame: monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual check up (medical, car, business, taxes, house painting, computer maintenance)

What’s really cool is that you can use this idea for inactive clients as well. Go through your list of inactive clients and contact them to see if they’d be interested in your special offer.

I hope you’re starting to see that it’s helpful to remind your clients about a product or service they need and may have forgotten about.

Create a structured plan to proactively connect with your clients (and inactive clients) and make them an offer that will make them happy to hear from you.

© Stephanie Ward, 2010

Stephanie Ward is the Marketing Coach for Entrepreneurs who want to set their profits on fire! Grab your FREE copy of the special report ’7 Steps to Attract More Clients in Less Time’ plus business building tips, at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com.

ONLINE NETWORKING PRESENTATION

Ed is a fan of Social Media. He advises on how this channel can be used in
modern marketing and as a vehicle for customer service.

You can find him Tweeting on Twitter, chatting on Facebook or networking on LinkedIN. As a speaker, he talks about what is happening on the web
and how it effects you, your business and your family. Fast moving, jargon free, and highly entertaining.

Presented by Ed Stivala, N3W Media.

Facebook the facts, you’d have to be a real Twitter not to be LinkedIN

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

The event is being held at David Lloyd Leisure, Milton Keynes
Please email me for more details melvyn@ag-gifts.co.uk

I attended a half day seminar recently run by Business Link, called Survive and Thrive. It was brilliant, the course was free of charge, run by two professional presenters from New Tricks Training!

They gave lots of sound advice and tips of how to raise your profile without large outlays of cash or time. It’s well worth contacting your local Business Link to see which seminars are available to you.

It’s refreshing that we can get help and advice like this when times are hard, well done Business Link!

Everyone is feeling the pinch right now. We have found that by staying positive and proactive, we are still attracting enquiries and orders. Are we just lucky, I don’t think so.

How you feel and behave is often projected when you speak or in your body language. In other words, if you sound upbeat and happy you are much more likely to attract and encourage business!

Also explore all the alternatives to develop your business. We recently entered into a strategic alliance with a health and fitness company which has benefits for both of us. All this is costing is our time, yet we are raising our profile and meeting many new contacts.

We are celebrating our 25th year in business…and what better way than doing something different and exciting! Creating a blog is a new experience for us, it will be interesting to see how it develops.

We have had a successful year despite the credit crunch! How has your year been, feel free to add your comments!

Mel Page