From the Desk of Janet Barclay

I can’t even remember when I first heard of the Pareto Principle – you know, the one that says that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. For example, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time, and we spend 80% of our time with 20% of our acquaintances. In business, it’s said that 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your clients.

I recently attended a networking breakfast where I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Tony Alessandra share some strategies for keeping clients and attracting new ones. He suggested that you create a profile of the top 20% of your clients, and seek more clients who fit that profile. It seems obvious, but how many of us actually do that?

He went on to recommend that you develop a plan to make it happen. The first step of the plan he outlined is to identify which clients are actively recommending you to others. Next, figure out what it is you do differently for those clients, and then start doing that for your other clients. That could be a bit more challenging to figure out, but I can definitely see the value in it.

Overall, I was very impressed with Dr. Alessandra’s presentation and I hope to have an opportunity to hear him again. Did you notice I said "hear" and not "see"? That’s because he wasn’t actually in the room when I heard him. This particular event takes place every month, with the presentation delivered by speaker phone. It’s really quite unique, because there isn’t an actual group to join, so you get to meet different people all the time. If you want to find out if there’s one happening in your area, simply Google "Breakfast with Fran" along with the name of your city or town.

Email has really taken over as the #1 form of communication, to the point where it’s rare to receive anything significant by mail. As a result, when you do, it really stands out. That’s the principle behind companies like SendOutCards and Client Connections. And I have to admit that I love it when something unexpected shows up in my mailbox. Like a couple of weeks ago, I was puzzled to receive a large envelope from EzineArticles.com, but my confusion turned to delight when I opened it to find a mousepad with "Ezine Articles Expert Author" on it. That made me feel really good! (Now I just need a mouse to go with it.)

On the other hand, email is so easy and so affordable, that some people really abuse it. I recently heard through one of my online groups that a certain marketing expert was going to be offering her very last free teleclasses this week. I had heard of this person many times so I thought I should take advantage of this opportunity, and signed up for the teleclass. As expected, I received an email confirming my registration. That was fine. I also received a newsletter and a "special announcement", which was not fine, but I thought I’d better wait until after the teleclasses to remove myself from her mailing list to make sure I received the link to the recordings. Over the past week I have received at least 8 emails from her, including three "courtesy" messages reminding me about the call being "tomorrow," "today," and "in a few hours" PLUS a voicemail reminder. I haven’t looked up "courtesy" in the dictionary lately, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean the same as "harassment." This experience has made me question the value of the information being offered – is this the way she recommends people market their services? No thank you! And I will definitely not be purchasing or recommending any of her products or services either.

One last comment, before I get off my soapbox – back on the topic of paper mail. I received something in the mail from a supplier, who spelled both my business name and my last name wrong. That doesn’t endear me either.

What do these stories have in common?  They show the ways that your communications can influence your clients. So, remember these three things:

1. Show your clients you appreciate them by occasionally sending a card or small gift instead of an email.
2. Do NOT assume that potential clients have nothing more important to do with their time than read multiple messages from you containing the same information.
3. Make sure you spell their names correctly!

Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends recently blogged about a survey conducted by Staples on the work hours and habits of small business managers. It comes as no surprise to me that most of the people surveyed do not work a regular 40-hour work week. I start work most days by 7:00 AM, and when I check my email I have often received emails which clients sent during the evening or even during the wee small hours of the morning. One of the reasons many people have chosen to be their own boss and/or work from home is so they can work at times that are convenient for them, whether it be early morning, late at night, weekends, or whatever, and that’s great.

What concerns me is the number of people who work long hours and don’t take vacation, not out of a passion for what they do, but because they feel they have to. Today’s technology means that people can reach us whether we are in the office or not, but does that mean we have to be available? Being accessible to everyone all the time may sound like the ultimate in customer service, but are you really serving your clients well if you answer the phone when you are too tired or too involved with something else (be it work or personal) to be attentive to their needs? The reason we have technology such as voice mail and email is so that people can leave us a message at their convenience and we can respond at ours. If you feel it’s vital to your business to provide service 24-7 (and 52 weeks a year), you owe it to your clients and yourself to find someone else to handle your calls so you can focus on important work tasks and so you can get some downtime, not just for a few hours of sleep each night, but so you can enjoy some leisure time with friends and family, and even take a vacation - yes, a real vacation!

I confess - I have not taken a "real" vacation since I started my business, but I intend to change that this year. And now that I’ve posted this publicly, I’m one step closer to making it happen! But I will definitely NOT be available to receive phone calls or emails during my vacation! I need and deserve a break, and so do you!