You may have seen my “Five Simple Steps..” binder; it’s a stand-alone product I’ve had for nearly two years and is the foundation for the Accelerator programs.  But wait before you flip to the next email.  Do you know the biggest mistake people are making within the “Five Simple Steps?”

First, here are the five steps to get more clients:

1. Define your service.  Whether it’s computer training classes, facials, QuickBooks consulting, tax returns, or web site design, you’ll need to know the scope of what you offer.
2. Define your ideal client.  Who do you serve best?
3. Find your client.  There are 22 places to look.
4. Speak to your client.  Knowing what to say and how to say it can mean the difference between poverty and prosperity for many business owners.
5. Put it all together in a plan.  Having a marketing plan saves time and money in the long run and moves you form reactive to proactive, which is far less stressful.

Guess which step everyone does first?  You’re right if you picked number three.  Many people go straight to the chapter on finding your client without doing steps one and two first.  Are you guilty?

Here’s why that approach is going to cost you.

If you go straight to step three to look for your client, you’re looking for everyone.   Everyone could be your client.  If you’re marketing to everyone, then you have to look everywhere, and that’s going to be exhausting.

If you’re marketing to everyone and no one in particular, then your prospect feels pretty generic, pretty vanilla.  They don’t feel special because you take everyone.  And no one in particular.

The big thing that’s changed in the last few years, is that you can’t market to everyone anymore and get away with it.  If you’re still doing that, then you’re making it 50 times harder on yourself than you need to.

My Five Simple Steps helps you get more clients.  But you really have to do all five steps.