Its important to educate the people you consider personal advocates (those who know you, like you, trust you, love you and want the best for you), and let them know what youre up to and who your best clients are. If youre just starting out, its a letter of introduction; if youve been in practice several months or years, write an update letter of how your practice has grown or new services that you provide.

Now, before you resist this and think it might be too forward, read on. The fact is; most people who are your personal advocates will be happy to help (people LOVE to give referrals and to help out a friend in business, especially when the person is a trusted friend). It makes them feel good, yet most of us somehow feel were being a burden on our network when we do this. The good news is; it all depends on how tastefully its done.

In both of my private practices, I sent warm letters of introduction letting my friends and family know what I was doing and asking them to think of me when they saw or overheard a particular situation relating to my coaching. Both times, I received clients right away, and both times, friends also referred people as long after the fact as 6 months to a year after receiving the letter. It sure feels good to get those phone calls from people you dont know saying theyd like to work with you.

This will be one of your most effective client attraction tools, and best of all, its relatively no-cost to you! Heres what you do: write a letter to contacts that you already know, as an announcement or introduction to your services. Be sure to keep it friendly, warm, as well as educational, remember, this is NOT a sales letter. Youre just educating your environment at this point. Describe your ideal client and ask the recipient if they know someone who might fit that profile.

I sent it to everyone I knew, about 10 to 20 a week. I hand-wrote a couple of words at the top to make it more personal. (Hi Mary! Its been so long since weve seen each other. Would love to catch up over a cup of tea. Ill call you this week. Best, Fabienne.)

That following week, I would call the people I wrote to, set up a meeting for breakfast, lunch or tea, get caught up on their life and talk to them about my new business, asking them if anyone they knew fit my ideal client profile.

The result? Word spread and I received a number of clients and referrals this way.

Client example:

A former client of mine (a professional organizer) dragged her feet with this idea at first, thinking that it was too sales-y for her personal style and she wasnt going to get any leads or new clients that way. After some coaxing and coaching, she started the process of sending out letters of introduction and was absolutely shocked at the results: new clients started coming in and her friends, former colleagues, school friends and family were the ones referring them. She was thrilled and years later, continues to update her personal advocates on what shes up to, using her update letter.

New clients werent the only things she received. Soon after, this client was flown from New York to Washington D.C. to give a seminar on organizing ones office and do a series of organizing projects within a corporation. This referral, as you may have guessed, came directly from a non-sales-y introduction letter she sent to a remote friend in Washingtononly 3 weeks after sending it out.

Your Assignment:

• Create and send a warm letter of introduction as an announcement/update of your practice to contacts that you already know.
• This includes everyone (your family, friends, colleagues, past clients, and acquaintances).
• Keep it friendly, as well as educational, but definitely NOT sales-y.
• You may write a handwritten hello at the top of the page to make it more personal.
• Follow up one week later with a phone call and invite people to join you for a conversation, either in person for a casual meeting or over the phone.
• Describe your Ideal Client and ask them if they know someone who might fit that profile.
• If you have been in practice several months or years, write an update letter of how your practice has grown or new services that you provide.

If youre ready to take a no-excuses approach to getting lots of clients, youll definitely want to check out The Client Attraction Home Study System. Step by step, I take you through everything you need to do to stand out in the marketplace, pull clients in easily and consistently, and exactly what to say to turn them into paying clients. Get it today by going to www.TheClientAttractionSystem.com. Youll also get hundreds of other ideas and resources to help YOU become a Client Attraction machine like thousands of my previous clients.

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