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You are new in business and you have been marketing yourself like crazy.  The phone rings and you have a new client…what do you do now?

Don’t let the excitement of signing on a new client get in the way of you using sound business practices.  Follow these three strategies to protect yourself when starting a new businesses relationship.

1.  Have a contract or client agreement

I remember when I was in coaching school we devoted a whole course on sound business practices.  The development of a client agreement/contract was at the top of the list.

When developing your agreement remember to include at a minimum the following:  work hours, fee (this can be either your hourly fee or fee for particular program), payment terms, confidentiality statement, your status as an independent contractor, an “out” clause (e.g either party may terminate the agreement given 14 days written notice), as well as any other information that you feel is pertinent to your particular business.

Make sure that your clients sign and return the contract before any work is performed and send a copy to the client for their files.

2.  Create  Plans

It’s easy when starting out to be unsure about pricing strategies and how much time a client may require in any given month.  The best way that I have found to handle this situation is to develop client plans.

Clients purchase a certain amount of time based on a “package” that you create.   These packages allow clients to purchase a certain amount of hours of service each month based on their particular needs.  Some people use the bronze, silver, gold systems whereby the more hours you get the higher the package and the cost.  Bronze is less hours and less money whereby the gold package  allows for more service hours at a higher price point.

3.  Get Paid in Advance or Require a Deposit

We have all heard the stories of business people who started doing work for a client only to get stiffed in the end.  The best way to protect yourself is to require that your clients either pay in advance or pay a deposit before you start working on their project or providing any type of service.   The deposit doesn’t need to be astronomical but rather enough so that if they walk away you have been compensated for your time, effort and talent.

Most coaches that I know require payment in  advance.  For example, you pay in August for coaching that will occur in September.  Some VA’s do the same but others require a deposit that then is applied to the invoice at the end of the month.  I use a variety of different payment strategies depending on whether or not someone is purchasing private or group coaching or signing up for a retreat or mastermind program.

The important point is that you develop these systems to ensure that you and your clients are on the same page with regard to payment.  This is all laid out for my clients in my application and enrollment forms.  In addition, all my clients complete an intake form which clearly lays out how I work and what my expectations are from this relationship.  This ensures a win win situation for both of us because it is all spelled out BEFORE we start working together.

In the end its all about making sure that you and your clients are on the same page, that expectations are clear and that both parties are happy with the arrangements.

I received an email today from Mike Michalowicz.  He writes a blog called the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.  He had send a request out asking for tips on how to get bigger and better clients.  My tip was chosen and it is in today’s blog post.  Follow the link to read my tip (which is #15) and some of the others. http://budurl.com/nf52

I had a great conversation with a potential client the other day and she asked me, “How can I create a six figure business quickly?” My response to her, “With persistence and a heck of a lot of effort.”

If you want to build a six figure successful business it requires that you show up everywhere, all the time. As I like to say, it requires that you “step into your greatness.” When I finally embraced this concept in my business I really started to see my business begin to evolve and grow.

When I am working with a client and we are brainstorming  creative ways for them to “step it up”, they will often say that they are doing everything possible and the clients and the money is still not showing up!  When I press them further what I typically hear is a laundry list of excuses like: “I am not sure that idea will work in my business” or “That seems like it will require more time than I have” or, here is a great one, “Maybe I should go look for a job.” Yikes! I don’t know about you but the thought of going out and getting a J-O-B makes me ill.

Being a success minded women business owner takes effort and a whole lot of it. I have had several businesses in my lifetime and the ones that have been the most successful have been the businesses that I put forth consistent effort.

So, before you give up on your dreams of a successful business let me say: What effort are you really putting into your business? Are you treating your business like a business or a hobby? Are you doing something everyday to move your business forward or are you just dreaming about how you will make the business successful?

All the dreaming in the world won’t make your business a success. So put away your dream pillow and embrace the fact that to be successful you will have to put in the sweat!

I think I have this quoted correctly, but whatever the right phraseology is, I think you get the point.

How is your marketing strategy working?  Are you getting the kind of ROI that you expect from your marketing efforts?  In this day and age you can not keep marketing your business like you did some 5 years ago.

How does one bust out of that old way of thinking?  By coming up with creative and innovative ways to market your business and stay ahead of your competition.  It requires you to be smarter than the guy next door, to stand out in the crowd and to listen to what your clients are telling you they want.  Do this and when the dust settles, and we know it will, you will be standing on top of the mountain with your competion at your feet.