I just got back from an amazing weekend in Toronto.
One of my B-School clients made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. She invited me out for a rock-n-roll photoshoot weekend. It was AMAZING. Full-on hair and make-up, crazy clothes and in the sexiest little hotel called the Gladstone.
Plus, I had a chance to see some of my Adventure Mastermind clients, shop, see a movie and indulge in my all time favorite naughty food, Poutine. (In Jersey, we just call it what it is: mozzarella fries + gravy)
I’ll have photos to share with you shortly.
Big lesson here. Many of my “clients” also become friends. How is that? Because I’ve consciously created my business to attract people who I love to spend time with. Clients who energize and inspire me.
Do your clients energize and inspire you or, are you secretly saying this to yourself…
“I looove what I do, but I feel freakin’ exhausted when I’m done working with clients.”
Sound familiar? Yeah, I’ve been there too. It’s nothing to feel ashamed of and thankfully, there’s a fast and fun fix.
If your clients drain your energy, you may be missing an important “client identity” refinement that can make all the difference. So much so that you’ll actually start feeling more energized after a full day of working with clients.
Watch this video and learn what I mean and how you can put this strategy into practice right now.
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Hi, it’s Marie again for another lovely episode of Q & A Tuesday. Now, before we get into the Q’s and the A’s; another girl moment, another girl moment What’s going on here? Cute hair, right? Cute hair, it’s called the messy bun. Mesy bun!
Q: Here’s the question for today and it’s from Jenny. Jenny writes: “My question is about managing my energy or getting more. My favorite thing in my business is working with one-on-one clients. I’m really humbled to have developed a reputation of helping clients that no other professional has been able to help.” You go, Jenny!
“But as I’m getting busier and busier with my clients, my energy is getting low. I can pull out all the stops when I’m one-on-one but when I get home at the end of the day or even in between clients, all I can do is lie down. I’m too exhausted to even sleep. I’ve started implementing Kris Carr stuff…” You guys should know Kris Carr by now. “Which I love but there is a missing link, too which I’m hoping that you can help me with. Huge hugs and I love everything you are doing! Love Jenny.” Thank you, Jenny!
A: Okay, so this is an awesome question and I have what I believe is an awesome answer. One of the things that’s super important when you work with clients is to make sure you know who your ideal clients are because everyone is not your ideal client. Unfortunately, there’s people in the world that when you work with them, it’s an “energy suck.”
They can be awesome human beings but they’re not perfect clients for you. Now, I’ve disguised your name a little bit because I know who you are and I don’t want anyone to get offended if they may watch this and know that they work with you. But because we have some history I can say this directly to you, I’m absolutely certain that you have people in your client pool that are not ideal clients. They’re probably not paying you on time. They’re making you work a lot harder than you should be working.
They’re not showing up for their appointments when they should be; all kinds of stuff like that. It’s super, super important that you know who your ideal clients are, and actually answering this question prompted me to come up with my own list of ideal client attributes. And, as I sat down to think about this answer, I realized I will not let anyone give me money unless they are an absolute ideal client for me.
Why? Because I don’t want to have my energy drained but more importantly, I’m meant to serve a specific group of people. I know that there’s a group of women out there who can do outstanding work with. I can get them phenomenal results and when I work with them, I actually feel more energized than when I started and that’s what I want for you, too. So just to give you some examples of what those ideal client attributes can be, I’ve put together a little Top 10 list that I’m going to share with you, right now.
Essentially, these are the Top 10 attributes that if you want to give me lots of money, you have to have these attributes. I will not take your money unless you have these attributes. Okay, so I want you to think about this just like our buddy Dave Letterman and his nightly Top 10 Countdown. You ready? Here we go…
10. They love my brutal honesty, and fully understand my feedback comes from a place of love, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to serve.
9. They want to have fun, play, and joke around.
8. They are generous with their praise, their knowledge, and they care for others.
7. They pay on time, and with pleasure.
6. They are open, honest, and treat me like a true collaborative partner, not a guru. “Bleep”
5. They proactively, and without reservation, recommend me to others.
4. They’re attentive to details like being on time, and ending on time.
3. They are grateful and super appreciative to work with me.
2. They are massive, consistent action-takers. “That one’s freaking huge.”
1. They have an excellent sense of humor!
Okay so, there you have it! There is just a quick list of my ideal client attributes and I suggest that you come up with a list of your own, and you really use that as your filter before you let someone hire you. So that’s all I’ve got for you today! If you like this video, like it! Add a comment, share it with your friends. And, if you want more awesome videos like this, come and see me on marieforleo.com, and don’t forget to signup for the newsletter. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you next time!
Action Jackson time: In the comments below, list YOUR top ten attributes and tell me what concrete actions you’ll take as a result of watching this video.
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