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Are you spending more time trying to get new clients than actually working with them?

If the answer is yes, then these three simple ideas will help you.

First, have you ever asked for something and got something different to what you thought you*d asked for? Or have you ever thought you had asked for something and got a blank expression or worse... just got completely ignored? Or even worse, been half-way through telling someone what you do for a living and had it dawn on you that they have lost interest in you the moment you began to speak. Of course not... that kind of stuff only happens to me... right?

A year or so ago if someone asked me what I did, I*d have gone into my ten-second-elevator speech. Some people were interested and said they*d heard about what I did, some dismissed it and occasionally, I picked up a client.

More recently I began to define myself more clearly. Then I redefined my coaching practice. Then I found a new way of introducing myself. What I found was the more I honed in one specific purpose of my business the more interested people became in me and in what I did.

Here is a quick example for you. A local insurance broker once brokered over 120 policies to ensure they were competitive. Then one day they slashed the policies they sold down to just 26. The result? They increased sales by 40%. By getting specific, really knowing yourself, your product and its purpose in the market place you come over with greater clarity. That clarity brings greater congruency to your message. Congruency gets people to buy from you.

If your business is not getting clients, then pinpoint what you do first then consider my second suggestion.

The day before something big happened in my business life I had coached a client, invoiced my corporate clients and generally tidied my admin. I*m glad that the day had been quiet because the next day a storm of sales hit.

A friend sent a multi-fax to her staff advertising my new workshop. Based on past perceptions of advertising my expectation was a zero to minor response. As you can tell I was mentally unprepared for a deluge of calls. My phone rang all day long. Essentially I filled a workshop in that one day just based on that one advert and within a month I had coached more people than ever before. But what was the secret?

Was it the way the advert sold it too them using slick words and phrases? Certainly not. The secret lay deeper than that.

The secret was this: I now knew clearly what I wanted to do.

I thought I was clear. I was a coach. I coached people. Health, fitness, jobs, relationships, finances... you name it I coached it. What I learned was that, that isn*t enough. The definition had to be clearer than *coach*.

The workshops I designed now help people discover clarity in who they are, what they do and how they do it. Basically they are designed so people can put real purpose into what they do.

When you mean it, you make things happen!

It's simple... if you want to spend more time working with clients as opposed to finding them then get clear on who you are, what you do and how you do it.

My third point is about, clarity, clarity, clarity.

When I created clarity I set out with an intention. When I move that intention forward each day I create momentum. Every small action I take each day over a sustained period just builds up, like a giant ball of snow rolling down a mountainside.

Think about this. The best sales people are the best because they are clear on their product. They are also clear on who they are and how they best sell to people. Other sales people, the ones who don*t know their product, and don*t seem congruent are more like confidence tricksters. You can fool some of your prospects, but you can*t fool them all.

Everything we want is out there somewhere. All we have to do is put out the right signals and make the right noises. May I suggest to you that if you are not succeeding getting your business to as many clients, or the right clients, then it is all to do with your clarity and very little to do with anything else.

I*m sure you*ve found what I*ve been talking about isn*t rocket science. There is no whizzy initiative. There is magic though, and that happens when you are completely clear on who and what you are.

• Define who you are - your values, identity and purpose
• Define what you want to offer. Get really specific on what your business is about and make sure it's congruent with who you are.
• Define who you want as your clients. Their age, employment status, demographics, etc.

With these steps done you should now be able to hone in to your target market and approach your prospective clients communicating clearly that you have designed your service specifically for them.