There’s a lot of buzz in the industry about “attraction marketing” and how you can use that concept to generate leads for your business.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?  No more chasing clients, no more frayed nerves as you wonder how you’ll pay the mortgage this month.  No more worry.

Well, attraction marketing can be the answer … if you do it the right way.  And don’t worry – I’m going to tell you how I think you can use attraction marketing in your business.

ATTRACTION MARKETING: A DEFINITION

What exactly do I mean by “attraction marketing”?  It’s simple – I’m talking about building value and positioning the benefits of your product or business so that people come to you … rather than you chasing them all around town.

The three BIG lies of attraction marketing?

1. It’s easy.  No, it’s not.  It requires a plan, some tools, and some elbow grease on your part.

2. You’ll have instant results.  Wrong again.  It takes time to build value.  (I’m going to talk more about this below, so keep reading.)

3. You can do it all online.  Yes, leveraging the internet can definitely help.  But you’re not going to sell real estate without voice-to-voice and face-to-face interaction.

WHAT DOES ATTRACT CLIENTS?

I want to talk about a successful way to attract clients to you.  Let’s ask first, what does attract potential clients?

Content.  Expertise.  Resources.  Your brand, and all that it implies.

And, ultimately, that all comes down to the perception of value.

So if we want to become the hunted, not the hunter, how do you make that happen?   Actually, the formula for that is pretty simple: to attract clients, you must lead with value.

Forget about your sales pitches.  Value is established by providing great content and expertise … and showcasing that with stunning, memorable visuals.  You have to brand yourself (and your business) in a way that connotes value to consumers.

Yes, it’s that simple.

That starts with creating your “value proposition”.  What is it?  A statement, or statements, that summarize what’s special or unique about you.  Whether it’s done overtly or covertly, it should also address why a consumer would be interested in your product or service, rather than that of your competitors.

If you can’t think of your value proposition, you’ve got a big problem.  And you’re probably also short on business right now.   Because if you haven’t mentally positioned yourself ahead of the pack, it probably shows in everything you do (and I guarantee it’s reflected in your bottom line!).  Your value proposition ties directly to your brand.

Take a look at my list below.  Do any of these statements fit how you’re feeling?

1. I need money.

2. I need more time off.

3. I want my business to be easier.

4. I don’t like “cold” prospecting (calls, door-knocking, email spam campaigns).

5. I have run out of friends and family to sell to.

6. I don’t want to quit this business.

Attraction marketing can help with all these challenges!  When you harness the power of attraction marketing, and employ it in your lead generation, you end up with a phone that rings (or an inbox that’s filled with emails from interested consumers rather than one stuffed with spam).

If we know that consumers are attracted to content, expertise, and resources – plus your brand, and all that it promises – then you need to figure out how to build value by providing these things.

I’ve been saying for year that agents have to stop sending recipe cards and heart health tips.  Just stop that please.  You are a real estate agent.  Present yourself as an expert by providing content related to real estate.

Offer education, share your expertise!  And don’t be afraid to take a position.  If you think the recent mortgage settlement agreement is the best thing since sliced bread, write about it … and be sure to identify benefits that your clients can identify with.

If you want to employ attraction marketing, you need to have a brand.  I’m not just talking about a logo or a design that visually identifies your business … I’m talking about defining the experience that consumers have when they work with you.  If you don’t know exactly what I mean, think about this:  Apple® is a brand.  There’s a bit of a cult that’s grown up around Apple® users.  When you buy an Apple® product – any Apple® product – you are expecting a certain kind of experience.  Apple® also has a visual brand (the apple with a “bite” missing).  When you see Apple’s visual brand, you immediately think about the Apple® “experience”.  That’s exactly what you want.  Define your market, and the experience you want to deliver … then create visual imagery that promises, and supports, that experience.

HOW CAN YOU “DELIVER” ATTRACTION MARKETING?

The internet sure has changed how people purchase products and services.  Estimates vary, depending on product, that between 78% and 96% research online before buying.  Wow.  Think about those numbers!  Even if a potential client has been referred to you, you can be pretty sure that they are going to research you online.  If they don’t like what they find, or if you look like every other agent online, there’s no value to the client.

Do you think the use of the internet means you need a website that showcases your unique business brand? You bet you do!  And it would be even better if that website offered a blog element, so you can showcase your expertise in real estate on a regular basis.  Blogs are easy to maintain, and offer loads of flexibility.  They’re perfect for many business owners, including real estate agents, who want to offer great content, strut their expertise, and bring it all to life in a visual way.

Go online and search the term “attraction marketing”.  You’ll find an onslaught of information about “systems” to attract people to you, often by sending dozens of sales emails to someone.

Hmmm.   If you were on the receiving end of that, without first knowing something about the company, how would that feel to you?  Would it compel you to learn more about the company … or to hit the “spam” button?  A blog-based website is a far, far better answer.

Many of the so-called gurus of these attraction marketing systems will tell you that belly-to-belly marketing strategies just don’t work anymore.  In fact, they’re poised to sell you their attraction marketing system.

Do you think the use of the internet means you don’t need to snail mail anymore? Absolutely not!  You still need to reach out in this “old fashioned” way to potential clients.  Because so few people use high quality mailed pieces you will instantly stand out from the crowd, especially if you are mailing articles about real estate.  Remember – no more recipe cards, automotive repair tips, or articles about pet care.

I put together a list of seven “B”s – seven things that will help with your attraction marketing.

1. Be in love with your job

2. Become valuable (because then you become invaluable)

3. Become visual

4. Benefits are key – create them, then identify them so they’re irresistible to potential clients

5. Brand yourself – both in terms of your client experience and with a visual look that showcases the client experience

6. Build relationships before expecting business

7. Be an expert – know your market inside and out, and share that knowledge

Every person you meet – online or offline – in the course of a day, a week, a month, or a year is a potential check you.  Can you chase them all?  No, but you can attract them all and, over time, continue to share your value with them until they need your services.

If you’re going to have success in your business without working yourself to death, it has to begin with attraction marketing.  If you don’t already have the tools in place to attract clients to you, make that a priority in your business today!

Did you see the Barbara Walters special recently - the one where she interviewed self-made billionaires?

It was a fascinating episode!  Ms. Walters spoke with four individuals, asking them what experiences and lessons they had learned in their lives that had led to financial riches.  All four truly had created their own wealth - none had received money through an inheritance, or through some lucky circumstance such as a lottery.  They were truly “self-made” people.

Two of the individuals interviewed were able to create financial success by bringing unique products to the marketplace.  The other two individuals built wealth through perseverance.

Not only did these four individuals created enormous wealth for themselves, one of the four was formerly homeless!

John Paul DeJoria, the “Paul” in the “Paul Mitchell” hair care line, has a current estimated wealth of $4 billion.

When asked the question, “How did you make this happen?” DeJoria said that he was prepared to do things the average person wouldn’t do to become successful.

Bingo!

Sometimes the road to success requires hacking your own path through the jungle - a jungle filled with giant anacondas, tsetse flies, and large man-eating predators.

That’s a jungle no one wants to plunge into.  And really, who wouldn’t rather drive their Jeep on a nicely paved road?

After years of coaching real estate agents, I know for a fact that very few real estate agents are truly working up to their full potential.  That doesn’t mean agents won’t work hard … but they often don’t work hard at the things which are hardest in their business.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone!  It’s tough to tackle activities, ideas, and actions which put us outside our comfort zone.

Think about lead generation.   This is an area where most agents default to whatever sounds easiest, whatever is right in front of them, or whatever their broker says is the “standard” thing to do.  That might be floor time … or open houses.

What if, instead, you were willing to do things other agents weren’t willing to do? What do you think your business might look like if you set aside your fear and unwillingness … and tried doing the things in this industry that others aren’t doing - or aren’t doing well?  What if you called expired listings?  Did geographical farming? Worked with absentee owners?  Helped investors?  Taught first-time home buyers?  Specialized in relocations?  Mined the MLS for shortages?  Each and every one of these methods of lead generation can yield amazing results … and most of them probably made you groan when you read them!

Back to the Barbara Walters program …

All four of the individuals Barbara interviewed said their “aha” moment was when things were darkest for them personally, or in troubled economic times.  Those are the times at which you can make your mark and truly build success for yourself.  Part of that comes because you may have reached bottom.   Rock bottom is a very tough place to be, and it may take being there to propel you to success.

John Paul DeJoria found himself at the bottom, in a very, very dark place.  Determined to pull himself out, he began selling encyclopedias door to door.  Can you think of anything more challenging?  Granted, this was back in the day before the internet was available, and encyclopedias were actually part of the learning landscape, but really - who wants to knock on 50 doors, and be rejected 50 times?  John Paul was willing to do that!  And yes, he might have knocked on 50 doors and heard “no” 50 times … but on the 51^st time he heard “yes”.  And one “yes” is sometimes all you need to start create momentum and begin building the success you’re seeking.

Don’t discount even your small successes.  First, a success will boost your “mojo”.  Nothing feels as good as a “win”. It elevates your spirits, gives you hope, and recognizes your efforts.

More importantly, even the smallest of success is a roadmap for future success.

When talking to agents it’s clear to me that agents are not learning from their moments of success.  I want you to look back on those moments, however fleeting they may seem to you.   What was it that created the success?  Was it a thought, an action, a mindset … or a combination of all three?

If we spent even a tenth of the time analyzing our successes as we do wallowing in our failures, we would have 100 times the success!  Too often, we’re focused on the negativity of the non-results.

Here are the three things I want you to take away from the self-made billionaire segment.

1. Take action.  Your situation will not improve if you don’t take action to improve it.  We don’t live in the magical world of Harry Potter; you must be willing to work for results.
2. Be willing to do the hard work that others won’t do.
3. Learn more from your successes than you do from your failures. Focus on the positive of what worked; learn from what didn’t.  Adapt!

Whether you’re a real estate agent, the owner of a restaurant, the owner of a surfboard shop, or a florist … you must generate leads if you want to have a sustainable and profitable business.

So let’s talk about real estate.  Just how can you effectively generate leads to create the profit you need for your real estate business?

As I mentioned last week – and as I’ve talked about many times in the past – I firmly believe that to be effective, lead generation must “fit”.

And that’s what the title of this Zebra Report refers to!  I estimate that 85% or more of all real estate agents are one of two personality styles – either “Promoters” or “Supporters”. One of these two personality styles probably does sound like most of the real estate agents you know:

Promoters are the bright, bubby, outgoing “people-lovers”.  Promoters are drawn to selling real estate because they love freedom.  Working at a fast pace is a priority for Promoters, and they are typically energetic, enthusiastic, and results-oriented.

Supporters are quieter than Promoters, but they are also people-oriented.  Supporters are the people who get into the business because they “want to help people”.   They’re hand-holders, and are great providers of emotional support for their clients.  Supporters work at a slow pace, and harmony is critically important to them.  Supporters are responsive and cooperative.

If you are a Promoter who needs leads in your business, I have three suggestions for you: open houses (yes, I know you’ve heard me say this over and over again, but that’s because they can be very effective!), niche marketing, and teaching classes.  Because Promoters typically have a high energy level, they can be effective at capturing the attention of an audience.

Supporters looking for leads should focus on open houses, expired listings, and networking groups.  Potential clients in these categories appreciate the slower pace and more consultative approach favored by Supporters.  Patience is also required for working in each of these categories – and patience is something that Supporters have in spades!

What about the other 15% of real estate agents?  Those are the “Analyticals” and the “Controllers”.

Like Supporters, Analyticals work at a slower pace.  But they are not the people you automatically think of as being a “people person”.   Extreme accuracy is very important to Analyticals, and they don’t like to be rushed.   Analytical agents appreciate structure and routine, and are always anxious to have “the right answer”.

And you can tell a Controller because of their focus on efficiency.  Like Promoters, they work at a fast pace … but unlike Promoters (but very similar to Analyticals) they aren’t always super warm and fuzzy.  Controllers are motivated by challenge – if you’re a Controller, you are highly results-oriented – both for yourself and for your clients.

Analyticals who want to generate leads should focus on activities such as geographical farming, MLS prospecting, and relocation.   These types of lead generation allow an Analytical to play to their strengths, and all of them allow an agent with this personality type to shine.

If you are a Controller who needs leads, take action with investors, For Sale By Owners, and geographical farming.  Because Controllers tend to be “strong” personalities, they are good fits for many clients that other personality styles would find challenging.

Even within your personality style, there’s no one “perfect” style of lead generation.  What works for one Controller in one market, may not work for another Controller in that same market!  Think about which of the three lead generation suggestions I’ve made sounds best for you, and sounds like a possibility within your marketplace.  Remember too, that your lead generation activities should include both “now” money activities (think open houses or teaching classes) and “seeding” activities (like geographical farming and networking groups).

And of course, just because a lead generation activity is listed under a personality other than yours doesn’t mean it can’t work for you.  You just have to work harder to make it work.  In fact, one of my clients, Terry, is a Promoter.  And Terry is the queen of expired listings.  She has learned to work expired listings like you can’t believe, and as a result she dominates her market.  If Terry had simply looked at the Promoter lead generation list and gone from there, she would never have tried expired listings.  But she did – and boy, has she had success.

If you’re already an aficionado of Pinterest, you’ll know exactly what I mean by that question.  And if you’ve never heard of Pinterest, let me be the first to introduce you to this fascinating site.

A member of my team was an early adopter of Pinterest, and she shared information with me about the site last fall after using it for about six months.

So what exactly is Pinterest?  Simply put, Pinterest is a website where users can curate theme-based images and collections. At its core, it’s based on the concept of vision boards and social photo-sharing.  Visual bookmarking is at the heart of Pinterest - and of course, there’s a social networking component as well.

Think of Pinterest as a bulletin board where you can post anything - and everything - you’re interested in, either for your own reference, or to share with others.  On Pinterest, you can view and follow the collections of other pinners.

The site is ridiculously simple to use.  A “pin it” tool is required to grab an image and source link so it can be added to your board.  And you can “repin” items from other people’s Pinterest boards, or from your computer.

Users typically create collections in their area of interest … and users have complete autonomy in naming, creating, and curating their Pinterest collections.

For example, my team member Laura has 27 boards on Pinterest, with titles as diverse as “the holding pen” to “I love vintage industrial design” to “great white kitchens.”   She uses the site to curate design ideas, save images for future projects, and to be exposed to a significant number of ides from others - people she wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet in her daily life.  Trish, also part of our Lones Group team, has 16 boards, covering décor, gardening ideas, quotes to live by, and photographic “eye candy”.

Pinterest … by the numbers

Since its inception, Pinterest has grown dramatically.  A study conducted by ComScore in November of 2011 showed that Pinterest has become a major player amongst the “big” social media sites.

Take a look at the amount of time people are engaging on Pinterest - average minutes per visitor is the third highest of the sites listed!

And data collected by Ignite Social Media shows that Pinterest is of interest across age groups.  Interestingly, 60% of Pinterest users have some college education.

Finally, Pinterest is now the fastest growing site for referral traffic, or so the folks at Shareaholic have discovered.  That 3.6% number might look small, but it is virtually identical to both Google and Twitter’s referral traffic numbers … and larger than the combined traffic driven from MySpace, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and YouTube.

So, how can you become part of Pinterest?

Pinterest remains an “invitation only” site.  You can request an invite, and hope that you get one from the site’s manager.  There’s no guarantee that you will receive an invitation, or how long it might be before that invitation arrives.  You can also request an invitation from a Pinterest member, which significantly speeds up the acceptance process.

How can you harness Pinterest’s growing user base?

Pinterest was not created as a sales channel or commerce site, and there are some rules around what you can and cannot do on the site.  The site states Pinterest shouldn’t be used “purely as a tool for self-promotion”.  As a result, many individuals have discounted Pinterest as a business-generating tools … preferring instead to use it simply in its simplest form - as a bulletin board.

I have some ideas about how you could use Pinterest as a real estate agent … but I want to hear what you think.  How do you think you could leverage Pinterest to help your business?

Are you finding the success you want when it comes to working with buyers? Or are you so frustrated with buyers that you’re seriously considering working exclusively with sellers? If you choose not to work with buyers, you are walking away from 50% of the opportunities that exist in the market! If you love the business you have and don’t need one more penny of income, then by all means focus on sellers and forget about buyers.

I personally believe that having a strong buyer business can be an extremely lucrative and fulfilling experience! But you need a strategic plan to be really successful working with buyers. Over the course of the next three Zebra Reports I’m going to give you everything you need to wow buyers.

Let’s start by talking about the most important piece of the buyer puzzle - engagement. It’s the cultivation of relationships that ultimately leads to an increase in business, and a more profitable bottom line.

Many of you are having challenges with buyers because you are not engaging effectively with buyers.  Are you showing buyers home after home after home … but they never buy?  Or do they make offers that are never accepted?  Perhaps they write offers that are accepted … but they bail out of the transaction before closing for reasons that don’t appear valid?

While it’s easy to label these as buyer problems, they are also agent problems! In order to have an effective buyer business you need to seriously sharpen your buyer-client skills.

Let’s look at three critical pieces of the buyer experience: communication, the pace of the home search, and negotiation.

Communication: Often an agent will tell me about a problem they’re having with a buyer … and it immediately becomes clear that the problem is communication. What do I mean? It’s not just whether you talk to buyer clients on a regular basis. It’s also how you talk to them, what you’re saying, and whether the method you are using to communicate mirrors their preferences. Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a buyer named Mike who communicates with you primarily via email and text. You, on the other hand, prefer to pick up the phone and chat, or meet face-to-face. Because you’re obviously not communicating in the manner that Mike needs, he’s going to get frustrated with you. When his frustration gets to the point where he just can’t stand it, he’ll likely find another agent who does understand his preferences.  Or maybe your favorite way to communicate is via email and text, but your new buyer Claire rarely responds to your email messages. Is she not interested in buying? No! She is giving you a clue that perhaps email is not high on her list of communication methods. If you want to create great buyer relationships, ask your client how they prefer to communicate. And remember - listen for the clues, then honor and respect those wishes.

The pace of the home search:  Let’s say you’ve found, after many years of experience, that most buyers can’t remember the details of more than three homes in any one showing. Based on that assumption, you always limit showings to no more than three homes in one buyer appointment. However, you’ve just shown Jim and Diane three homes. You’re heading back to your office with them, and you realize that they’re ready to look at many more houses. Obviously, Jim and Diane don’t fit your preconceptions about buyers! Now they want to keep looking, but you haven’t made arrangements to do that. So they’re disappointed … and they’re probably feeling you aren’t showing them “enough” homes. Making assumptions about how buyers like to search for homes is a common mistake, but it’s one that is easy to correct. All you have to do is open the lines of communication! Ask buyers whether they like to look at lots of homes at once, or if they prefer to view just a few on each outing. Then, listen and watch for more clues.

A great way to handle the home search is to start by taking buyers on a “driving tour“, which helps you learn a lot about your buyers fairly quickly. Based on their parameters, create a tour to show them neighborhoods or communities that they prefer. While on the driving tour, ask your buyers to identify the homes that they would like to take a closer look at. These tours allow you to cover a lot of ground up-front, and ultimately shorten the buying cycle. Just remember to match the clues they give you with the pace they are going. If you drive buyers past 20 homes and they seem overwhelmed, that’s a clue. If you take them by eight and they seem bored, that’s another clue. Pay attention to all the clues!

One last thought on the home search process. If you’re sending buyers bundles of listing information via email and they’re not responding to you, it could be that you’re simply overwhelming them and they don’t know where to start. It’s also a clue that perhaps you should slow down the process and talk to them face-to-face again. If, on the other hand, your buyers are contacting you regularly to ask about listings you have not sent information on, or called them about, you need to pick up the pace and become much more proactive. Again … watch for the clues.

Negotiations:  Every buyer has a negotiation style that is most comfortable for them. You need to determine what that style is, and how to effectively manage it. Some buyers are always going to want to write a low offer on reasonably-priced homes because they want room to negotiate. Other buyers will offer exactly what they can pay, and not a penny more. Some will offer full price - because they and their agent have done their homework and they know the home is priced correctly. Regardless of your buyer’s style, it’s critical that you spend time talking to your buyer clients about “win-win” negotiating. Show buyers exactly what that looks like. Explain to them why it’s important to bring a fair offer to the table. Before you get to the offer-writing stage, have an honest discussion with your buyers about their negotiating style and how you can work together to make it work within a win-win scenario.

Remember - the key to building an amazing buyer business is engagement. It’s listening and watching for clues and adapting your style to mirror your buyer’s style. Engagement is making sure that your communication, home search, and negotiation styles match the preferences of your buyers. If you take care of these three critical areas, you’ll build strong, long-lasting relationships with your buyers … and ultimately build a profitable, sustainable business.

Real estate agent “Sally” (names have been changed to protect the guilty!) called me.

“Denise”, she said, “my business is good, but not great.  I’ve had a marketing makeover. I’ve redone my listing presentation.  I’ve learned consultative selling.  Things have gotten better, but I’m still not at the level where I want to be.  What am I doing wrong?”

Nine times out of ten when I hear this from an agent, I know exactly what the problem is.

I asked Sally a few questions.  It took me only five minutes to confirm my suspicions. Sally had been doing everything right-with one exception.

One very major exception.
She wasn’t being consistent with her follow-up.

I can’t tell you how many brilliant agents are losing business because of lousy follow-up, inconsistent follow-up, or no follow-up at all.  It perplexes me that an agent would put in all the time and expense to develop a business, only to ignore the one tool that consistently generates new leads.

Follow-up is basic.  Every successful real estate career has been built on it.

Take a good hard look at yours right now.

Are you staying in touch with your database?  Are you contacting your past clients?  Do you have an email campaign pre-written to automatically go out to them?  Do you sendannual reports specifically tailored for their individual neighborhoods?  Do you hold anannual client appreciation event?  Do you call past clients at least once a year?

If your answer to any of these questions is “no”, you certainly cannot expect your past clients to remember you when someone they know needs real estate assistance.

The reason is simple.  People-even the really nice ones-take the path of least resistance when it comes to referrals.  If the path of least resistance is that you’re top of mind, then you get the referral.

If, however, they haven’t seen nor heard from you in three years, the path isn’t so direct anymore.  Perhaps they’ve become friends with another agent since then.  Add the fact that you’ve disappeared from their lives and chances are that they will forget you.

When you forget them, they forget you.

Your follow-up is the one foundational piece of your business that needs your critical attention.  Consistency is key.  Without consistent follow-up, you are destroying your business.

I can just hear you now, “Destroying my business?  Really?  But Denise, I’m out there prospecting every day.  I work very hard to find new clients.  And I’m good at it.  So what’s the problem?”

The problem is that you’re working harder and harder to find those clients.  You may indeed be great at prospecting.  That’s wonderful.  But prospecting is tiring.  It can wear you down.  The last thing you can afford right now is to become burned out.

It is so much easier - and more lucrative - to have an army of salespeople out there bringing new clients to you. These are your past clients.

One agent I know spends 80% of her time just fielding referrals.  How?  Years ago, she realized the value of past clients. Since day one, she has stayed in touch with everyone she has ever done business with.  It has paid off for her so much that her phone rings at least once a week with a new referral.  Wouldn’t you like to be in that position?

(Be careful. I’m not suggesting you don’t prospect.  Don’t forget - this agent has built her list over three decades.  Yes, it takes time.  But look what consistent follow-up did for her business!)

By having a strong follow-up plan targeted at your past client database, you will sustain your business longer with less upfront effort.  This frees you to focus on other tasks or totake time off - which is a mandatory element of being successful.

Follow-up doesn’t need to be consigned to your past clients, either.  Why not follow-up with the people that you come across in your daily travels?

Recently, in my Evolve! group, I asked agents to list every single person who is even remotely on their radar - people who might buy or sell a house in the next year.  Then, I asked them to hypothetically assume they would take action.  I had them calculate how much money that would mean to them.

The numbers were startling.  This hypothetical analysis showed them the possibility that existed with those clients, if only they can keep in touch with them until the clients are ready to move forward.  The sad fact was many of those agents did not have any kind of follow-up system in place … even when they knew that the clients would likely take action soon!

In order to do follow-up well, it’s important to have a system in place.  That system details exactly what to do every month of the year.

Here’s a great example of effective follow up:

• Six times a year, send an article about what’s going on in the real estate market.
• Four times a year, send a quarterly report that compares the previous year’s quarter to this year’s quarter.
• Once a year, send an Annual Client Review.
• Once a year, send a forecast for the coming year.

That’s twelve pieces to keep you in the minds of your clients-one for each month of the year.  Now that is a powerful follow-up program.  And you’ll notice that not one element of the system involves recipe cards, automotive tips, or suggestions for maintaining good health.  Your follow-up system must be focused solely around real estate.

Follow-up is the essential foundation of any real estate agent’s business.  If you’re not doing well with your follow-up, take some time to get it in order.  Ask yourself what you can do to make a connection with your clients RIGHT NOW.