About half my efforts are spent working with lawyers, physicians, and other professionals. They are among my client base since they rely upon the proprietary software and business smarts that they obtain from us to run their businesses. But (unfortunately?), not all of these type of folks employ our services. And, I’m amazed at what I see when I examine new clients’ business systems.

Can you believe in today’s day and age that lawyers, doctors, health professionals, or accountants actually print their own business cards? Oh, sure, we’ve all done it. You can buy the business card stock at Staples or Office Depot (produced by Avery and its competitors). And, with today’s great printers (especially those color wax printers) you can almost get away with it.

But, you can’t. Unless your potential client is a slug, they will notice the little bits of perforations on the edges. And, they will wonder about your business. Not the first impression you want to leave.

Unless, of course, they’ve seen your website already. Does it work on cell phones or tablets? It darn well better, since there is better than a 60% chance that is how your potential client is going to find you. (I am not even mentioning the penalty the search engines [Google, Bing, etc.]  impose on you for failing to address this issue.)

The only thing worse about not making sure your website is mobile-friendly is to NOT have a website. So, your customer doesn’t know you are in business, what you offer, or worse yet- think you are ill equipped to handle their needs.

Which means it’s now time to ask why the heck your eMail address ends with hotmail, outlook, or gmail. Really? Are you that cheap that you can’t spend $ 10 to $ 20 to obtain a relevant domain for your business and employ real eMail?

And, when did you have that photo taken? 20 years ago? At CVS to use for your passport? Or maybe you scanned your license photo, thinking it would be adequate? No, you need a professional photo- proving you are confident, knowledgeable, and approachable. Which kinds of matches your bio page, upon which you’ve put that photo. This is your chance to tell folks why you do what you do, why you are good at it, and why you love helping them. Not just the business aspects of your life, but about you- so folks can feel connected.

Your twitter account, your other social media accounts- they need to be listed on your bio page. And, they have to be active. You need to engage folks, letting them know you know what’s going on. Or, you won’t get them to come to you when they have something in their lives that needs addressing.

And, while the internet is great, real life is far more important. So many of our clients fail in this aspect, too. They say they are shy, they are anti-social. That may be true- but it also means that they are hungry. Because if you don’t network and/or attend events, then you don’t meet potential clients. And, your competitors are- which means they are stealing your lunch.

It’s time to program your business success. No, it’s way past time.

 

As an aside, today is an auspicious day for my brother.  A birthday event that ends in a 0.  Happy birthday, Neil.   Make sure this zero is anything but.