đśThe other day, my guy and I were talking about something being taken personal. Itâs nothing personal he was saying someone else had said. Then he actually quoted from The Godfather, âItâs all personal, every bit of business.â Only I upped that movie quote with my own.
âAll that means is that it wasnât personal to you. Well, it was personal to me. Itâs personal to a lot of people. And what is so wrong with being personal anyway? Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.â
Thank you, co-writers Nora and Delia Ephron for that dialogue in Youâve Got Mail.
Whatever anything in your business ought to be, it ought to be personal.
Donât take that the wrong way, but you know having a thick skin is part of our business mode. Most advice is to not take anything personal. And thatâs true.
Rejections arenât personal, not fitting well with an editor or a project isnât personal, styles of writing and tones of voice you canât hit arenât personal, and not getting the gig is nothing personal.
But again, all that means is itâs not personal to them. Itâs personal to us.
đ So rather than remove all emotion in business, and rule and make decisions by rote impersonal and indifferent means, make it personal.
Do you actually like that client? Good.
Do you have something in common with the content youâre creating? Even better.
Do you have a gut feeling about the rate you should charge or the push back you should give on a project? Go with it.
Do you like to offer more, show up early, deliver on time, provide extrasâŚjust because thatâs who you are? Do it.
Contrary to the hardcore business principals you have read about or the ruthlessness thatâs often synonymous with being successful in business, making it personal is just one way you can stand out to your clients.
Hereâs some ways to make it more personal:
     Do at least some work that you find meaningful.
   Go out of your way to leverage diverse perspectives and different cultures in your work.
        Craft a delightful experience for your clients.  Why is that so important? Because 20 percent of your customers are responsible for 80 percent of your sales. Thatâs right, the old 80/20 rule. Why spend so much time wooing the 80 percent you donât have yet when you may get more ROI by taking really, really good care of the 20 percent you already have?
Put equal effort into keeping the clients you have as you do trying to land new clients. We know clients can jump ship at any time for any reasonâbudgets, taking it in-house, pandemic, anyone?
With that in mind, make sure the bloom hasnât faded on your client relationships and continue treating them as you would a new client you were trying to land. That means you court them a little, think of them often, send them interesting stuff, ask them how itâs going, get feedback. How would you want to be treated? Keep a running tally of all the ways you can woo your current client relationships.
Be authentic. If a client doesnât like you or get you, theyâre not your client. And it likely will end poorly anyway. Spend your time and interactions with clients being your unique and authentic self and seeing if their unique and authentic self is a match. Clients are pretty sharp. They donât need to be âplayed.â They donât need to be coddled. They need truth, connection and on the up and up communication. Think of it as the know/like/trust principle. Once they know you and like you, they trust you to steer them right.
For me, I find it is personal. Make it more personal.
Who/ What/ Where to Watch?
Contrary to popular business belief, you donât get ahead being a jerk. This TreeHugger piece says nice guys donât finish last afterall.
Primer on self-publishing. Jane Friedman lays it all out here.Â
Need a new read?25 books to discuss this month.
Iâve been wanting to do a Free Little Library for several years and still havenât! Hereâs one account of how itâs bringing neighbors together during the pandemic.
Just because weâre getting used to the pandemic, donât forget about incorporating time for yourself.Ryan Holiday knows how to capture my heart with such profound thoughts on finding stillness these days.
Seen on Twitter
Take a Virtual Mastermind with Me!
Six Figure Freelance Mastermind Magic #6FFMM
* sessions are limited to six participants.
Come scale up with us.
Whether youâre looking to make more money, land more clients, add niches, offer a new value proposition or just go in a different direction, and want to mastermind your writing business ideas Or problems, a virtual mastermind can be very valuable.
Virtual mastermind groups meet via video conference weekly for 6 weeks.
Each week a different member of the group is in the hot seat and the power of group-think will help them with their business pain points and problems.
Plus, every week you get a chance to roundtable with other writers, and throw out your own conundrumsâsomething sorely missing from our usual week to week.
Masterminds are a great way to scale up, reach higher and give your business a needed boost. All levels and types of writers welcome.
Cost: $250 for six week Mastermind.
Contact me at jennifer@byjennifernelson.com to sign up.
The power of mastermind lies in group think when everyone comes together to make your business better. It really is like magic!
Stay healthy and safe!
See you next week,
Jennifer