How to Select The Best Clients To Work With

All too often, I talk to resume writers who are struggling with getting clients. My top advice for every resume writer is to establish a niche and become known as a specialist -- you're actually more likely to get more business by being a specialist than a generalist. (And yes, your niche doesn't have to be limited to a specific industry -- it can be geographic specialization, or specializing in career changes, or being an expert in return-to-work jobseekers.)

As a resume writer, you'll likely have moments when you wish you had turned down a client. Sometimes it's difficult to know if a client is right for you. Being able to choose the clients best suited to work with you ensures you have a more successful business. It makes sense -- yet resume writers get into trouble when they don't know themselves well enough, or they don't trust their gut.

Here's some strategies to help ensure you're picking the best clients to work with.

Know Your Strengths
Sometimes a client project doesn't go well simply because it's not suited to your strengths. For me, that's working with military transition clients, and IT professionals. Believe me, I can write for both types of clients -- but I don't like to, and that's the big difference. When you're writing for a type of client you don't enjoy, the project will likely be a constant challenge. You'll work harder and longer to complete it and end up essentially lowering your hourly value. Yet when you work on a project that speaks to your strengths, you finish on time, the client is happy, and you earn a loyal customer. (I love writing sales and marketing resumes, for example. They energize me, and I have hit quite a few "home runs" writing these types of documents for clients.)

When you're writing for clients in industries that are difficult for you, your work is a struggle. Clients that suit your strengths don't adversely affect your morale. You're able to maintain a positive mindset. This is key for long-term success.

Know What Your Ideal Client/Project Looks Like
Write down what your ideal clients and projects look like. What makes them good projects or clients?
For example, do you prefer working with specific industries? With individuals at a particular level of the job search -- i.e., entry-level vs. C-level? For those who are staying in the same industry, or career change? For those who are employed and looking for a better job, vs. those who have been unemployed for a while? (I don't know many resume writers who enjoy writing for chronically unemployed folks. It's a tough gig.)

As for projects, do you prefer writing just resumes, or do you like also writing the supporting job search documents -- cover letters, thank-you letters, letters of introduction? Do you enjoy helping clients develop or enhance their LinkedIn profile? What other services do you like to provide -- career assessments (DISC?), interview training, salary negotiation coaching? Do you like writing resumes from scratch vs. doing updates?

Make a list or create a paragraph description of what types of projects you like and perform well on. Then, when you have a choice to take a job or to pass, you can refer to your list to help you decide.

Take a Look at Your Schedule
Sometimes it's easy to say yes to a job even when you don't have the time to get it done properly. The result is that you either get very stressed and feel burnt out, or you complete the project but it's not your best work. Make sure you have the time and energy to complete any project you commit to. It can be difficult to say no to a project, especially when you want to earn clients; however, saying no may be the better decision. (Consider partnering with other resume writers and making referrals for projects that aren't a good fit. A 15% referral fee is standard in these arrangements.)

As a resume writer, it often takes time and some few hard-learned lessons to learn which jobs are the best ones to take and which to pass on. Don's hesitate to say no. All clients are not good clients. You'll find the right ones. You'll find great clients. You'll learn to identify the PIA (pain-in-the-a$$) clients. I've learned a couple of things that are my signals for a bad client -- like a wife calling on behalf of her husband. That may work for you, but I've found those clients are a bad fit for me.

Work hard, know what you want from clients, and select the best clients for you to work with.

What Should Be In Your Media Kit?

Your media kit (sometimes called a “press kit”) may include:

• An advance news release. This is used to announce a time-oriented event or activity, such as announcing a seminar you are sponsoring. 

• A backgrounder. This document provides detailed or in-depth information about an issue, a product or service, or your business. 

– For example: You reach a significant anniversary — this news release provides the history of the business up to this point. 

– Or: You issue a quarterly or annual report about local economic or labor conditions to coincide with national employment projections. 

• Feature news releases. These news releases often result in “profiles” in the local media. Take a key topic and provide your perspective. 

– “Unemployment numbers are misleading,” resume writer says. Then explain why you believe this is so, backing up your opinion with facts. 

• The follow-up. Sent out after an event to report results. 

— If you had a contest for “the worst resume ever,” issue a news release that you’ve selected a “winner” and include a copy of the winning entry and also the made-over resume.

• Your picture. Get a professional head-and-shoulders photo of yourself taken. 

• Information about you. Your brochure or a written description of your current business, the services you offer, and your biography (or your resume or vitae). 

• History of business. How you got to be where you are — when you started, what you’ve accomplished, how it’s changed. 

• Previous media coverage. Reprints of articles about you that have appeared in other publications. Remember, publicity begets publicity.

For more information on publicity, attend my free "Feed the Media" call on Wednesday, Nov. 9. 

Guest Post: Business Success: It's Not All About Finding Your Niche and Growing Your List

Guest blog post by Sandra Martini
This past weekend I was involved in a hit and run car accident. As witnesses pulled around me to continue on their day, I started thinking about personal responsibility.

Obviously the person who hit me wasn’t taking any.

Then a flashback to a call with a potential client a few weeks ago (yep, I’d moved the car out of the road by this point) where she said “none of my previous coaches know how to teach and that’s why [her] business isn’t succeeding.”

And on to several business owners who have said, and continue to say, something to the effect of:
“I don’t have time to connect with my clients each week”
“I don’t have time to read and comment on industry blogs”
“I hear your 30-day training is great, but I’m too busy to sign up, read each daily message and take action on it”
“Sounds like a great book, but I don’t have time to read it”
“I didn’t have time to follow- up with those I met at the event – I’ll do it next week” (note: “next week” never comes)
“I’m too busy trying to get clients to create a plan”

You get the idea. Excuse after excuse after excuse. And usually wondering why things aren’t going the way they hoped.

Reality:
We’re ALL busy. And most of us think we’re busier than we are.
Our clients are busy. Our vendors are busy. Our colleagues are busy. Those who succeed learn to manage their time and focus on those activities which will best serve their goals.
As a business owner, even the owner of a lifestyle business, we occasionally need to make sacrifices –- get up an hour earlier, work on a Saturday morning/evening, whatever to finish something we committed to.

It’s tough to stay on top of all things, all the time -– especially when we combine business with a personal life.

I know this and experience the same and when I’m tempted to make an excuse, I remember something my Dad said long ago: “whatever you accept, you get more of” -– start accepting excuses (even from yourself) and you’ll get more of them.

As the market becomes more competitive and clients become more discerning about where they invest their money, you want to ensure that you’re known for the *right* things: providing value and doing what you say you will…in addition to the *what* of what you do.

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My Request to You:

Before we can move forward, let’s clean up anything that needs attention:
Grab your “to do” (or “Action”) list. You know…the *big* one.
Look over it and put stars or highlight anything that “should” have been done by now -– starting with things that are owed to clients, colleagues, vendors, etc.
Make a commitment to yourself right now that you’ll assume personal responsibility in all things going forward, knowing that it means you’ll have to say “no” to things which don’t fit or you don’t have time for.
Set aside a day this week to catch up on those things which need catching up on (delegate what you can, do the rest).
Smile and give yourself a reward for getting caught up.

Moving forward. . .
Take time to identify your personal and business values.
Each morning think about your top five values and act with intent throughout the day.

Taking consistent action and living your life/managing your business according to your values will ensure that you’re on track for a life on your terms. And if those values include integrity, personal responsibility, value, Extreme Client Care™ and constant learning, you’re well on your way to success and the life you envision.

It’s the millions of little things we do and choices we make, every day, which determines our business success or failure.

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If you liked this article, you'll want to hop on over to www.SandraMartini.com for more comprehensive business building and marketing strategies, articles and resources. Sandra Martini, a Small Business Mentor, founder of Escalator Marketing™ and creator of the Escalator Profits Program™, teaches small business owners and entrepreneurs how to build sustainable businesses without losing their integrity or their minds.

Writing Better Content -- from Resumes to Blogs!

As a resume writer and as a publisher, I'm always looking for ideas on how to improve my copywriting skills, because words are at the heart of everything I do. Copywriting (defined) is "the art of writing to sell or achieve a specific goal." Whether we're writing to get our clients the interview (resume/cover letter) or to get prospective clients to call us (article writing/blog), we need to be creating good content.

Headlines!
The headline of your article or blog post is vitally important. It motivates people to read your article. The same is true with the resume. A good headline (outlining our client's value proposition) can entice the reader to continue reading. The longer they read the resume (and/or cover letter), the more likely your client is to get an interview. Most resumes get anywhere from 15 to 60 seconds of attention. A good headline can help get the first 15 seconds ... good content in the resume can get it 60 seconds or more!

These techniques work for articles and blogs (starred ones work for resumes and cover letters):
* Ask a question
* Make a promise*
* Offer a benefit*
* Arouse curiosity
* Appeal to emotions
* Use numbers*
* Make an announcement

Call to Action
Once you've motivated someone to read your content, make sure they take action. This ties back to the purpose or goal for your article or blog post. (The purpose of the resume and cover letter is to get an interview; the action we want the hiring manager to take is to call the client!)

If you're writing a blog post and want people to read more about you on your website, then include a few relevant links at the end of your article. Tell them to click on the links to learn more about your niche. Always include some sort of call to action, even if you just want them to leave comments on your blog.

Use Examples
One great way to really get your reader involved in your content is to use examples. In a blog post you can use personal examples. In your article content you may want your examples to be more general. In a resume, it's about CAR (Challenge-Action-Result) examples.

Examples help paint a picture for the reader. Instead of just telling them something, you're showing them too.

Visual Aids
More and more content online is also using visual cues to make it interesting to the reader. Although you can include graphics on resumes and cover letters, you don't need images to create an impact. Your cover letter can incorporate subheadings, bold lettering on words that need to grab attention, and bullet points to draw the eye down. (Take a look at sales letters for examples of how to incorporate these tactics.) In addition to formatting your content for easy online reading, consider using photos (of a key client project for example -- not of your client), graphics (sales achievement graphs or profitability charts), and other images to help inform your reader.

It's not uncommon for a blog to include a photo in every single blog post. Additionally, if you're writing a how-to article, you might include a few demonstration photos. (Or before-and-after resume examples.)  If you're writing a review (of a career-related book, for example), you might include an image of the product you're reviewing (book cover, or photo of the author). And if you're writing an informative article, you might include graphs, charts, infographics, or screenshots.

Using a few handy copywriting tactics for your content can help improve readability and reader response and it can help you achieve better content marketing results. Try implementing a few of these ideas -- for your own projects, or your clients' -- and watch your results soar.