There is a constant debate between long and short-term goals in business.

When it comes to goals, most people want to make as much money in the shortest amount of time as possible. But, just because the sales are flowing does not mean you are establishing the client base that will keep the money running into your doors for years to come.

Sadly far too many businesses in the salon, spa and clinic sector are forced to close their doors every year due to a simple lack of funds. It is not that the demand for their services isn’t there, but usually that these businesses chose short-term instant cash over longer-term client base.

Yes, it’s really important to have sufficient funds right now to carry on doing what you do.  Of course it is.  But it is equally important to ensure you’ve got an eye on the future.  That you are working to build a client list that will sustain you over the years and allow your business to continue to flourish and grow.

In any field that provides a service of the holistic, hair, beauty or well-being sort, the consumer will first enter the doors in interest of what the business has to offer. But clients have options and they can and will be swayed to go elsewhere.

Whether and where they go normally depends on which businesses are doing regular marketing and building relationships with them. Clients can often be fickle in nature and need to be coddled to the point that they will choose your service for years to come because they love the service you provide.

That is the long term goal.

Sure, you can mark down your service price and grab a bunch of clients; take on too much work, make a quick buck and chuck out a quick marketing campaign, but there is a down side to this. If you don’t balance the immediate need for cashflow with building long-term relationships with those clients you could lose out.  The clients can go elsewhere and leave you with a dwindling bank account.

On the flip side of the coin, you can take care of each and every client as if they were the only client in the world. It might take some work, but that client will COME BACK! That client will TELL THEIR FRIENDS! And, that client will be there for years to come while your business grows and expands on an income that is steady and affluent.

Everyone wants to see that bank balance grow. Everyone wants to report a profit at the end of the year. But, in the wellbeing business there is a difference between making fast money and making long money. Long money is the money that is there 10 years from now and a long client base is one that takes time to acquire.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rebecca Kepple specializes in helping business owners massively increase their client base and profits.  To get instant access to her free insider secrets report ‘The Top 7 Secrets for Massively Increasing Your Client Base’ visit: http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/freedownload.

© Copyright Rebecca Kepple 2008

Want to use this article on your site or in your newsletter?  This article may be reprinted provided no part thereof is edited in any way and this resource box is included.

I mentioned the other week that we went out to Hanbury Manor for my birthday. It was so relaxing and the location was brilliant.

I’d seen pictures so I have to admit I expected the hotel to be gorgeous (which it was) but what I wasn’t expecting was such a phenomenal overall experience. In fact I’d call the service there truly amazing. Both the hotel and the staff really did go way above and beyond our expectations.

So it got me to thinking… when did you last experience amazing service? And I don’t just mean ‘good’ service. I mean truly amazing service.

Service so amazing that you want to tell others. Service so fantastic that when you enthuse about it, it makes others want to go buy from that business, just to get a taste of it themselves.

Giving amazing service really can transform your business. It turns your clients into raving fans. And raving fans turn their friends into your clients too.

So the question is, are YOU giving “amazing service”?

If yes, fantastic! If no, you should start (by the way, if you’re not sure, then the answer is probably no).

A great way to find out how your service rates, is to have someone mystery shop you.

The easy way is to give a gift voucher to a friend. Then ask them to give it to a friend of theirs, that they trust but you don’t know. Then that friend-of-a-friend can use the voucher to have a totally free service or treatment so long as they write to you after and let you know the ups and the downs.

You may find that they loved things you’ve never even realised you did. Which is great because you can then put more of an emphasis on them. Or you may discover you are missing things you didn’t even know you needed. Which is even better because the second you implement changes, you’ll see more clients returning and more clients referring friends.

PS… The building is obviously exceptional but what really got me was the massive attention to detail. Everything was spotless (literally) and whenever you wanted something, it was just right there. Coming back to the ‘real world’ on the Monday really reinforced what a wonderful experience it was to treasure!

PPS… Hopefully you’ve had an email about how to market your business online at really low cost (and with no technical expertise) but if you haven’t, the link is
http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/internetcourse.html. If you’re serious about attracting clients the easy way then take a look today.

This is my Mum outside Hanbury Manor - simply goregous (both my Mum and the manor!)

And this is my family at dinner - rather more formal than our normal dinner together but lots of fun!

When I first started, no one wanted to share with me how to build a successful business. There was only the slow, painful route of trial and error…

But nowadays with far-reaching power of the Internet, there is massive opportunity for you to grow your business even faster, cheaper and easier before.

And today I’m really excited to give you a SNEAK PREVIEW of my Complete Online Marketing Course that teaches you how to drive your sales numbers through the roof using the internet.

The course consists of 5 instructional videos where I share with you everything you need to know to magnetically attract potential clients to your website and convert those enquiries into some serious INCOME in your bank account.

In each video I explain not just what you need to know and do, but also physically show you examples so that it’s really crystal clear and super-easy to implement in your business.

Now while the course is complete and ready for you to purchase, I’m still working on the sales page so please excuse any spelling mistakes you might see! I’ll get them right before I release the course to the general public but for now I just wanted to make sure you got the first look in.

So to claim your sneak preview copy, go to
http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/internetcourse.html

To your success,
Rebecca

P.S. Thank you to everyone who sent in such lovely birthday wishes. I had an absolutely fantastic weekend away at Hanbury Manor and got to see some amazing 5-star service in action in the spa and restaurant. I’ll be popping some pictures up on my blog ]and letting you know some of the great tips and tricks I saw in the next week or so make sure to look out for those.

P.P.S. The ultra-low price I’ve set The Complete Online Marketing Course at won’t stay so ridiculously low forever. I can’t tell you when I’ll decide to put it up again but I will be doing it. So for now, the offer is yours but it won’t be for long. Take it or leave it but don’t regret missing out. If you’re ready to take action and
see some real results quickly, cheaply and easily, then claim your course today.

http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/internetcourse.html

I know you’ve probably heard me say this before but the time of writing down numbers on an index card is over.

There is no way to keep track of all your business connections on a tab of paper, let alone use those contacts to your advantage when they are sitting on top of the pile of work on your desk. Databases were created as tools to organize and prioritize and the time has come for you to learn all about the business contact database.

The database program most people are familiar with is Excel. There are several Open Source programs that are free and work in the same manner as this Microsoft invention. The FREE programs, I say again, work just as well as the expensive programs, so using the excuse of not being able to afford the database program is not going to work this time.

In fact if you don’t have an industry specific program or Excel, you can get started by using the Open Source OpenOffice suite of programs. Just go to http://www.openoffice.org to get your copy.

After you have fiddled with the program a bit and learned how to create cells, delete cells and manipulate your data, you have completed the toughest part of creating your business contact database. The next stop, adding those contacts.

When you organize the business contacts in a database format, you will have quick, easy and searchable business contacts to use every day in your health, beauty or wellness business. There is no way for you to spread the word about your business if you have no idea who to contact and when they need to be contacted.

The database stretches far beyond phone numbers as well. With home phones, business phones, cell phones, emails, home addresses, business addresses and more…there is no way to keep track of everything without a clear and concise workable format. That format is the database.

What Can I Do With My Database?

Once you set up your database with all of your contact information, you will be able to use that information to generate more therapy or beauty appointments, build relationships, keep in touch with your clients, grow your spa and hair business and much more. You need to use the most effective contact database available and that one is not on the Rolodex collecting dust in your office.

Your health & beauty business is dependent upon the whos and the whens. If you have a list a mile long of contact information for all of the essential people you need to run your business effectively, you need to place all of that information in one spot.

That spot is the database. And it’s the MOST important asset in your business.

If you’ve got a database you’ve got a surefire way to develop more regular clients so take control today and make sure you are using yours.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rebecca Kepple specializes in helping business owners massively increase their client base and profits. To get instant access to her free insider secrets report ‘The Top 7 Secrets for Massively Increasing Your Client Base’ visit: http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/freedownload.

© Copyright Rebecca Kepple 2008

Want to use this article on your site or in your newsletter? This article may be reprinted provided no part thereof is edited in any way and this resource box is included.

In the world of business there are those who naturally know how to market and those who find themselves learning the trade over time by trial and error. If you are in business you need make money, or you won’t still be in business 5 years from now. Which means you need to know the heart of matter inside out; the marketing!

How Does Marketing Work? - Marketing is a relatively simple concept. A product or service is created and a business aims to offer that product to the consumer. In order for the consumer to even know the product is available, that product needs to be introduced to the consumer; this is marketing.

While many people who work within the health, beauty and well-being sector of the business world believe their product is THE best one on the market, the consumer still needs to be convinced of that fact.

So while you’ve done all the therapy training, all the stylist courses, all the specialist health and well-being studies… your clients haven’t. They don’t know what you know about it all. They don’t know how your salon or clinic’s treatments, services and products can benefit them.

Bringing your product to the consumer, showing them the ways your product can better their lives or make their lives easier will convince them to choose that product and thus the sale is won.

The art of marketing is all about giving the consumer the information they need in order to trust in your salon or clinic’s product on the same level as you trust the product. They may never have the connection you have to the business, but they need to have the same, in depth information that convinced you to endorse the product.

Moving Them From the Street to You

When contemplating the marketing aspect of your business, you are essentially trying to make money. The customers you need to buy your product or service are out there, on the street, ready to hear what you have to offer. You need to go out there and get them.

Waiting in the background believing they will find you and your salon or clininc is simply not going to get you’re the success you want or the client you need in order to make your business into the money making machine it can eventually become.

Market, market, market and you will become the top-of-the-line, health, beauty and well-being product and service provider in your sector of the business world.

You can make the money and create the lifestyle you set out to have, you just have to go out there and get it!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rebecca Kepple specializes in helping business owners massively increase their client base and profits. To get instant access to her free insider secrets report ‘The Top 7 Secrets for Massively Increasing Your Client Base’ visit: http://www.wellbeingbusinesssecrets.com/freedownload.

© Copyright Rebecca Kepple 2008

Want to use this article on your site or in your newsletter? This article may be reprinted provided no part thereof is edited in any way and this resource box is included.