How to End Your Sleepless Nights

In October 2008, I walked out of the offices of The Gallup Organization for the last time. I had a great job, but I was miserable. You see, even though I made a great living, I could not live a great life. Why? I was constantly looking over my shoulder and worrying about what my boss would think. I was worried about losing my best clients. I was concerned about managing my workload. 

While at Gallup, I didn't have any financial issues. I made plenty of money. Yet I was miserable.

Just a year later, in October 2009, things had changed. I still had sleepless nights, but now, I was concerned about paying the bills. I had wasted the previous year in chamber of commerce meetings, paying for online ads, working on search engine optimization, and meeting with people not qualified to work with me.

Two different problems but the same result - sleepless nights. 

These days I spend a lot of time talking to professional service providers. Attorneys, accountants, consultants, bankers, and financial service providers confide in me. Want to know what keeps them up at night? 

Some worry about their financial future. "Will I be able to pay for my children's education? Am I saving enough for retirement? Will I have enough money to provide care for an aging relative?"

Some worry about their employment. "Is there enough work for the firm to support my compensation? Will I be considered for the next leadership position? Should I consider changing firms while the job market is favorable?" 

Some worry about getting everything done. "Have I overcommitted to this client? How do I tell my spouse I have to work this weekend? How can I delegate when I don't have time to teach an associate to do the work?" 

While these issues seem to fall into different categories, financial, job security, and workload, they all relate to one basic need:

Freedom

If you are lying awake worrying about any of the things I listed above, there is a solution:

Relationships

Money, job security, and managing workload and productivity are the most common issues, but you can solve them all with a good relationship development strategy. 

You can build a steady stream of clients if you have good referral sources. You'll always have opportunities to do your best work if you have good industry relationships. If you have an excellent reputation, people will want to help you by taking on some of your workload or joining your team. 

Relationships = Freedom

The road to freedom is paved by people who know you, like you and trust you. If you want to reduce or eliminate your sleepless nights, follow this path:

Step one: Identify your ideal clients, referral sources, and strategic alliance partners. This is essential. Only target people who are the BEST fit for you. 

Step two: Introduce yourself by delivering value. This value can come from education, referrals, or introductions to referral sources or promotional activities. The key is to lead with an external orientation. By this, I mean delivering value to these relationships without expecting anything in return. 

Step three: Follow up regularly and stay in touch. This is where many people drop the ball. Even if you provide enormous value to a referral source, they will not remember you if you don't remain in touch. Use email, direct mail, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and every available technological resource to stay connected with all your relationships. 

Step four: Ask for what you want. Occasionally, you can reach out to your community and ask for help. Ask for a client referral. Ask for a referral to an event planner to deliver a speech. Ask for a publishing opportunity. NOTICE: This step comes after delivering value and following up for a while. In other words, you've developed relationships first and earned the right to ask for something. 

We began this article by discussing freedom because that's what you want. The path to freedom comes from developing deep, long-lasting relationships. 

Warm regards,

Dave Lorenzo

The Godfather of Growth

Dave Lorenzo earned the nickname The Godfather of Growth because he helps people make offers their clients can't refuse. Also, he does favors. Those favors help you make a great living and live a great life. Call him now: (786) 436-1986