10 Ways Showing Gratitude Now Can Increase Your Future Income

As we head into the season of giving, now is a great time to show appreciation to your clients and customers. Taking the time to give thanks to your clients will set you apart, increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire more sales, and deepen relationships that last long after the initial sale.

Here are 10 easy ways you can say thank you to your clients:

1. Greeting Cards

My husband often teases me that I should own stock in Hallmark for the amount of money I spend a year on cards. I love to send cards, for a specific reason or for no reason at all.

For business, you've probably heard of SendOutCards (and no, I'm not an affiliate or a distributor). I get a lot of cards this way, from colleagues, and it definitely deepens the relationship for me. And it is a super-easy way for you to do that with your customers too.

2. Personal Notes

I love to send personal notes too. I have specially designed notecards that I send when I just want to connect with someone after a particularly powerful coaching call, when someone makes an investment in Platinum, when I've made a special connection with someone in person, or when a client just needs a little cheer.

3. Invitations

One of the things you can do for your top clients is to invite them to a special event just for them. It can be a lunch or dinner at an event you'll all be at, or carve out a portion of your own live event to spend time just with them.

You can also invite them to special teleseminar or webinar where you offer them free content just for being your top clients.

4. Small Gifts

Flowers, books, a mug, or something more specific are all thoughtful gifts for clients. They can be sent for certain occasions or just because (that's actually my favorite way to send a gift).

5. Gift Cards

These days you can get gift cards for almost any product or service. Some companies, like Starbucks, offer having your logo or business name imprinted on them. Other ideas besides coffee include restaurants, movies, bookstores, office supplies and online vendors like Amazon.

6. Referral and Affiliate Rewards

Even if your referral or affiliate programs offer a commission on each referral, sending a personalized note along with it will go further in encouraging your network to continue to promote your offers into the future.

7. Reverse Referrals

Whenever appropriate, refer your clients and customers to others whom they will benefit from. Making this a part of the way you run your business will come back to you ten-fold as it shows the Universe your belief in abundance.

8. Customer Appreciation Days

Pick one day a year to designate as a Customer Appreciation Day to celebrate your clients. Make a special offer only to them and make a lasting impression.

9. Host Events

Host a gathering at the next event where your clients and customers are likely to gather. A Tweetup is a popular way to connect with both current and prospective clients and they are super-simple to set up and cost you nothing but a bit of time. You can also hold a virtual event anytime you want to bring your clients and customers together.

10. Life Events

Weddings, baby showers, major moves, book contracts, big speaking gigs, TV spots, or any other major event warrrants an acknowledgment. A nice card or personal note, or even a quick phone call, will make you memorable for sure.

In what ways are you showing gratitude to your clients and customers? Feel free to share below!

(c) 2009 Alicia Forest

About the author:  Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com

3 Mindshifts from Ali Brown’s SHINE

Last week, I shared the 3 a-ha's I had from attending Ali Brown's Online Success Blueprint Workshop about a year ago (if you missed it, you can read it here).

Now I'd like to share with you some of the insights I came away with from attending SHINE (other than the fact that I really dislike Vegas – ugh).

1. I'm still not a joiner…

After Ali's event last year, I realized that I'm not a joiner. It became very clear to me how much an individual I am at that event – in a good way. Meaning that I've become very comfortable and confident in my own skin, in who I am as a person, both personally and professionally, without even realizing it. And my mindshift then was this, "My success does not depend on the 5 people I surround myself with. My success depends on me."

I've since modified it to this:

Mindset Shift: My success depends on me, AND is enhanced dramatically when I surround myself with the right people.

2. I'm still not a competitor…

Once again, I met so many success-driven AND purposeful business owners who validated my belief in abundance, that there is more than enough for everyone – and then some.

My mindshift a year ago was "I don't compete. I don't compare. I just am."

A slight modification now…

Mindset Shift: I don't compete. I don't compare. I just am shining my unique brilliance.

3. I'm still not your average mompreneur

Ok, this one actually did shift quite a bit for me. There were some amazing women at the event who also have families. Women who've built milllion-dollar businesses in just the last year or two. And I admire and applaud them for what it must have taken to make that happen.

What I realized is that, for me, is either I'm not that driven, competitive or want to work that hard. Perception is everything, and this is simply my own.

Mindset Shift: I'll make my million – on my terms, in my time.

So what do these mean? For me, it means that I'm stepping into the next higher vision of myself and my business, in the way that is most meaningful and authentic to me. It means that I'm embracing the role of the woman business owner who is as serious about her business as she is about her family, and that her family comes first.

It means I'm ready to blaze the trail and keep the light burning for those who want to design their successful business around what's most important to them. For me, that's my family. For you, it might be something else.

What to come along? Feel free to leave your comments below…

(c) 2009 Alicia Forest

About the author:  Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com