We all hear every day about how there's a possibility of a global recession. No matter where you are in the world, you've probably heard about the housing marketing crash in the States. Depending on where you live, you might be hearing daily that the UK housing marketing is also looking grim.

Whether a global recession occurs or not, there will be people whose businesses go under simply because of the speculation about a recession.

Most clients who book appointments with you both enjoy whatever service you provide and can clearly see the benefits of this service. If they didn't, they wouldn't have booked in the first place.

For example if a client books a massage, they can clearly want a massage and they know they will feel better afterwards. Or for someone who gets their hair cut, they know their hair is going to look better for it and they can look in the mirror afterwards and get proof of this.

In the latest book from Ken Blanchard's "The One Minute..." series called 'The One Minute Entrepreneur - The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business' he gives an interesting definition.

"Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivational environment for your people"

If you look after your customers they will come back to buy again and if you motivate your team, they will help you build your business.

Now if you've read the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, you'll know that loyal clients who come back and back don't just jump at you out of nowhere. To attract and retain clients who rave about your business, you have to be providing a technically great service backed by good business practices, all of which needs to be delivered with a smile.

In fact, Michael Gerber talks about in his book that the key reason most businesses end up failing is because the person who started the business was what he calls an excellent technician but not someone who is strong at understanding what's required from a business perspective.

There are a million and one ways of marketing. However the key to success in today's market is to make sure that instead of trying to 'sell' to your potential clients, you get their details, keep in contact and build a relationship with them.

This is called Lead Generation and it means that instead of a new customer just being a one-off bit of extra cash in your bank account, they become lifelong, happy clients who rave about you to all their friends!

Now there are two massive benefits to this approach:

1.

Having a strong database of people who want to buy from you is amazing. If you see a quiet month coming up you just send an offer out to your database and your booking diary and sales sheet will instantly be filled...

A strong database eliminates your downtime and it can maximize the time you do spend with clients. Whether you use your database to get more appointments, to sell more or even just to educate your clients, if you have a database that wants to hear from you, you are in control.

Spring is finally on it's way and it's reminded me of the importance of planning for success...

Last year I got out in the garden and did a complete overhaul. I watched several of those garden DIY shows, drew myself a little plan and then followed it.

I took quite a bit of time creating my plan and it included year round plants as well as seasonal flowers so that the garden would be enjoyable all throughout the year.

The Internet is such a big place that it is becoming increasingly critical to ensure that your website collects visitor's contact details.

Why? Because the alternative is that visitors click into your site, have a look around, think "hmmmm that's interesting, I think I might come back later and find out more when I've got a bit more time".

If you read my article a few weeks ago, you'll know that over Easter I painted my living room a lovely cream magnolia colour.

I'm a big fan of the property programs that are on telly at the moment so I while I was feeling all excited about how fresh and pretty my living room was looking, I decided I was also going to do a subtle feature wall.

There is a great deal of pressure due to the media and society as a whole to look and feel your very best. One way to do so is to turn to beauty therapists who specialize in an array of procedures. You may look polished and perfect but there is plenty going on behind the scenes to get you to that point.

Too many people though don't know what a beautician, hairdresser, or masseuse has to offer them.