Email is Still The Best Way To Connect With Clients

Email is Still The Best Way To Connect With Clients

Let’s talk about the easiest, most fun way to reach clients, build relationships and make more cashola, shall we?

I often get asked how to build and retain a robust client list. I let people know that there is a secret tool that we all have in our back pockets— a tool that costs nothing to use and very little expertise to learn, but can give you an incredible return on investment and help you build a thriving community. 

That tool is email.

I know, I know— email? Email is boring. Email is pushy. And aren’t we all overwhelmed with too many emails nowadays anyway?

Well, email is effective. In fact, for every person on your mailing list, you can generally expect to make an extra $100 a year. That means that a thousand-person mailing list can net you $100,000! Not bad for words on a screen.

I began building my mid-six-figure business back when I had no idea what I was doing. In fact, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and I didn’t know it was supposed to be hard. I started with a mailing list of around two or three hundred people, and wrote poems I thought people might like to hear. One day I sent a poem called “A Prayer for the Capable.” It was an ode to the type of people who show up day after day, the type of people who make the world a better place by helping. 

That poem received an avalanche of response. People wrote to me saying they loved it— that they felt seen, or that they saw their loved ones in it. It was a beautiful moment of connection that showed me something I’d been missing— the key to email’s true power. 

Email is a bridge-making device. Communication is two-way. It’s like the excitement you might have had as a kid when you got a letter at camp or a postcard from a traveling friend. I wonder what they’re going to say? When you write to your clients’ hearts, you give them that feeling. The key is to write your emails as if you expect everybody to write you back. 

When you think of email as a conversation instead of a bombardment, you’re giving your clients a gift. It might be a moment of reflection, a moment of sweetness, a thought-provoking idea. You don’t have to be a great writer, and you don’t have to write a lot. The work lies in attracting people onto your list and feeding them a steady diet of great stuff. 

Want support and a chance to practice? Head over to www.therealsambennett.com/bunny.

Are you good at too many things?

Are you good at too many things?

My bio could easily read: “Sam Bennett is an accomplished teacher, bestselling author, career coach, producer, actor, businesswoman, meeting facilitator, improviser, sock-monkey maker, playwright, decoupage artist, popular LinkedIn Learner course creator, chronic over-thinker, amateur systems analyst and professional organizer, and she delights in cheerfully mentoring creatives and frustrate over-achievers on their way to great productivity and success.”

You see, who I am is not singular. The bio above is simply me turning my multiplicity of talents and skills into a statement that ***demonstrates*** that I am a multi-dimensional, Creativity and Productivity Specialist.

So here’s my #1 tip for multi-hyphenate people like you and me: Go with it.

You shine brightly in so many ways. So quit thinking that you need to “narrow down” and “just focus on one thing,” and start thinking about what the cumulative effect of your body of experience and your many skills and talents might mean for you then, please, share with us in the comments.

The One GIANT Mistake Everyone Makes That Is Killing Your Productivity

The One GIANT Mistake Everyone Makes That Is Killing Your Productivity

How is that you’re busy all day, every day, and yet the things that really matter don’t seem to happen.

Here’s the one giant mistake that I see people making over and over again – and it’s killing your productivity.

(I know it’s true because I do it, too.)

Here’s what happens:

You sit down at your desk or workspace. You’re thinking about the big things, the important things, that need to happen.

And then you say to yourself,

“I’ll just start with a few easy things. I’ll just check some email (or the Slack channel or social media or the news….) Just to make sure there are no fires that need to be put out. Then I’ll move on to that big project.”

And the next thing, you know, it’s three in the afternoon and nothing of consequence has happened.

This idea that you’ll “do something little to warm up” works for exercise, but not for getting the things that matter done.

Your brain works best when it is rested and uncluttered, and for most of us, that’s first thing.

So I want you to start doing the most important thing first. Even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

Do the thing that’s going to make a difference to you 90 days from now, first.

Update that LinkedIn profile.
Revise your resume.
Bang out a few paragraphs on that book.
Send an email to someone with whom you want to build a relationship.
Mentor a younger person.
Spend 15 minutes in prayer, breathing, or meditation.
Stretch.

There are so many activities that you can do for just a few minutes a day that will, if you do them every day, will, cumulatively, make a huge difference between the person you are now and the person you will be 90 days from now.

Go ahead and write down the one that is coming to mind for yourself right now.

Now, you don’t have to give up the idea of warming up and then doing bigger things for everything. For example, it works great for clutter clearing. You think, “Oh, I can’t do the whole basement. Okay. I’ll just do this a little bit. Well, okay. I’ll just do this next little bit.” and the next thing you know, you’ve made huge progress.

The “starting small” idea also supports working out. You think, “Ugh – I don’t really want to work out. Well, I’ll just go on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Well, now I’ve started, I might as well do 20 minutes. Now I’m already kinda sweaty….I might as well hit the weights.” Excellent!

There are plenty of circumstances in which it makes a ton of sense to sort of trick yourself by starting small and then seeing where you end up. But productivity is not one of them.

If you are going to create a positive feedback loop on being productive, you need to get a positive result; a result that is meaningful. To get a result that is meaningful, you need to focus on the things that are most important.

The highest joy-producing activities.

The highest income producing activities.

The things that will make the most difference to you – and your life – 90 days from now.

Start spending 15 minutes a day – first thing – on your important thing, and I guarantee you amazing results.

Want some support?

That’s why we created Get It Done Lab: An easy, fun, 90-day productivity sprint that will help you buckle down and focus on what really matters in your life, family, or business.

42 Easy Ways to Change Your Life In Just 15 Minutes a Day

42 Easy Ways to Change Your Life In Just 15 Minutes a Day

The following is a list of things that, done every day, are guaranteed to change your life.

 Which will you pick?

  1. Prayer/Meditation/Breathing
  2. Playing an instrument/Making music
  3. Stretching
  4. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
  5. Meal prep (prep a smoothie or a salad or a nice soup…)
  6. Clear 5 items from your closet
  7. Set up automatic withdrawals to savings, investments, IRA, charitable donations, etc
  8. Review subscriptions, credit card bills and auto-debits (to make sure you’re not paying for things you’re not using)
  9. Pat, play with or otherwise communicate with the animals in your life
  10. Take a walk
  11. Call your BFF for no reason
  12. Write a book
  13. Update LinkedIn or other professional profile
  14. Update CV or resume
  15. Reach out to old colleagues
  16. Social media for your side hustle
  17. Self-massage/Acupressure/Reiki/Fascia release
  18. Read poetry
  19. Gardening
  20. Write a love note
  21. Write a thank-you note
  22. Check in with a young person
  23. Clutter clear part of a drawer or shelf
  24. Spend an extra 15 minutes on your appearance
  25. Study another religion
  26. Read Shakespeare aloud
  27. Watch Ted Talks
  28. Coloring/Doodling/Zentangles
  29. Daily Self-Portrait
  30. Needlework/Mending
  31. Clear old files
  32. Daily orgasm
  33. Clear a bit of the basement/spare room/garage
  34. Calligraphy/Handlettering
  35. Listen to music
  36. Review finances
  37. Ask for a testimonial or referral
  38. Give a testimonial or referral
  39. Learn a language
  40. Genealogy research
  41. Gratitude List
  42. Cold plunge

 

Now, here’s the rub – you’re not going to do this, are you?

 

Even though you know that picking just ONE THING from this list and spending 15 minutes a day on it could change everything for you….

 

You won’t do it because you will allow yourself to get distracted….lose focus….let other people’s stuff take priority…find some other way to psych yourself out.

 

Ammiright?

 

So you need a NEW SYSTEM.

 

Which is why we created the Get It Done Lab: a 90 Day Productivity Sprint. 

 

  • You get to spend 15 minutes a day on your work – and there’s a daily accountability check-in if you want.
  • You get the Real Life Planner sent to your door – to keep all the cats herded.
  • You get 21 Days to Get Out of Your Own Way Audio Program – to adjust your mindset.
  • You get two live sessions a month with me – to dig deeper into your transformation.
  • You get a private FB group – if you want to connect with the community.
  • You get the JOY of watching yourself grow and change incrementally – and by leaps and bounds
  • You get to see the RESULTS of spending just 15 minutes a day for 90 days on something that’s meaningful to you.

 

Please check it out at https://therealsambennett.com/lab and see if it’s for you.

 

We start SOON – please join us.

Yep. This is going to be fun.

 

Sam’s Get it Done Lab has helped me to blow past some serious creative blocks and fall in love with the process. The process is now lifting me rather than crushing me. Thanks Sam! I can’t wait for the next session to start. – Beth Jaffe

 

I am super excited and happy about the shift that is already occurring in me with the little I have done already…. – Jodi Johnson

 

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to take part in Sam’s Get It Done Lab because except from great advice from the rockstar herself, it’s a perfect way to get consistency in continuously being exposed to thinking/working on your projects – and in the most friendliest cheerleading mategroup. – Roosi

Ode to the Busy

Ode to the Busy

I see you
Making life easier for everyone else.
 
 
The way you are patient with the clerk
Pick up yet another errant sock
Get another mostly homemade meal on the table
Plus extra in a tupperware for the ailing neighbor.
 
 
“Busy” is a word you left behind long ago
Because it implies that there is a world – or a day –
In which you are not busy.
 
 
In every moment you are working, planning –
Juggling –
Giving your warm-hearted attention to this issue and the next
To this needy person and the next.
 
 
And it seems like being strong and capable is
Its own punishment
Every moment a sharp-toothed hydra, growing two heads for
Each one you think you’ve handled.
 
 
Everyone turns to you.
Every problem is yours to solve.
 
 
And you still feel as though maybe you are not
Doing enough.
 
 
The painful fear of failing is
Worse than the fatigue
 
 
So you keep going.
 
 
Luckily, you have an excellent sense of humor
And a love of long walks
And three close friends on speed dial.
 
 
And you are excellent at counting your blessings.
 
 
Blessed are those in back-to-back meetings, for theirs is the patience of mountains.
 
 
Blessed are those who are annoyed by willful ignorance, for theirs is a righteous fury.
 
 
Blessed are the uncomplaining, for theirs is a peaceful surrender to the inanities of the world.
 
 
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for carbs and wine, for they shall be comforted.
 
 
Blessed are those who dance in the kitchen
Make time for family game night
Say, “I love you” at every single opportunity
Ignoring the eye rolls of the young ones
As you go out of your way to make an
Ordinary moment
A memory.
 
 
Because it is the memories that matter.
A legacy of moonlight on mown grass
And a quick hug.
 
 
You are indeed as busy as a bee – the Queen Bee –
 
Sensitive to the hum of the whole hive
Filled with sweetness and good medicine
 
 
The center of the whole eco-system, really.
 
The center of the benevolent hum.
 
 
 
©2022 Sam Bennett