You’ve got a list of prospective clients, right? Email addresses, newsletter subscribers, social media followers, maybe even a snail mail list.

You want to grow your list, right? Get more people reading your words, seeing your offers, responding to your calls to action.

Because the bigger the list, the bigger your client list will eventually become.

Yes or yes?

But the size of your list is only one factor. You can do more with a small list of the right people, who come to you the right way, than you could with a massive list of the wrong people.

Size matters, but not as much as you think.

Anyway, there are many ways to build your list and while some are better than others, there is one method you should always use.

Because it is not only the easiest way to build your list, it is more likely to bring you more new clients than many other methods.

It’s also free and you can start doing it immediately.

What is this magic elixir of which I speak?

It is to use your existing list to tell people about how you can help them.

Tell people they know about your services, your website, your free report, your offer, your event, your course, your newsletter, or anything else of value that might interest the people they know.

How do you get people to do that?

Ask them: “Please share that link with people who might like/want/need. . .”

Yes, there are other ways to get people to share, but asking them to do it is easy and works well.

If you’re not ready to do that, do this:

Continue to produce good content and trust your list to share it organically–because it is good content and they want people to see it.

“That’s a good idea, David. I know a few lawyers who need to see this. . .”

Yeah, like that.

People will forward your email or share your link, because they know people who would benefit from seeing it.

Anyway, enough said. Go forth and multiply your list.

If you want more ways to do that, check out my email marketing course.

What’s the best way to handle objections? The best way is to eliminate them before they occur.

That means providing enough information to prospective clients, on your website, in your presentations, and in your client meetings, so that all of their issues and concerns are addressed and there is nothing left to object to.

Give them the facts. Share the stories. Provide FAQ’s that deal with all the objections you commonly hear.

If money is a common objection, make sure you build the value of what they get. Show them how not hiring you would be more costly and explain the payment options you have available.

Deal with this issue in advance and you will get far fewer objections.

You won’t completely eliminate objections, however. What then?

It depends.

Sometimes, the best way to handle an objection is to repeat it back to the prospective client.

People often say things they don’t really mean or haven’t thought through. When they hear their own words repeated back to them, it causes them to re-evaluate their position. As they respond, they often answer their own objection.

Your conversation might go like this:

CLIENT: “I want to think about it”
YOU: “You want to think about it?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, I need a day or two”
YOU: “A day or two?”
CLIENT: “Well, maybe not that long. I need to see if this is something I want to do.”
YOU: “Something you want to do?”
CLIENT: “Well, I know I need to do this but it’s kinda expensive [the true objection reveals itself]. . .”
YOU: “Expensive?”
CLIENT: “Yeah, it’s a lot of money to me. But like I say, I know I need to do this and I guess I can put it on a credit card, so let’s get this going. . .”.

Sometimes, the best way to an handle an objection is to respond to it directly.

When the client tells you they want to think about it and you know the real objection is probably something else, like money, you might say, “I understand completely. It is a big decision and it is a lot of money. But you have to consider what might happen if you ignore this problem. As we discussed. . .” and go over the issues and possible outcomes again.

If you’re not sure what the real objection is, ask them. “What exactly do you want to think about? Is it the need? Is it the fee?”

Handling objections this way is sometimes referred to as “Feel, Felt, Found.” It is a way to validate the client’s position before you respond to and overcome their objection.

So, if they object to the fee, you might say, “I understand how you FEEL. A lot of my clients tell me they FELT the same way when they were in your position. But once we got started, they told me they FOUND that it was money well spent and they were glad they got this taken care of.”

Sometimes, the best way to handle objections is to ignore them.

You’ve handed the client a retainer agreement and pen and he tells says he wants to think about it.

Instead of saying, “Sure, just let me know,” and having him walk out, you say, “I can get started this afternoon and have everything done for you by next Tuesday. You will finally be able to move forward with your life. Today is the 15th; make sure you write the date here” and point to the blank for the date.

You’ll find that clients typically have the same four or five objections, not hundreds. Think about the last few prospective clients who didn’t retain you. What did they say? How did you respond? How might you have handled it differently?

Come up with two or three ways to handle each common objection and the next time they arise, you’ll be ready.

Want to make the phone ring? Here’s my step-by-step system.