The world does not revolve around you.

Really, it doesn't .  Your mother was right:  if you want to make friends, you need to learn how to share and how to play nice with others. 

Your mother's advice for making friends applies equally to gaining clients or customers for your business.  We've already established that Nobody Cares About You.  If you want your business to succeed, you must change the way you think.  You must stop thinking about what you want and Think Like a Client. 

Thinking Like a Client enables you to view your products or services from a different perspective. 

You are an expert in your field.  You went into your field because you find it interesting and because you have a talent for what you do.  You may be enthralled with the latest and greatest developments in your field, and have a burning desire to be part of the cutting edge.  Your clients are not nearly so enthused about your world.

Remember why your client hired you. 

Your client came to you to get a problem solved.  Put your self-interests aside, and solve your client's problem.  Don't worry about what interests you.  Ask, instead, how can I meet my client's needs?

Clients do not hire advertising agencies to prepare a creative, award-winning ad campaign; they hire ad agencies to help them sell more of their goods or services.  Clients do not hire software programmers to see how many doodads and thingamabobs can be packed into a single computer program; they hire programmers to write software that helps them meet certain defined needs.  Clients do not hire lawyers to write scholarly treatises about obscure legal principles; they hire lawyers to give them meaningful advice on how to conduct their business or personal affairs. 

No matter what your industry, your client is interested in something different than what interests you and your peers.  You may overwhelm your peers with the brilliance of your cutting-edge development, and still fail to meet your client's needs.

Are you trying to impress your clients or your peers?

If you focus on impressing your peers, you may win awards and accolades from the people who think like you do.  If you impress your clients, however, you will win accolades from the people who hire people who do what you do. 

Once you start to Think Like a Client, a new world opens to your view.  You will stop doing business the way your peers do business, and begin doing business the way your clients want.  You may have to change the way you package your services, the way analyze your client's problems, or the way you bill for your services.  When you begin implementing those changes, you will identify additional ways to change your business practices, procedures, and services.  Those changes will help think less about your world, and focus on your clients' world.

Once you realize that The World Does Not Revolve Around You, your business will boom.

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Download a free copy of my newly designed e-book, "Ten Fatal Mistakes that Business Owners Make (And How to Avoid Them)" at http://www.gfrlaw.net/firmpublications.aspx. Our friends at Tactix Creative have done a fabulous job improving our message through meaningful visual communication. 

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