The same principle holds true for you as well. To open closed doors and to increase activity in today’s marketplace, you must leverage your resources. Resources are a combination of three things: people, processes, and profits. By leveraging each of these and stretching yourself a bit, you can increase your results dramatically. Let’s address each of these to help you think how you’re running your practice.

Leverage people by creating a board of advisors. A board of advisors is typically made up of clients and centers of influence in your target market. I would encourage you to have a board of advisors for each market that you’re targeting. A board of advisors allows you to gain insight into the marketplace and, by meeting with them quarterly, you can gain enormous insight into what motivates people like them to make a buying decision in your favor. They can also give you advice as to the proper approach, the improper approach, the type of competition that you face, and perhaps most importantly, additional credibility working within a market.

Leverage people by cultivating your existing clients and prospects. By cultivating your clients and staying in touch with them 3 or 4 times a year, you have the opportunity for not only repeat sales, but to cross-sell other products and services.

Leverage your processes by selecting the right technology. The emphasis today is on high-tech, and rightly so. To leverage your high-tech, be certain that the outcome of your high-tech efforts is to increase your high-touch. People buy from people they know and people they trust. Be sure your technology choices increase your ability to become known to and trusted by your clients.

Leverage your processes by carefully selecting the people with whom you do joint work. Be certain that the individuals with whom you do joint work have the expertise necessary to enhance your value to your clients. Be sure that joint work relationships that you build allow you to offer a wide range of products and services to your clients so they actually see you as a resource. Joint work is a vital part of the industry and is becoming increasingly necessary. Just remember, a good name is better than riches.

Leverage your processes by having an ongoing marketing and prospecting system. In today’s tough prospecting environment, a systematic approach will help you maximize the efforts that you put forth and the return that you receive. It will also ensure that your pipeline is continually full of high-quality prospects who know what you can do for them and want to do business with you. If you have a system, you have fewer prospecting and marketing problems, however, if you do not have a system, you typically have an ever-increasing number of prospecting and marketing problems.

Leverage your profits by investing in services. Ask yourself how many people could hire you today for $10 an hour. How about $15 an hour? Of course, none of you would seriously consider working for that amount of money. However, after you read this article, how many of you will go back to $10 and $15 an hour jobs that are administrative in nature? The truth is that I can’t buy you for $10 or $15 an hour, but you’re willing to sell yourself short for $10 or $15 an hour. Let me encourage you to invest in services. If you’re a veteran, be sure your staff can handle the majority of the service work in your business so that you can focus on what you do best which is maximizing opportunities with decision-makers. If you’re a new producer, pool your resources with 2 or 3 other new producers in the office and hire someone to come in one day a week to handle your filing and paperwork. This will free you up to add more time to building your business and increasing activity.

Leverage your profits by investing in education. Attend seminars and other functions that educate you about the products and services that you sell. Be sure that you’re well-versed so that you can give the right advice and see additional opportunities that arise because of your advice. Take the time to get educated about the people with whom you are working. Most people say "No, I don’t want to buy from you" because they realize that you don’t know enough about them. Read their trade magazines, go to their functions, get involved in their organizations so that you can educate yourself about the people.

Leverage your profits by investing in sales and marketing efforts. It’s critically important today that you recognize that you need to spend more time with your prospects and less time in the office. As I’ve often said at my speaking engagements throughout the industry, your office is where you store things, the marketplace is where you sell things. I would also encourage you to invest in sales and marketing efforts so that you can be productive, not just busy. It’s very easy to get busy in today’s office environment. Whether you’re housed or detached, evaluate how you’re spending your time. Are you doing the things that will help you to achieve your goals? Are you delegating everything except advice? Or are you so busy running your business you don’t have time to grow it? Leverage your sales and marketing efforts by leveraging the resources available to you and thus get yourself in front of more high-quality people on a favorable basis.

Just as you’re proud to work in organizations that leverage themselves, so too will your clients and prospects be proud to do business with you because you’re demonstrating that you’re not just a small business, but that you’re a growing business. You’re leveraging your resources.

C. Richard Weylman serves as President of The Achievement Group, Inc., a Florida-based marketing firm and publishing house. He is the author of "Opening Closed Doors, Keys to Reaching Hard-to-Reach People" and numerous other sales, relationship marketing and management audio and video programs for entrepreneurs.  To receive more ideas and insight on how to market and prospect in today's competitive marketplace hear Richard Weylman live at www.unlimitedprospects.com.  To find out how you can have Richard speak at your next meeting or conference, call 1-800-535-4332 or email achieve@theachievementgroup.com. Enroll in Richard Weylman’s free emailed Relationship Marketing Tip of the Week at www.unlimitedprospects.com.