In my previous post, I discussed seven steps for growing business from existing clients, all centered around client service. This week’s focuses on you and offers practical tips related to the Account Growth Mindset.

1. Accept. Embrace. Repeat. You’ll only be successful at growing your business if you accept that doing so is one of your most important jobs as agency owner, because it’s downright critical to your agency’s very survival. You must approach it with passion, relish and fire-in-the belly. If not, as they say in Brooklyn, ‘fuhgeddaboudit”
2. Give Client Business Growth More “Share-Of-Mind”: As I’d mentioned previously, it’s easy to fall into the “today trap,” i.e. making sure current programs are being executed with excellence, putting out fires, increasing employee performance and satisfaction, etc.  These issues will fill your day if you let them. Don’t! Instead, dedicate more of your time to thinking about  a) the critical issues affecting your clients, today and tomorrow; and b) How much you want to grow business from existing clients and from where you’ll source this income. Book this think time on your Outlook calendar and defend it zealously. It’s that important.
3. Set annual, quarterly, monthly new business growth goals and deadlines: You don’t need me to tell you that you’ll increase your chance of achieving your new business growth goals if you put them in writing, if you attach a monetary amount to each client, if you articulate who on the team’s doing what (more about that in the next post), and you articulate a firm deadline for each action that will help the agency achieve its goals. But I told you anyway.
4. Take action weekly, daily! You’ve set annual, quarterly and monthly goals. Next, determine the actions you must take daily and weekly to achieve them.  And at risk of repetition: Book time to implement these actions in your Outlook calendar, and defend them zealously.
5. “Don’t try. Do.” I hope I won’t lose any fans when I share that I’m not a fan of Star Wars. But Yoda was right. When it comes to building business from existing clients,trying is simply not enough. Embrace the Account Growth Mindset. Follow these steps, use someone else’s, or make up your own. (I won’t be insulted!) But just do it. Because if you as agency owner/leader won’t, who will?

In the next post on growing business from existing clients, we’ll answer the question: “Just Who’s Job Is It To Grow Business, Anyway?” In the meantime, please leave a comment on what else you do to get into the Account Growth Mindset.