Strike while the iron’s hot – Start new relationships when you are being successful. If you win that new client, tell everyone about it, this is when you at your most attractive to new prospects!

Two are considerably better than one – If you have a meeting arranged with a contact in a large organisation why not try someone else who holds budget elsewhere?

Anticipate a long session – Don’t fall into the ‘I’ll meet you for a half an hour coffee’ trap. Be bold and tell your prospect that you will need an hour to go through everything properly with them in the first instance. They will respect you more.

Say what you want – Set the boundaries early in the relationship. Tell them exactly what it is you can do for them and don’t make promises you can’t follow through on. Leave them wanting more… a happy client is a retained client.

Bigger isn’t always better – Everyone would love to win their dream client straight away. In reality these larger clients can be ‘more tricky’ to deal with and each silo doesn’t necessarily spend as much as the outward image may perceive. Be smart and go for the less attractive option that you could nurture and would be faithful for longer! Keep them happy then move onto the high maintenance larger client when you know you can handle them best. Of course if you are confident that you can attract and retain those dream clients from now then let’s go for them – it’d be rude not to!