“But remember this—if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.” -2 Cor. 9:6 (TLB)

When sitting down with potential clients, whether in brand building consultations, or to assist in their quest to improve the graphic elements of their organizations, we always find it interesting that their first concerns are often costs. Not what their returns on the initial investments will be.. Not our reputation and track record with our other clients.. Not what the quality of the finished products will be.. But COST. As an entrepreneurs, trust me, we get it. TheAIDG doesn’t have some unlimited credit limit or ever-expanding bank account, but we do understand the importance of planting seeds.

In what ways are you getting out the messages that your company is the company that your potential customers should be using? What is it about your service or product that makes you the clear choice in your industry? What are you investing? Or in this case, WHAT ARE YOU PLANTING? In the same way that farmers have to plant with a plan, you will need to as well.

Sometimes your planting will be investing an hour per day to do strategic social media implementation across several platforms. More often than not, your planting will take place in the form of networking with potential clients/customers. You will need to carefully water and tend to these relationships if you want them to grow into meaningful, long lasting harvests.. (please keep your fertilizer to a minimum though).. Find a networking event that is open to the public, show up confident with custom business cards in hand –yes, CUSTOM (that is unless you’re not unique, and in that case your cards won’t need to be either), and plant them directly into the hands of your future clients, customers, colleagues and friends. (My personal weekly goal is to plant TEN business cards in fertile land.)

In business (and in life), you get back what you put out.. So, change clothes and get out into the garden so we can plant successes.

- @ALLENIMAGERY