Do you enjoy your work? I do! If we want our prospects to use our services, we need to be enthusiastic and passionate about what we do. That means we need to feel excited, motivated and committed. Unfortunately we often see service providers just doing their job without any feeling, actually looking bored. If you're bored, how do you think your prospects and clients feel?

So, how can you change that and feel passionate about what you do? Have you ever had a great idea but never found the time to implement it? If you've had an idea to try something new, do it! Find the time or get some help. Make one small change that you can get really excited about. Your passion and enthusiasm will spread into everything you do. Your customers will feel it and will be more inclined to talk to others about what you do. Yes, it will help spread word-of-mouth marketing and result in referrals.

Perhaps you have an initial feeling of excitement for an idea but then thoughts of doubt and caution arise. Before you know it you've convinced yourself not to try that new idea. Why not feed that initial feeling and share your enthusiasm with others. Find a support group of others who are enthusiastic about their ideas and share your passions.

Have you ever felt down and been told to force yourself to smile? After a while you start to feel better. Try this - act passionate about what you do and you'll soon actually start to feel passionate. If you're feeling bored, pessimistic, fearful, ask yourself why. What's the worst thing that could happen if you tried your new idea? You'll often find it's not as bad as you think it's going to be.

So my advice to you today is, be passionate about your business! You'll feel better and your enthusiasm will spread.

What are you most passionate about?

You've gone to a networking event and met many new people. You know you should follow up. Yet making follow-up calls is very difficult for you because of the fear of rejection. You may feel 'they won't be interested', or 'it will seem like I'm being pushy'. Or you may feel you just don't have time to make the calls or that it just doesn't work.

What is the purpose of a follow-up call? To explore whether or not it would make sense to pursue a business relationship. A follow-up call is an opportunity to connect and learn more about the possibilities of working together. You've already met this person, so a follow-up call can be very simple. Here's an example:

"Hi, this is Sue Canfield. We met at the networking event on Wednesday evening. I wanted to find out more about your business. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

That's it! Ask them questions about what they do and they'll gladly tell you. When it's appropriate, tell them about your business and see if there's a way you can connect. Everyone else is nervous about making follow-up calls too. But you can have fun making these calls and grow your business.

Once you decide that making follow-up calls is important and can be an effective way to grow your business, you'll find that people actually appreciate that you took the initiative to make the call. These calls can even lead to referrals.

So, pick up the phone and make that call!