So choose your words carefully and use them wisely, making sure each one will endear your client to you.

5) EVALUATE YOUR IMAGE In movie "Blast From Past," lead character Adam Webber wanted to go girl-hunting in a nightclub, but his friend Eve quickly explained that he couldn't approach just any girl. Because based on way each one dressed, wore make-up, or even talked & moved, anyone could easily see what kind of women they were, "And for you I think we should go for someone 'sweet.'"

In dating this is called "making an impression." In marketing it's considered "creating a perception."

And in business, perception is almost as good as reality. Because your company/product/service is only as good as your customer/prospect THINKS it is.

So look at your website, logo, business cards & other materials, and determine kind of perception they're creating for your clients. Because these are also things that will determine kind of clients who will come to YOU.

6) BE YOURSELF Since we're also looking forward to turning these client interactions into long-term relationships, then it's also best to follow that age old advice our mothers used to give: "Be yourself."

Because no matter how witty/funny/sophisticated you'd like to make yourself out to be, if these characteristics don't come easily to you, then you'd only be wasting A LOT of energy trying to convince others that they do.

3 Tips For Going Steady -----------------------

So you've aroused their interest, they've visited your website, and they've even bought an item or two.

What do you do now to make sure they keep coming back, and actually enjoy doing more business with you?

7) KEYS TO YOUR APARTMENT Your website is your apartment, and this is where you'd like them to spend more of their precious online time.

So show them reasons to come back, give them unique usernames & passwords so they can come & go as they please, and remember exactly kinds of products they'd really like to see.

This is kind of personalized service that makes each client feel unique, and they'd be more likely to remember your business because you remember them so well.

8) CARDS & CANDY "Cards" are things you use to keep in touch with your clients (ezines, newsletters, email reminders), and "candy" is anything useful you can give to them for free.

Although these tokens seem small and easy to overlook, they are what actually keep any relationship healthy & dynamic (and I'm sure even wives and girlfriends out there would agree!).

9) SPECIAL DAYS & ANNIVERSARIES Finally, don't forget to celebrate your anniversaries, or your special business days.

These could be regular end-of-month inventory sales, mid-year special discounts, and unique holiday give-aways. If you keep them regular enough for clients to save up for and look forward to, they'll most likely do their part to make these days special for you, too.

While it may be true that there are no hard-and-fast rules for perfect client relationships -- or for romantic ones, for that matter -- knowing these useful guidelines will always help...

....especially when you want to find those clients who'll stay for keeps.

© Tatiana Velitchkov

Although this type is easiest to maintain (i.e., quarterly or semi-annually), trick is to make it so compelling that interested customers will immediately contact you after viewing site... and not get turned off by lack of information, forcing them to continue their search elsewhere.

3) Use Automating Scripts & Programs

The interactive nature of internet makes it very easy for surfers to instantly "interact" with you.

Although this is major appeal of every website, it's also practical to make internet work FOR YOU, too.

Use these same automating programs to save you time, while keeping your surfers satisfied with amount of interaction you can reasonably offer.

a) Autoresponders

Internet business gurus hold that every email inquiry should be answered within 24 hours or less.

Although that makes perfect business sense, there WILL be days when it would be close to impossible to do - especially if you're holding down 3 or more positions in your company.

The best way to keep to this business practice (while still managing to get some sleep each day) is to set up an autoresponder system for your email.

These systems send out an automatic response to each email, providing your interested client with a prompt reply and an assurance that you will attend to his specific request as soon as possible.

b) Form Messages

Form messages are pre-written responses to most common inquiries about you & your business. It's best to draft them long before you expect to get a deluge of emails, and save them in an easy-to access file in your computer.

This way, you don't have to think long & hard about same questions over and over again, or spend countless minutes answering a simple email.

Just make sure to modify names & details in your form messages, to avoid any embarrassing situations with new & regular clients.

c) Automatic Processes

Mailing list & ezine subscriptions. Updating of your client database. Credit card processing. Username & password generation.

Whenever possible, use available services & programs to automate these common processes on your website, requiring least possible amount of input from you.

If you decide to manually manage these things now because you can "still handle them," you might find yourself struggling later when your website becomes as successful as you want it to be.

d) Web Templates

If you find it necessary to your business to maintain a regularly-updated website, then ask your web developer to create web templates that you can use for easier updates.

Ideally, these should be kind where you can type in (or copy-and-paste in) your most current article or editorial, and then have it automatically uploaded to proper page at click of a mouse-button, without having to rename/rearrange directory files or deal with file transfer protocol (FTP).

Yes, it may be true that conducting business in a fast-paced generation could leave you feeling winded.

But if you aim to keep your business fit right from start, then running your own company should be good not just for your pockets... but also for your heart.

© Tatiana Velitchkov