Sometimes I go weeks on end without posting to this blog, but I've got more on my mind than I should at this late hour, so bear with me.

I often talk about how you need to learn what your prospects need and give it to them. That's the simplest way to define successful marketing that there is.

And if I've said it once, I've said a million times that you have to listen -- really listen -- to what your clients are telling you in order to ensure that you're giving them exactly what it is that they need.

But are you doing it? Really?

When's the last time you asked your clients to share their "big picture" needs with you?

When's the last time you went to a networking event and simply sat back and listened to the folks around you talk about themselves?

It's amazing what you learn when you "close the ears, open the mouth" -- something I learned as a child.

Tomorrow, ask one of your best clients what she'd really like from a <your profession here> and then give it to her ... plus a little more. You'll be amazed at what happens. And your client will be loyal for years to come.