Troy Waugh, in his excellent book, Power Up Your Profits, uses the “Value Ladder” concept to describe how professionals position themselves and how to move up the ladder of value. At the lowest rung is the vendor. As a vendor, you wait for the phone to ring. A request is made, along with the delivery date and price, and that’s it. You deliver the right product/service on time at the quality agreed to and voila, you collect a check. The transaction is complete and you wait for the phone to ring the next time. If you’re really busy, you may secretly hope the phone doesn’t ring.

If this describes your typical day, you are filling the role of a vendor to your client, just like the office supply company.

However, if you want to be more than a vendor, you have to position yourself differently. You have to be in touch with your clients, ESPECIALLY when there are no jobs active. Your clients expect you to contact them while you’re working for them. But contacting them when you’re not moves you beyond a vendor role. That’s when you can have the conversations that unlock their real pain-points and help to solve their problems.

Just remember: you may not see yourself as a vendor, but your clients may have a different view of you. So this week, touch base with your clients. Stop by. Contact them. Be more than a vendor. Be at the top rung of the value ladder.