I have a friend going back to work full time after working part time for six years to raise his kids. Some weeks ago he phoned me, incredibly disheartened after many job applications and many knock backs. No one wanted him. I encouraged him to stop treating each job interview as make or break, and to start playing. To apply for jobs he thought he couldn't get. At salary ranges he thought he couldn't justify. To mix it up, try something different each time and see what worked. The trick, I said, was to remember that his next interviewer would know nothing about his past interviews, and it wouldn't be the end of the world if this one went badly either. There were some fundamentals, like learning about the company he was applying for, but other than that there were no rules. Just be confident and play. God knows how many interviews he did but it must have been thirty or forty. Today he starts a new job doing exactly what he wants and earning twice what he did previously. He's a very happy man. Like my friend's job applications, every new enquiry from a potential customer is a chance to experiment. Mix it up, try something different. Don't get too attached to how you do things in your business, or to the success or failure of this particular enquiry. Focus on your goals, where you're going and who you want to be. Who knows, your excitement might just be infectious. And even if you fail you'll learn something. Good luck, Stephen