Feeling guilty and dejected, Homer opens his present from Marge only to find that below the wrapping paper is another round of wrapping paper, addressed with a card that says "To Marge".

You guessed it, Marge knew that Homer would forget her present and so she got him the best present she could possibly have given at that time, a present for him to give to her. Smiles all round… and fade out.

As the Christmas buying frenzy approaches, I like to take the lesson from The Simpsons into my business. How can I anticipate my customer's needs in a similar way to the way Marge anticipated Homer's so brilliantly?

Whether you're the hairdresser who calls a client a week after selling them a hair straightener (just to see how they're going with it), the real estate agent who forwards their clients a list of local services (when they move to a new area) or the doctor who calls a long term patient a week after placing them on a new medication (just to check on them), we all have the ability to anticipate needs and in doing so provide moments in our own businesses where there are smiles all round and… fade out.

Kirsty Dunphey is one of Australia's most publicised young entrepreneurs and is the founder of www.reallysold.com - the ultimate tool to help real estate agents write amazing advertisements. The youngest ever winner of the Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year award, Kirsty started her first business at 15, her own real estate agency at 21, was a self-made millionaire at 23 and a self-made multi-millionaire at 25. For more information on Kirsty or either of her books - Advance to Go, Collect $1 Million and Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can, or to sign up to her weekly newsletter head to: www.kirstydunphey.com