Get Clients

How to get clients who will be profitable and pleasant to serve. 

How to get clients as inexpensively and quickly as possible.

2.  Keep your existing clients very satisfied

Know this:  Client satisfaction is like getting the grade of a "C" from a client.  You've met their expectations if their satisfied. If your clients are satisfied, they may continue to do business with you.  If they are really satisfied, they will spend more money, be less vulnerable to competitors, and perhaps even spread positive word of mouth and give you referrals.

TIP:  Great insight from Tom Searcy from Hunt Big Sales on what drives customer loyalty.

"Here's how customers consider your value, from lowest to highest:

1. If you know your product, you are a human catalog
2. If you know your services, you are a technician
3. If you can match your products and services to the customer's needs, you are a sales person
4. If you know a customer's problems and business, you are a consultant
5. If you know a customer's industry, market challenges and competitors, you are an expert"

3.  Make it easy for people to schedule a meeting with you.

• From the MarketingZone.com Blog - new software to add to your blog and website to help with scheduling appointments
  

4.  Get out of your office!

Advice from a small business owner: "I have found the one, most effective way to get those new clients are to talk to as many people as you can. Go door to door and introduce yourself. Let people know you are out there. People won't hire you or buy your services if they don't know you exist. Everyone you meet in your day to day life are potential clients. They guy standing next to you at the deli, the woman waiting in line with you at the bank, the teller at that same bank. EVERYONE! My wife and daughter roll their eyes every time I strike up a conversation with someone because they know the business card is on it's way to the new prospect's hand. This approach has grown my business by 400% in 2011."

 

Advice from a small business owner:  "My suggestion would be, get out from behind your computer, and meet people. Grab a local business directory, flip through it and find potential clients in your line of work. Once you have a few. call them for appointments and visit them to discuss what you have to offer. Most importantly start building relationships with these folks. People want to buy from people they know."

5.  Work to create "Brand Fans" who will naturally share positive word-of-mouth about you and recommend you to others

Brand Fans are like a free sales force.  No, they're better than a sales force because their recommendations are seen to be unbiased and untainted.  They're authentic.  They're believable.

Brand Fans can be proactive in sharing positive word-of-mouth and reactive when asked for a recommendation.  That may be tied to their personality type.  Some Brand Fans are like extroverted evangelists and some Brand Fans are like credible resource who are the "go-to" person for others on a topic.  The best Brand Fans are the people who share credible recommendations proactively and reactively to help you attract new clients.

This idea of a Brand Fan applies to business-to-business. Who's written a recommendation about you on LinkedIn?  Who have you recommended publicly on LinkedIn?  Who has asked for recommendations from their LinkedIn network and gotten really credible referrals from people they trust?  Brand Fans are not just for consumer companies.  These Brand Fans in B2B may be even more influential.

6.  Learn how to ask for and get more referrals

• Sales Presentations

Know this:  Most people are good at building rapport, qualifying prospective clients and presenting their credentials, but many people are uncomfortable asking for the business.
 

What to offer to get a new client to buy faster...

 

 

Consider offering a free consultation or a basic service for free to reputable clients you want to work with long-term. Once you've completed the work, request a testimonial and at least three referrals. Use both the testimonials and referrals to market your company to new clients.  This is the client service equivalent of offering a free trial or demo for a product. 

When starting out, don't offer your services for free, because it will set a precedent for low pricing. Since you are new without a reputation or references, it's hard to charge full prices.  Try offering some type of performance-based model, where successful results get you paid full price or offer a guarantee. This minimizes the risk for the client and maximizes your motivation to deliver top-quality results.  You and the new client have the same goals. 

Clearly quantify how your service will save them either time or money.  Do the math for someone to make a business case why they should hire you. 

Offer an arrangement where you don't get paid unless your clients get paid first. A simple revenue share is a good way to get started. It mitigates risk for your clients that you will fail, and motivates you to work hard.

8.  Educate vs. sell to get more new clients

From our experience, most consultants and professional services professionals don't like to "sell".  The good news is that most people don't like to be "sold to".  So instead of "selling", focus on educating your potential clients about how you or your company will be able to meet their needs.  Ask questions to uncover what their needs and pain points are.  Then recommend how you can help them.

9.  Master business networking

Advice from a small business owner "What I've discovered that is that not one dollar spent advertising ever works as effectively as networking and getting out and meeting people."

• Business Networking

Here's a List of Places and Websites for Business Networking

10.  Figure out what type of clients you want

What clients will be profitable and pleasant to work with?  What information do you need to determine if a prospect is a qualified lead who will represent profitable new business?

• How to Generate Qualified Leads
• Targeting high income adults
  
• How to attract prospects who are like your most profitable customers