If you provide a service to people, one of the things you’ll be spending most of your time focusing on is how to get more clients. Especially when you’re at the start of your journey and haven’t yet built up your reputation.
Not having enough clients and feeling like you’re constantly hustling to get them is the main thing that gives my clients anxiety. After all if you’re not bringing in money, your business isn’t really working and anxiety about where next months money is coming in breaks even the best of us.
So here are 20 tips I give my clients to help them get their clients…
1. Be consistent and active with your marketing
However, you have decided to market your business, on LinkedIn, in networking events make sure you show up consistently. Want to get clients from LinkedIn? Spend time building up your network and showing up regularly so that people can see you and the service you provide.
Hiding under a bush and waiting for people to ‘discover’ you never works.
2. Know who your customers are
Have a real clear idea about who your customers are. Know how you solve their problems and what solutions they long for and then work out how you can communicate that in your marketing.
Plus when you know who your clients are you can come up with a list of how to find them – see above!
3. Create your own content
Whether you decide to blog, create videos, go Live or podcast you must be creating your own original content. Sharing other people’s content is Ok, but what you’re really doing is giving them a boost in numbers and advertising their service. Create your own content that talks about how you help people and how you provide the solution to their problems.
4. Be clear about your sales funnel
We all have a sales funnel, whether you know it or not. It’s the journey people take from not knowing who you are to working with you. What happens on this journey and what can you do to improve it for your customers?
5. Map out your client process
What happens from the point of enquiry to people sitting down and working with you. How easy is it for people to contact you, book a call with you, pay you? Are there any gaps in this process that you can clean up? You want it to be as smooth and clear as possible.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale
It’s ok at the end of emails, blog posts and podcasts to remind people that they can work with you. Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale, or ask people to check out how you could help them. Don’t assume that everyone always knows what you do.
7. Participate in social chats
People are always asking for advice in Facebook groups, on twitter or in LinkedIn. Get in there and flex your expertise muscles and give advice willingly. It won’t just be the person who asked the question who sees the response.
8. Follow up with potentials who never purchased
Don’t be scared to reach out to those people you’ve talked to who weren’t in the right place to buy at the time. The situation might have changed for them. And it can be as simple as a light touch checking in to see how they are doing.
9. Follow up with people you’ve already worked with
The same goes for people you’ve already worked with. Situations change and they might be seeking support again.
10. Make it easy for people to hear from you
Build your email list. There will be lots of people who are interested in you, but not ready to buy yet. Make it easy for them to keep in touch with you by asking them to join your list and then emailing them helpful advice regularly. Better yet offer them something awesome when they sign up so you can really help them!
11. Get found on google
People will be searching for services like you on google. So spend a bit of time improving your listing, optimising your website pages and creating content that improves your chances of being found.
12. Offer a lighter touch service
Could you run a workshop either online or in person to get people together with you where you can help them and give them an idea of what you can deliver?
13. Listen to what people want
If you’re having similar conversations with people about what they need, could you create a service that support them with that problem? All businesses solve a problem, so listening is a key skill in developing your service.
14. Ask your network for introductions
You probably know people who know people. What am I talking about we all know people! Don’t be frightened of asking your contacts to share what you do or ask for introductions.
15. Investigate FB ads
Facebook ads can be really effective. One of my clients get a return of £8 for every £1 they spend on Facebook ads, it’s well worth learning more about!
16. Write a book
It’s said there is a book in all of us. Could you write a book about your field? It’s an excellent way to flex your expertise muscles and get people to discover you.
17. Say yes to events
Some of my best clients have been turning up to random training events and networking. If you have the time then go, you never know who you might meet.
18. Send a handwritten letter
Got a list of clients you’d love to work with? Why not send them a handwritten letter in the post detailing your services, include a gift (like a tea-bag) and follow up with a phone call a couple of days later. You’ll definitely stand out from all the boring sales emails!
19. Get in the press
Getting press attention is a great way to shine a spotlight on what you do. Work out the publications you’d like to be in and the journalists who write the stories you like and get in touch with them. And check out #journorequest on twitter daily.
20. Create a special offer
Is there something you could offer to get people interested? An intense deep dive or a power hour? Something easy to sell and tangible to get people to experience what it’s like to work with you.
So there’s 20 ways to get more clients off the top of my head! I’m sure there are many more. But I’d go through this list and work out how many you could feasibly do and work through them one by one. The ones to focus on first are those quick wins, and build up to the bigger tasks as you go!
Discover how I could support you to get more clients!
