Have you ever wondered how those businesses inundated with work find their clients? I used to.
One of the urban myths of a new business is that your clients will come (running) to you.
For most of us, the likelihood is that we are up against many companies that offer the same or similar services. Therefore, unless you open a post office, hospital, or passport centre, you will be competing against similar businesses.
So, if you’re offering the same service as so many others, why would someone contact you?
The point of that question is not to make you throw in the towel but to test your mettle. You could have one of two responses here: you can think: what’s the point – there are SO many people offering the same service; I’m NEVER going to succeed! Or: this should be a good challenge – how should I deal with it?
Let’s go with the second line of thought, shall we?
Everything is in place – you’ve completed your training, your qualification certificate has been framed and is hanging on the wall, you’ve created your website, and your pencils are lined up and ready. Then, why aren’t clients fighting over themselves to get in contact with you?
In our increasingly digital era, it’s easy to think that if you follow all the digital recommendations, new clients will come flooding in on their own – right? But the fact is that YOU’VE GOT TO MAKE DIRECT CONTACT WITH YOUR NEW CLIENTS!
Ok, so here’s the ugly truth: there will ALWAYS be 101 things that need to get done. It’s easy to go round and round in circles chasing your tail with all the tasks that will forever be on your To-Do List. However, the ONE thing that matters over every other demand on your time is – YOU NEED TO FIND NEW CLIENTS! I’ll repeat that YOU NEED TO FIND NEW CLIENTS! It seems obvious, doesn’t it?
It’s essential to make direct contact so that people know of you and your services and to create the desire for them to come to you for those services. Offer something different that nobody else offers and deliver at a level way above client expectations. You want to ensure your client returns AND recommends your services.
Firstly, you need to know who your ideal customer is. To help you do that, see this helpful article on determining your model client How To Create A Customer Avatar (digitalmarketing.org). Use an online directory to search for these clients, research their website – and then begin to dial. So for some of you, this part may seem a bit daunting but bear with me because it needn’t be if you follow my 7 client contact rules below.
(1) Introduce yourself
Say WHO you are, WHERE you’re calling from (your company name) and WHY you’re calling (what it is that you do). Simple right?
I recently attended a CPD course: You Are the Most Valuable Asset of Your Business. The course leader focused the first part of the session on introductions. He reminded us that this is your only chance to make a good first impression, and begin to build trust and a lasting relationship and convince the client to listen to what you have to say. Consequently, your introduction needs to be: Simple, Relevant, Hard-hitting, and Irresistible.
Simple
Be concise and keep it simple.
Relevant
You’ve chosen to contact this company type for a reason. Make sure your service aligns with what your client does and what your client needs.
Hard-hitting
Don’t go in like a wrecking ball before building a relationship with the client! But you do want to mention something that will make the client sit up and pay attention.
Irresistible
Dangle the carrot to make your client want to follow your lead!
EXAMPLE – writing Blog articles:
Hello, I’m Genevieve.
I’m calling from GHolden Proof. I help companies like yours to promote their services and build trust with their potential customers by writing Blogs for their websites.
Firstly, I’d like to say how much I love the downloadable booklet on your website: it’s been helpful learning about the self-care practices you recommend alongside your counselling sessions.
However, I was searching on Google for Counselling Services in (their area), and the first three businesses that appeared at the top were ______, ______, and ______.
Therefore, I wanted to speak to you about how having a regular Blog can benefit you by getting you greater visibility online and help support business growth.
(2) Develop rapport with your potential customer
Get the client on your side. If the client is happy to speak with you, the chances are that you’ve made the right impression in your introduction. Now all you need to do is continue in the same vein. Speak with confidence and show that you’re in control of the conversation. If the client believes in you, it will help them to put trust in your service.
PRO TIP: Only get into a conversation once the client has shown interest
If not, you could end up having a great chat but ultimately waste your and their time. Instead, offer to send them an email which links to your website so that should they require your services at a later date, they know how to contact you. They will appreciate you for not bothering them and consequently be more likely to recommend you.
(3) Establish customer needs
Have you heard about the client who asked the businessman: what is it that you are selling? And the businessman replied: what is it you want to buy?
Ok, so for most of us, it doesn’t go like this. Therefore, once it’s evident that your potential client is interested in your service, ask about his business:
o What is his principal service?
o How many of these does he currently do a day/a week?
o How many would he ideally like to be doing each day/each week?
o Who are his ideal clients?
o How much does it cost his customer for this service?
It will help you discover the value your service could be to him by taking this task out of his hands and helping with commercial expansion. In addition, find out his motivation to have a Blog:
· Does he want this because his main competitors have got one?
· Is it the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)?
· Does he want more visibility because he wants to get more business-related enquiries?
· Does he want a backup for the loss of any existing clients?
· Have his clients asked him if he has or is going to have a Blog on his website?
Find out what needs/wants your service satisfies. It could be one of many reasons.
(4) Build value into your service
If the customer seems interested but undecided, it’s likely that you still need to show him the VALUE that you can provide. If you’ve explained your services and outlined what you do, you need to clearly show the benefits the client will get in return for working with you. Show how you will make:
- Their life easier
- Their business stronger
- Save them time,
by using SO THAT statements. Let me show you how:
By writing your Blog articles, I can help you keep in touch with your clients by prompting them to follow the self-care practices you recommend between sessions SO THAT by keeping in touch, you’re reminding them to contact YOU should they require additional guidance.
By writing your Blog articles, I can keep you in regular contact with your clients SO THAT when their friend is looking for a counselling service, yours is the first that they think of to recommend.
By writing your Blog articles, I can take the writing task out of your hands SO THAT I save you time while you can focus on what’s important – helping your clients.
Take time to learn the benefits your clients are looking for, as this will help to improve your service, increase orders and encourage client loyalty.
(5) Create the desire for your service
Now you should tell your client a short narrative that will put using your services into a real-life context. The idea is to make them realise exactly why they need your services. Ok, so this is where you need to use your imagination a little. However, if you’ve already gathered the relevant information from the client, it will feed itself nicely into what you will say to them.
Most importantly, you want to appeal to their head AND their heart as the most effective way to make them realise what they are missing.
EXAMPLE information you have found out from the client:
· Business type – Counselling Services
· Needs – To have a regular Blog on their website.
· Wants – To be alongside other counselling services on the major search engines and to acquire more clients.
· Currently – Offers counselling services to two clients per day but would like to have four at the cost of £___ each. Ideally would like to be working with up to 20 clients each week.
STORY: There’s a young woman who works in an office and is suffering from burnout. She wants to do something about it before it gets much worse. Her annoying colleague – who shares everything about her personal life – is always talking about the counselling sessions she goes to, just around the
corner from work, to help her deal with stress. She doesn’t want to ask this colleague for the name of the counselling services, but she knows that she found them online. She does a search on Google in the local area for counselling services, and the first one that appears at the top of the search results is close to her office. She contacts the service and books her first session.
Ask the client: Can you see how posting regular Blog articles, which rank your website higher on search engines, means new clients could more easily find you?
(6) Overcome objections
Think of it like this, if your client has been making all the right noises as you have taken him through the above steps, he has probably talked himself out of any real objections. However, he may still have real concerns that create obstacles in his mind. Your job here is to reassure him and lead him back to the relevant part of your conversation by pointing out that by adding just 1x client a month by making his website more visible, he has already paid for his blog each month etc. You get the idea.
(7) Ask for the business!
At this point, you need to recommend the package you feel is the most appropriate for the client based on your conversation (eg one, two, or four blog articles a month). For example:
· So, Mr Customer, because you are looking to be amongst your competitors in the major search engines and gain more clients, I recommend that I write a weekly blog for you of 1000-1500 words each, based on your subject suggestions and the most searched keywords for your profession type.
· Based on 4x blogs per month, the cost will be £__,__ each month. Is that something I can set up for you?
And voila! You have your first order in the bag. You’re welcome!
Your client may have more objections when they hear a cost – that’s normal if something was unclear to him earlier in the conversation. As a result, you need to remind him of the services you offer and THE BENEFITS he will be getting in return.
It may pay you to add something here for the client, especially if you feel they are still unsure. For example, you could offer to include email marketing content for their first month of blogs – articles, at no extra cost – to show how much you appreciate them giving you the order. Once the order is verbally confirmed, agree on the subjects for the first month of blog articles. Ask for any information your client has, relating to those subjects – then start your research and start writing!
Recap
1) Introduce yourself.
2) Develop rapport with your potential customer.
3) Establish customer needs.
4) Build value in your service.
5) Create the desire for your service.
6) Overcome objections.
7) Ask for the business!
Pace Yourself
At first, doing this might be frustrating and challenging! You will need to contact several people before you acquire new clients. If you feel like throwing the towel in, why not check out my four lifestyle habits blog, which can help strengthen your mindset, build resilience and help you achieve more than you ever thought was possible – and most importantly, get you back on track!
And remember, practice makes perfect. Once you get the hang of directly contacting potential customers and turning them into loyal clients, your business will expand exponentially!
Join me next time for a few practical steps and tools for the next step: Yes! I’ve got an order; what do I do now?
I’ll recommend best practices for explaining the order process to your new client, the best ways to get an email confirmation for the order and how to get the customer to pay you without delay.
If this post has been of help, drop me a line, subscribe to my newsletter and let me know about your experiences.
Until next time,