Fiona Walsh: CEO, FM Walsh and Associates
Finding new clients is simple if you follow these rules consistently:
1. Decide that you really are going to find new clients – that this is a key strategy for your success. Stop making excuses for why you haven't gotten around to it.
2. Figure out who your new target customers are. Get to know as much about them as possible – what they read, how they make their buying decisions, what need they have that your company can fill.
3. Build a strong marketing message around why people should buy your product. This is based not on what you think but on the research you have done.
4. Get people talking, get them to know your name.
5. Create an interesting website – 80% of people will look at a website and make their short list long before they talk to you. A bad or merely boring website will sink you every time in this competitive market.
6. Come in from the dark and get involved in social media. Pick one tool your target customers use the most and use it effectively. Hire talent to do this if you cannot.
7. Give clients excellent customer service and thank them for doing business with you. There is no downside to having outstanding customer service.
8. Reward existing customers well and consistently for sending clients your way.People like to help others and if they get a reward, more referrals come your way.
9. Collect testimonials from happy customers – put them on your website.
10. Reach out to clients you haven't done business with a while.
Most importantly, follow up with all leads for new clients quickly as they come in. Speed impresses people and makes them more likely to want to buy from you.
Tara Landes: President and founder, Bellrock
Do something.
There are many strategies for finding clients – approach new markets, offer different services, create a unique product, or enter a geographic region you've never tried. While business leaders spend a lot of time thinking about what to do, only the act of doing – trying new things, or trying old things in a new way – will generate returns. If you do something (sometimes anything) differently in your business, you will get different results.
For those who like more guidance, try these actions:
Identify five prospects (five minutes): You're probably going to make some mistakes with your approach, so don't pick your best prospects; just pick five in a segment or geography that you'd like to explore. This is a quick Google search. Don't overthink it.
Identify a method for meeting those prospects (five minutes): Join their associations. Find them at tradeshows. Look in your LinkedIn network. Heck, call them.
Identify a goal for those meetings (five minutes): Figure out who makes decisions and how, and make a plan to reach your goal.
Execute on that plan by a deadline (four hours): If you are the only person taking on this challenge, set a public due date so you're more likely to get it done. If you have many people in your organization, assemble a team so you can run multiple experiments simultaneously.
Learn (one day): You tried one method five times – now decide whether it works. Run the prospecting experiment a few more times with different methods in step No. 2 and discover the best practice for you.
As it turns out, the hard part isn't figuring out what to do, it's getting people to do it. What's holding you back?
Pamela Chatry: Business strategist, Pamela Chatry and Associates, and executive managing director at eWomen Network
The joy of having an established business versus a startup is that you already have customers. Let's start with a reminder – 80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers. We can build our business by searching far and wide for new customers, but it's so much easier and less costly to "go deep."
How well do you know your best clients – those who spend the most money or who frequent your business regularly? Build a personal relationship with them. Stay in touch with them and let them know you rely on them for opinions as well as feedback. Satisfied customers are our best source for new business.
The key is to establish a strategic plan for taking care of your customers:
Step 1: Make the sale
Step 2: Follow up in a timely manner. Call and ask how their experience was. Do they have any questions, concerns or suggestions? Thank them for the business.
Step 3: Send them a thank-you gift – and include a handwritten card.
Step 4: Ask for the referral. Contact the customer and ask them how the new product is working out, and don't hesitate to ask for a referral. According to Attracting Perfect Customers by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez, say, "I only want to work with people just like you. Do you know of anyone that I would enjoy serving through my business?" Ask if they would make an introduction. Honour them with a huge thank you! They have made you money and reduced your advertising expenses.
Remember, we all want to deal with businesses that we like, know and trust. You have already established these values with your existing customers. They will pave the way for you with new relationships and plant the trust seed in the minds of potential customers.
