Every business needs a constant flow of new clients to keep running smoothly. It is not possible to run any business with the same set of clients forever, you always need to work towards acquiring new clients. This can be the most difficult and stressful task among all. In this post, we are sharing some tips to find clients for your business so that this task becomes a little less difficult for you.
Let me be clear from the start that there is no well-kept secret that will help you get a continuous flow of clients with one sweep of your magic wand. You have to invest time and put in genuine efforts in order to keep up a steady pipeline of clients. You might be familiar with some of the tips mentioned below but still go through it for some side tips, advice, and new tools.
Dive into job boards:
There are many websites that are performing as a platform between clients and agencies. A simple google search will provide you a list of many such sites. Freelancer, Upwork, Fiverr are some of them. You can even find freelance contracts posted on Linkedin and Naukri.com. We suggest you create an account on all these sites and make a schedule to scour through them for relevant jobs.
Tie-ups with other agencies:
Every agency uses employee monitoring tools and has a lead generation system set up for attracting and acquiring new clients. And every agency rejects some leads due on of the many reasons like the budget is too low for them, their interest lies elsewhere, they are not available, they don’t have the required skillset or they are currently focusing on some other projects. When this happens, the agency would normally refer the client to a company in its network. Tying up with many agencies would increase your chances of landing up such projects.
Referrals:
The age-old method of acquiring clients still works like a charm. Very few clients will refer you to their network without you asking them for the same. Because they are busy with their own business or they don’t find it necessary to do so and they don’t even know if you need new clients or not. So, stop waiting, send them an email, open up with checking up on them and then go down to asking for a direct referral without beating around the bush.
Use twitter to find projects:
Many people and companies use their social media accounts to hire agencies or freelancers. Cause this helps them to keep their followers engaged and also gain new ones. Log on to twitter and find real-time tweets looking for services or products that you can provide. Search using the keywords and phrases that match your business. You will receive a great number of potential customers through these searches. There are few tools like warble with which you can automate your searches and create alerts for suitable keywords.
Co-working spaces:
There are many co-working spaces around you. If you don’t know any try searching for coworking + your zip code or city name. If you work from home or even if you have an office, consider working from a co-working space once a week. Coworking spaces have become a hot commodity in thriving business hubs such as Shoreditch, with a high number of options being established in an attempt to meet demand. At co-working spaces, you will be in a room with many other similar or complimenting agencies and freelancers. That will give a great opportunity to network with them, discuss your ideas, know theirs and this will help to build a strong relationship with them. Not only that, there is a chance that you might find a new client among them.
Facebook groups:
On Facebook, you will find many groups where your potential clients might be hanging. If you are a business consultant your potential clients would be in start-up groups or business owner’s groups. Join as many such groups as you can. Keep engaging with the group members by posting useful tips, asking questions, commenting on their posts, answering the questions asked by them. They will automatically notice your expertise and check out your profile. Here your profile becomes the landing page, so design it better to yield results in your favor. These group members might also post their requirements in the groups, keep an eye on such posts too.
Utilize business directories& forums:
No matter which industry segment you are working there is a directory, a forum or networking site for your niche. These sites can help you big time in growing your brand and gain new clients. Search for such sites in your niche and establish a strong presence there.
Along with these, there are multi niche directories and networking sites for businesses such as Fact Reserve, Yelp, Github, Etsy, Reddit, etc. Make sure to use these too.
Use search engine optimization:
If you don’t have a website or blog page for your business go and make one. A website acts as an anchor for all your online marketing efforts. Not having a website is like not having an office or a shop. All your digital marketing efforts would be aimed at bringing the client to your website or web page.
People using the search engine are mostly at the bottom end of sales funnel and these thus can be termed as hot leads. Your web page must be search engine optimized for the relevant keywords to be on the first page of their search results. For better results, aim for a few long-tail keywords that most specifically describe your business, has moderate search volume and lower competition.
These tips if followed thoroughly will definitely help you in bringing new clients to your business. Even if following all of these isn’t possible, just focus on the ones you can, you will get the desired results within a month. Remember any strategy is as good as the efforts you put in. Nothing will work if you don’t take any action. So don’t wait, choose the tips that resonate with you and your business and start implementing them right now.