What’s the number one question I get asked?
Hands down …. it’s “How do I find clients?”
We build the business, we determine the rates and services, we finish the website, we network … and yet we still don’t know where to find clients.
I’m not talking about one or two clients. I’m talking about a steady flow of clients.
When many of us started our business, we said Yes to whoever asked us to work with them. Money in the door is the key thing to get your business off the ground, that’s for sure.
But as the business builds you want to know where you can find your clients all the time. This is something a lot of VAs don’t put much thought into.
It’s never as good as ‘build it and they will come’. It simply does not work that way.
There is a combination of things you need to be doing in order to be the person the clients will sign with, when they need help.
1. Know who you are looking for. Lots of marketing professionals tell you to find your ‘ideal client’. I agree with that – but I really prefer to think of it as an ‘ideal group’ for the purposes of finding clients. You want to know who it is who can use your services, and you need to know specifically how you can do that. So, you research a particular group of people that you think your services can support, and you reach out to them directly. It can be a group who is in the same industry, who network in the same place, or even who are all local to a certain area. Whatever their common thread, these are the people you need to focus on to get the best results. When you can reach a large group of people in one place, you will be able to conquer more sales conversations.
2. Know what you can do for them. I can’t stress this enough – you need to know exactly how you can serve and support the people you seek out as clients. If you can’t explain it easily to them, they won’t understand. Learn about their business and figure out specifically how each of your services can help them. It’s not enough to say ‘general admin’ or ‘social media’ – what is it that you can DO for them? For instance, what are they currently doing themselves in their business that you can take off their plate? How will that specifically help them? Or, what are they not doing that you can put in place for them, and how will THAT help them? Know the questions, and know the answers. That way, when you talk to them it’s a conversation, not an interview.
3. Know where they hang out. Where do your people meet? Specifically (getting tired of me using that word? LOL). Do they meet locally? Online? LinkedIn? Association? Where are they? Once you find them, go there. Be there. Hang out there. You want to find your potential clients where they are hanging out with their colleagues. It’s the place where they are asking questions and looking for resources, so that’s why it’s important to go there. By going to where they already are, you are halfway home.
4. Know what to say to them. In any networking situation, it’s terribly wrong to fly in and explain your services to people. They do not care. Really. I know that’s blunt, but they don’t. Everyone (and I mean everyone) in business comes from a place of ‘what’s in it for me’. So when you show up to their hangout, they will begin to wonder how you might be able to help them. It might not even be direct help – it could be as a referral for someone else. Be aware of the impression you are setting. Talk about what you know, but more often than not ask questions instead of talking about your business. Answer questions when possible. Show them that you are the expert. Offer advice, insight, resources. It works. It really does.
Finding clients is a really key strategy in our businesses. There are many steps that you need to take along the way, of course, but if you follow these four steps now – you will be in the right place, with the right people, saying the right things. And that simply makes sense.
I teach all of this and more in my Earn 50K as a VA Bootcamp – we have a new session coming up next month. Won’t you join us?? 🙂
Let me know your thoughts! Post your comments on my Facebook page if you like!
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