How To Land Your First Client

Finding leads for your business memeJust start a business?  No clients yet?  Congratulations!

Leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck and stepping out on your own is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.  When you start your own business, you learn what it means to earn your paycheck, literally.

Without a customer there is no business.  If you don't have at least one paying client, you don't have a business, you have a hobby.

Getting your first Clint can be nerve racking.  Before that first client, there is no validation that your business means anything to anyone.  Sure, friends and family will tell you it's a great idea, but a paying client validates your insecurities and lets you proudly proclaim that you're “in business”.

We're not going to talk about driving leads to your business today; we are going to talk about getting your first client, that quick win that will give you the confidence to go after your second and third clients.  This does require time and effort, but an hour or so in preparation will go a long way your ability to land your first customer.  This is a targeted approach, no spray and pray marketing going on here.

So where do you start?

You start by making the decision to go out and get a client.  No more planning, prepping or thinking.  In order to run a successful business, you have to become comfortable with asking for business.  Everyone has a fear of rejection, but you have to work through that fear if you want to build a business.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that social media or social networking can replace going out and asking for business, it can't.  These activities have their place in a marketing strategy, but for now you need a customer.

Where do I find my first client?

You probably won't find them at a Wednesday afternoon networking event at the local coffee shop.  Most people who attend these events are just like you, they are looking for business. Your ideal client is at their business working, you will have to go and see them.  For the newbie business owner, this is called a sales call.  Social Media experts hate this direct method and prefer a much more casual approach to finding business.  This method is the most direct way to get the business you want.  Most people avoid it because there is a direct threat of rejection.  If you can overcome this rejection, you'll be operating on a much different playing field than your peers hanging out at the coffee shop wishing they had more business.

What do I do now?

Once you know that you need to be proactive in finding a client and you know where they are, you will need to figure out what your ideal client looks like.

  • What type of business are they in?
  • What size company should they have?
  • What need do they have that you will fill for them?
  • Can they afford what you will be charging them?

Once you have these things figured out, you can create a short list of the businesses that fit this profile in your area.  Once you know who you want as a client, you can then start preparing for your meeting with them.

Now What?

Now you're going to do what almost every other salesperson they meet never does, prepare.  You'd be amazed how many sales people (yes, you're the salesperson for your business) walk through the front door of a business and didn't spent 10 seconds finding out more about the business they want to sell to.

Before you walk through their front door, you'll need to do some research.  The research really depends on the type and size of the business you want to land as a client.  Some of the things you'll want to find out are:

What does the business do and what products and services they offer.  Spend some time learning more about their business and what they offer.  You can almost always find this information on their website or by doing a quick Google search for their business.  How big of a business are they, will they be able to afford your services?  Go in there being fluent in their business, demonstrate you have spent considerable time preparing for this sales call.

Who are the people involved in the business, especially the owner or management team that you'll be asking for.  Find out more about them, their backgrounds and maybe even hobbies if they get more personal in their profiles.  You can usually find this information on a company's About Us page, or if you have their names, a Google search for their name and company.  LinkedIn is a great way to do professional research like this.

What opportunities do you see for them that you have the expertise to provide?  Are they lacking in a particular area that you can help them out with?  Look at their competitors and see how they match up against them, are they ahead or behind the curve?  Pretend they are already a client and you're brainstorming ways you help them.

Create possible solutions you can offer them

Now that you have a better idea of who they are, what they do and how you can help them, you're ready to provide some solutions.  Create a few possible solutions that you can provide them with based on your research.  You want to go in there armed with a few solutions in hand and with a few different price points.

You're not going to walk in there with a full blown proposal, that's a waste of time at this stage, but you do want to go in there showing you have done your homework and have thought throug a few possible solutions for them.

Go and see them

Go and see them with solutions in hand.  I love my employees that come to me with a problem, along with several possible solutions they have thought through before approaching me with the problem (solution oriented people are like gold for any business, remember that when you hire your first employee).  A salesman who has clearly demonstrated they have spent time getting to know my business and come in with several well thought out solutions,  has earned a sit down with me at this point out of sheer effort.  Have a clear idea of what you can offer them when you walk through the front door.

Don't waste people’s time, a short greeting and then get right into why you are there.  They will know why you are there the second you open your mouth, don't start asking about peoples weekends or the weather, get to the point.

Be courteous to whoever is manning the front desk or admin area, they usually act as the gate keeper and many business owners rely on this person in determining who they should allow a meeting with.

If the business owner isn’t available, ask when a good time to come back is.  Don't leave anything except a business card behind, if you didn't get a chance to speak to the business owner directly, it'll probably end up in the trash.  Get the owners business card, thank them and leave.

If you weren't able to speak to the business owner

If you were given a good day or time to return, try again.  If the same thing happens, it might be safe to say that they just don't like dealing with unsolicited sales and are avoiding you.  When this happens to me, I do one of three things:

1- I have a more serious conversation with the reception person and let them know that I'm not here trying to sell crap. I tell them that I've spent a lot of time looking at your business and I think I can really help them, wouldn't the owner want to spend 5 minutes exploring this?.  I'll only need 5 minutes and I would really appreciate your help.  You'd be surprised once you make a mini heart-to-heart like that, how many times the gatekeeper will let you past the gate.

2- If it's business that I know will be a great fit and I know I'll be blocked every time I come in, I will take the Fed-Ex approach.  I will spend a few bucks and send my ideas and ways I can help them directly to the business owner via Fed-Ex, even if they are located down the street from me.  It's not cheap, but it's a 100% guaranteed way to get past the gatekeeper and get your message read by the business owner.  Do you know anyone who has ever received a Fed-Ex package and not opened it?  Just make sure there's a great intro letter to grab their attention.

3- Move on to another prospect, sometimes you have to weigh your options, especially if there are easier fish to fry.

Go out and get your first customer

I'm not going to tell you how to act or what to say when you do meet the business owner, everyone has their own style of selling themselves.  This is just my personal experience of how I go about landing my ideal client instead of waiting for them to come to me.  While networking and other passive forms of selling yourself have value, sometimes you need to just go out and get the business you really want.

 

 

 

 

 

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Gary

CEO at 3Bug Media
Gary Shouldis is the founder of 3Bug Media, a web marketing company that helps businesses create 360 Marketing Strategies to dominate their market. His blog is read by over 20 thousand small business owners a month and has been featured in the N.Y. Times Small Business, Business Insider and Yahoo Small Business.