Winning clients is essential to kick starting the business of your dreams. No one wants to be in business and not earning a revenue. People always ask how was I profitable from day one with my consulting business. There are a couple of things that factor into ICB Consults making money from day one versus accruing debt.
- Established clientele from previous business
- Involved in blogger community
- Engaged heavily in social media communities
- Continuously at local events ranging from fashion to tech
- Not afraid to talk people up at Coffee shops or nail salon
Those are a couple of things that helped ease the transition from online boutique to full-time consultant. These are very important if you want to win clients for your service based business.
Build Relationships
A high percentage of customers from my vintage store were my first customers for consulting. Kateria for example had been shopping with my store since its second year. Launching the consulting company in my fourth year of business, she was one of my initial sign ups. She booked a “How To Get Started & Kick Start Your Ecommerce” consultation. She launched Arm Candy Crush a couple of months ago. I’ve seen her from idea to actual conceptions. It was easy for her to decide to work with me because she had experienced shopping with my company and knew I had the experience in what she was trying to achieve. Stop wanting clients you have no relationship with. All my clients will tell you they see more than a consultant because I’m more than that to them. I built a solid relationship first.
Engage Your Target Audience
Social media has changed how you can reach your target audience faster than ever. Blogging has done the same thing. You have platforms where you can become an expert or guru simply by sharing your knowledge. When I first started my store I was doing fashion and business chats on twitter all the time. I really looked forward to some of them, sad to see a bunch of them disappear. Doing those chats helped people become aware of my businesses. Right now, I do the #Altchat once a week. A couple of weeks ago after an Alt Summit Chat I ended up with 30 new followers. All people who I engaged with on the chat. Get where your audience is and start engaging them.
Knowledge Is Power
As mentioned in the second point, we all have social media platforms we can use to elevate our businesses to new heights. On Instagram I personally share tips, tricks, and insight. This helps elevate myself as an expert in my field. People seek advice on ecommerce, payment gateways, customer acquisition and more. Because that’s what I talk about ALL the time. Use your social media to do the same. If you are a hairstylist don’t just show hairstyles you did. Highlight different products, treatments and more. Share regiment information. Educate people on healthy hair from the inside out. Even if they live in another state.
These three things are pretty simple but people miss the mark with them all the time. Customer acquisition is not really hard. If you stay in front of your target market engaging them and sharing your knowledge and when it’s time to make a purchase you will be on the top of their list.
Which one of these three can you implement today to win clients and influence them?
Photography by Tommy Ton
