Flying Can Lead To More Clients
Here’s a question I’ve been getting lately: “Monica, how do I find my ideal clients? They aren’t at the networking events in my city.”
Some of you also ask me, “I don’t live anywhere near networking events. How do I find my clients? ”
Are you struggling with this problem? Perhaps you are dutifully heading out to local networking events and your ideal clients just aren’t there. And when you do meet a client, it is few and far between.
What do you do to get face to face with your ideal clients (I’m not dealing with the online methods of getting clients in this article – that’s for a future one).
The simple answer: get in a plane and fly to them!
Here’s what I mean:
1. Go Where Your Clients Are. Think about where your ideal clients congregate in large masses. Are there associations where they all gather? Are there large events that many of them go to?
For example, one of my clients has created her own bodywork methodology that she teaches to massage therapists, yoga teachers and other hands-on healers. She paid to go to a Massage Therapy Association general event in Colorado. She even paid for a sponsor booth there. It put her in front of hundreds of ideal clients and she will continue to make money from that event for years to come.
Another of my clients is a copywriter. She flies to business events once or twice per quarter. She keeps her practice full through the referral partners, colleagues and clients that she meets at these events.
2. Go Often. It pays to do a search of events, business conferences, associations, and other types of meetings where your clients may frequent. Then plan your calendar accordingly. I suggest flying to an event at least once per quarter.
3. You Just May Learn Something. I know it may seem like a lot of money and time to fly to find your clients. But I find that these expenditures pay themselves off in spades from the connections and potential clients you meet.
Besides the connections, you’ll also learn something from the speakers at the event. These events can provide so much inspiration for your business. Every time I go to one – I come home with a notebook full of new ideas for my business. There is something amazing about how your creative juices start flowing when you are outside the “sameness” of your own home.
I’ve found that about 90% of the time my clients really benefit from seeking out large gatherings of their ideal clients. About 10% of the time, the event doesn’t quite pay off. Yes, you always take that risk. But if you just keep going to the events, the 90% will far outweigh the 10%.
Stop trying to find one client here, another client there – one person at a time. Go where your clients aggregate and get in front of as many as possible. Move forward faster.
Leave me a comment with your favorite “get in front of your ideal client” strategy.
