Ten Places to Find New Clients
As we push towards the end of the year – I bet many of you are working it to hit those 2014 goals.
I thought I’d give you a hand this week by helping you find potential new clients.
Finding potential clients requires four main skills:
- Brainstorming: Get creative about finding places where your potential clients are hanging out.
- Building Rapport: You must actually work on your ability to hold a conversation and engage people – so that people want to talk to you while you are out and about.
- Asking: Once you build rapport and it seems appropriate, transition into asking to schedule a sales conversation. This skill also includes learning how to ask for sales conversations at the end of speaking events and workshops.
- Selling: You’ve got to know how to conduct a sales conversation and close.
Today, I’d like to give you some support on the brainstorming step. For steps 2-4 – see future articles as well as our Money Club Program.
The exact locations of your potential clients will shift for every industry – but here’s a way to get started in thinking about where your clients may be congregating.
This brainstorm is in no particular order – nor does it apply across the board for every service. However, I thought it might stir up some new ideas for you this week.
- Go to association and industry events that your clients are visiting.
- Find 5 of your most social friends. Offer them a significant commission to go out there and talk about your business and book a client. This is a great way to get started or end a hiatus.
- Host your own book club – invite your friends and friends of friends. Pick a book that matches your business topic. Talk about your business and set up conversations.
- Go to classes – yoga classes, dance classes, improv classes, art classes – whatever you love. Make it a point to introduce yourself and talk about your business to at least 3 new people in every class.
- Host a movie night. Invite your current clients and invite them to bring 3 new friends. Do a little talk at the end of the night to invite the newbies to set up a conversation with you.
- Do a search on Linked In to see if you have connections at companies your potential clients might work at. Connect with your contacts to see if you could set up a talk or table at a company.
- Determine the favorite restaurants of your ideal clients – set up a mini-workshop or a table there.
- Ask your favorite instructors at your gym if they would be willing to let you announce your business during the first five minutes of class (assuming your potential clients are in the class).
- Determine your clients’ ideal stores – set up a mini-workshop, or sample consultations, or a table at the locale.
- Find the most social women in your network – ask if they would be willing to invite their friends over to an informal workshop at your home (or elsewhere).
Leave me a comment and let me know if you have used any of these ideas and if you have any other ideas you have used to attract your potential clients. Remember, your comments can potentially inspire hundreds of others. Comment away!
