How do you get more clients?

I frequently get asked that question, and generating new business is at the top of every MDs or Founder's list (and if it's not, it damn well should be), but it's often the thing that most businesses struggle with.

I've built, grown, then sold a business and learnt a huge amount along the way!

Hopefully you can take away something from this, and use it to accelerate your businesses' growth, but please remember a new business strategy is more than a LinkedIn article.

More Clients?? ≠ Rocket Science ??

Lets get this first part over with:

The Cold Call is DEAD!

My view on new business is that people buy from people and that the age of the cold-caller is over.

Hear me out, but if you don't relate to the following three rhetorical questions then press that ?? back button, as this article is probably not for you!

1. When was the last time you answered a call on your mobile phone from a number you didn't know?

2. When was the last time you actually bought something as a result of an inbound call?

3. Do you like being interrupted by a phone call when you're in the middle of something else?

#SpolilerAlert: The answers are: 1. Not recently, 2. Never, and 3. Absolutely not!

Also, there's good research to show calling is on the decline - 25% of UK mobile phone owners make fewer than 5 calls a month. So if people are making fewer calls...?

This doesn't mean you stop talking to people! Far from it! Keep reading... ????

Remember the Person and build the relationship!

Remember: People buy from people, but people buy when THEY are ready, not when you are. It's that simple.

Your job is to encourage, entice, guide, nudge, and coax your prospects towards a Yes or a No (a No is better than no answer), but fundamentally if someone isn't ready, they won't buy.

If by some miracle they do buy when they aren't quite ready, the relationship is less likely to be successful. The client will (most likely) have been incentivised through discounts or pressure sales to get to a yes. The former is bad for your business (lower margins) and latter bad for the client as they may/will resent the relationship.

Neither are good long term options.

So what can you do?

The Strategy Mix

The exact weighting of the components of your strategy will be dictated by your industry sector, and demographics. I.e if your target decision maker is GenX your approach will be different if they are a ‘millennial*’.

*I'm classed as a millennial and I get a bit tired of how overused that phrase is, but it is relevant when it comes to your strategy.

Regardless of the buyer though, an effective marketing/new business strategy combines all of the following elements:

Social Proof

Ask for public reviews, and if possible video testimonials.

Get these reviews posted on Trustpilot, Feefo, Google, and YouTube as they all help validate what you do, enable you to build a better service/product, and help with the alchemy/dark art that is SEO!

Content is Gold

Give your best stuff away for free with a mix of promotional content via LinkedIn (see what I did there), Medium, industry publications, video, and to a lesser extent blogs.

Don't be (overly) promotional, if the customer sees the gold ?? you're publishing, they'll (hopefully) think "wow imagine what they can do if we're paying ?? them?".

Get out there!

Attend, present at, or if budget allows run in-person (IRL) events and network your socks ?? off at them all.

If you can run an event, use this to demonstrate thought leadership and leverage your businesses’ "convening power". Show to your clients and prospects, the ancillary benefits of doing business with you! Get interesting people in the room to talk about what they do, and what you do for them. Your network will do your selling!

Don't be a luddite ??

No, you can't remember everything you have done or said you will do in your head.

No, tracking leads/opportunities/ANYTHING in a spreadsheet isn't OK.

No, sending emails manually and follow-ups is not an efficient use of time, effort or money!

Yes, you do need to use/invest systems. It's the 21st Century.

Get a good CRM system, you don't have to implement Salesforce (but it's really good BTW) there are many systems out there. Find a system that works for you, but it must enable you to identify and track your prospects and every interaction they have with your company and (vice versa).

Setup some form of marketing automation (Hubspot, Pardot, Mailchimp to name a few) as you need to keep reminding your prospects about your brand, messaging, or product via emails and adverts on other websites, Google, Facebook, Instagram and/or LinkedIn. (you do need to spend some money here).

Business ≠ Founder

Give your business a personality ????, by making key (or all) members of your team available to your prospects via the most popular communication medium for your industry / demographic e.g WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. Let them be (within reason) themselves!

This is of HUGE importance for founder-run businesses looking to scale. The business needs to convince the market that the company is more than just the founder, and has to demonstrate to staff that they have a voice ??!

A Faster Horse ??

Contrary to Henry Ford's beliefs, your customers are (often) the best source of information on what your product/service/company needs to do better.

Invite them to feedback and make recommendations in as public a forum as is appropriate for your business / industry and take action. As a result your customers will be stickier and more engaged with your product.

... and finally when you have done all of this:

Referrals

Ask your customers and staff to refer you to others, and if appropriate / relevant create an incentive / reward scheme (doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary).

If you get referrals, you're doing everything else right.

If you're not getting referrals, it means something is wrong in your strategy. Look at what you're doing, adapt and retry.