Where to get clients

Is a bad year to begin freelancing? On one hand, the economy is in for a shock as businesses struggle to return to profitability after lockdown.

On the other hand, the government is working hard to absorb the shock and boost the economy. And while there may be fewer businesses hiring freelancers, there are also fewer freelancers available for work, with some retiring, some occupied with home-schooling, and plenty looking for the relative security of regular employment. An optimist might argue that now is a better time to start freelancing.

First things first, create a comprehensive description of your ideal client. Get as specific as you can. Are they large corporations or small businesses? Which sectors do they operate in? What specific areas of the selected industry are they involved with?

What are their biggest challenges? Build each profile out into a documented buyer persona, as illustrated by this example from Alexa :. Create buyer personas to profile your ideal client in each of your target industries to fully understand their needs. Whatever it is, make your unique value proposition UVP clear across all your marketing and communications. Your website acts as the hub for your social media presence, portfolio and case studies.

Both your site design and content should look and feel professional and consistent with your image. Remember to align them to your UVP unique value proposition and highlight the results you deliver for clients. Include photos and videos of your activities and achievements. Make your personality shine.

Images of awards and testimonials from clients should be proudly posted as well. Your primary network consists of close friends, relatives, colleagues and peers in your industry or profession. A network of people they can refer you to. When looking for referrals, this is the best place to start.

But be careful not to be too pushy. Networking events allow you to build connections with fellow entrepreneurs. Start with events close to home around topics relevant to your services. As well as looking for events attended by your commercial peers, look for events that will attract your potential customers.

Look for events that bring you closer to your peers and potential clients. This might be things like virtual quizzes, online networking, Facebook Live sessions, Twitter chats or webinars. Remember that peers are much more than competitors — they can also be great sources of leads and support.

Speaking of referrals, when was the last time you asked an existing client for one? All you need to do is send an email when the time is right. This could be when you receive positive feedback, or after a project has been wrapped up. You can incentivise your referrals by rewarding customers for every new customer they send your way.

Tools like ReferralCandy make this possible without any technical knowledge:. When reaching out to anyone, make sure you have permission to do so in order to remain GDPR compliant. You will need to be sensitive to the fact that your clients may be facing additional pressures created by Covid, and they may not have the time or the budget to start new projects.

But if you have products or services that can help them overcome these challenges, then they may be delighted to hear from you. Whatever it is, make sure it alleviates a problem they have. This is how you make your upsell relevant to existing clients. Similar to the above, reach out to past clients to see if there are new projects you can help them with.

Alternatively, you can create new service packages and outline the benefits to past clients. If your site has the functionality, ask your former clients to write an honest review about your services. They are also welcome to do this on your Google business listing. Reviews and testimonials increase your credibility to prospective clients, as they have a chance to see how you add value to people just like them.

Directories are another useful place to be featured. Some directories require payment, so choose carefully, but you should be able to find some directories that are free to join. Directories are occasionally dedicated to certain professions, or freelancers, and others may be restricted to people in certain communities, specialisms or locations. An entrepreneur?

Facebook might be the place for you. A something male? Take a look at Reddit threads. So by first building a stable income before quitting your job, you never feel forced to work with bad clients. To avoid this from happening, make your offer crystal clear from the start and tell your clients that their results are up to them and the work they put in. Look: I get it. You should work on your business with the mindset that you want the best for your clients.

Yes, you need to show up to do the work and deliver your service. As a business owner, you have to learn how to sell after all, your livelihood depends on it. What it comes down to is the value you share upfront. This depends on your current salary and costs. I recommend my clients to double their current salary to make sure they can cover all business costs and taxes that might come up.

I recommend the same for you. Once you have a couple of clients in your business, you can raise your rates. The key to getting clients? Intimately understanding them. Plus, your marketing material will pretty much write itself once you know exactly what your one perfect client wants. How do you figure it out? This podcast episode reveals it all. Think Like One! How do you really know what your client wants? Simple: Think about your business from their perspective.

In this article, Ted Rubin shows you how. In this video, Marie shares 5 specific tips. Happy clients mean loyal clients who come back for more and refer you to people they know.

But how do you make sure your clients are happy and satisfied after your time together? Here are 5 easy steps to take. How should you talk to your clients?

How do you manage these clients? Read this article published in HBR. When you first take on a new client, setting the right tone for your time together is so important.

How do you make sure that your clients stay satisfied with your services? One of the biggest mistakes I see my students make when it comes to getting clients in their businesses is this:. Life happens and sometimes people who want to work with you forget to keep in touch.

I recently shared this great article [this works just as well for an event, email, webinar, referral, book, etc. I recommend [some course of action — plan, list of next steps, etc. Do any of those times work for you? This could be a bonus like an extra session with you or an assessment. When you share your free service, make the value clear.

Instead of working with a number of people for free, I chose to give potential clients a short, minute session with me. This worked wonders and ever since, I recommend my clients to do the same.

There are so many different ways to get clients. It is about using these for the benefit of your business. I personally like getting clients from social media. It is effective and they are willing to pay premium prices. There is no way to properly describe how insightful, easy to understand, and helpful this entire post is!

Thank you for sharing. It is good to know what to do and what not to do — right away — when starting off in any new business. Many thanks in advance. Another fabulous article with easily digestible advice points. Glad to see you reading through quite a few of my articles! Definitely save it and hope you get lots of use out of the tips! Your email address will not be published. Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Disclaimer. This website uses cookies.

By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Get Instant Access. By Luisa Updated: September 16, Want to know how to get clients online? Today, I share the best strategies for getting clients now and in the future. Here are just a few results that you can get if you implement them today: Ready to get these results for yourself? Read on. In fact: You can use a few, focused strategies that will if you implement them consistently get you clients in the next 30 or so days.

Example of an industry-specific job board. This one is for translators. Sometimes I speak at events like this Gary V event in London. I use blogging as one of my marketing strategies to get clients. Hope you enjoy this blog post. Want to know how to build a profitable, meaningful business to replace your ? Get the PDF. The proven blueprint for building a profitable online coaching business that frees you from the 9-to Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

Instagram Youtube Facebook. Home Success Stories Contact Menu. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. By Susan Ward. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

Learn about our editorial policies. Your Privacy Rights. Who are they likely to listen to or where do they look when they want to buy your type of product or service. What could you do to get referrals and recommendations from those sources? Write all this information down and look for patterns.

Then, to get more customers, plan ways to put yourself and your information where the people in your target market can find it when they are ready to buy. Instead, try to develop relationships with potential customers.

Retweet or comment on their posts. Selling is a lot easier when you sell to people who feel like they know you. Even in the digital age, daily and weekly newspapers are still an incredible source of contact information and lead to potential new customers. Watch for names of people who have been promoted, who have won awards, who have opened new businesses , or who in any way may be potential customers.

Send those people personalized mailings congratulating them on their success or telling them how interesting the article about them was. Include your company name and slogan plus any appropriate product information with your signature.

Better yet, give them a reason to give you their contact information. An offer of a free newsletter, a free guide to something related to your industry, or a coupon can all be good devices to use for lead capture.

Then follow up regularly on those leads. Everybody loves a bargain. Offer a discount to new customers on their first purchase. If you sell products or services that need to be purchased repeatedly, consider making that first discount contingent on the customer signing a contract for a year of service. Events that may bring your potential market together. Look for fliers about the event at local networking group meetings.

Or, call and ask the organizers if there are sponsorship opportunities available. Local events can be quite inexpensive to sponsor.

Look in the newspapers to see what other organizations hold events that might attract your target market and attend some of those meetings.