Lesson #21 - How do you find your target clients?

Let me start with....


"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself."

Peter Drucker

Ok this is mostly a post for me, not you.  So I've been thinking about how to approach the whole marketing thing, which is essential (amongst several other essential business tasks) to keep you afloat.

You'll have to forgive me not using Marketing terms, 'cause I just don't know them.  But I figure the best thing to do is really define who you want to have as your clients.  For me thats agencies - ad & web design, PR companies, Communications firms, government departments, etc.  Simply because they get to do all the persuading of the end client on the cost of getting the content generated, and I don't have to.  Don't get me wrong, I can talk things up pretty ok myself, but I just like it when I don't have to.  My time is better spent doing other things.  And don't forget to add direct business with the businesses.  They tend to have bigger budgets than the small mom & pop business, which I like too.

So now I know who I want to get to pay me a shit load of money, it's a matter of getting past the receptionist, (read gate keeper) or any other barrier to brake down that door.  Sounds too aggressive. Lets try "pry open the door".  Hmm that's close enough.  The best way I've found so far is the referral.   For me it's gone a little like, "John (who knows the potential client, and a friend of mine) suggested that I give you a call and offer my services to you, and find out how I can support you this year." So straight away I'm talking to the right person, who has the ability to make decisions. Bingo.  Also the fact that someone they trust/like/work with whatever, is doing the referring, makes some of those barriers come down.  Double Bingo.  This seems to work, some of the time.  The more of those you have the better the results.  It seems to be far better than cold calling which I hate.  REALLY HATE.

There's other ways, BNI are great, other networking groups, all good to brake the ice and get your elevator pitch in the ear of those that can make things happen.  I'm good at face to face so that suits me fine.  I listen well, and that's what people like.  They like to be listened to and understood.  If you can do that your steps ahead.  I've noticed that if I start telling people things, I lose them straight away.  I just don't have the bullshit factor that a really great salesperson has.  For me I've got to tell it like it is, what I genuinely believe.

So I've joined a word of mouth business group/community, I have reached out to all my friends to see who they can recommend me to, and I'm setting up meetings to show and tell.  All very gentile stuff. Now here's the crunch.  Getting the good work done for those who take a punt on you, and lets be real here, people who hire you to do some work are taking a punt, is the key to it all.  You can talk your way to the top, but you got to produce the goods.  Making that customer happy is the best word of mouth of all.  The magic stuff that happens while you're not there.   I'm not sure how long it takes, but the goal is to get enough of a ground swell so that people are calling you back, or calling you for a first contact, so that you doing have to have that phone glued to your ear and here the word NO.

Well that's the theory.  Seems to be holding true.

Good shooting everyone.