I’ve been doing a little research with my weekend…
So, I tend to not work weekends, but all of this business talk got me thinking and I was intrigued to know what the biggest problems that Freelancers, Contractors and Coaches face. Wanna know my findings? Read on…
Oh yeah, I’ve included the solutions, too…
Actual comments from people just like you.
The question “What concerns you about finding clients?”
1. “Lack of leads, downtime between assignments, reliance on two clients, low utilization rate.”
2. I currently only have two clients ~ my current approach to sales is time-consuming (networking, face-to-face meetings). Also, once engaged in delivery it is very challenging to maintain the sales effort.
3. I have very little money for marketing. I am currently running around to companies, organizations, and volunteering to help get face-time with decision makers. I worry that I am not breaking through.
4. Making sure I have a flow of qualified leads coming my way.
5. Gaining Customers
6. Not knowing where to look
7. Not knowing what methods work to attract clients.
9. Cold calling is difficult
I’ve highlighted some of the common themes – are you ready for what people ask? More importantly, are you ready for the reply that they get?
Let’s break it down.
HOW DO I GET A PIPELINE OF CLIENTS?
Most people are worried that they just don’t know how to attract clients. They worry that the wrong strategy is in place and mostly, they just don’t know where to look. Getting to networking meeting after networking meeting is nigh on impossible unless you can split yourself in two and one of my clients just hated cold calling. Which let’s face it, is crap.
In a nutshell, the lack of client leads is the biggest gripe, closely followed by long periods of inaction between gigs.
How do we fix this?
By creating a strategic system that is designed solely around getting you clients.
You need to learn a new skillset, that is the core of getting that system in place, and it’s not something that you can outsource until you know how to do it yourself. If, as a business owner, you’re not willing to learn and put practice into getting new clients, then you’re hitting hobby territory.
Here’s a question for you…
Do you have a strategy in place that will actually attract clients to you, or do you pretty much wing it when you have the time? For most people, they tend to rely on an ad-hoc system that just doesn’t deliver the results. For the rest, they tend to spread themselves too thin by doing things that are completely irrelevant and not concentrating on the stuff that is.
If your clients are on LinkedIn, then I can show you a 9-step strategy to get all of the clients that you need. If your client base isn’t on LinkedIn, then you don’t need me and I refuse to take a penny from you!
THE PROCESS IS TOO TIME CONSUMING
A common comeback was always that it takes too long to find clients, especially when you are working on top of marketing yourself. It’s completely understandable – if you’re up to your eyeballs in work that is paying the bills, you very rarely look past that until it’s done and then you’re twiddling your thumbs wondering where the next lot is going to come from.
BUT! And it’s a big but – if you don’t continue to market yourself, you become the invisible man or woman and that’s not a good thing. We all like privacy, but come on…
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