In truth, there is only one way to clients:
- Get access to them
- Find out about a need they have
- Provide a solution that meets that need
That’s it. So when most people ask about new ways to get clients, they are really asking one of these three questions:
- How do I get access to clients?
- How do I find out about potential client needs?
- How do I propose solutions that meet those needs so they will buy from me?
KEY POINT: One of the reasons most people get small clients is because they spend their time hanging out in places where small clients gather.
In other words, they go “networking” at the local Chamber of Commerce, at “events” where they are told to expect CEOs and decision makers to be in attendance, or with professional colleagues in their professional organization chapter meetings. All of these attract, for the most part, other local business people—NOT corporate clients. As one of my friends described it recently: “It’s a lot of broke people selling to other broke people.” If you enjoy these meetings, keep going to them. But don’t expect them to ever produce good corporate clients.
KEY QUESTION: Where do your big, target clients gather?
The way to get clients, especially big clients, is to go hang out with them. But for that, you have to start by asking: Where do these people hang out? Every industry will have its own particulars to some degree, but you need to pay attention to this:
- They hang out on LinkedIn because they care about their career
- They hang out at trade shows that attract their customers
- A few probably hang out in your existing network (and you don’t even know it)
- They hang out in their offices actively looking for relevant information to their business
In my next posts, I will talk about each of these, because they are crucial ways to get clients.