Do These 3 Things To Get More Clients
Let’s face it. Not knowing where your next client is coming from can be downright terrifying.
And frustratingly, it’s got nothing to do with how great you are at what you do.
You can be the best professional in your field, but if you’re not taking the right steps to make that known, eventually your business will bottom out.
The good news is, if you know the right steps to take, you can design a system where your ideal clients come to you. But first, you need to ensure you’ve got the basics covered.
When clients come to me and say they’re struggling to find clients, it usually boils down to one of three things:
They’re not clear on who they serve and what they help them with.
They’re spending their time on all the wrong things instead of client-generating activities
They’re afraid of being visible, and this fear has stopped them in their tracks.
Change these three things and show up consistently. It’s that simple (no really). Let’s go through them.
1. Define your Niche
Let’s start with one that polarises the professional world: your niche.
“Do I really need a niche?” I hear you say.
There’s plenty of people that will say no. And if you’ve built a successful business without a niche, awesome.
But if you’re reading this, chances are you want to know how to get more clients. And put simply, narrowing down on your niche will help you do just this.
I get the resistance to it. Why would you want to shrink your market, so you have less people that will buy from you?
There’s a good reason…
When you market yourself as helping anyone and everyone, the most likely result is very few people will buy from you in the first place. Why? Because they want to work with the expert - the person who specialises in helping people like them.
Imagine you need brain surgery and you have a choice between a brain surgeon (someone who does this day in and day out) and a generalist surgeon (who’s performed brain surgery twice). Who would you choose? The brain surgeon, every single time.
Not only will they do the best job, but when you speak to them they get the challenges you’re facing, the fears you have and know the exact surgery which is going to help you.
It’s exactly the same in business.
Your messaging needs to speak to your ideal client
What keeps them up at night? What is their number one challenge? What’s important to them?
The more general your message is, the less people you’re likely to speak directly to.
So let’s talk niching. There’s no need to spend hours creating an avatar of your ideal client. But you do want to be super clear on who your ideal client is.
Remember, as you develop your business, your niche will evolve too. You’re not setting anything in stone - you’re putting a stake in the ground.
5 step niching
Think of someone you know who is your ideal client. It might be yourself (for me it was, and the bonus here is you have direct access to your ideal client’s inner most thoughts!). List the qualities that make them ideal.
Get super clear on what you help your clients achieve and avoid jargon. What is your ideal client’s ultimate goal?
SPEAK TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS. Do not skip this step. As soon as you have a rough idea of who you want to work with, and what you want to help them with, get yourself into FB groups and on the phone with anyone who is your ideal client and hear them talk about their goals and challenges. This will shape everything that comes after.
Complete this line: I help [WHO] do [WHAT]
Develop your HOW. How do you help your ideal clients achieve their ultimate goal? Your HOW is what will make you stand out from everyone else that is offering the same thing.
If you’d like a more detailed guide on how to define your niche, check out The Ultimate Guide To Picking A Niche.
2. take a serious look at where you’re spending your time
It is so easy to work your ass off, hustle like crazy and fill your day with tasks that feel important.
Picture this. You spend all day working on your business. You design your logo, update your About Me page and your sales page, join some FB groups and spend an hour interacting, get lost for an hour reading competitors’ websites and finish the day by writing your blog.
You’ve definitely been busy - you’ve been working on your business after all. But the day is nearly over and you’re no closer to a system that brings clients directly to you.
The danger here is that you don’t even realise that you’re not working on the right things. You can easily convince yourself that you should be doing those tasks - that they are really really important.
What you’re actually doing is creatively avoiding the tasks that will lead to more clients.
Why?
Because putting yourself out there to find new clients is a hell of a lot scarier than working on your website.
Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of filling your day with busying tasks that won’t help you get more clients.
If you want different results, you need to make a commitment to doing things differently
If you’re a busy mum like me, building your business around your family, you simply do not have time to waste.
Ask yourself this question: is the task I’m doing right now going to help me get a steady stream of clients?
If the answer is no, then stop doing it. For now, anyway.
Strip back your activities to the core actions which you are going to lead to more clients.
The good news? My guide on 12 Ways To Find New Clients tells you exactly what these activities are! (Hint: designing your logo didn’t make the cut). Click the button below to download your free guide.
3. Get visible, consistently
The online world is a maze, and it’s easy to get trapped thinking: how will anyone ever find me amongst the noise?
The truth is, the online world is full of opportunities for promoting your business and the real question is, are you making the most of these?
Think of someone you admire and follow - how often are they doing FB lives, posting videos, emailing useful content, updating their social media, running workshops?
The list of opportunities is endless. The problem is, it’s just too easy to stay in your comfort zone and avoid the high leverage activities that make you more visible.
It’s Time to step outside of your comfort zone
So what does being visible really mean?
It means putting yourself out there and telling everyone what you do.
It means showing up, day in and day out, online on social media, in person at events, and wherever else your ideal clients hang out.
It means have a marketing strategy which allows you to do this consistently.
I’m always amazed at how many people I speak to who say they are 100% committed to building their business, but they haven’t told their family and friends what they do yet. And what’s usually behind this?
Fear of visibility.
Because putting yourself out there, vulnerable and exposed, can be downright terrifying. But if you want people to work with you, you have to be your own biggest fan.
I’m going to set you a challenge. Download my free guide on 12 Ways To Find New Clients. Write down all of the strategies you’ve tried so far. How many let you stay in your comfort zone? Right, now pick 3 (yep 3) new strategies that you are going to action THIS WEEK. Comment below and let me know which ones you’re going to try out (no 1. was the most terrifying for me! It was also how I got my first 5 clients).