Finding Clients In The New Economy

Smart business owners know consistently finding clients is crucial to their success. After all, without a steady stream of new and repeat customers, there’s nobody to serve, no money to be made, and no reason to keep the doors open. How do you find clients who are ready to buy, even though the economy has changed?

Finding clients takes effort and creativity- especially in a tight market. The good news is, though, that regardless of the economy, people still need the solutions you offer and expert advice to eliminate the challenges they face. All you need are a few simple tips on how to go about finding clients when the market is tight.

Step One to Finding Clients

Hang on to the clients you have! No marketing strategy is as cost effective or as efficient as keeping the clients you have already established a working relationship with in the past. Meet your deadlines, go above and beyond what’s expected and do it all with excellent customer service as your goal. This will help you hang on to every single client you have.  

Step Two to Finding Clients

Don’t be afraid to go back to former clients and check in with them. Even if the working relationship ended under not so great circumstances, it can still be revived in certain situations. If you dropped the ball with a client that you previously had a good working relationship with, get in touch, own your mistakes and ask for another shot. You have nothing to lose — and you never know, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Step Three to Finding Clients

Ask for referrals. Go through your current and past client lists and contact the clients who have been especially happy with your work. Ask them if they can refer you to friends and colleagues of theirs. When you receive the referrals, make sure you dedicate your self to those new clients in the same way as if you were working for your original connection. This referral base could turn into a plethora of new clients if you work it with integrity and commitment.

Step Four to Finding Clients

Participating in social media is a terrific way to find new clients. Work up a special or a sale of your services and offer a limited time (or limited number) of specials via Twitter or Facebook. Watch the numbers closely, though. It’s easy for this type of deal to take off like a rocket and give you more work than you can comfortably handle in no time flat. Know your limits!

Step Five to Finding Clients

Check out the job boards. If you’ve never used a job board like Guru.com or Elance.com, now may be the time to give it a shot. Setup a membership at one of these two boards or both. Each offers a free membership, but you are much better off spending the money on a paid membership. It will show prospects that you take the process seriously and it will provide you with much greater opportunity. Work up some professional job proposal templates, but make sure you customize them for each potential job. Create a profile that showcases your experience and portfolio and start bidding. If you commit to bidding on five jobs a day, every day, come rain or shine, you’ll be finding clients in no time.

Finding clients is an essential part of any business. While finding clients may seem challenging and there is an ebb and flow to every business, it is far from impossible. Create a strategic plan, follow through on a daily basis and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. If you take consistent, focused action, before you know it, you’ll have as many clients as you could possibly want- and may even need to start outsourcing some of your own work!