One of the most important challenges
that consultants, freelancers, coaches, and
course creators are facing is getting clients. This
goal seems harder to reach especially in
the beginning of a coaching/consulting/freelancing
business when there are not tested funnels in place, nor a big
advertising budget available.
The bad new is that
many businesses fail at this moment – because the owners have
information overload, they are attracted by so many strategies
presented in various courses, articles, webinars, etc., and they
don’t have a clear path. As a side note, in this stage you can always
take advantage of a free business coaching session to give you clarity on your vision and direction and to help you
discover what you should do next to grow your business and get
clients.
The good new is that
even if you don’t have an advertising budget and you don’t know how
to select a funnel that works for you and your business, there are
still things you can do right now to get visibility and your first
clients.
You can
implement these things on social media
(on Facebook, instagram, LinkedIn – wherever your ideal clients
are.) You can implement them in your articles for your blog or in the
articles that you can publish on different platforms. These are the
key pillars to all interactions and, when used on a consistent basis,
they will help you get clients easier and faster.
Here are the
four things you can do right now in order to build your know,
like, and trust factor, and attract clients. These elements do
not require any ad spending. Instead, they will help you get
visibility for yourself, can be used starting today, and will get you
results in time. The key is to be consistent and provide
value!
Inspire people
One of the best things you can do
is to inspire others. In fact, many of my clients told me that they
decided to work with me because I inspired them to take action,
because I showed them that it is possible be successful in pursuing
your dream regardless of where you are from or how big your dream
is.
You can inspire people in so many ways. You can
challenge them to do more, you can convey your energy, you can make
them feel worthy by believing in them, you can show them you care,
you can listen actively and provide feedback, you can show them your
vulnerabilities, you can help them get clarity or see new approaches.
You can also
inspire people through your story, your own challenges how you
overcome those. In my case, people told me that they were
inspired by the fact that I started in are lesser known country,
Romania, with no connections, but I managed to grow my public
relations agency and work with clients from different continents.
Some said that they started to work with me because I’ve shown that
you can be known in multiple niches, for different things (since
apart from being now as a public relations specialist, I am also
known as a travel blogger having two successful travel blogs that I
turned into profitable businesses.) Others said that they were
inspired by the stories they heard from their friends who worked with
me as a business coach. So, you see, your story can inspire people in
so many ways. It can show them that it is possible to overcome some
obstacles and to reach their dreams.
Encourage
people
Sometimes people just need a kind word. They need
someone to tell them that they will manage to solve the problem or
that things will get easier. They need a pep talk and those words of
encouragement will go a long way and make a huge difference in their
lives.
I always pay attention to other people
that I interact with and to my clients, and if I see that
encouragement is what they need in order to find motivation again,
I’m always there for them. Because we all need encouragement from
time to time. We all have our ups and downs and we all appreciate a
“you’ve got this” message sometimes.
Don’t you like it when your mentor,
manager or friends know exactly when you need encouragement?
Engage
with people
the key to get visibility for yourself,
and to build your own like and trust factor, is to interact with
people. Not just to put your content out there and hope others will
see it and interact with it.
How do you engage with people?
It will obviously depend on where your
potential clients are. If they are on social media, then you can join
some Facebook or LinkedIn groups where your clients hang out and join
some conversations. Answer questions, provide feedback, communicate,
interact. It’s that simple.
If you can find your ideal clients at
some events or places you can go to – like network meetings,
chamber of commerce meetings, gym sports, moms clubs, etc. – the best
thing to do is to go there. Live. Don’t start to promote yourself,
but try to understand your clients, interact with them and go from
there.
You can find speaking opportunities as
well – these are great ways to get awareness for yourself and to
position yourself as an authority in your niche – and you can offer them a free session to help them in your area
of expertise
Help people
It’s true what they say that
you have to provide value first and
then you can ask people to buy something from you or to work
with you. So, as you engage with people, offer good advice. Help them
solve a problem that they are facing right now. Offer tips. Share
your knowledge, become known as the go-to expert on a topic, and you
will see that people will recommend you and that it will be easier
for you to have people joining your mailing list or taking you up on
an offer to give them a free strategy call, end, eventually, to get
more clients.
Helping your clients should be on your
mind regardless of the sales funnel that you put in place. If you
decide to run a 5-day challenge, you should consider creating content
that really helps them. It’s the same for a video series, a webinar,
a free session, an ebook or whichever tactic you’ll use.
Be
consistent
As I mentioned in the beginning, you need consistency.
Building your authority and getting visibility is not something you
can achieve overnight. If you decide to get involved in conversations
in groups, then you need to be present over a longer period of time.
You can’t just join a conversation for one day and imagine that
people know who you are, how good you are, that you care and that you
provide great programs or courses. You need to be consistent. So
don’t spread your efforts into too many groups, as you will run out
of time. Stick to a few relevant ones, where your potential clients
are, and start to build your own group.
If you decide to go to networking
events, don’t go to just one. You may end up with no clients or free
sessions booked after one event, and with 20 sessions that can lead
to 5-10 clients after another event. But you need to be seen, and if
this is the tactic that you decide to use, stick to it.
Always
remember inspire, encourage, engage, and help people – and you’ll
never run out of clients!