Worrying about how you’re going to find your next client can take up a lot of time and mental energy and is all but guaranteed to get you nowhere.
Trust me, I’ve been there.
When I started my own financial advice business, I wasn’t quite sold on marketing and believed I could find all the clients I needed all on my own. That didn’t last long…
As my time became more and more precious, my next step was to work with everyday marketers to help promote my financial planning business. It was expensive and I wasn’t getting the results I needed.
Sick of putting money in and not seeing anything in return I made a bold call.
We’d just sold our family home, and I decided to invest 3 years of my life and an eye watering amount of money from the sale to learn how to use marketing to secure more financial planning clients.
Thankfully, my gamble paid off.
Since beginning my journey, I’ve been able to more than double the size of my business thanks largely to investing my time and money in effective marketing strategies; and instead of chasing clients, I have an automatic system in place so they can easily and conveniently find me and work with me.
How did I get there? A lot of trial and error. To save you a great deal of time and frustration, and ideally all of the trial and error – here are some proven marketing strategies you can use on your search for a reliable stream of new clients – some traditional, some innovative, all effective!
1. Get your name and face in front of your clients
Attend virtual or in-person events that your ideal clients will be attending and do so frequently. With repeated exposure to your name, your business, and your face, they are more likely to remember you and when the time comes that they need the service you’re offering, you will be top of mind.
But first of all, do you know who your ideal client is? For some who offer boutique services, a small number of high-touch clients paying high fees may be the priority. For others who have built their business around volume, the priority may be on low-maintenance, low-fee clients.
If you’re stuck, check out this Forbes article where they describe how to find your “ideal client avatar”.
How do you find the right events?
You can look for nearby networking events using sites like:
The other smart ways to do this are to join social media groups specific to your industry, or to become active in online forums where your clients are. You can post in social media groups or blogs which will ensure to cement your name and your business in their mind.
2. Network within your industry
Networking is never a waste of time. You may not need to know someone right now, but you have no idea what business opportunities one person can bring your way simply by networking.
As bestselling author and former marketing VP of Virgin America, Porter Gale, says (and actually titled her book):
“Your network is your net worth” – Porter Gale
While it may seem like an odd idea to buddy up with your competition, building up your network of colleagues can only bring you good things.
Everyone has different levels of work going on at different times and everyone has a unique version of their perfect client. You never know when a competitor will send a client your way because of your specialties or simply because they are too busy.
How changing your mindset could help you land new clients in less time
Okay, so I know we’ve only hit 2 points so far and I’ve promised 4, so let’s shift gears and look at some of the more innovative ways to find new clients. Or to put it a more accurately – some smarter, less time intense ways for clients to find you.
Finding and chasing new clients can take up precious time, time you could be spending with family, playing golf or however you choose to spend your free time.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have someone else doing the hard work for you? So, the next two tips will be focused on just that – building your marketing system.
3. Write client-focused blogs
If you already have a website, set up a blog page where you can share insights and information online which can then help new clients find you.
Thinking about topics can seem impossible, but if you focus on the outcomes and results your clients want, or the problems they seek to overcome, this will ensure you write about things your ideal clients care about.
Plus, when they search for help for that problem on Google, you’ll be much more likely to appear thanks to our trusty friend search engine optimisation (SEO)!
Find out more about how SEO can help you grow your business here.
4. Make sure your website is more than just a digital business card
If you have an existing website for your business, take a minute to stop and think about the purpose of a website. Is it simply to confirm that your business exists? Or is it an asset you can use to generate new clients no matter the time or day?
In my personal experience – having explored both options – your website should become your digital business development manager. It can be highlighting the problems you solve, and how you’ll make your client’s lives better, and it can do so 24/7.
If you don’t have an office, then it’s even more important that your website sells you, and allows people to do business with you.
Further, it should be simple and quick for your client to be able to do this otherwise you may lose an opportunity. An online booking system is a great way to achieve this.
Want to include an online booking system on your website to win you knew clients? Check out this great guide from HubSpot.
Now that you know four new ways you can get new high-fee clients on board, it’s time to get to work on winning new work.
If you’re sick of relying on referrals or traditional ways of finding clients, there are plenty more smart strategies you can use to find all the new clients you could possibly want.
Want to be booked for months in advance by high-paying clients?
Want to learn how to find your ideal new clients for grow your business in less time?
Schedule a no-cost, no-obligation strategy session with CEO of MBS Advisory, Daniel Brown. Click here to request your session.
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