Sooner or later most solo service providers find themselves in the frustrating catch-22 -- while I'm working with a client I'm not able to market my services, and while I'm marketing my services, I'm not working with a client. Here is my four-part plan to help you make your 'great escape'!
I just got this email from Hector:
'Hi Bernadette, I work with clients to help them use Information Technology to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and eliminate waste. I manage their IT projects for implementation of information systems, software development, and business process improvement.
The problem has been that while I'm working with a client I'm not able to market my services, and while I'm marketing my services, I'm not working with a client.
I am great in developing a rapport with a client but do not have the skill set to find new clients. Can you help?'
Yes, I certainly can.
Sooner or later most solo service providers find themselves in the frustrating catch-22 that Hector describes. Here is my four-part plan to help you make your 'great escape'!
1. Replace 'manual labour' prospecting with automated and low maintenance prospecting techniques.
If your main way of generating new enquiries are time-consuming techniques like cold-calling and networking, then it's time to replace them with prospecting and lead capture which can be automated. For example, targeted advertising or direct mail which drive interested prospects to a web page where you make an attractive offer in exchange for their contact details and permission to contact them. Imagine having 20, 30 or even 100 people give you their names without you making a single cold-call or going to any networking meeting.
2. Automate your follow-up processes.
Surely one of the greatest inventions of the late 20th century was the 'auto-responder', the technology that enables you to automate your follow up and send a sequence of ongoing messages and offers to prospects. Before I started using an auto-responder, my follow up was a calendar reminder of phone calls or 'keep in touch' notes. It took hours to maintain, and just like Hector, when I was working with a client, my follow up suffered. The beauty of an auto-responder is that it will follow up on your behalf whether you are working with a client, on holiday, or even sleeping! This is an essential tool for every solo-preneur.
3. Create 'off-the shelf' solutions that can be sold without you having to write laborious proposals every time
If winning a new client means a detailed written proposal every time, then you are doing something wrong. While there will almost certainly be situations where a customized proposal is required, the 80/20 rule dictates that 80% of what you do for clients is duplicated. So why not save yourself some stress and effort by creating fixed price 'packages' to offer prospects? You'll be stunned at the difference this can make to your business, as not only does it cut down selling time, it makes your offer more tangible to the buyer, and that can increase sales too.
4. Automate 'closing the sale'
For people like Hector, there's a good chance that to close the sale requires several phone calls, face-to-face meetings and tailored proposals. All that time adds considerably to your cost of sale and eats into your profit margins. (Which is why sometimes even when you're winning business you can still feel like your not earning enough compared to the effort you put in). The advantage of creating 'off-the shelf solutions' is that you can often sell these solutions with a really strong sales letter or webpage and eventually fire yourself from your sales team!
As someone who had been trained in face-to-face selling techniques, I initially resisted this advice and argued that it wasn't workable in my business. But when I finally tried it and saw those orders coming in without me speaking to a customer, I was hooked. You will be too if you give this a try, and you'll wonder why you struggled doing it the old way for so long.
(c) Bernadette Doyle, 2007.
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Bernadette Doyle publishes her weekly Client Magnets newsletter for trainers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, then get your free tips now at https://www.clientmagnets.com/. Join Bernadette on her free preview calls for her "Launch Your Information Empire" workshop at https://www.clientmagnets.com/informationempire.asp.
