As small business owners, it’s helpful to know how new clients have heard about us, so we know which of our marketing and/or advertising methods are effective. It can be as simple as adding the question to the contact form on your website, or remembering to ask every time you receive an inquiry, but to get a good overall picture, you also need a system for tracking this information. We recently compiled our data for last year, and the results look like this:
I was thrilled to see that the highest percentage of business resulted from referrals from other clients – obviously we’re doing something right! I wasn’t surprised at the outcomes for live networking, as it has traditionally been the most important means of connecting with potential clients. Over the last few months, we have begun seeing positive results from online networking, so it will be interesting to see if these numbers shift in 2009.
If you don’t yet have a system in place to track your results for the year, it’s not too late to start! Let us know if we can be of help.
Thought you might be interested in knowing that nearly all of my new business came from referrals. I did no advertising aside from the Yellow pages for 35 years. I found that referrals are most valuable as clients will not recommend you unless they are completely satisfied with your way of doing business. The only way you can “buy” that kind of advertising is to make your clients completely satisfied with what you do.
Hello…I see that you have been in business for many years. I’m just trying to get started and would like to know how you got your first client and how long did it take before that first response came through? I have done mail-outs, cold calls, face-to-face contacts and posting of flyers with very little resonse. I welcome your suggestions. Thank you
Janice, my situation is probably different than most people (see my previous post, How I Became a Virtual Assistant) but generally if you offer a service, mail-outs and flyers are not effective ways to get clients – you need a more personal approach. I would suggest that you contact all the people you already know: friends, relatives, former co-workers, etc. and let them know what you are doing – everyone knows 200 people and you just don’t know who they might now that could be a potential client. If you’re going to networking events, make sure that you focus on building relationships and not on selling.
You didn’t mention whether you are a VA, but if you are, you’ll find some additional suggestions in my post Becoming a Virtual Assistant.
Hang in there! They say it usually takes about 3 years to get a new business off the ground.
Hello Janet. Yes, I am a VA, or at least a potential VA since I have not yet landed a client. I do like the idea of telling everyone I know about what I’m doing and asking for referrals. Guess I was misguided about the letters and mail-outs, etc. Especially since my own mailbox is flooded with flyers, and other forms of advertisements. However, I guess I should take away a message from what I tend to do with them all myself (file 13) and not giving many of them a second look. What do you think about “cold calling”?
Janice, I am not a “phone person” at all, so I’ve never tried cold calling, but if you’re comfortable with it, you could give it a try. Just make sure you’re well prepared, as described in C.J. Hayden’s article, Cold Call Marketing.
You could even combine these methods, i.e., ask your existing contacts for leads and then call those people, instead of counting on your friends to pass on the information in a way that will make their friends want to call you.
Janet, thanks for link to Cold Call Marketing. I’ll take a look at it. I’ve never been thrilled about cold calling, but I thought it would help since I don’t have ANY clients at all. Maybe I’m too eager/desperate to get started. Working on my patience and persistence is a top priority.
I think that’s the hardest part for everybody, Janice.
You can also take advantage of online networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook to make yourself known to people in your target market – again, in a relationship-building way, as opposed to an in-your-face sales pitch, which will turn most people off.