As business owners we typically always have our eyes open and ears to the ground for new opportunities such as a new or potential clients to work with. Building new relationships with clients is key for continued success in business. I started CategoryCode in 2010 and worked as a freelance web designer and web developer for approx. 6-7 years prior. The relationships and clients I gained along the way have brought me to where I am today.

In order to grow and expand we need new clients. I can assume we all agree in saying that the best form of a new lead is a referral. People have a much higher probability of buying from you or working with you when they have been referred by someone they trust. This is key, the more relationships and more clients we have, the more opportunities we have for referrals!

Creating new relationships and generating business take many forms. When you gain someone’s trust, you have a much better chance of getting a referral.

Our Experience

At CategoryCode our largest source of work comes from referrals. The largest source of our referrals is our existing and past customers. We know that the more happy customers we have, the more referrals we have the opportunity to receive. I am sure this equation can be applied to almost every industry.

But getting your next client may not be as difficult as you thought. New clients and referrals may be right under your nose. Here are two of my personal examples both within the last 2 weeks.

Example 1

Today I was shoveling the snow which is almost a daily activity in Edmonton. My neighbour was also shoveling his walks. We got to chatting and he asked me why my car is always home. I began to explain that I work from home. As most people do, he asked “What do you do”. This allowed me to explain that I run a Digital Marketing company where we build Websites and do Online Marketing.

It turns out his wife’s parents just started a limousine company and are looking to get a website built. This is fantastic, I explained I would provide him my business card and I’d be happy to sit down with them.

Example 2

I am a fitness buff and a natural bodybuilder in my spare time and I workout each day. The gym happens to be a great place to network whether you’d like to believe it or not. (Note: I don’t recommend sitting and talking at the gym. There is a time and a place for it!)

This past week I was in the change room and another gentlemen sparked a conversation asking me about my diet and what I eat. I began to explain what I eat and how it is fairly easy to maintain since I work from home. Once again, this opened up the conversation about what I do. I explain we do marketing, etc. etc. It turns out he is a real estate agent and asked if we do websites and real estate marketing. It just so happens that we have had fantastic success in this industry.

Tips and Recommendations

Your potential clients may be in front of you but you have never taken the time to notice. Here are a few tips for tapping into existing opportunities.

Tip 1 – Be Friendly

This may sound like a no-brainer but being friendly is a fantastic way to meet people. If your neighbour is outside don’t be afraid to spark a conversation  Get to know them and build a connection. You never know where it may go. If you simply keep to yourself all the time you may be missing out on opportunities. Once you have engaged in a conversation take note of our next 2 tips.

Tip 2 – Actively Listen and Ask Questions

Active listening is very important when talking with people. I would urge you to ask questions and then actively listen. If you are always doing the talking, you will not get to know them and will miss key things people tell you. By asking questions you can find out what they do, who they know, etc. and by listening actively you can pickup on key things and read between the lines. For example maybe they have a website and are currently working with a company but his body language suggests he is not happy. This provides an opportunity ask questions and learn more.

Tip 3 – People Hate Being “Sold”, get them to ask you

I suggest you work on your soft marketing skills if your not proficient at networking and conversing.

I also suggest creating some key conversation points. For example I have found that when I tell people I work from home or run my own business it typically results in the other person asking and wanting to know what I do. This provides a nice way to get them to ask me a question, allowing me to answer rather there question and eliminating a need to “sell”.

When someone does engage, make sure you can with few words effectively explain what do you. You don’t want to bore them, but you want them to be able to identify what do you.

What strategies do you use to find and engage new clients?

As small businesses, marketing is always on our mind. We are always thinking of new ways that we can grow our business and land more clients, sales, etc.

Marketing is typically how we achieve this. Marketing is how we get new business and how we grow our businesses. With the advances in technology the way we go about marketing has started to change.

• Instead of YellowPage Ads we put ads on Google
• Instead of Commercials we post our videos on Youtube
• Instead of Newspaper Ads we Blog
• Instead of Cold-calling we use Social Media
• and the list goes on

The days of traditional marketing are starting to fade. There is a large shift being made towards Inbound Marketing.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing refers to marketing to people that are already looking for you. For example: Your website showing up when someone searches for one of your services on Google. This tends to perform much better then a newspaper ad which is being shown to more people but most of which don’t notice or don’t care.

Times are Changing

There is a large shift towards Online Marketing such as Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Conversion Rate Optimization, etc. Many of us have been doing this for a while but many of us still are not.

Wait!

We cannot forgot Face to Face Marketing.

Face to Face Marketing is really where it all began. Even today I believe it is the most powerful form of Marketing your business. Nothing will ever be able to beat or replicate a face to face conversation, the connection you make and the relationship you build.

So let’s take a step back for a minute and evaluate how businesses typically grow.

Referrals

The root of generating new businesses is through referrals. I think most business owners would agree that the best way to grow your business is, organically, through positive word of mouth (referrals). A referral comes when someone recommends your business to someone else.

Relationships

Before we get a referral, we need to build a relationship with someone to give us the referral. Relationships, like Rome, are not built in a day. They take time. Relationships can be made in various ways such as with people you meet frequently, people you do business with, or clients you have worked for. But in each scenario, you have built a relationship on some level.

Networking

In order to build new relationships we need to meet new people. In the industry we typically do this through networking. Networking can take various forms. For example in Edmonton, there are always industry events, mixers, charity events, etc. all which provide a fantastic atmosphere for meeting new people. There are also networking groups that meet monthly, some even weekly, some are free some aren’t. These are also effective as you have the opportunity to build a relationship, establish a connection and build trust.

Putting it all Together

When you take a look at the big picture you need to incorporate all facets of marketing for your business. It’s important to market your business both on and offline. Meeting people face to face offers a great opportunity to make a connection, one that cannot be made through email.

We take this “mixed” approach to building our business. We market our business online through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Search Engine Optimization, the works. However, we attend industry events and we also are a part of BoB Club. We meet with a great group of people every 2 weeks. It is very relaxed, we mix, mingle and build relationships. We don’t not expect work from these people. But our goal is to make connections. Over time as we the relationship grows, we become a company they can refer, and likewise, we refer them.

How do you market your business?