You Made It – Now Grow! 6 Questions to Ask When Looking for Potential Clients

Now is the time to bounce back from the recession and grow your client-base. How to do this has been a hot topic in our house recently as my husband has started leading more projects in his career. Of course, we discuss what has and hasn’t worked in project interviews we have been a part of. My perspective comes from my last employment position as a proposal coordinator and graphic designer (as well as a bunch of other things) – my husband’s perspective is from the point of view of a project manager in a small town architectural firm.   I mention “small town” because our pool is smaller and we really have to do the legwork to get and keep clients.

What always comes up in our discussions – the importance of building a relationship with a potential client before a project is even advertised. Pre-recession this wasn’t a problem; there were enough projects to go around without a previous relationship. Now, even as the market perks up and projects have come to life, clients are still looking for that same care (which, they should have had all along – people became lazy when there was plenty of work).

The Recession Acted as a Weed & Feed for Business! Truly, this is good, the recession really weeded out the unmotivated workers. For example, we can look at our real estate agents and see who made it through the tough times when houses were sitting on the market for three years and those who’ve had to move onto a different career. Most professions saw a “survival of the fittest” type of battle during the recession. The firms and employees that made it through the recession are doing something right – they are taking care of their clients! But now, it is time to get new clients. How do you do that?

Have you asked your clients for referrals? My old firm ran into problems with this because we had clients who wanted to keep us for their very own. Decipher which clients you can talk to – most are realistic and have great ideas. They may even have advice on how to reach a market you didn’t think about. If you are taking care of your clients, you have built a trusted relationship with them. They know you will take care of them as well as their friends.   Plus, you “know” this market, so you have a leg-up with potential clients. Take advantage of that knowledge.

Are you community involved? I am a strong believer that if you give, you will get. If you are gung-ho about something, get involved by volunteering, supporting, and getting things done. Not only are you giving back to something you believe in, you are meeting lots of people doing it – and you already have something in common. You are building relationships with the organization (potential references or clients) and like-minded community members from several different businesses (potential clients and friends). It’s a WIN! WIN! If you have the capital, sponsor an event (but follow it up with putting feet on the ground). You can read more about event sponsorship in an earlier blog. (Read more about the importance of sponsoring events here.)

What are your strengths? Are you an extrovert? Do you enjoy talking to people? (This may be a good question to ask yourself before you start a business too.) If not, maybe you should bring someone onto your team with strong communication skills. If anything, push yourself to get out there and work with people. It can be done. I have watched my husband shuck off his shell and let his nerd flag fly. It was a quality he really set out to improve once he started his career and he has become an integral part of his company’s business outreach plan. He took small steps. He started with speaking up in inter-business meetings, talking one-on-one with clients, taking part in interviews, and joining boards. Now, even though he still gets nervous (you really can’t tell), he has become a multi-faceted employee.

Have you done your RESEARCH?  This is really important!  Know your clients before you knock on their door. Once you knock, ask questions. As my colleague wrote last week when she blogged about learning the ins and outs of road dust, “it isn’t nerdy to ask questions!” Internet stalk – research their clients, their topics, their mission, their competition – KNOW your potential clients. Business is personal. I even look up the people and see if I can find personal information about them. Recent trends include personal bios about families, hobbies and personal interests. You may learn that you know someone already in their network or have common interests you can talk about.

Are you ONLINE? I mean really online? Most people pluck away at their keys to answer emails, but what is your social media plan? I have talked about social networking before (click here to learn more about creating a small business social media plan); it really is important!   Some tips: Who is your target audience and are you reaching them? Have all of your friends and clients liked your business? Are you advertising in your market? Are there quality reviews of your services and/or products? If there is a bad review, have you addressed it? (I see this on vacation rental sites a lot.) It is really important to show you addressed the issue. Can you provide a tutorial in your expertise? A sample questionnaire? Anything that can help associate you with your profession?

Are you following through? The first time you meet your future client you may make a great impression, but it may not stick in their head. You have to subtly remind them. Send a thank-you note for meeting with you. Make a point to stop and take them to coffee or lunch when you are in town. Drop them a note celebrating their business anniversary. Invite them as a guest to an event you are sponsoring. The list goes on. Don’t flood their inbox with a billion emails they delete, be strategic (read this blog on how to get people to open your email). Only call them when you have something that you know could really help them.

About the author:

Kasey B. Wright is a small town, small business kind of girl with nature in her heart. She grew-up working long hours at her parents general store in amazing Joseph, Oregon – Google it, oh wait, here’s a link – visit! Really- Arts, Camping, Resort on Wallowa Lake, Mountains, 52 high lakes, Gorgeous! Enough with the free advertisement, but truly it is amazing – Google it! Now days, if not twiddling away on her iMac, painting, or mentally re-designing pretty much everything, she is outside with her family enjoying all of the adventures that lay beyond her front door (which in Missoula are abundant and basically start within a five-minute radius of her house). Her family, a husband of whom she met as a freshman in college (architect – I know two designers and yes, nothing ever gets done), our dog (neurotic first child wire-haired pointing griffon), cat (shelter cat – maybe the most adjusted member of our family), and toddler twins (girl+boy) in chronological order, keep the adventure alive! Oh yah, fish too (rarely claimed).