Want to sell offline services but don't know how to get your first client? Check this out!
Warriors,
Some of you may want to do offline selling but you just have no idea how to get your first client. It can seem quite overwhelming if you're just starting out. However, if you follow the advice in this post, you should be able to get your first client within a week at most. Read on.
First of all, you may be intimidated about going out and trying to sell your services to a local business owner. Truth be told, it can be quite a scary experience.
Especially if you're used to hibernating wherever your computer is and rarely make face to face contact with anyone. (Those of you whose dog barks at you thinking you're a stranger because they see you so little, know exactly what I'm talking about
)
Once you actually make contact with some business owners you'll see they're not going to bite you or hit you. The worse they can do is say "no." and absolute worse case scenario they'll say no in a nasty tone. However, our mind, thanks to evolution, likes to play tricks on us and instills a false sense of fear in such matters.
Even if you're comfortable talking to people, you still may just not know where to start for prospecting for clients.
So, how can you get past this fear if you have it and actually get your first potential client in your first week?
The answer is to start with people you already do business with. I realize that you may think this is a very simple concept. However, I haven't really seen it mentioned. Most important, it will work.
For example, my first client was my car insurance agent. I scheduled an appointment with her, and I talked about what I could do for her. We scheduled a follow up appointment and after that meeting I got a check.
Believe me, when you get your first check things get a lot easier.
Why is this so effective?
Think about it, you spend money with the people you do business with. They're most likely not going to say no to you for a meeting, remember you're a paying customer.
Even if they're not interested in what you're offering, they're most likely not going to be rude about it. They'll most likely be very polite. Again, they won't want to lose your business, so they'll at least hear what you have to say.
Even if they do say no, it's not a big deal. You got a chance to practice your pitch/presentation. You showed your mind that even though it wants to make you believe people will turn into fanged monsters who desire to suck your brains out and eat them, it really doesn't happen. You also can ask for some referrals.
Sit down and make a list of people that you or your family does business with. Here are some examples:
Insurance agents, lawyers, financial planners, car dealerships (most people are very loyal to a particular car dealership, have you or one of your family members been buying cars from the same dealer for a long time?), accountant/CPA, dentist, doctor (including specialists like foot doctor, OB/GYN, etc..), daycare center, martial arts instructor, vet (for those of you whose dog doesn't recognize you ), gym, hair dresser/barber, restaurants/diners you frequent, etc...
One way to make sure you don't forget anyone is to go to your online banking account and look at all the products/services you've spent money on for the past 12 months. As mentioned, don't forget such places like doctors/dentists that you may not have had to pay out of pocket expenses for, but you or your family still goes to on a regular basis.
Ask your family/friends about who they go to for the above services. Once you find out you can call them up and say:
"Hi, my name is ____, and my family member/friend (their name) is one of your clients/patients/customers. I was just wondering if I could come in for a few minutes to talk to you? Which is better for you, Monday or Tuesday?"
Another great way to help you get some potential clients is to do something for a non-profit you or your family are involved with or have interest in. Make sure that it is with the understanding they will help you promote your services to their members, in exchange for your services.
I'm currently doing a site for the school my sister works for and in exchange, they're going to send my promotional letter home to the parents of the students. I guarantee I'm going to be able to get some clients from this. All for a site that only took me 1 day to put together.
If you seriously give this a try and schedule some appointments with the people you and your family/friends do business with, I guarantee you'll gain more confidence and you will have a check within a week.
If you have any feedback/questions/comments feel free to contribute to this post.
Jason
Some of you may want to do offline selling but you just have no idea how to get your first client. It can seem quite overwhelming if you're just starting out. However, if you follow the advice in this post, you should be able to get your first client within a week at most. Read on.
First of all, you may be intimidated about going out and trying to sell your services to a local business owner. Truth be told, it can be quite a scary experience.
Especially if you're used to hibernating wherever your computer is and rarely make face to face contact with anyone. (Those of you whose dog barks at you thinking you're a stranger because they see you so little, know exactly what I'm talking about
)Once you actually make contact with some business owners you'll see they're not going to bite you or hit you. The worse they can do is say "no." and absolute worse case scenario they'll say no in a nasty tone. However, our mind, thanks to evolution, likes to play tricks on us and instills a false sense of fear in such matters.
Even if you're comfortable talking to people, you still may just not know where to start for prospecting for clients.
So, how can you get past this fear if you have it and actually get your first potential client in your first week?
The answer is to start with people you already do business with. I realize that you may think this is a very simple concept. However, I haven't really seen it mentioned. Most important, it will work.
For example, my first client was my car insurance agent. I scheduled an appointment with her, and I talked about what I could do for her. We scheduled a follow up appointment and after that meeting I got a check.
Believe me, when you get your first check things get a lot easier.
Why is this so effective?
Think about it, you spend money with the people you do business with. They're most likely not going to say no to you for a meeting, remember you're a paying customer.
Even if they're not interested in what you're offering, they're most likely not going to be rude about it. They'll most likely be very polite. Again, they won't want to lose your business, so they'll at least hear what you have to say.
Even if they do say no, it's not a big deal. You got a chance to practice your pitch/presentation. You showed your mind that even though it wants to make you believe people will turn into fanged monsters who desire to suck your brains out and eat them, it really doesn't happen. You also can ask for some referrals.
Sit down and make a list of people that you or your family does business with. Here are some examples:
Insurance agents, lawyers, financial planners, car dealerships (most people are very loyal to a particular car dealership, have you or one of your family members been buying cars from the same dealer for a long time?), accountant/CPA, dentist, doctor (including specialists like foot doctor, OB/GYN, etc..), daycare center, martial arts instructor, vet (for those of you whose dog doesn't recognize you
), gym, hair dresser/barber, restaurants/diners you frequent, etc...One way to make sure you don't forget anyone is to go to your online banking account and look at all the products/services you've spent money on for the past 12 months. As mentioned, don't forget such places like doctors/dentists that you may not have had to pay out of pocket expenses for, but you or your family still goes to on a regular basis.
Ask your family/friends about who they go to for the above services. Once you find out you can call them up and say:
"Hi, my name is ____, and my family member/friend (their name) is one of your clients/patients/customers. I was just wondering if I could come in for a few minutes to talk to you? Which is better for you, Monday or Tuesday?"
Another great way to help you get some potential clients is to do something for a non-profit you or your family are involved with or have interest in. Make sure that it is with the understanding they will help you promote your services to their members, in exchange for your services.
I'm currently doing a site for the school my sister works for and in exchange, they're going to send my promotional letter home to the parents of the students. I guarantee I'm going to be able to get some clients from this. All for a site that only took me 1 day to put together.
If you seriously give this a try and schedule some appointments with the people you and your family/friends do business with, I guarantee you'll gain more confidence and you will have a check within a week.
If you have any feedback/questions/comments feel free to contribute to this post.
Jason
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