Business behind a laptop

9 years ago

the obvious answer.. get clients out of country. LOL has to some extent worked for me. but the phone meetings at goofy hours of the day becomes a pain in the arse.

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eccj

9 years ago

You can hire someone to meet with the clients if it is that much of a priority.

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Oziboomer

9 years ago

Originally Posted by mattpaul2000

I run a growing Digital Media Agency in the UK but although income is good and getting better

Something is going right...you are growing.

I've tried to step away from the frontline or figurehead position of my company many times over the years and although the business can survive there is always something lacking.

Usually that component is the face time you put into the business.

As Paul [Savidge] pointed out you can deal in different countries and time zones but generally speaking the better clients still require some degree of personal attention.

You may be able to hand off clients to your XXXXX expert but you still need to do the introduction and make sure the client knows you are monitoring their progress.

Ultimately you can get people appointed to oversee progress but it is difficult to go from being the face of the company to being someone who is walled up in an ivory tower.

25 years...and still trying to work myself out of the business.

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Jason Kanigan

9 years ago

I've never met the large majority of my clients. Well over 99%.

"Just Do It."

Seriously. Make the change.

You'll run into two kinds of people:

1 > those who have a problem with not being able to meet you in person

and

2 > those who don't have a problem with not being able to meet you in person.

Sort for #2. Most people have no issue with doing everything online and over the phone or Skype.

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savidge4

9 years ago

I think there needs to be some inner soul searching done here. You WANT online based clients.. BUT you probably have appointments and meetings set for the next few weeks.

The shift really isn't in the type of client you attract, its within you. YOU are the one setting appointments. YOU are the one that has that inner need and desire for the meetings. YOU are the one running the business in the manor that you are.

I WAS you until late last year. I almost entirely dealt locally. I did meetings and set appointments etc. I would get in my truck and run over a set of proofs to the client. This was how I did business. Due to a set of circumstances well within my control, my model was shattered. I sold my "Local" business. I was FORCED to seek outside of my usual modus operandi.

I haven't had a personal meeting with a client in over 9 months now. I had a client PAY me to use Skype. Everything else is done over the phone or by e-mail. I changed the way I do business.

I suggest hiring yourself as a client. Hi, Im mattpaul and I want to build a digital relationship with my clients. What do you suggest I do with my website and my sales material to make this a reality?

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Jason Kanigan

9 years ago

Originally Posted by savidge4

I think there needs to be some inner soul searching done here. You WANT online based clients.. BUT you probably have appointments and meetings set for the next few weeks.

The shift really isn't in the type of client you attract, its within you. YOU are the one setting appointments. YOU are the one that has that inner need and desire for the meetings. YOU are the one running the business in the manor that you are.

I WAS you until late last year. I almost entirely dealt locally. I did meetings and set appointments etc. I would get in my truck and run over a set of proofs to the client. This was how I did business. Due to a set of circumstances well within my control, my model was shattered. I sold my "Local" business. I was FORCED to seek outside of my usual modus operandi.

I haven't had a personal meeting with a client in over 9 months now. I had a client PAY me to use Skype. Everything else is done over the phone or by e-mail. I changed the way I do business.

I suggest hiring yourself as a client. Hi, Im mattpaul and I want to build a digital relationship with my clients. What do you suggest I do with my website and my sales material to make this a reality?

Pretty much how I got started--

I lost a job and HAD to find customers from far away from where I was...the local farmers neither had a need for what I offer, nor could they afford my rates.

The mindshift is indeed what matters most. The customers are out there.

The only problem was after a few years of working via Skype, I was tired of staying in my office and not meeting people. That lead to me going out and starting to produce the TV show (sixth season starting in September, woohoo!).

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massiveray

9 years ago

I'm also in the UK, I also run a digital marketing "agency", income is also good.

but... I hardly ever meet clients, I don't ever work in their office, and the only days that they can talk to me are Wednesdays between 12pm-4pm, if they book in advance.

I have mainly done this by systemising the majority of my processes and training people that I trust to do them well (this is the part that takes the longest), the only real part that I do myself, is the original intake, and sometimes the strategy work because I enjoy it.

Once you switch to an inbound sales strategy, it removes a lot of the meeting type stuff, people are happy with phone consultations and online billing so long as results are good and verifiable.

Do you have an office and all that crap? it's something I toyed with a while back when I was in talks for a huge contract but ended up turning down the money because it didn't fit what I wanted to do with my business.

Happy to connect on skype if you'd like? always nice to chat with other UK guys.