The Next Step You Take After Getting A Client Is The Most Crucial

by krikkod

Posted: 13 years ago 17 replies

OFFLINE MARKETING

The reason i'm posting this is because i just got burnt and have been burnt out because i did not start taking this step sooner myself ...

There is a lot of information here on how to get clients but very few are addressing the issue of what to do next.

Most people will immediately assume that once they sign up a client the next step is to then deliver on the promise.

A new website, better rankings or whatever it is they signed up for - that's what the IMer runs off to go and do.

But the Imer who gets stuck in delivering is the Imer who gets nowhere. Especially in the offline niche.

So the next step is not to deliver on the promise, the next step is to go out and sign up more people!

This was a difficult but very important lesson for me to learn as i began to see more and more work come my way.

As a technical person and perfectionist i wanted to do all the work myself, but that didn't make me any money - it just kept me busy while potential clients were being snapped up by other service providers!

Trust me on this.

If you are sitting there building the sites and doing the SEO yourself after getting a client - then you are losing out on more work.

You must have something in place, tools, people or whatever you can get to complete the work for you while you focus on expanding your client base.

If you are a technical person like me this is a very hard pill to swallow, but if you can then you will be healthier for it.

BTW if you are a technical person it actually makes you better at outsourcing because you have a technical understanding and eye to know who you can outsource to, and who and what you can rely on to deliver a top quality product for your clients.

You are the business expander and quality control taskmaster. Nothing else.

p.s - i still do parts of the work myself, but only the stuff i'm super excellent at (design), everything else gets done by other super excellent people

#client #crucial #step

MichaelHiles 13 years ago

Extremely important. Otherwise a business ends up in the roller coaster ride of cash flow peaks and valleys. Many service businesses can never break free from it either. So the owner ends up just working a job, albeit it's a job they own... but it's still a job.
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- krikkod 13 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by MichaelHiles
  
  So the owner ends up just working a job, albeit it's a job they own... but it's still a job.
  
  That's exactly what i was going through. Working a job as a one man army, and i'm confident most IMers get into this to get away from that very thing which is so easy to slip back into - da J-O-B.
  
  Life is hilarious like that sometimes...not
  
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finestultimate 13 years ago

Yeah, tell me about it, especially when you want to do everything on your own, and are eager to learn everything. Trying to balance the overwhelming amount of information out there!
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- BC27 13 years ago
  
  Thanks for confirming this scenario, which is exactly as I suspected.
  
  I like to dive in also and do the work, especially since I've been doing it all myself as an in-house SEO for 3 years. But as I've been setting my offline biz up, I've been talking into account where I will outsource the heavy lifting so that I can get more clients.
  
  A few appointments so far, hoping to land my first client this week.
  
  I don't see anyway that I can really get ahead and live the life I want while doing all the work myself.
  
  I just recently posted a sticky on my computer:
  
  "Work Smarter, NOT Harder"
  
  -Brian
  
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  finestultimate 13 years ago
  
  "Work Smarter, NOT Harder"
  
  Coincidentally said by my high-school marketing teacher!
  
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Dexx 13 years ago

One of the best investments I've ever made:

Amazon.com: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small...

Cheers,

~Dexx

PS - My *next* step after getting a client is to celebrate...but that's just me, lol
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thehypnoguy

13 years ago

It's a problem that plagues many types of businesses. My parents had a Janitorial Business when I was growing up. When I got to be an adult I tried to get my Dad to expand by hiring others to do the work while he lined up more contracts. I was just a kid and didn't know what I was talking about. Forget about the fact that he started by working for another Maintenance company and took those contracts with him when he started his company. Some people will just never get it. But it is a universal problem.

Martin

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finestultimate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by thehypnoguy

what are you saying?

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thehypnoguy

13 years ago

Originally Posted by finestultimate

what are you saying?

The Point was that doing the work and not outsourcing (In my Dad's case not getting employee's to do the work) and not getting out and getting more business is common in many business ventures. Too many people create a job from being self employed instead of a business that can grow and really create wealth and stability.

Martin

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finestultimate

13 years ago

Originally Posted by thehypnoguy

Yeahhh!!!

Love your quote btw

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Johnny Optimo

13 years ago

Originally Posted by krikkod

BTW if you are a technical person it actually makes you better at outsourcing because you have a technical understanding and eye to know who you can outsource to, and who and what you can rely on to deliver a top quality product for your clients.

You are the business expander and quality control taskmaster. Nothing else.

p.s - i still do parts of the work myself, but only the stuff i'm super excellent at (design), everything else gets done by other super excellent people

This is one of the best quotes I've seen on here lately. I have the exact same opinion on the matter. Being a good project manager requires intimate knowledge of the subject - that's why someone who knows web dev can be successful with outsourcing while someone who doesn't is usually just throwing money away by outsourcing (because they can't monetize what they receive)

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High Horsepower

13 years ago

I'm going to put a little twist on that statement. In the last 8 years I've worked with 100's of clients, big and small. After you have landed your client, I believe the 1st thing you should do is Manage THEIR expectations. Allow yourself enough time to complete the task. I normally will double the time really needed, and if I complete the task sooner then I look better. Therefore when I ask for referrals the client will remember I delivered on my promise.

Only after I have completed managing their expectations and getting the project outsourced, then I will look for new clients. You always need to have Prospects in the pipeline or your dead. I teach this to my clients as well.

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krikkod

13 years ago

Originally Posted by High Horsepower

Indeed! I have felt the effects of what happens if you do and don't make it clear to the client what is to be delivered.

Whats worse however is having those clients (i had one just recently) who nod and agree with everything but are not really listening to what's being said.

For example one of my recent clients understood (at least they said they did) that i could not guarantee first page rankings for Google places. I told them it could take anywhere from 2-6 months. Then 1 month into the contract they say they want to cancel the contract and want a refund for the 1st month because they believed that i hadn't done any work at all.

We had setup the page, already began citations and even sent them a link with a report to prove we had actually done a fair bit of work in that first month - so i was frustrated to say the least.

In any case i asked why they wanted it canceled when all this work had been done and they reply with "because we are not on the first page of Google".

Yeah pretty frustrating to hear that, especially after sitting with them before the work commenced, seeing them nod along and agreeing "yes i understand i wont be on the first page and you cannot guarantee a first page ranking" and then emailing them with the same information just to be absolutely clear on it.

Don't let this situation throw anyone off btw, because i have a feeling that in this case they actually canceled the account because they couldn't afford it.

From what i have heard that particular business has not done so well in the area.

So maybe i should put a twist on that saying - "Manage their expectations if they can afford it"

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Dexx

13 years ago

Originally Posted by krikkod

Yeah pretty frustrating to hear that, especially after sitting with them before the work commenced, seeing them nod along and agreeing "yes i understand i wont be on the first page and you cannot guarantee a first page ranking" and then emailing them with the same information just to be absolutely clear on it.

Sounds like they did you a favor. One less problem client to deal with in the future.

~Dexx

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Jason Dittberner

13 years ago

Originally Posted by krikkod

For example one of my recent clients understood (at least they said they did) that i could not guarantee first page rankings for Google places. I told them it could take anywhere from 2-6 months. Then 1 month into the contract they say they want to cancel the contract and want a refund for the 1st month because they believed that i hadn't done any work at all.

A strategy I learned early on, to deal with scenarios like these, was to give the client assignments to keep them busy (i.e. out of my way). If their "hot spot" was Google Places, then I would focus on giving them tasks to "help" with this main goal while you work.

For example, ask them for a list of clients that they think would be the most likely to leave reviews for their business. All Places clients (not on page one) could benefit from reviews so have them get you a list, sort the list, get e-mail addresses so you can send them a link asking to leave a review.

Print out a giant list of backlinks from a main, highly ranked competitor, and ask the client if they recognize any of these industry specific sites and if any are "key" in their industry and explain the legwork required to get a backlink from one of these sites.

Showing them the massive amount of work you do keeps them at bay, and the lead the competition already has, buys you some breathing room.

Clients flee because they don't understand what you do and they fear they are just giving someone money for no results. Nobody wants to wait two months.

On top of all of that, quickly rank some long tail keywords and get a few first page rankings so they at least see "something" while you are frying bigger fish.

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sallyhoffer2 13 years ago

Hi Everyone
I'm new to This forum
it is great to join this Forum, hope i'm welcome in
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finestultimate 13 years ago

Hello! Didn't join too long ago myself,
but I know it's a great and informative forum!
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