3 Ways To Get More Clients  

14th May 2009

1.    Focus On Who You Want

If you are in a B2B business and want to attract new business clients, the best way to do so is to focus on exactly which companies you would like to become clients, or at least be very specific about the type of company, its size, and location.

In order to do this, you need to know the target profile of your ‘best preferred’ client. Are they fast movers or do they lag behind, are they winning or are they struggling, are they proactive or slow to react, do they have impressive clients or few clients. Their size, location and market segment may be important but so to is the ‘essence’ of the company in terms of how it does business, and if that is a fit with your ideal client.

Draw up a list of your Top 10 Targets, and know why you want them as clients, and how you could potentially add value to them.

In the past, I have selectively pursued some prospective target companies for a year before they became clients. Other more persistent sales people have taken longer.

By being this focused, it also helps you get much closer to the companies you are targeting and you learn invaluable information about their business along the way.


2.    Know Who You Attract

If you consistently attract specific types of companies in specific market segments, go with the flow or reinvent yourself!

How do you identify what sort of prospects you attract?

• Analyse your current client base into segments – is there a pattern?
• Whenever you do any marketing activities, what sort of responses/inquiries/leads do you attract?
• If you have an ezine, assess the subscribers you attract – what sort of companies do they come from?
• If you have a website use Google Analytics to identify where your visitors are coming from – which referring sites will be a start
• What sort of referrals do you receive – that’s an indicator of how others perceive you and who they will refer.

If you attract a lot of IT companies, for example, then start to or continue to raise your profile within the IT industry. Attend industry trade shows, target industry publications for contribution or comment, and join associations within that industry.

When you know who you attract, you can be far more focused in your marketing as well as in the specific companies you directly target (refer point 1).

If you’re happy with the sort of prospects you attract, keep doing what you’re doing. Emphasise that in your marketing, create marketing programs that speak directly to those segments or niches.

If you aren’t attracting the prospects that you want, you need to reposition your company and refocus your marketing to reach out to the appropriate audience for your business.


3. Form Alliances With Others

For example, bookkeepers acquire new business through partnering with accounting firms, physiotherapists often acquire new patients through partnering with a local gym, and photographers acquire new clients through partnering with advertising agencies.  Think about who else your prospective clients see before they get to you....

For my business, as an example, I can potentially partner with accounting firms, corporate advisors, lawyers and other service providers such as IT specialists, web designers and some coaches.

Make sure these alliances have the same client profile as that of your ideal target.

Who do you already know well that you could potentially form an alliance with, whereby you refer clients to each other, and as such have your own ‘expert network’ that would also benefit your clients.


© BOSS Management Group Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Jenny Stilwell is the founder and Managing Director of BOSSMENTOR®, and creator of the Strategic Growth Blueprint™, a step by step system specifically designed for reinventing how service-based businesses achieve growth. For entrepreneurs wanting to create their own unique model that will increase their income, create new revenue streams, enable them to grow exponentially and provide leverage to create a bigger future, the Strategic Growth Blueprint™ will lead the way to achieving that vision. Visit http://www.bossgroup.com.au/bossmentor-blueprint to learn how to create your own blueprint for growth.