Post-Covid business world has become more competitive than ever. Many businesses got out of the race, while others scaled online and got successful. There is little to no room left for the survival of businesses that have not tapped into online resources for better clients and projects.
It has become more of a need than a choice to land more clients with better projects to sustain a business. If you are also stuck working with the same clients for years, here is the right strategy for you.
Getting more clients is the phase that every entrepreneur has to go through to scale his business. Following are some of the most-effective ways that can get you more clients without much of a hassle:
Query Letter
This approach is a retreat for content agency owners or professional writers. An untapped resource to get consistent and high-value clients is query letters. Many small business owners don’t take advantage of this resource, as they are unaware of the amazing results they can potentially bring to the table.
This letter is something that is written for an editor or agent with the intent to introduce your work, your organization or company, and the potential sales benefits that you can bring to the target client.
The client will follow up with a business inquiry or call for a meeting if this letter is written and approached accurately. A successful query will then lead to a long-term client and, eventually, more revenue.
According to an expert editor, a good query letter from a writer has a conventional lettering format, a hook-worthy synopsis, and a list of relevant publications.
The same editor advised staying away from using slang and gimmicks, making grammatical mistakes, and writing lengthy letters. The ideal length suggested for these letters is one page.
Have a look at the template of such a letter for your reference;
Cold Email
Many marketers are business owners deem cold emailing and email marketing as “dead.” However, this is not the case with highly specific and customized cold emails with higher opening and response rates.
The days of “copy-paste cold emails” are indeed over, as they are not targeting the specific needs of any client. Moreover, neither do they provide any value to the target clients nor bring any sales.
The key to getting more clients from cold-emailing lies in the quality of the email sent to the client. A good cold email is:
- Precise
- Highly customized
- Has brief introduction
- Provide the value of some sort
- Identifies a problem and suggests a solution
- Has no CTA, i.e., Call To Action
You can, however, ask the client for a meeting or phone call as CTA at the end of the email, but avoid using any link, document, or pictures in a cold email.
If a cold email contains all the right elements, the probability of a client replying to it goes insanely high. Who doesn’t love when someone spares their time to analyze and offer solutions to your problems for free?
The last step of closing a deal over a cold email would be a “follow-up” email. Sometimes, you’re just a click away from getting your dream client, and the click is only possible if your email doesn’t end up in spam.
Follow-up emails will have no disadvantage on your end. If anything, they will only increase the chances of your email being read. Ideally, you should wait almost a week to send a follow-up email. The opening rate of a good cold email can go as high as 40%.
Online Bidding
There is no such thing as excessive bidding. The more you bid, the more opportunities you get to land bigger clients in your target niche. The Internet has made bidding a lot easier and safer than conventional approaches.
The most commonly used virtual platforms that allow you to bid for a project posted by a client include Upwork, Freelancer, and PeoplePerHour.
Online bidding differs from cold email in several ways. The bid has links to your portfolio, projects you have done in the past, and the relevant documents supporting your claims made in the bid.
A good bid also entails your skills, your work experience, and the duration in which you can complete the given project. You might also want to add the payout you expect to get for the particular project.
Sometimes, the client has already set a fixed amount on a project, but most of the time, you can negotiate with the client after approval of your bid.
Negotiation skills are highly useful and learnable. You can easily learn the art of negotiating by reading a few books. “Getting To Yes” is a famous book you can read to hone your negotiating skills.
The next step after a successful bid is usually an interview of further specified questioning by the client. This step is to ensure that you know what you are talking about and to discuss the details of the project.
Paid Marketing
Wonders of paid marketing are too many to count. Every businessperson knows the importance of paid marketing, specifically digital marketing. Many companies provide digital marketing services to market your services or products.
Smart marketing plays an essential role when you want to sell your services or products without sounding too ”salesy.” The first step you will want to take for a successful paid marketing campaign is to ensure that your portfolio is ready for high-end clients.
Aim higher and upskill your team as per the expectations of clients. “More is less” when it comes to giving services to an existing client with the potential of becoming a long-term client. Always add some complimentary services or freebies while marketing your services.
This tactic reverses the risk for the client. They will likely approach you for a free consultation when there is no risk involved. You will have to prove to the client that you have the right skills and resources to complete their project. With the said approach, the project will be yours.
Facebook ads, google ads, YouTube ads, static ads, guest posting, SEO, etc., are some of the paid marketing options you can use to market your services. You can choose any platform of marketing that best fits your niche.
