but as a creative mentor and someone that designers come to for help,
there is one question that drives me BONKERS.
Yep. you guessed it: How do I get clients?
Look, I love my students, my clients and our amazing boss-lady community. But asking me
how to get clients is a little like asking solicitor, “How do I sue someone for a million
dollars?” It’s like asking Gordan Ramsay, “How do I make a michellin star meal?”
It’s like asking a fish, “How do you swim?”
We can give you answers, but it’s not as simple as a quick two-minute conversation.
There are SO many ways to attract clients …
… and there are SO many ways to repel clients.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a treasure map leading you to a hidden commune of delightful
clients ready and willing to pay you now.
I’d be pretty magical if I did ✨
What I CAN tell you is that finding clients is a long game. It’s a game that takes persistence,
endurance, intentional planning and work. Your business needs to be artfully thought out
and crafted to connect, nurture, educate and sell to the right clients.
Not sure what I mean?
Let’s break it down piece by piece.
CONNECT
Customers are people too you know. And no pressure, but when people connect with you
they are way more likely to buy from you, so it’s up to you to be likeable, okay?
So how the heck you connect with your potential clients? Easy: Don’t be vanilla.
There are a billion designers out there and what makes you different? If there is nothing that makes you stand out in the sea of vanilla designers, you simply will not connect with anyone.
By being unique, you’ll connect with people who will become raving fans that adore your memorable, quirky brand. You’ll attract the right kind of clients because you’ve portrayed the right brand image and connected specifically with your ideal client.
Not sure where your brand stands?
Worried you’re more vanilla than double chocolate-crunch?
Three check-yourself-before-you-wreck-yourself questions you can ask yourself:
- Does your brand truly reflect where your talents lay and what you love working on?
- Does your business feel like you and have your personality in it?
- Is your brand distinct, easily recognizable and memorable?
Maybe you need Brand Rehab?
NURTURE
Would you marry somebody you just met? Nope. At least not unless you were on a reality
TV show (and we all know how that works out). In the same way, you can’t expect a
stranger to invest their hard-earned cash in your design skills until they know and trust you.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to go on fifty first dates with potential clients.
Instead, use your marketing to do the hard yards for you. Set up email automations, use
social media (consistently!), create and manage Facebook groups and get blogging. All of it
nurtures your clients and helps build a relationship with them. Read a step by step guide here.
EDUCATE
Yeah, here I go again, banging on about education. You’d think I worked for a university,
right? But the truth is that if you want your clients to be grateful, flexible and easy to work
with, then you need to educate them. You teach people how to treat you!
And if you’re looking to attract more clients, you need to educate them as to why they need
you.
The good news? It’s really easy to do! You simply solve problems and provide your
knowledge for free via blogging. And as you’d expect, I have a whole blog post about
educating clients here. Consider it your all-in-one client education PhD.
Yep, so you do all that work warming up, educating, connecting and nurturing your clients.
Then, you hit them with a sales pitch.
Don’t panic, selling does not equal losing your integrity.Selling is not sleazy if you are genuinely changing people’s lives and businesses. Which, lady, you are totally doing.
To get started, you need a killer sales page for your design offerings, supported by case
studies and testimonials to back up your awesomeness.
I have found an awesome resource for writing sales pages by Amanda Genther here.
complete with smiles, appreciation and muchos cash), then,
lady it is time to work ON your business, instead of always IN it.
Anna xo
