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I have recently started as a freelance web designer and through my
previous roles in marketing and sales I knew what I needed to do before
I even started to approach clients, and I hope this article will give
you a better understanding on a more structured path for approaching
new customers.
I decided to write this article after I found a post on
www.webforumz.com from a member who was asking about a common problem
when first starting out as a freelance web designer or starting your
own company. "How do I approach new customers?" This in itself you may
think is easy: Just pick up the phone and sell your services!
Is it that simple? Or is this a common mistake we all make when we first start?
Sales
is Sales! It doesn't matter what industry you're in. The principles are
the same. You're selling a product or a service to potential client who
may or may not want what your selling. The process of selling is to
build a relationship to influence your potential client to buy into you
and your company.
So where do you begin?
There
are some key points to selling known as consultative selling, and it an
proven approach to gaining and retraining business:
- Knowing your products
- Research your markets
- Relationship building
- Closing
- Maintaining the relationship
The
first thing you need to do is be sure you know you product inside out
and I mean inside out. As a freelance web designer you need to know
about what you can truly offer and what possible questions the client
can throw at you. You need to know all the features of your service
i.e. Unlimited Web Space, MySQL Databases, different codes you can
offer etc... and then you need to work out what is the benefit of the
features, i.e Unlimited Web Space – no limited to the number of images
or the size of your site.
If you're calling a client
over the phone you have about 30 seconds to hook them. It sounds short
but isn't. In that time you have to deliver a hard-hitting, to the
point features of what you're selling but not enough to kill your
pitch.
You can use this same approach if you meet a
potential client face to face but here you don't need to be so direct.
You don't want to over sell yourself at this stage. Hold back the real
key benefits and give some teasers.
You then need to
make sure you close the call by arranging a firm appointment don't be
afraid to them point blank that you're free and close to their location
on a certain date.
Once you have got the
appointment make sure you fully research the company you're going to
visit. Find any press releases and see if there is anything you can use
as an angle in your pitch. If they're using a competitor look to see
what they're not doing and see if you can angle the pitch to show that
you can do more than them. But never criticize the competition as the
person you meeting may have a personal relationship or be offended by
your comments. Use open ended questions to get as much information
about the customer and what he wants this is called "Drilling", and
always have some questions written down so you can check them off as
you go.
i.e.
- Tell about your role
within the organisation? - This will enable you to work out if the
person you're meeting is the decision maker and also empowers them and
make them feel important.
- What three things you're
current provider is not offering? - This will give you a clue of what
you're up against and also if you have done your research properly you
will already have some prepared responses.
- What three things you would like to have? — This will give you the three not so important things your customer wants.
- Tell
me, is there anything else you would like other than what you have
mentioned? — This is the question which will truly open the client up
and you should be able to find out what they are really want. You need
to listen to this part and note down as many keywords as possible.
Once
you have your answers you use the responses to deliver your pitch by
referring back to the answers he gave to your questions, you first
start in the order you asked the questions. At the end of the pitch do
not be afraid to ask that all important question. Can I have your
business? As long as you have pitched yourself correctly you should get
a yes.
I have recently gained a lot of business
through one client, and I used a similar process but I adapted my
approach slightly on how I maded the client.
I had
joined the only large gym in my town, and after a few weeks I noticed
that there was a large amount of personal trainers working in the gym.
I had noticed one or two had websites and the others did not.
I
thought to myself that this could be an untapped market and I thought
this could be an ideal opportunity to get my business off the ground
which then could lead into other markets, but how do I get to approach
my potential market? do I ring them? Do I speak to them? Or what? There
not the same as approaching a manufacturer.
I then
realised I had to do a bit of thinking and change the normal approach I
would use. I thought approaching the personal trainers in the gym was
not the perfect place to do this as this is their workplace, I then
thought where do the people relax in the gym and where is it less busy?
The sauna!
I then started to go to the sauna
after my workouts. After a few weeks I started chatting to a member
Simon McNeilly and I started asking questions about personal trainers
and if he knew who the good ones were. After a while I start to drop in
the conversation that I was a web designer. After a few weeks it turned
out that Simon not only knew all the personal trainers but he was
thinking of becoming one himself. (RESEARCH,RELATIONSHIP BUILDING)
A
month went by and then Simon approached me and said that he was
interested in me building a site and would it be possible to go through
the process. After a meeting I delivered my pitch which included the
features and benefits of what I could offer. This lead to Simon buying
into me and asked me to build www.smfitness.co.uk (CLOSING).
Form
this I decided to build the relationship by offering him additional
services and I also offered to assist where I could to help him develop
his business. This in turn lead to him recommending me to five other
personal trainers which have all turned into new clients. (MAINTAINING
THE RELATIONSHIP). We are currently developing the site now and in
return I am now being trained by Simon at the gym.
This is a simple example. It shows you that if you research and develop a strategy to your pitch you could reep the rewards.
You
have to realise that you have to get your pitch spot on as first
impressions count. If I had approach a personal trainer while they were
working I could have given the wrong impression and possibly took
longer to get a lead. If I had rammed my services down my client's
throat I may not have been able to develop my business further.
It may make take several goes to get your new clients but if you have a
good approach and good research you can easily make contact with
potential clients and win the business.
Don't think
it's difficult to do as it isn't. It's about finding the right approach
and the right angle. It may take a few months but you will get there.
Also
remember it may take a day or a year to get a client on board and your
customer may say no a few times, but don't give up. Just keep adapting
your approach. Also remember don't go for the big fish straight away as
often the little ones are easier to get and then they will build your
brand and often give you additional leads for you.
About the Author:
Name: James Blackman
Site: CoocoonFXMedia.co.uk
Expertise: Marketing, HTML, PHP, MYSQL, Flash.
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