My best advice for how to get clients. If you’re wanting to book your dream client, you need the right approach. I even asked some of my own clients what would be a turn off and make them say no way. Keep reading for what I’ve learned from experience!
So you started your business. And people aren’t beating down your door to work with you? WHAT?? Why not?? Doesn’t everyone know just how friggin’ awesome you are?
No. No they don’t.
But they can!
After getting clients through multiple different avenues, I’m letting you in behind the scenes to let you know ways to hopefully land your dream client.
How To Get Your Dream Client
Don’t forget to study
After you have chosen who your ideal client actually is, study them. Find where they hang out virtually (cuz otherwise that may or may not be a crime if you’re following them around without their knowledge in real life).
Join Facebook groups they would be a part of, but here’s a really important part – don’t say a thing. Just observe for a while. Don’t join a group and immediately start throwing out there, “HELLO I AM A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SOMEONE HIRE ME PLEEEEEASE!” That’s obnoxious and it makes me cringe when I see people do that. It makes you seem desperate. Even if you are, don’t act like it. It’s a huge turn off to potential clients.
Don’t ignore your friends
What I mean by that is don’t leave them out of the fact that you’re starting a business. Your friend may be the very one who can point you in the right direction of your first client, but if you are either too scared to tell people about your business or don’t want to feel like you’re using your friends, you may be missing an opportunity.
With that being said, don’t be pushy either. There’s a fine line in letting your friends know about what’s going on with you and making them feel obligated to do your work for you.
Don’t only talk business
If one day you’re talking about “regular life” things and then one day, all you talk about is business, that’s a huge turn off. It will confuse and frustrate people. Not only people, but the very people you’re trying to get to hire you.
Within the same realm, don’t turn into someone else. Yes I run a business. I technically now run 2, but if you meet me in real life, I am the same person online as I am in real life. Of course I may have to have a business hat on from time to time when it comes to work because I do take my work seriously, but I’m still going to have some sarcastic humor in there because it’s just part of me.
Don’t take on work you’re not ready to
Another way of saying this is know your limits. If you don’t have advanced Photoshop skills, please don’t respond to someone asking for help with Photoshop and get in over your head. That provides a bad customer experience and that’s bad for business, especially in the beginning.
Don’t wing It
You’ll hear a lot of people out there tell you to fake it till you make it. I ain’t that girl that’s going to tell you that. There is a level of “faking it” I guess in that you will have a learning curve with every client you have. Even if it’s a job you really know how to do well, a photographer might want you to do it a different way than say a blogger would.
But as far as “faking” skills you don’t have, that’s really not a good look. Because let’s say you tell someone you know how to do something and then they hire you for it. Then you deliver a product and they’re not happy with it. Then it makes you look inadequate.
I would say if it’s a skill you don’t have but are willing to invest in learning, just leave it off the services you offer until you’ve mastered it!
Do you have any tips that you think are the most important at landing that first client? Tell me below!
