Freelance Home-Based Small Business 20 Strategies to Attract New Clients

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20 Strategies to Attract New Clients
by Kristine Evenson

1) Be well educated, highly skilled, experienced, trained and receive certification in your field. If you work as a virtual professional, Top Floor Executives (http://www.topfloorexecutives.com) offers a fantastic certification program. Don’t see a certification program in your field? Then create one!

2) Write a powerful press release that creates a new and interesting spin on a new service in your business.

3) Prepare a well-thought elevator speech. (Be able to articulate what you do, know your services and know the services offered by your top 5 strategic partners.)

4) Develop really terrific marketing materials, and be prepared to invest some money to have it done correctly. (Image is everything!)

5) Create an interactive website. (Make audio available, archive your newsletters, write an e-book, make the site searchable.)

6) Develop an innovative business card. (Offer a finder’s fee if someone else refers you. Create a business card sized CD that, when put into the CD drive, provides your client with a multimedia presentation on their computer screen.)

7) Narrow your focus on your niche market. By narrowing your focus, you will isolate the requirements of your niche market and will be able to more effectively market your business to them.

8) Write a feature column for your local newspaper, even if it means you write it voluntarily.

9) Develop strong strategic partnerships with quality people who are experts in their respective fields. Refer people to them with regularity and request that they do the same for you.

10) Exceed your clients expectations and develop a strong reputation. Do the right thing, even when it hurts! Under promise and always over deliver. Come in under budget.

11) Develop a professional logo, even if you must outsource this to a designer. Great resources for this are: www.1800mylogo.com and www.SnyderDesign.com

12) Create your own online discussion group. Invite your members to develop strategic alliances with you. Topica (http://www.topica.com) offers an excellent service free of charge!

13) Know people who are power networkers and ask them to network on behalf of your business. Don’t forget to provide them with a finder’s fee! Or, if you’re very savvy, set up an affiliate program. A great class on affiliate program management can be found at http://www.worldacademyforlife.com

14) Provide a variety of payment options. Accept credit cards, extend payment terms by using resources such as Inzap (http://www.inzap.com).

15) Teach a monthly teleclass or seminar. Offer a free auto-class using a series of auto responders, which delivers your “course” over a period of days or weeks. World Academy for Life (http://www.worldacademyforlife.com) offers a virtual university system where students can enroll online, and you have access to a fully automated university system! And, if you’re looking to start your own virtual university, Unicorn Web Hosting (http://www.unicornwebhosting.com) offers a variety of options.

16) Offer to create online communities for your clients who share similar interests! Create a vertical networking portal.

17) Create value by providing superior service to your clients. Make sure that the perception of the client is value, not that of being overwhelmed with products or services that he/she doesn’t want or need.

18) Don’t treat your customers as objects. Treat them as people. People want to be heard and respected. Think of your customers as investors in your business and you’ll never view your customers as objects!

19) Be honest. The days of using seduction and lure to gain clients is long gone. Today’s clients are more savvy and sophisticated. They want simplicity and straightforward responses. Learn to consolidate your emails and conversations so you are direct and to the point.

20) Be thankful. If you receive a referral from one of your clients, send a thank you note, or better yet, offer to provide them with an unexpected discount or a couple of free hours of your time!

Kristine Maveus-Evenson is internet marketing strategist and small business coach. She provides services such as website optimization, and affiliate program management. With a talent for working with small businesses, her coaching and teleclass sessions provide an engaging and liberating perspective on business growth strategies. You can reach her by email:kristine@capturehits.com or on the web at http://www.capturehits.com

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