As anyone who is starting a new business will know, the first step will always be to develop a great product or service. Once you’ve achieved this, you can start selling it. So, how do you find your first client?
Beyond reaching a new milestone, you need to start making returns on your initial investment and become profitable. Finding your first client is absolutely essential to getting your new business off the ground, but pushy sales tactics are unlikely to get you there.
Problem Solving
The first step to selling is understanding this key fact: people will only buy something if it is going to be valuable to them in some way. The easiest way to pitch your product as valuable is to identify what problem it is solving. For example, if someone is thirsty, their problem would be solved with a glass of water.
Identify your problem. It is an emotive way to sell your product or service.
Online Presence
To snag that first client, you are going to have to give your business some credibility. People want to feel secure when making a purchase, so being a new business is going to work against you here. How can people know what to expect?
This is where an online presence can help. Creating a professional website gives potential clients a resource to learn more about your business. A social media presence will make your business approachable. This will give you much-needed credibility.
Network
Building a network can put you in direct contact with your first client. Networking on social media is no different to networking in real life: you need to connect with the right people.
Connecting with people who are relevant to your industry will help you to build credibility. Connecting with people who are experiencing the problem which your product solves, will provide fertile ground for making sales. Using this targeted approach to networking is the best way to find that first client.
Content
Content can be an effective inbound marketing strategy, as it can engage people with your business and increase interest in your products or services. Your content could take the form of YouTube videos or LinkedIn posts.
Make sure your content is effective by avoiding heavy sales tactics. Instead, address that problem that your product solves. By focusing on the problem, people will be able to relate and become organically interested in what you are selling. Amongst these people, you can find your first client.
Relationship
Once you have someone interacting with your content, keep them engaged by replying to comments or continuing the conversation in messages. This will establish a valuable relationship with them. It’s about positioning yourself as a sympathetic and knowledgeable ear and this should be at the core of any relationship with a potential client.
As a new business, the value of what you are selling will not come from your experience, so make sure it is coming from you as a person. Building this relationship will show the potential client that you are invested in them and genuinely want to help them to solve their problem. Establishing yourself in this way is what will get you that first sale.
By using these strategies, you can find your first client. But more than that, you can be confident that you are delivering a successful sale that will result in a happy customer.
Take your positive client reference and robust selling approaches forward with you as you continue with your new business. You have not only secured that oh-so-important first client but can continue to make sales, getting your business off to a promising start.
