Are you interested in finding new clients and keeping the ones you have? In this article you will look more closely at how to find the right clients and the steps to keep them coming back for more. Once you know your buyers, this will provide the direction for your research and purchase of targeted client lists. Targeting the right client also will minimize the rejection in selling your work so you have a lot of incentive to do the research.
Finding Clients
Whether you are just starting out or expanding your business, you determine your new business prospects not by asking the question, "What do I do as a creative professional?" This will not work because the usual answer is "everything". You can't sell everything to everyone. A targeted marketing message to find new clients does not mean you will be locked into one area of creative services. It just means that you will have a place to start and be able to more easily identify the clients you want to go after.
From manufacturers to advertising agencies to book publishers, there is a database or reference book for every market for creative services. You can get this information from online database companies such as ADBASE, on a CD, or in a onetime download of the information for making sales calls or mailing labels.
Look specifically for information that has some kind of qualifier for a company to be listed. When you are looking for new clients, you want to work with the highest level of information possible. Some database companies will list book publishers simply because they exist, while others will list only book publishers that provide information on the kinds of creative service assignments they hire for (and this is better qualified research).
Finding the right company is the first step. This is your "lead". Lots of leads are important because, at some point, this is a numbers game. Turning each lead into a "prospect" is the next step so you want to spend some time on research before you make any sales calls.
Turning Leads into Prospects
You will buy lists and databases and you will also be making sales calls. Before you make any calls, start by writing "scripts" to get the most information with the least amount of effort. It is very important to prepare ahead for even the simplest verbal interaction. You have not time to waste or to frustrate a client because you don't know what question to ask. Be sure to be specific as to the type of work you are looking for (your marketing message) so that you will get the correct contact name. You can use variations depending on whether you are calling a company or agency of some kind.
Here are some examples of phone call scripts for finding and qualifying new client leads for a sales call:
Hello, my name is Maria from Creative Services Company and I'm just updating our file, who is in charge of hiring for (fill in with a specific type of work) illustration?
Hello, my name is Maria from Creative Services Company and I'm just updating our file, who is the art director for the (fill in with a specific client name) photography?
You can then add their name to your mailing list or sales call database. The information (the name of the prospective client) is the key. Get that first!
Keeping Clients
When you get a call for that first job with a client, there is a tendency to rush through the business practices procedures. The catastrophic fear you have is that the clients will change their mind and give the work to someone else. Don't let your fears overrule good business sense. From the way you handle the first job to the first time you have a project or price conflict sets the tone and the code of behavior for the relationship. Also, in today's marketplace, many creative professionals complain of the decrease in repeat business and the decline of client loyalty. Many clients hop from creative to creative looking for the best price or the latest trend.
To keep your clients coming back, you need to become more aware of the courtship and bond in the creative /client relationship. These ideas can help increase your awareness of what clients really want, give you a competitive edge, provide copy ideas for ad headlines and promo text, add editorial content to your web site and help clients decide you are the one!
Demonstrate Technical Ability
Your portfolio and promotional material will do some of this but never assume anything. Be sure to distinguish between knowledge and skill. Knowledge means you have learned a technique and skill means you have practiced it. Always be honest. Any deception you present as to your level of skill will come back to haunt you in the future. For example, perhaps you know how to photograph a facility for an annual report, but have never actually done so. The difference is often important to the client. They will have different expectations of you depending on your accurate reporting of your knowledge and skills.
Be a Professional
Most clients must answer to a higher power and professionalism means you will be less likely to make them sorry they hired you. The most obvious evidence to the client that you are a professional is your membership in a professional creative association. There are many other ways a client can judge if you are a professional before you ever get a chance to work together. For example, how you answer the phone, present your portfolio, use email marketing, execute follow-up and market your work to them. Take every opportunity to give strong evidence of professionalism.
Meet the Client's Real Needs
Be sure to find out what specific problems your client is supposed to solve. The more accurate a project objective from the client, the better chance you have to meet it and the more accurate the budget. Don't take anything at face value. Help your client be a hero by creating the projects to meet a specific goal. Be sure and listen to what the client really needs not just what they say they want.
In Conclusion
As a rule, a creative services client will look for you and work with you when they feel safe. Your challenge is to help them feel safe enough to keep them coming back for more! Most want to know that they are making the right decision to work with you. Today's competitive marketplace justifies a closer look at how clients and creative professionals look at their relationships and make the decisions they do. The more you learn and study the relationship between you and your clients, the better chance you have of getting the job and turning that job into a repeat client.