What’s the first step you take to winning a new client?  As you think about this, does something obvious come to mind? 

The question asks you to mention the first step to your sales system. The first step is usually to qualify a prospect to be sure that person is someone you can serve.  Being able to answer the question means you have several things in place.

1. A very specific idea of your ideal client. 

You know exactly who you serve and all aspects of that client. You know what that client likes, where they go, what they read, how much money they spend on particular products or services and that person likes to be engage with the market.

2. You know specifically what sets you apart in the market. 

As a result you know exactly what you offer that’s different from your competitors.  If there are 20 other people in the room selling a similar product you don’t worry because what you offer has no real competition because of your unique selling proposition.  

Back to the Question

So back to the question of what is the first step you take to win a new client. 

  • Do you offer a piece of literature about your product or service?
  • Do you start asking the person questions about their background to see their potential interest?
  • Do you look at them to see if they are wearing a product that you market or if they seem to the type of person that would understand what you’re selling? 
  • Do you mention a free initial phone call that you offer?
  • Are you offering a teleseminar series that they can enjoy to get a feel for how you provide coaching or consulting? 
  • Do you offer a no-obligation demonstration of your work?
  • Do you offer a discounted first time offer of your product or services?

All of these are ways to get a first client and these might not even cover what you do.  But you have to know exactly what your first step is to start winning a client so you know how to approach people in your target market. 

What If You’re Not Sure?

If you’re not sure about your first step or if you’ve never actually figured it out, sit down and write out a full description of your ideal client.  Think of the multiple ways you’ve already gone about gaining a client. 

  • What has worked? 
  • What doesn’t work? 
  • What do you feel comfortable doing? 
  • What is the best approach?
  • If nothing seems to work, why? 

Maybe you find that what worked has only happened once or twice.  This could be a reason why you’re not getting enough interest in what you do.  Getting clients is a numbers game for the most part. But you want to focus on the correct type of number to approach or you’ll waste time trying to approach too many people with no interest in what you have to offer.

What Can Work

Here’s what works for many business people. Before you ask someone for something, offer them something first.  That offer can come in a variety of forms or formats.

1. Give a talk at an event, group, meeting, association. Give great information that is new to the target group.

2. Give a demonstration of what you do. Allow people to see or watch what you offer.

3. Provide an opportunity for a hand’s on experience.  Let a group of people get involved with your product or service. It’s like going to the video store and getting to play the game for a while.

4. Write a report and give it away. Make the quality worth paying for but don’t charge.

5. Create an experience. Invite people to a special event and let them experience someone memorable.

6. Give a real gift. Provide a substantial sample of your products so people can experience it with their senses.  Let them taste, touch, smell, hear or see what you offer.

7. Involve the person by making them a part of your inner circle. Let the person join your mailing list and provide good information to them. Make the stuff good so they want to get more from lieu.

8. Limit the possibilities by only offering a few of whatever you have to offer.

9. Limit the time. Make an offer but limit the amount of time someone has to participate.

10.  Make it hard to get to you. Let people know you only work with a few people but you how other products or services they can experience. 

The Results?

By giving first you let people get to know you without obligating a lot of your personal time.

  • You get to learn more about what people are looking for  so you can focus your product or service to their needs. 
  • Giving something first sets you apart from the group that only asks for money first.
  • You start to create a relationship and build trust in your abilities and expertise. 

You can create a process to deliver the first step. Set up your autoresponder to automatically deliver the free report, put someone on the teleseminar list or provide other information.

Hold an event once every quarter or every few months and invite all interested prospects. Having a specific first step lets you maintain your marketing systems and always have confidence in how you’ll approach your best prospects.