Ed Gandia, along with Steve Slaunwhite and Pete Savage, is the author of The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle. Despite the title’s focus on freelancing, however, the strategies described in the book are useful for anyone with a small business, especially if you’re selling services. One of the crucial aspects of The Wealthy Freelancer is high-impact prospecting, rather than looking for clients in a less organized way.
Gandia answered a few questions about high-impact prospecting just for small business owners. It’s a strategy that can make a world of difference in your ability to have a constant stream of customers, as well as avoid taking on those clients that may be able to pay but will drive you crazy in the process of working with them.
How do you define high-impact prospecting?
Although there’s no one combination of prospecting approaches that’s ideal for everyone, virtually every successful small business owner and solopreneur employs one or more of the following high-impact prospecting tactics:
- Tapping your personal and professional network
- Getting more out of existing clients
- Investing in smart local networking
- Leveraging social media
- Employing direct mail
In the book, I introduce a tool called the Marketing Effectiveness Matrix (MEM) that helps you better determine which of these tactics are better suited for you based on your goals, available time and personal preferences.
Several of the high-impact prospecting tactics you describe in your book focus on using existing connections to your network. How important is having a good network and how can we expand on our existing networks?
It always helps to have a good network. But most of us underestimate the size and depth of our own network. Keep in mind that it’s not just about the people you know directly; it’s also about the people your family, friends and colleagues are also connected to. I didn’t think I knew that many people. Yet I’ve landed some of my best clients simply by talking to the people I do know about what I do, explaining it simply, and describing what types of prospects are a good fit for me. I make it easy for them to think about people they might know who could potentially use my services.
How can we make sure that we’re devoting enough time to finding the right clients?
The key is to work on some sort of promotional activity every week, no matter what. In fact, even when you’re slammed with work, you should be spending at least 10 percent of your workweek actively prospecting for clients or working on something that will help attract prospects. On a 40-hour workweek, that’s four hours a week, or one hour a day Monday through Thursday. That’s very doable, and you need to make that a priority. Otherwise, when the business dries up, you’ll have nothing in your pipeline and may be forced to take on customers that aren’t a good fit for you.
Image — The Wealthy Freelancer
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Tags: clients, ed gandia, high-impact prospecting
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