How to Attract Clients
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Ah, those magic words - "Attract Clients". Virtually every professional I
know loves the idea of attracting clients, and would be even happier if there
was a "magic formula" for accomplishing it. Well, actually there is a formula
that works like magic for attracting clients to you. And I’m going to reveal it
- right here, right now. (OK, to be more specific, it’ll be at the end of the
article. But no cheating! You need to read through the article for the formula
to make sense.)
First of all, this isn’t about simply "getting" clients. It’s about attracting
them to you. It is the concept of building a business without chasing prospects,
dogging down purchased leads, or operating a "quote mill" - turning out quote
after quote hoping to have the lowest price. Unfortunately, many professionals
are either trained or take it upon themselves to uncover prospects "at arm’s
length". It seems that either intentionally or inadvertently, companies often
train their team to build their business by pursuing prospects. Although many
companies and managers praise the benefits of "attracting" clients, when it
comes time to meet production quotas, all the methods which "pursue" clients are
the ones encouraged. By the time "meeting production quotas" become an issue,
drastic measures are called for.
The solution, of course, is to avoid being in that place of "catch-up" to begin
with. By learning how to attract clients and by applying those methods
consistently, you side-step the need to pursue clients altogether. Virtually
every professional who has a sizable, growing business - characterized by high
retention and a steady flow of client referrals - does it by attracting clients
rather than pursuing them.
There are two key components to successfully attracting clients. The first key
is to understand that people will be attracted to you by WHO YOU ARE, rather
than by WHAT YOU DO. While there will be a small group of people who will do
business with you strictly based on your depth of knowledge, most people - in
fact, the majority of people - will do business with you because of who you are.
Having good knowledge of your products, services, and industry is important. And
having strong technical skills is useful and important as well. It’s just that
being knowledgeable and skillful isn’t sufficient.
Let me offer some proof. I’m willing to bet that we’ve all known one or more
professionals who were an absolute fountain of knowledge regarding product and
service info. And yet, they went out of business due to lack of clients. In
contrast, I’m also willing to bet that we’ve also known professionals who really
weren’t all that sharp when it came to understanding the details. And yet, these
professionals built and sustained large businesses. The reason, of course, is
that clients were attracted to them for who they were, more so than what they
knew.
So, how do we maximize "Who We Are"? We maximize and amplify who we are by
continually improving our communication skills, our social skills, and our
integrity. In short, "who we are" is defined by our people skills. When we have
good people skills, we:
• Communicate clearly and cleanly
• Are relatable
• Do what we say we’re going to do
• Are professional in attitude and manner
• Have a positive attitude
• Take an interest in others
• Treat people with respect
How do we improve in these areas? The easiest way to start is by simply being
more mindful of each of those people skills. Just by drawing our attention to
each aspect of good people skills, we can begin to improve. However, one of the
challenges most of us have in improving ourselves, is that often we’re blind to
what we do and say. We operate on "auto-pilot", and as such, aren’t even aware
of how we come across to others. Additionally, how we think we come across to
others doesn’t really matter. What matters is how others feel about us.
Therefore, an excellent way of improving our people skills is to enlist the help
of others. Ask people around you to help. Ask a spouse or significant other.
(Hey! They’re always hoping to improve us anyway, right?) Ask a fellow
professional. Ask a manager. Tell them you’re working to improve your people
skills, and 1) ask them which people skills they feel you’re really good at, and
2) ask them which ones they feel are candidates for improvement. Then, ask them
to point out to you any words, actions and reactions which represent
opportunities for improvement as they arise. Not only will people be happy to
help, but they will respect you for your efforts.
The second key component in attracting clients is actually getting out, so that
people get a chance to see you, know you, and be attracted to you! The reality
is that when you are in your office behind your desk, prospects never get to
experience you and those people skills you possess. The result? If you try to
get clients from behind your desk, you end up having to pursue them. On the
other hand, when you get out and allow people to interact with you, you end up
attracting them.
OK, so here’s the "magic formula" I promised. The way to successfully attract
clients is to improve your people skills, and get out and meet people. I know
it’s a pretty simple formula, but … it works like magic.
About the Author
Written
by Michael Beck, an Executive Coach and Strategist specializing in
employee engagement, executive development, and leadership
effectiveness. Connect on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mjbeck
and visit www.michaeljbeck.com
to learn more.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2008-11-30 16:10:29 in Marketing Articles
