Approaching Your First Client as a Local Marketing Agency
You’ve chosen your niche, and you’ve thought about how to sell solutions rather than services. You are ready to begin. All you need now is a client! What you don’t have, however, is a budget for advertising or a complex software program to produce a mailing list. But you don’t need these things to find and approach your first prospect.
In order to find your first local agency client fast, you need to look no further than your own shopping habits. Your best prospects are the owner/managers of the businesses where you already spend money. In this video we’ll talk about the easy way to approach them using genuine, meaningful conversation that tells this business owner exactly what you can do to make his business work better for customers like YOU.
Video Transcription
Your First Client is Right Under Your Nose
Hey, it's Alzay Calhoun with Coveted Consultant and in this video, I want to introduce to you a client acquisition strategy that you can do immediately. It doesn't require a bunch of fancy software. It doesn't require you to be a fancy sales person. And it doesn't matter what size agency you run.
What should you do if you're looking for clients right now? Print off your bank statement and see where you currently spend money. You just found your prospecting list!
So there are companies on that list that are local to you. There are companies on that list that you already plan to go to today or next week or next month.
So the next time you go, do the following:
- Shop as normal. Nothing has changed.
- Ask for the manager or you ask for the owner, whoever makes the most sense. Now, a warning. When a manager or the owner is summoned, it’s typically because there's a problem, right? So they're going to come to you with a “What's the problem?” face and attitude. You’ve got to diffuse this situation quickly, and make it into a friendly exchange.
- Introduce yourself and genuinely compliment the business: “I really like the ______ that you guys do here.” (I like the service. I like the food. I like how you guys follow up, whatever it is.)
- Now introduce how things could be improved. Be sure your suggestion for improvement is a solution that you, in your digital marketing expertise, can provide. After complimenting the business, add, “But it would be easier for me (insert that digital marketing need)” such as:
- if I could just buy your stuff online.
- if I could share your material on Facebook or on Twitter.
- if I could find your newsletter more quickly in my email inbox. Or, whatever fits the bill between a real need and your skills.
- Ask who performs this service for them. Be quiet and let them tell you. They'll probably tell you a story about a guy who they used to hire, or some agency of record or whatever.
How to Get Your First Meeting
Regardless of what their answer was to Number 5, your response is going to be the following:
“Look, let me be honest. I run a local digital marketing agency, and I think there are some simple things you can do to get more people like me to spend more money with you. Do you have 30 minutes for this conversation? Do you have 30 minutes this week where we can talk about it?”
All you're trying to do is open the door for a conversation. Sometimes they'll say, "Hey, you know what? I've got time on Thursday. Come back and we can talk about it then." Or you'll take their card, you'll follow up via email, and you'll secure a time at that point. All you're trying to do in this moment is just get a meeting, is to have an honest conversation. If you are being honest about your compliments, your abilities and your desire to help, you won’t feel like a “salesman” and you won’t come across as one, either.
So actually, let's try that out live in this video shall we? And...scene.
Coveted Consultant Theater Presents, "Your First Prospect"
You (shopping): Oh, hey, this is really nice. Listen, is your manager around? I just want to talk to him for a second.
Employee: Sure, not a problem. (aside) Glad I didn’t do it!
Manager: Hello, sir. How can I help you?
You: Hey, my name is Alzay Calhoun and I shop here all the time. Actually, I love the apples. I found that they were on sale today, but you know, it would be easier for me if I knew when your local sales were. Why don't you post them on the website? Who does that stuff for you guys?
Manager: Yeah, we got a guy who does our website, but I send him some things and he updates it like once a month, but we just haven't gotten to the place of putting coupons out on the actual website yet.
You: Well look, let me be honest. I run a digital marketing agency and I think there's some really simple things you could do from a digital marketing perspective that would help people like me spend more money with people like you, the coupon thing which is just an example. So if you want, sometime this week, we can have a conversation, about 30 minutes. We just kind of talk about what's possible. How does Friday sound?
Manager: Friday, Friday. No, Friday is not a good day because we do inventory on Friday, but I may have some time Monday or Tuesday.
You: Okay. That can work. Why don't I take your card from you and I'll send you an email and then we'll lock in a time via email.
Manager: Sure, sounds great.
You: Excellent. I've got your card, so I'll talk to you then.
And...scene.
Go Get Your First Client!
As you can see, this doesn't need to be a very complex thing, but it does put you in a situation to have the right kind of conversation with the right kind of client, for whom you can propose to do the right kind of work. Once you get in this rhythm, it's easier to maintain, but you’ve got to get started.
So there's your challenge, go have a conversation!