When I first started out in business I knew the biggest hurdle would be building experience and a reputation so I could consistently attract new clients, this is a challenge for every new business owner. There are certain skills that make it easier, like having a strong sales background which happens to be the case with me when I started out. I was confident and egotistical like most sales people, thinking I would find a client quickly and see my business scale fast.
I tried all the usual routes which I was trained for, AdWords, phone sales, email marketing for 8 hours a day talking to small business owners. I realised quite early on that when you call from an unknown business the response is completely different to the one you get when you call from Microsoft for example. They haven’t heard of you, and as far as they’re concerned, your out to steal their hard earned money.
I was no longer discussing contracts worth tens of thousands, instead I was selling digital marketing products to businesses who see the £500 a month expense as a large overhead and I didn’t have the track record to get a bigger client. The problem with this situation is you’re trying to convince someone to invest a substantial part of their income with you as a gamble that it could increase their income further down the road.
This can take allot of convincing! Luckily, there is always someone who will give you the opportunity if they like you. This is how I got my first client. I was in a shop, with my girlfriend at the time, doing some shopping when I got talking to the shop owner, I was genuinely interested in discussing their business and the great products they were selling. We had a good talk about how she had started the business herself and grown it to where it was, she asked what I did for a job and that was the ideal opportunity for me to sell my services, which she was immediately interested in. We scheduled a follow up meeting and a few weeks later and the paperwork was signed. I had my first client.
The first client is important to every business because it’s the stepping stone to future success, I knew this and so did everything possible to get great results for them. I went above and beyond the services I was charging for, kept regular contact and maintained a high level of professionalism. I was learning something new every day, how to manage a clients when you’re the CEO, marketing expert, account manager, sales manager and intern all rolled into one. It’s a very exciting time and you will find yourself often in a hole, trying to climb out of it and dust yourself off as quickly as possible.
Your first client is a massive opportunity, to learn what you will do with future clients while also learning from your mistakes, which you will make allot!. For example, how to bring a new client on-board, what is your process for that, you will need to have it planned so it’s the same for every new client. Then there’s reporting, email contact and many other things you never though of before that suddenly become important. You should be constantly noting important things as they arise, so you can learn and grow faster from them.
The price you charge your first customer will have an impact on their expectations from you, this is why I started low and once I had enough experience started charging more, and this is the reason I was able to go from charging a client £500 a month to charging £1500 a month fairly quickly – I was confident I knew what I was doing, and not just from a results point perspective but also a business one. People expect a level of customer service, and unless you set those expectations early you can run into conflict later.
Before you get your first client you go through the steps from an initial conversation through to the contract being signed and all the way to how they will leave at the end of the contract. Break down each stage in detail so you know exactly what you need before you get started. The worse thing you can do is trying to figure it all out as you go – this is fine if you have a team, but when you’re by yourself and dealing with the emotional roller coaster of starting your business you don’t want to also be chasing your tail.
