We were up in Boston this weekend – and I purposefully and painfully left my computer at home with the intention of not working. But people looking for marketing and websites and blogs just appear before me…it’s fantastic.
The truth is that these potential clients ‘just appear’ for everyone, all the time. But, you have to be looking, or at least you have to have your eyes open. I didn’t think I was finding them on purpose, but then I thought about it a little more, and realized that I am doing some things…here they are:
1. Ask. Whenever I meet someone new, I ask them questions. ‘What do you do?’ is most often the first and it leads to many others, ‘how do you market that?’, ‘do you have a website?’, ‘do you spend time on the internet?’ Find out who this person is business-wise and beyond.
2. Listen. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t listen to their answers. The connection between you and them exists in their answers, when they tell you what they want, when they tell you what never works.
3. Talk. When you ask someone what they do, they’re going to ask you the same thing. Be ready to tell them exactly what you do in a compelling and concise way. An ‘elevator speech’ if you will. The chances of you talking to someone in your exact profession are slim, so they will probably be intrigued that you can do something they can’t – like writing and navigating the web, in my case.
4. Friends and Family. Interesting, but true. I get a lot of business because my friends and family are good at singing my praises. When one of them hears of someone looking for writing, a website or any sort of marketing, they have no qualms about thrusting me in front of the person shouting, “Julie does that! You have to talk to HER!”
5. Love What You Do. I’m told that my passion and excitement for writing, web networking and marketing are magnetic. This thrills me because my work thrills me. Every person and potential client is a master puzzle waiting for the greatest solution. Too much fun.