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6 Killer Tips for More Web Design Clients
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3. Get Into Bed With Someone
Our graphic designer is a great guy called Byron, who's talented, funny and nice. He's really nice. You see, Byron gives us clients -- lots of clients. And we give Byron clients. Lots of clients.
It's a two way street. When I first met Byron, I asked him if many of his clients asked for web design work. "Lots," he said. At that stage, Byron couldn't help them. But now he can. Byron says, "Call Brendon, his team's great. Tell them I sent you."
We get a great flow of clients. And we refer clients who need a graphic designer to Byron. And I don't see it as our doing Byron a favour. To my mind, we're doing our clients a favour -- Byron is a brilliant graphic designer. Byron has access to our clients, we have access to his. It's a two-way street -- and it's of benefit to both businesses.
Who could you jump into bed with -- figuratively speaking?
Creating an alliance with others in your industry can have a very beneficial effect. But, as in life, you must choose your partners carefully and with much thought. It's not always the prettiest partners that are the best for your business!
Who are your potential partners?
- a web host
- your local ISP
- an advertising agency
- another web developer (like the example of Zoe I gave above -- she is about to do one of her biggest web design jobs for a 'competitor': us!)
There is huge potential out there. Create the right alliances, and hook up with the right people. Make that phone call, meet that person for lunch -- it could be the start of a great business relationship!
4. Conduct Effective Advertising
Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.
CNN entrepreneur Ted Turner uses that line to describe his formula for success. It's a formula that has been the cornerstone for many business successes.
I see a lot of money wasted in advertising. But your advertising shouldn't cost you a cent. No, I'm not kidding. It shouldn't cost you a cent to advertise, because your ads should be -- must be -- generating new, profitable business. Otherwise, you're going about your advertising the wrong way.
Don't take your advertising lightly. If you do the work, put in the hard yards, and find the right spot for your ad, that ad can be a springboard to new clients, new sales and greater profitability. Promoting in the right place comes down to one thing: research.
The Key To Advertising: Facts and Figures
I love Pay Per Click advertising. I have one site for which my advertising budget is $10 per day. For that spend, I make $40 profit per day. Although that won't exactly feed my hungry children, I love that site because it's a great example of perfect advertising. It's perfectly accountable and perfectly measurable.
- I can see where my ad appeared on the page.
- I can see how many people viewed my ad.
- I can see how many people clicked on the ad.
- I can even give different viewers different ads, to find out which one gets the most visitors.
- I can also present different visitors with different material once they click; then, I can assess which landing page makes the most sales.
- I can see exactly how much profit each ad gives me.
You must apply that same logic to all of your advertising campaigns. Sure, it's a little harder when you don't have a big PPC tracking system behind you, but there are hidden diamonds waiting to be discovered: you must measure your advertising, and draw definite conclusions about its success. If you can't do that, you may as well not advertise at all.
Running a print ad? Measure it! Where is the ad situated in the magazine? On what page does it appear? How many people actually saw it? How many people requested further information? Measure, measure, measure!
What about links? I always ask my clients if we can publish a link at the bottom of the web sites we build for them. The links give us the occasional lead (and it's a very well-targeted lead), but they also help with our search engine rankings.
Targeting Counts!
Before you advertise, you need two things:
- an objective
- a budget
Once you've identified those, you can get started with your advertising plan. First, research: hone in on your target market. If you're targeting local businesses, join that local Chamber of Commerce. Take an ad in their newsletter. Get to know other members. Run a direct mail campaign. Ring a few targeted businesses and introduce yourself.
Get as targeted as you possibly can. Because, once you have a target market, you can get specific with your advertising -- you can speak directly to that market with empathy and understanding.
What about your suppliers and friends? They already have an existing relationship with you -- they know and trust you. Why not send them a letter along the lines of, "We're currently offering our friends what I think is our best deal ever -- a web site for $X that has these features..." You might be surprised at the results of your campaign. And remember, in professional service industry it might only take that one new client to make a huge difference. Could a current supplier become that client? Try to find out.
5. Visualise your Success
The mind is a wonderful thing. It's been shown time and again that the way you think about you business will have a major impact on your business's success. If you believe, you achieve. Here's one way I've learnt to move forward towards any goal I'm trying to achieve.
I live the dream. I imagine my success at the end of the road, and think about how I'm going to get there. Basically, I plan it out, right through all the small goals I'll need to achieve along the path to that goal. Then I 'act' how I'd act when I achieve that goal.
I use this technique a lot with my public speaking: if a speech is a success and I'm perceived to be an expert, people will expect me to be well dressed, logical, confident and a little extroverted. So I behave that way. It's amazing how this simple technique puts you in the right frame of mind. From the minute I turn up to speak, I appear to be all of these things (even if my knees are knocking from the nerves!).
Take the time to visualize where you'll be once you achieve your success. Then start living the dream. It brings the goal that much closer, and it keeps you focused and on the right track, even when things go awry.
6. Persistence will Win the Day
Look, it's a hard, tough and competitive world out there. You'll be competing against better designers, better marketers, better programmers, cheaper designers, older developers ... the list goes on.
But there is space for you! Be innovative. Be brilliant. Be different. You deserve success, and you need to persevere. I remember that it took my business a few years to really go well. It took me that long to be known within my market, to get enough clients to refer their friends, and to get enough ongoing work.
Winston Churchill said it best:
Never, ever, ever give up.
6 Steps to Success
Let's look at those steps again:
- Get to know your clients and prospects a little better. Take them out to lunch, buy them a coffee, or play a round of golf.
- Show off! Let others know of your success. Everybody wants to work with a winner.
- Jump into bed with someone ... but choose your partner wisely!
- Advertise as effectively as possible -- and do your research before and afterwards.
- Visualise your success, think about how you'll achieve it, and live that dream.
- Persevere!
Don't just read that list and nod! Sit down right now and plan each of these activities into your schedule. Make some calls today to set up opportunities to socialise with prospects and clients. Make time to research potential partners. Investigate advertising and promotional opportunities that are measurable. If you don't dedicate the time to undertaking each of these tasks -- if you don't make them inherent to the way you do business -- you won't gain the benefits. And believe me, those benefits can be great.
Be dogged, be determined and be successful. And don't forget to download that free public speaking ebook. All the best for 2006. Make it your year -- you deserve it!