Attracting new clients

As a self-employed professional you are continuously working on maintaining sufficient projects and work. After all, without clients, you as a self-employed professional are nowhere. Clients are essential for the existence of your enterprise and, as explained in this article, in some cases also important to the fiscal qualification as a self-employed professional. In the following five steps we explain how you can expand your circle of clients:

1 Determine your target group

Before you approach potential clients , it is useful to narrow down what target group you want to reach. It is important to make clear in what sector you are active and what services or goods you offer exactly.

Try to formulate answers to the following questions:

Who is my client?
What values are important to my client? What does my client stand for?
How does my product and/or service connect to this?
What is the pattern of expenditure of my client?
Who are my competitors?
How to distinct myself?

Also consider whether you want to sell more work to your existing clients, want to offer the same work to several clients within your target group or want to approach new target groups.

2 Be a networker

When you have determined the right target group for yourself it is important to make sure that you are known to potential clients. Networking is possible in several ways:

Through means of warm acquisition potential customers within your present existing network are informed of your enterprise. Approaching former employers or friends and family can generate significant awareness. Through cold acquisition unknown clients are approached. This can, among other means, be accomplished by phone, the internet or network seminars. The advantage of cold acquisition is that when it gets you a new client, this can lead to a whole new network.

3 Use Social Media

Do not forget to use Social Media. Tweet about developments in your professional field, use Facebook to communicate about what projects you are currently working on, get involved in discussion groups on LinkedIn and post the progress of your work on Instagram or your mood board on Pinterest, and so on. Post with some frequency, recent studies have shown that people on the internet search Social Media channels more often and use on search engines less. And the more frequent you post, the more reliable you appear. If you are easily found on Social Media, you can use it to your advantage. Also make sure to refer to other pages on your website and it is even better if your page is referred to . In this way you come across as an ‘authority’.

4 Choose Crowdfunding

Do you have good ideas but not the financial means to accomplish this? Consider crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is not only a way to finance your project, but also helps to build up your publicity and creates positive Word of Mouth. Consequently, crowdfunding is a good way to test how your target group responds to your offered product or service, because they will finance your project. If people are not prepared to finance your project, perhaps the demand of your product or service is not as high as previously anticipated.

5 keep investing in existing clients

The continuous search for new clients is, as you can see above, a costly and time consuming occupation. Keeping your existing clients, therefore, is equally important. Make sure you have frequent contact with your clients, for whom you have finished your work, so they will use your services again in the future.

Sources:

www.mkbservicedesk.nl
www.pzo-zzp.nl
www.ikwordzzper.nl
www.ikgastarten.nl