It seems that the main struggle my clients have is wanting desperately to share their gifts; however, they have few (or no) clients. The bulk of my clients have been coming from referrals for the last couple of years but I am familiar with that struggle. It can be like a Catch 22 because you sometimes need clients in order to receive referrals but you need referrals to have clients. What is the remedy?
Face it, you are going to feel as though you are hustling when you are just starting out. You may even be wondering if the hustle will ever end. It has to end because learning how to maintain a steady client stream of clients is key in your business to avoid burn out.
Although I can teach you several online marketing tactics to help you build a solid and steady client base, they all require time to implement and time for you to see results. My guess is that you need clients immediately.
I personally prefer taking the necessary time to build something sustainable; however, I also respect your need to pay your mortgage and to eat. In this post I will explain a method for bringing clients in quickly while you also work on the more sustainable methods in the meantime.
I call it The Loved Ones email and, if you do not have an email list yet, it is the easiest way to quickly get new clients in your business.
You email everyone you know--friends, family, colleagues, and even acquaintances. Tell them what you are doing, who you work with and ask them to do one thing at the end of the email (either reply back to work with you or to forward the email to someone who they think would be a good fit).
You must get your name out there if you want clients. The reason this works is because the people you are emailing already know and hopefully like you so the barrier that tends to exist when you are trying to reach cold leads is removed.
In full disclosure, several people have told me that they tried this method and it failed to get them new clients. The possible reasons for that are:
They were too vague about what they do
They were too vague about who it is for
They did not clearly ask or offer a package to sell at the end of the email
You must be specific in The Loved Ones email; otherwise, no one will be interested and you will probably feel like you failed. The method hinges on your being able to distinctly articulate everything about your business. If you are unable to be very clear, I do not recommend this method for you because you will be wasting your one chance to reach out.
The Loved Ones Email
Following is the exact email that I (and some of my clients) have sent:
The Greeting:
Hey ______,
The Introduction:
Personalize the email if it’s someone you know well. If you don’t know the person very well, skip this and include a more general greeting that still sets the tone (“We may not have spoken in a while but I value the work that you do and knew you would be excited to hear what have been up to" -- or something that makes them feel valued instead of that you are only trying to get something from them)
Explain your reason for emailing them:
I am writing because I am excited to be doing ________ (i.e. starting my new business/launching my website/quitting my job, etc) and wanted to make sure you were aware of this (and ask for your help -- see below!)
Elaborate on what you are doing:
Give them a bit more detail about what you are doing and demonstrate your excitement about it (I’ve been dreaming of starting my business for a long time and now it is finally happening; I’m finishing up my training as a _____ and graduate next week...It took me a while to get to where I wanted to be, but it now feels like I’ve arrived).
Explain how you help people:
Provide some detail about what you do for people/ what problems you can solve. You want to make certain that you are VERY clear about who you help and how you help them. Keep this succinct.
The Ask:
Let them know again that you are open to clients, how many people you are accepting and how long the commitment will be (i.e. “I am taking on 10 clients for 30-minute coaching sessions”, or “I have three slots open for my 90-day group program” and would love your help in attracting new clients/would love to work with you on ______). Be CLEAR here that you have limited slots open and what exactly you are “selling” to them.
If the person you are writing to is an ideal client, ask them to work with you. You may find this scary, but remember - courage. Explain why you think they would be a perfect fit.
If the person is not your ideal client, tell them why you are asking them: “I thought you might have some people in mind from your yoga studio, or “I know you work in an environment where a lot of people may be struggling with _______ so I thought you might be willing to pass this on for me”
The Call to action:
End with a clear call to action (“If this feels like a fit, I’d love to work with you. Click here to schedule a call to talk more about it” or “Reply to this email to book a chat”, or “I would be grateful to you if you would forward this to three people you know who might be a fit”). Be sure to only include ONE action step. If the person you are writing to isn’t an ideal client, asking them to pass it on to three people or post on their Facebook page is a great call to action.
The Closing:
Sign off with a big thank you.
Add a P.S.:
"If you are not my ideal person, I would love for you to forward this on to anyone you know who might be a fit. I am grateful to you for your support in this. It means a lot to me.
Again, this method only works if you can be specific and clear about who you serve, what your message is, and can articulate exactly how you can help people.
