Are the words “find more clients” on your list of goals for next year? As we wind down for the holiday season and start to look forward to the new year, we enter one of my favourite seasons for businesses – the season of reflection. This is the perfect time to review your goals, determine what’s worked and (more importantly) what hasn’t.

These lessons can then form the basis of your intentions for the year to come, as you weave in more of what’s gone well and move past the mistakes and hiccups that cropped up along the way.

For many of us, finding clients is the item on our to-do list that never ends. In an online world that’s constantly changing, it can be hard to keep up with ever-evolving trends and growing pressures to adopt new techniques to find our target audience. But, if you focus on a few key things and do those things well, you can build a business that’s sustainable well into the new year and beyond.

So, read on to find out how to find clients online (and off!) in 2021.

Clear branding: the magnet your clients are looking for

There’s a big misconception that branding is only visual. That you can craft a pretty logo and announce you have a brand.

But branding goes far deeper than that.

“Branding is what your business needs to break through the clutter and grab your ideal customer’s attention. It’s what transforms first-time buyers into lifetime customers and turns an indifferent audience into brand evangelists. It’s what you need to stand out, make an impact and take your business to the next level.”

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Developing your brand will enable you to get clear on “who” your business is as you go through the branding process. What feeling do you want to create for those clients that you’re looking for? How are you going to create that change for them? And what unique approach are you going to use to do it?

The answers to those questions will dictate your wider mission and purpose. This is going to be what makes you turn heads, because whilst other people are just “doing” the thing, you’re living, breathing and embodying your mission. Meaning your dream clients are going to notice and remember you.

Wondering how to get started? Branding with Archetypes® is the perfect place to begin!

Choose a niche: identify the clients you want to reach

As the old saying goes, “when you speak to everyone, you speak to no one”. If you’re going to find the right clients, and draw those clients to you, you need to be clear on who you’re trying to reach. And you need to show what your specialism is.

This is one of my favourite things to work on with my own coaching clients, as we take the broader idea of the business and niche down into one key area. This is where the clients you serve, the specific solution you’re offering and the unique way of doing that work all merge together.

Developing a breakthrough niche will mean that, when those potential clients come across you, they’ll know straight away that you can help them. Just remember, you need to make it simple, clear and obvious!

Position yourself: put yourself in the places where your clients are spending their time

Now that you know you’re talking to – the people that you want to become your clients – think about where you can find them. Where are those dream clients spending their time? And where are they spending their time looking for help in the areas that you can support them with?

These are the places where you need to position yourself.

It might be that you know your ideal client hates Twitter but loves Instagram. So, start to build a presence for yourself there and leave Twitter alone for now.

The same goes for in-person networking. Put yourself in the places where you know your clients spend their time, such as events at co-working spaces or business workshops solving the problems they’re likely to be facing.

Remember, whether you’re connecting with potential clients online or offline, don’t go straight for the sale. Start with a simple conversation and build a meaningful connection first!

Show your value: make it clear how you can help the clients you’re trying to find

If I asked you to tell me about the items currently on your shopping list, or the feeling you experienced when you found a product you’ve been looking for, which would be easier to recall?

It’s much harder for us to remember a list of ‘things’. But we do remember feelings. We remember how certain products, or certain people, make us feel. This is why marketing leaders always emphasise benefits over features.

Make the value of your work clear, place it front and centre in all your brand messaging. Show your potential clients how you’re going to be helping them (spoiler alert – they won’t know otherwise).

That long list of features that you’re so proud of? Not everyone’s going to know what those are. But the outcomes of those features? The change that they create? That’s gold.

Be consistent: show your clients that you’re here to stay

Are you ready for a bit of tough love?

You’re never going to know if something works if you only do it once.

You’re going to need to keep on showing up, day after day, week after week. You’ll need to show up even when it scares you. Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. 

Because if you want to find those dream clients? You’re going to have to put yourself out there and try new things. And you need to do it consistently. That’s when you start to see those results you’ve been looking for.

Get focused for 2021 with a (free) Clarity Coffee!

It all starts with a Clarity Coffee, a zero-obligation video call where we get to have a chat about life and business. There’s no pressure to buy, no salesy speech. It’s just good old honest conversation.

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