Tips for Landing New Clients in 2015

When you’ve exhausted your existing client business potential, you’ll need to expand your customer base in order to grow your business in 2015.

At the same time, however, you’re likely already feeling maxed out in your resources. You may feel there are simply not enough hours in the day to market for new business while still giving your existing customers the care and attention they want and deserve.

There are solutions to this dilemma, and the solutions work whether you’re a small, medium or large business.

Here are five actionable tips for landing new clients in 2015.

Automate Your Proposals

Proposal automation software is specifically designed to solve the problem of managing the marketing of new business while simultaneously caring for existing clients.

When you automate your proposals, you’ll be able to do things once and use them multiple times, instead of inventing the wheel every time you woo a new lead.

Search online for proposal automation software that will allow you to:

• Develop sales material templates;
• Build sales agreement templates;
• Email clients within the software;
• Track email opening, and download records;
• Provide platform for client comments and questions;
• Give secured access to your whole mobile sales force;
• Invoice and receive client payments within software

This sounds like a lot to ask for, but there are very affordable options out there that do just that.

Once you find the software that fits within your budget and your industry requirements, you’ll be able to develop an automated process for marketing to new leads that practically runs itself, leaving you free to manage your established customer base.

Incentivize Your Referral Program

It’s all well and good to ask for referrals from your existing customers, but what’s in it for them?

Offhandedly mentioning that you’re in the market for new clients at the end of a conversation isn’t likely to motivate anyone to go out of their way to help you. Instead, incentivize your referral program.

First, you need to build the referral program itself.

Organize some unique referral links that existing clients can place on their websites. Make sure you set it up so you can identify the origin of the referral.

Next, decide how much you’re willing to offer in exchange for a new client who signs on with your business.

You can offer a set amount, such as $100, or you can offer a percentage based on how much the new client deposits in their new business account with you. Either way, make sure the amount is commiserate with the level of services that you’re selling.

If your average client is a millionaire, and you’re asking for a referral that will garner you millions in consulting fees, for example, a $100 incentive is going to be too meager to motivate. Up your ante according to the monetary gain you stand to make.

If you use these two tips, instead of saying, “Help! I need to develop new business – Now what?” in 2015, you’ll be saying, “Help, I’ve got more new business than I can handle!”

When that happens, come back here for a solution to that awesome problem.

About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about marketing and best business practices.