How to get clients if you suck at networking?
The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work. Marinate on that for a minute — Robert T Kiyosaki
Ahh the old wise quote to start. Networking has been a great skill to have especially for entrepreneurs & business owners. They network & sell themselves like a salesman selling refrigerator to an eskimo. I am sure you have heard that one. In todays scenario, that may not be true for everyone. Some people are builders but not that great seller. I am a marketing major & I still suck at networking but my digital shop is surviving yet & doing some great things for other partners. Here are some of the underrated yet very simple strategies you can put to use to acquire customers or clients for your agency/business.
- Become a Digital Talker — Networking is hard. You need to get up, go to events, go to parties, go for cafe meet ups & meet more & more people who may not be useful to you or you may not leave a great first impression on everyone. The anxiety to talk to someone face to face becomes zilch when you are having a great conversation on the email or a whatsapp. Here, you can pitch it clearly & can also think through & respond with better insights on your product/service. Pro-tip: Learn to write a good email.
- Partnerships — If you can’t get clients, partner with someone who can get clients, work with them & share profits. It helps a lot when you are a specialist & can partner with an agency for that role. Design freelancers work on multiple projects by just partnerships with agencies. Business Consultants also tend to do that by being exclusive partners to corporates.
- Talk to one new person everyday — Make a list of friends, ex colleagues, classmates, acquaintances, family & prospects. Talk to one person everyday. Casually reach out & introduce your product & also understand if they can help. This trick may not get you clients or any connections instantly but in near future it creates a multiplier effect. Planting a seed is necessary to eat fruits in future.
- Facebook/Whatsapp Groups — Be active on curated whatsapp & facebook groups. Though they create lot of noise, you tend to find some diamonds (requests for help) in the coal mine (meme sharers).
- Become a Rockstar Helper — You are not a people person? Great. You don’t need to like people generally to give a helping hand. Also, it doesn’t require much of your time to point someone in a right direction. I have personally helped someone for their mundane work like delivering a product to their customer in an emergency & have got great support as well when needed. You need a support system of helpers to grow.
- Create Content — Create some engaging & rich content. Ask questions on internet & there are people who will jump on that bus & connect with you as questions create curiosity. You never know that so many people are seeking answer to what you just asked or answered it. Give tips, create ‘diy’ videos or write a blog. People appreciate some effort.
- Be the best in your craft — Good product or talent will attract clients by direct word of mouth & no networking is helping you if you are pretty average in your craft. Keep polishing your skills & becoming better in the market. Work with limited people but give a great experience. Who knows, you may not need networking at all.
There are more to it but these are the simplest to execute & keep at it. For more growth tips & non sensical knowledge you can reach out to me personally on saajan@growthpep.com . I try to keep it BS free as possible.
About me
My name is Saajan Jain & I’m the founder of Growthpep — ROI Driven Performance Marketing. We work with companies when it comes to lead generation or website sales via paid media marketing.
