How to Maintain a Constant Demand For Your Services
Finding a constant source of clients is important for all businesses, but especially for freelancers.
You usually work alone (perhaps with a few associates for busy periods), so everything from admin to finance, IT and sales falls on your shoulders. And that includes generating new business.
Ask any freelancer and they’ll tell you that the most frustrating thing about their business is the inconsistent level of work.
One month you can be drowning in work with loads more on the horizon and then, before you know what’s happened, the phone’s stopped ringing, no enquiries are coming through your website and your emails have dried up.
Every freelancer (and business owner) has been there.
So what can you do about it?
Is there anything that can be done about it, or is it just one of those things you have to put up with?
Client churn is a natural part of business, so you can never rest on your laurels just because, at the moment, you have a healthy monthly income.
Where do your clients come from?
Everyone is different, which means you and I have different ways of generating business that we’re comfortable with, such as:
- Through website traffic
- By blogging and article marketing
- Through social media
- Face-to-face networking
- Cold/warm calling
Of course, that list isn’t the only way you can attract client, but the are most common.
The mistake a lot of freelancers make is that they put all their eggs in one basket.
Either they solely rely on Google to bring them clients, or they keep hitting all their local networking events to drum up trade.
Both are legitimate choices, but they shouldn’t be relied on in isolation.
The best and most effective way of getting new clients is to do a mixture of the two.
Hang on, what about your existing clients?
Good point.
A lot of people think that to be successful they have to be onboading new clients all the time. But they get so wrapped up with that they completely ignore the fact that they have a database of people just waiting for them to help them with their next project.
Maintaining regular contact with past clients (and those that asked for a quote) will help you keep that door open and, hopefully, lead to repeat work. After all, if they were happy with you the first time round they’ll probably use you again.
Once a month drop them a line telling them what you’ve been up to and perhaps offer a handy hint – something they will value.
There should be no sales pressure; this is just a ‘staying in touch’ email.
I’m sure you also send out monthly newsletters, but this will be in addition to that and can be tailored more to their individual needs.
Maintaining a constant flow of work is the holy grail of the freelancer. It’s not always possible, but by getting organised and maintaining contact with your list, will give you the best possible chance.
