Acquiring new customers/clients is costly in both time and money. It is less expensive and more beneficial to keep your current clients happy and Yuwanda Black has written a post describing how.
In “How to Get More Work from Existing Clients” at Freelance Switch, she describes a step-by-step way to ensure you know your client’s needs, understand how you can help and get them to hire you for more of their work. And as she says, “this is an often overlooked marketing method and missing it is like throwing money out the window.”
One of the biggest mistakes I made in my music career was missing this point. I, like most musicians, believed that if I had gotten one call, I would certainly get another. Wrong. There are two flaws with this thinking and Yuwanda addresses them both – and more.
First, you have to stay in touch with your clients. While it’s true that YOU are the center of your life and therefore on your mind all the time, this is not true of them. So, while you’re sitting home waiting by the phone, someone else is getting face time with your client.
Second, you may not have nailed the last thing you were asked to do. How would you know? Have you asked? If they did and they said yes, is that good enough? What might you have done even better, or beyond the original scope?
Yuwanda’s plan starts by arranging for a 10-minute consultation to find out exactly these things. This planned meeting, for which you will be prepared (after all, this is your LIVELIHOOD), allows you to stay on their mind, learn how you did and learn about upcoming opportunities all at once. It also makes you stand out from all the rest.
Oh, and don’t neglect step 3: asking for the work.
My thanks to Lifehacker for the link, read the whole post here.
