Get those clients via the web!

By Linda Markley
Posted Thursday, October 28, 2004

How to attract the clients you really want to work with, now and for years to come. The web is here to stay. Is your business?
The web allows you to market your services very effectively without even your presence for twenty-four hours a day, attracting more clients for less effort and expense.

Clients have to know what’s special about you to choose you over your competitors – and if they can get to know and trust you first, they’ll come to you even if it means travelling much further. A skilful website, put together with integrity, will build that trust and turn your visitors into clients.

The web offers so many opportunities that it’s very easy to get lost amongst them and miss that vital connection with your future clients. An effective strategy is essential to finding your way. To develop this you need to :-

Clarify what specifically you will offer

Most markets are very crowded and I encourage people not to compete but to differentiate, to emphasise what is special about their services. Specialisation pays above all else. Web clients are choosier than average and usually search for exactly what they want.

Clarify who your clients are

To best reach and interest your clients, you need to know them in detail. The service you offer partly defines them but you need to refine this, bearing in mind that clients prefer someone who has experience with people like them, resolving their specific issue, in their exact situation. Again, I encourage people to be specific, to choose who they most want to work with and focus on that group.

Review what’s available

A sound knowledge of what works on the web, the pluses and minuses of the various options, is an enormous advantage. Find out too what others in your line are doing – but resist copying! (Even if it’s working for them.) For web success it’s vital to stand out, to offer your own unique approach. Look too at your own resources, strengths and preferences. You may want to hire expert help to pull it all together but the vision has to come from you.

Clarify everything that needs to be done

A successful website that brings lots of clients needs supports including the building of credibility and appropriate publicity. You need, too, to refine your efforts, homing in on what works best for you to bring more and more clients.

All the above takes careful thought and sometimes research of the web. Alternatively, coaching is an outstandingly cost-effective way to web success. Drawing on my years of experience and knowledge of attracting clients via the web, I can coach you smoothly through to getting those clients.

About the Author
As a business coach specialising in the web, with her own thriving web-based practice, Linda guides her clients through the tricky process of translating their unique service into a compelling web presence for their chosen clients. At every step of the way, she will ensure that you develop and implement the right solutions for you so that you get those clients you want.