
Three Methods for Generating New Business Fast
If you’re a service provider, startup, or consulting company, you may be looking to grow your business quickly. After all, the fuller your schedule or the greater the demand, the faster you reach your financial goals. There are three sure-fire ways to get more clients fast.
Get More Clients with a Referral System
Referrals are when someone, generally a happy client, tells another person about your business. You can have an informal referral program or a formal one. An informal referral program is pretty straightforward. You simply ask your current customers if they know of anyone who could benefit from your services. They may send people your direction or give you a few names to contact. Many businesses grow this way.
A formal referral program is a reward-based program. Anyone who refers a new customer to you would receive a reward. The reward could be a discount on your services, early access to new features or products, or even a freebie. For example, if you’re a Saas startup, you might offer anyone who refers new clients to your company advanced access to new features or credit toward their next month’s fees. A formal referral program requires that people sign up for the program. You might send a monthly newsletter to members to remind or motivate them to refer new clients.
Regardless of the system you choose, referrals work quite well to get more clients quickly because they come from a trusted source. Suppose you ask someone where you can go get lunch and they tell you the name of a restaurant they like. In that case, you’re more likely to go to that specific restaurant than to an unfamiliar place because it’s been recommended to you. You trust the information.
Use Affiliates to Generate Traffic
The second way to get more clients fast is to start an affiliate program. Affiliates are people who agree to promote your services in exchange for a commission. It requires a bit more work than a referral program; however, it can be highly effective. Affiliates market your business on your behalf, and they drive traffic to your website. For every new client they bring to you that signs up, they earn a commission. Commissions are often paid for the initial signup or a portion of the customer’s lifetime. It’s a sound system. To help your affiliates succeed, you may provide them with marketing content, advertisements, and other information to use on their website.
Build Partnerships to Get More Clients
The third and final way to get more clients fast is to forge partnerships with other complementary businesses. For example, you might partner with a realtor if you have a professional cleaning, home maintenance, or landscaping service. Their clients will need to get their homes ready for sale, and your clients may be looking to sell their homes. It’s a win-win situation.
To get more clients fast, take advantage of your current assets and have a solid marketing strategy. What partnerships can you forge, and what clients can you ask for referrals and recommendations?