No matter your company’s products or services, if you are interested in gaining new clients that result in growth for your business, then you must realize it starts with you. You may or may not be able to change the product or service, so focus on what you can do to secure new clients with your current offerings, as a representative of your company or as an entrepreneur. And in a world of open networking, you do not need to be a sales or marketing person to help your business grow through new clients.
Continuous development to be your best in your career aligns perfectly with your ability to secure new clients. In today’s complex markets, people want to give their business to people they can trust and have confidence they’ll get the results they seek. In the market to secure new business, you must humble yourself and determine the strengths and gaps in your ability to perform today and in the future.
Four ways your Career Plan can help you become excellent at securing new clients:
Your personal value to the market:
Based on your Professional Inventory of STAR experiences, analyze your strengths and gaps to fill that you can use and improve for growth. Focus on your leadership skills development to influence people by understanding how to best serve them. In addition, focus on technical areas of development, providing real consultative help to your clients in delivering the product or services you are selling. People buy from people. Be trusted to solve their needs and serve them well.
Open Network with Effect:
Secure meetings with people to discuss ideas you both value. Be a person who is mindful and knowledgeable of the market. In open networking with effect, you ask for feedback on ideas because you value this person’s opinion or insights. This meeting could be to gain feedback on a current business trend or about the impact of new technology. The meeting is not to sell anything. Consider this meeting to be market research which allows you to build your relationship and learn. Be prepared, be professional, and come to the table with real, big ideas that deserve the requested time. This will show how you think and your desire to learn. These meetings should be in the lanes you consider relevant to your business growth. Relationships matter. People buy from people.
Provide your amazing value:
Be excellent in every interaction you have with a client. Take notes on where things are going well and where things are going poorly. Proactively and continuously ask for feedback and overserve the clients you have. Discuss with your clients your purpose statement and values simply by explaining why you do your work. Let them know you want to learn and improve to fulfill your purpose. Be human. People buy from people.
Proactively use references:
Ask those you have gone above and beyond for and have shared your purpose and values with if they will be a reference you can share with others. Your personal stories of success are your best client growth strategy. If you trust someone with your personal purpose, values, and growth plans and overserve them, they will be great references for you in the market. People love helping people.
Having a real vision of success that can be tied to your personal goals, such as how much financial reward growth you want over the next three years, can fuel how much change you are willing to make. Ultimately, you own your career, no matter who you work for. If you really want to grow your business, it starts with you.