A Smarter Path to Winning - and Keeping - Clients

It’s probably a sign of how jargon-infested the business world has become that most founders, if asked how they plan to grow their business, will talk about “better funnels” and “bigger pipelines”. And while these are useful considerations, the reality is that compounding growth year after year tends to rely on something a little more prosaic. You’ll never go wrong speaking directly to client needs and ambitions, and backing that up with a record of delivery and reliability. 

This is a combination that fuels both acquisition and retention, limiting churn while turning your customers into your most powerful sales force. There’s no bad answer to the question of how to grow your business; multiple strings to your bow is never a negative. But thinking about what the client wants is your most reliable step. 

Start with ambitions, not attributes

Clients may buy a CRM, but they are shopping for a faster sales cycle. They may buy an SEO package, but their goal is qualified inbound opportunities. This is an early indication of how to look at client acquisition through digital marketing; it’s OK to talk about how you do what you do, but your clients will want to know what it means for them. This means mapping your offer to what they really want.

In creating your products or services this means something subtle - thinking in terms of problems and not solutions. That may run counter to the received wisdom, but it means meeting the customer where they are. You know what you are good at: let’s say it’s SEO content writing and site building. The ideal client for you is someone with a website that isn’t converting potential leads. 

Now, you could pitch to them by saying you can create x number of words of content and giving their site y level of search engine authority. They may even know what that means. But nothing speaks to them like telling them how many new leads they can expect to convert if they choose you as their SEO consultancy.

Build your messaging around their NEEDS

Yes, that word is all in caps. No, it’s not for emphasis, although also, it is a bit. It’s mostly an acronym, though, for the sake of memorizing what you’re trying to offer the client.

N - Name the goal: Lead the potential client by using the outcome language they will be using. Don’t use your internal language; instead speak to them in terms of their priorities.

E - Empathise with them: A few sentences along the lines of “We both know why we’re here. You’re looking for someone who can help you turn those unconverted leads into converted ones. And that fits right in with our goals…”

E - Establish evidence: At this point, anecdotal references and case studies are beneficial. Tell the potential client about how you helped another business in their situation. Lay out how you can do the same for them.

D - Draw the path: Show them how you can get them from A (where they are now) to B (where they want to be). Set out the bullet points that will make this journey a success.

S. Set the Stakes: Underline what will be missed out on if they continue on the present trajectory. This is where you play on their FOMO.

Replace the platitudes with tangibles

As we’ve noted, phrases like “sales funnels” and “customer pipelines” have their place; they show that you know your industry and you are comfortable talking about what you’re good at. But there is nothing better in terms of attracting customers than telling them what this means in cold, hard facts and figures. Every business promises conceptual outcomes like quality, speed, and service. Your job is to turn these into real numbers. So when you say you can deliver these things, back that promise up.

In terms of quality, say things like: “Every deliverable passes a 10-point checklist so that it’s ready to go when we hand over. You can refer to the audit log which we’ll provide to see how that’s been met”. For speed, give tangible timelines: “This will be ready to go in 15 business days, and we’ll stipulate that in the finalized agreement”. And for service, don’t just say you’ll be there when they call - go further and promise weekly updates even when there’s nothing to say beyond “Still going according to plan”. Customers want to know where they stand, so set that out in black and white.

Anyone can make a promise when it’s just words. Numbers are persuasive.

Reliability is not a promise, it’s a process

Telling people you are reliable is a little like telling them you are a great singer. It’s easy enough to say, but you’re not the one to judge that, and it’s only when you  show them that you’ll be believed. Reliability needs to be a habit, and it needs to be business-wide, not just something that’s delivered by a rock-star account manager. Any time a client deals with your business, it’s an opportunity to show that you’re on it. Unprompted, you should be handing over weekly updates and monthly reviews, and underlining what they can expect. 

And when they want updates in between times, or need questions answered, they should be able to rely on getting them. “The person who handles that is on annual leave today” isn’t an acceptable answer (although “the person who can handle that isn’t in the office right now, let me take a message and get back to you” is). There should always be someone who can contact the client the same day to let them know what they need to know. Reliability like this gets clients talking, and it will become word of mouth marketing for your business.

There’s so much you can tell a potential client to get them on board, but showing them matters more. Being customer-centred isn’t about telling them what you can do - it’s about understanding what they need and delivering it with reliability and consistency. When you do that as standard, it will speak for you much louder than any pitch you can make.