For instance, instead of offering a printer repair service to potential clientele, label your service as: “Handy Printer Tune-up. ”

For instance, if your main line of work is designing websites, try expanding your business scope to also include mobile apps.

Try interacting with your competitors at a social gathering and other meet-ups to get a feel for how they run things. Generally, there are 3 types of competition: direct, secondary/indirect, and substitute. Direct competition sells the same service to the same group of customers, while secondary and substitute competition provide different services.

For instance, if your business only has 5 employees, it’s probably not a good idea to service a company with 2,000 employees. While studying other businesses, look for hidden services that these competing companies offer. If possible, try to replicate these services to make your own business more efficient and successful.

For example, as a mission statement, you could write something like this: “We’re dedicated to providing prompt, high-quality graphic designs to all of our clients. ” While your website doesn’t need to be state-of-the-art, it should be easy to navigate. Try using a free website builder to design your web presence. For an extra fee, you can purchase a domain name on most sites.

By giving clients lots of avenues for communication, you’re creating a transparent identity for yourself. Always have a business card handy in case you meet a new client in a random place.

Stand by the value of the service you offer. Depending on your exact business, you’ll be helping customers get rid of a pesky, undesired situation, like a smudged window, outdated website, or broken printer. Look at your competitor’s price model to get an idea of the rate you should charge for your own services.

On any kind of marketing material, make sure that potential clientele know that your top priority is efficiency.

Clients want to know exactly what they’re getting before committing to a service provider. For instance, this could be a great USP: “If you aren’t satisfied with our work, we’ll give you a full refund!”

New customers might be more inclined to contact you if they see past success stories. Try making a “Testimonial” tab or page on your website to include these positive customer reviews.

These personas can provide valuable insight into the best way to approach and pitch to a customer. For instance, if your buyer persona is an old-fashioned businessman, you might want to use physical letters and phone calls to reach him. If your buyer persona is a younger, modern businesswoman, opt for digital communication instead.

Whenever you get a new customer, politely ask them how they heard about your services.

For instance, if you’re an event planner, consider emailing a potential client a resource on party or event preparation. Try saying something like this during the interaction: “Hello! I saw an ad for your company on the local news, and I just wanted to get in touch with you. I own an event planning business, and I have an informational fact sheet that I’d love to send your way. ” While you’ll be making sales pitches later, you don’t want to create a pitch right off the bat.

For instance, if you run a card or stationery-making business, consider participating in a holiday festival.

Try setting alerts on Google to keep an eye out for press releases and other news bytes. For instance, if you hear that a company is downsizing, make a pitch that highlights how budget-friendly your services are.

For instance, if you run a window cleaning service, you could focus on marketing yourself to businesses that operate out of an entire building instead of 1 office space. See if you can advertise your business in a trade magazine. If companies see you in the publication and like your potential services, they might contact you. [19] X Research source

If a business owner doesn’t want to work with you, respect their decision. Try saying something like “We’d like to fine tune your HVAC system” instead of “We’d like to help repair this company’s HVAC system. ”

In a job interview, ask questions like: “What do you like most about being a salesperson?” Listen to the responses carefully, and see who has a genuine passion for the position.

For instance, try saying something like this: “Hello! We recall that you had your property landscaped by us 3 weeks ago. Would you be interested in having any landscaping work done 6 months from now?”

For instance, if you provide IT help on a frequent basis for a company, offer them a 25% discount on their next consultation.