Sacrilicious Marketing

1009 Lessons Learned: How to Attract the Clients You Want & How to Do The Work You Love

I learned a lot in 2009. But my greatest lesson was how to have the business I WANT not the business I NEED. I have a stone on my desk that reads “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It basically sums up my philosophy on business. I’m not big on the law of attraction because I am a cynic at heart, however, I do believe in planning and that good planning attracts you the kind of business you want. Now, while I do have a full time gig in the music industry at a major label, I also have a successful side consulting business I built over the past 2 years. Initially, Sacrilicious was meant as something to provide me with some immediate income at a time when I had lost my position in a company I had founded due to divorce. But, over time, it became something I had never anticipated, an honest to goodness business and more importantly, a business I liked working for! Is my consulting business huge? No. Does it pay my bills and then some so I can put my paychecks from my day job away towards my future, yes. Why am I sharing this? Because there is more than enough consulting business to go around and I’m tired of reading posts from very talented and bright people that are suffering and blaming a bad economy for bad planning on their part.  So, while I cannot not directly help them I can offer some advice and planning that helped me.

I determined 2 years ago that if I was going to have a consulting business, I wanted 2 things:

1. To love my work

2. To love my clients

Sad fact was, at the time, I was working in an industry I did not like with clients I did not like and on tasks that bored me. So, I started making a wish list of the kinds of work I liked doing and the kinds of clients I wanted to work with. Early on, I determined that I was happiest when working in entertainment, marketing and publishing back in the 90s at Warner Bros. After identifying industries like publishing, music and films I would be excited working with, I determined what I specifically liked doing as a marketer; Internet marketing from SEO/SEM, web development, conversion strategies and social networking. From there it was pretty easy to determine my ideal customers, bands, musical artists, magazine publishers, independent films, actors, restaurants, bars and clubs. The next step was just making a plan to get these clients. So, here is what I did:

1. Created something specific to offer

I love both the creative and strategic thinking side of online marketing, so I started a blog that showcased both my creative work and strategic thought. I covered social media, pop culture, psychology, sociology, conversion strategies, the art of analysis, industry news… You get the picture. I always made sure my blog posts had an edge, they captured attention, used imagery that shocked! Well, that worked. I got traffic, followers, fans and people asking me if I did consulting work. SCORE! My first client was a wine company that paid me in wine, which, at the time, worked! But most importantly, it gave me a client I liked, work I liked and something for my portfolio. I was on my way to building something I enjoyed. In very little time I had abut 3 really great and interesting clients within the consumer products, bar and restaurant sphere.

2. Created service packages with pricing

One of the biggest hurdles I had in the beginning was that people would see my website and think my pricing may be way out of their league. So, as a way to help smaller businesses understand where my prices were, I create 3 service packages with “starting at” prices. The prices are reasonably firm and specific so they give companies an idea if they can afford me or not. They also detail the specific services I offer for the specific kinds of clients I want to attract. I focused heavily on my targeted clients, creating packages for the bar/restaurant/club segment and the musician/band segment. Then I had a catchall service for consulting. I advertised my packages right smack dab on my home page with big, unavoidable call to actions and viola, within days, I have 5 new clients that chose services right off the menus I was offering. The call to action buttons link directly to my services descriptions, pricing and lead generator. Now, I do offer customized solutions that I quote out, but these base packages set the tone of my interactions with my clients. The people that hire me know 2 things about me, 1. Based on my web presence, I am irreverent, brash, controversial and an outside the box thinker and 2. They know they can afford my services so that barrier is already crossed before they email or call.

3. Created a portfolio of case studies and clients not just work product

Beyond visually representing my work, I wanted to create a place to showcase the kinds of clients I take on and what I have not only provided them in terms of actual work product and services but also what I have helped them achieve in terms of results and success. I profiled a selection of clients and showed the suite of services I provided them with and how those services achieved certain goals. My portfolio has been a key factor in potential clients making the decision to work with me even over agency bids. My portfolio isn’t flashy, just some images of work, links to work product, a description of the client and some links to case studies. I forwent the Lightbox gallery for just a simple page people can browse or print out. I learned a long time ago, people like to carry something into their bosses especially the higher up the chain you go.

4. Created a full C.V. and references area in your “about” section

People like to work with people who they deem trustworthy, so post your bio, resume and references/testimonials on your about page. As a consultant you get hired just as would with a job so make it easy for people to hire you. Give them all the information they would need. I like providing a full personal bio, my updated resume so they can see my education and experience and my references including those on my LinkedIn profile and any personal ones I might have scanned on letterhead. It shows them that other people not only trust me but will recommend me.

5. Networked up!

This is what most people forget, the Internet affords us so much opportunity… we have to ability to connect with celebrities, the rich, the famous, the captains of industry on social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, so start interacting and connecting. I often retweet and talk to celebrities on Twitter which has yielded me calls with Alyssa Milano and John C. Mayer and even a referral from Jodi Watley. Anytime I garner an amazing new connection on Facebook, I sift through their connections for other recognizable faces and request their friendship to expand my network and Dunbar Number. Build your network up. Communicate with people you want as your clients more than with your peers. Think expansionist not isolationist.

6. Said no to the wrong clients

This was a hard one for me but I determined earlier this year I would not take on any new real estate clients and needed to find a way to fully divorce myself from that industry. I did this by approaching a friend and big name real estate agent, Kevin Tomlinson with an exclusive industry relationship. I publicized the exclusive relationship had and made a limited time offer to other real estate agents that I could work with them until September 1, but after that, I would exclusively work with Kevin within the entire real estate industry. It not only provided me with an easy way to say no to new clients within the industry without hurting their feelings but with a long list of people immediately lining up to work with me. Basically, I created a time limited offer for my consulting services that created immediate ROI for my business. From that point forward, I have learned to evaluate each client on whether I want to work with them or not. I often say “no” to new clients because I either feel my services would not benefit their business and they would end up unhappy or I would not enjoy working with them and I would end up unhappy. So, on the happiness scale I want a win all around.

7. Never was afraid to fire bad clients

Because I select my clients, I feel as though I hire them as much as they hire me and sometimes that relationship just does not work out. Somebody that starts out easy to manage might turn out to be a real pain in the neck or insist on driving the rocket ship because their cousin made a design or SEO suggestion they have bought whole heartedly into but you know would cause them irreparable harm in the future. I have found that clearly defining the working relationship, the deliverables and the responsibilities of each party in a contract is the best possible way to avoid this and to repair a relationship when it goes off course. My contract includes a clause that allows me to terminate or alter the contract if a client engages in scope creep or insists upon changes that would, in my expert opinion, harm the success of the campaign. This year, I have had to pull out my contract on a client twice. Neither one got fired but I wasn’t afraid to do so if it was necessary.

Summary:

2009 was an incredible year for me personally and professionally. I met a wonderful man who has brought both my children and me great joy and a hockey addiction… I also landed a job with a major recording label and built a successful consulting business that boasts clients like recording artists, Selby and The Enemy Lovers, Hatue Living Magazine, Sacre Bleu Wine and renowned comedy site Nerdbastards. But most importantly, 2009 brought me these 7 great business lessons that I will keep with me throughout my professional career.

So, that was the list of the 7 most valuable lessons I learned in 2009 that directly impacted my business. I hope it helped you. If it did, please write a post of your own and share with the rest of us on the topic of what 2009 brought you in terms of business lessons and how they directly helped you.

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