“You always appear busy Alex … like genuinely busy”
I often get that from people who know me at networking meetings and those people that see my weekly rounds ups on LinkedIn.
In this week’s blog I wanted to lift the lid and be honest about how I won my most recent 10 clients.
This blog is written in October 2023, but the reasons below are pretty typical for client wins over the past 5-8 years.
Marketing Company – Comment on LinkedIn
I spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day commenting on other people’s posts on LinkedIn.
One of the searches I do on LinkedIn each day is my hometown of Altrincham.
I then scroll through every update and comment on the ones where I feel I can add value.
One of the posts I commented on recently was a business who had some positive local news and the marketing company who was managing their social media heard of my business for the very 1st time.
It turns out although they had social media success with all their clients, one was proving problematic so they wanted an extra pair of eyes and new strategy for this client.
We work with a lot of marketers and PR companies who want external help with social media.
Without that one comment we’d have never got the booking.
LESSON: Spent 15 minutes a day commenting on other people / businesses posts – and this works for all social networks
Education – Repeat Booking
I love working with educational establishments.
Working with the next generation means that even if I closed the business tomorrow the impact of our work will last for decades to come.
We delivered a LinkedIn and Personal Branding session for a university and at the end one of the team that booked us came up to us
“Wow, your energy levels are so high – you’ve just delivered 2 of the same workshops and the 2nd time you did it, you still had the same enthusiasm and passion as the 1st time. I don’t know how you do it.”
We often deliver workshops back-to-back for large groups and our mission is always to make sure everyone gets the same high standard even if it’s at the end of the day.
We were immediately booked for a repeat session the next month off the back of this.
LESSON: Always deliver as you’re only as a good as your last job
Business Coach – Social Media + Face 2 Face Networking
Social Media works best when done together with Face 2 Face networking.
I say that every single training session and every single networking meeting.
But there are people who turn up at networking meetings that I never see on social media.
And there are people who I see on social media every day that I’ve never met at networking.
We won a piece of business from a Business Coach who was following us on social media and came along to one of our networking meetings.
Inspired by what they saw both online and offline they booked a social media strategy session with us as they were struggling managing their social media.
LESSON: Keep in touch with those people on social media that you’ve met face 2 face and vice versa
Trades company – Being Memorable after a Decade
I recently trained someone we trained over a decade ago.
A decade in social media is a century in the real world.
We used to go to the same networking groups and both my personality and work ethic shined through.
So, in 2023 when they were looking for a social media refresh session they came back to company who had got them started in the 1st place.
The company isn’t based in our hometown, but we made an impact and they travelled to us.
LESSON: Be memorable and people will come back time and time again.
Arts Organisation – Member Request
There is often more than one decision maker.
We recently worked for a Manchester based arts organisation for the 3rd time.
The 1st 2 bookings were through an introduction from a contact we’ve worked with before, but this booking was from a graduate from their recent scheme.
Each graduate has a chance to invite an expert in for a graduation ceremony and mentoring session.
And one of the graduates chose us to help them get more business savvy with their social media marketing.
LESSON: Connect with more than one person involved in each organisation as your name will come up multiple times in meetings
Sports – 3 recommendations
If someone was looking for a service provider, would your name come up?
Well, that’s exactly what happened when a sports club was looking for a social media trainer.
Our name came up with 3 different people that they knew and that swayed it for them.
People debate the pros and cons of being a big fish in a small pond, but I can say that working in a local area (as well as internationally) has worked wonders for us.
We’re often the 1st name on people’s lips when it comes to Social Media Marketing in Altrincham and there’s enough business here to keep us going forever.
LESSON: You must build a local presence through social media and networking
Financial Services – Networking Introduction
This doesn’t happen all the time – well as least not as fast as this.
We attended the local Business Chamber breakfast.
One contact we know introduced us to a 1st time attendee who needed help with LinkedIn.
We had an exploratory phone call.
We were training 3 weeks later.
Networking is often long term and it will take 3-6 months from the initial introduction for something to happen.
LESSON: Although this happened quickly – treat networking as a long-term marketing plan
Business Support – Tender
I hate tenders.
In fact, 9/10 times I’ll say no and not tender.
But one of my regular pieces of work comes from a tender process that we apply for every 6 months to a year.
We’re not the cheapest tender and we’re not the most expensive so I feel it does come down to the quality of work.
LESSON: You don’t have to tender if you don’t want to – but when you get good vibes go for it
Events – Personal Connection
People buy from people.
Our latest work came from someone we’ve known from a decade and worked with on Social Media Management for 3 different businesses.
We 1st met at networking meetings and for a long time saw each other weekly face 2 face and now keep in touch via Messenger / Whatsapp several times a week.
Personal connections work whether you’re just starting our or been in business for 14 years like us.
I don’t totally agree with “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” as you still have to be great at your job otherwise you won’t be around for a long time.
LESSON: When starting out tell people what you’re doing and look out for opportunties to work with those you know to build up a client base.
Restaurant – Community Support
We often talk about Altrincham HQ being 50% Business and 50% community.
When a new business comes to town we post about them to give the best possible launch ever.
And we do so without expectation.
Some businesses are extremely thankful and some businesses don’t even acknowledge the post or say thank you.
But giving out so much support in the world can come back in a good way.
A restaurant we featured earlier in the year got in touch with us for social media management from the back of that initial post that they were opening.
They saw that our work delivered the goods.
LESSON: Give without expectation and good things will happen.
(PHOTOS: Martin Hambleton)
NEED HELP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING FOR YOUR BUSINESS
If you’d like to find out more about Social Media for Bookkeepers or simply chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
Remember we can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
We offer Social Media Training on
- TikTok
- Blogging
We can do this
- 121
- Corporate Workshops
- Group Workshops
- Face to Face or Via Zoom / Skype
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
