Hey there,
I’m a big believer in finding clients who buy more than once, for five reasons.
First, client acquisition is expensive. Finding a new client every time you wrap
a project is a lot of work and uncertainty. But if you work with a client who needs what you do on a regular basis to drive their own revenue, you’re in a much better position.
Second, working with a client you already know is easier. You’ll have a pretty good idea of whether you’d be happy offering a retainer deal. I have several coaching clients who make a good chunk of their revenue from retainers. It’s worth considering.
Third, you can offer work you normally wouldn’t with a new client, and you may have an opportunity to do more strategic work, too. If you were brought on board for a new site, your next project might be
everything/anything that a client needs once they have a new site (lots of possibilities here).
The fourth reason is referrals. Clients who buy on the regular are more likely to network with people who do the same. More on that in a moment.
Fifth is increased client lifetime value. Always good.
But how, at the end of a project, do you take that step from, “Great working with you” to “Let’s talk about what’s next”? That’s what I’m talking about
today.
Discernment
Let me be clear – not all clients are keepers. Some are one and done and that’s fine – they have a place in your roster. And there are clients you need to be ready to say so long to, and not look back. You need to know who makes a great fit for you. It may take some time, and some discernment
– but it’s critically important.
The Exit Audit
Most clients will have opportunities for you to do more work. Whether they have the budget or if your work is high enough on their list is another question. But there’ll most likely be value you can offer. First, you need to find it.
Sometimes, next steps are obvious, but keep an eye out during the project. A simple idea? Take the same journey their customers/clients take. Sign up for their emails. Look at what a
buyer might look at. And look for quick fixes they can do without you. Yep, without you. That’s how you open the convo. Let’s say you’re talking about their payments page.
“I’ve identified a few quick fixes for you – stuff you can do yourself in twenty minutes or so. On your payments page – you use platform X, and I know they have a template that lets you include a testimonial. Testimonials on payment pages are an easy way to help buyers make a decision and take next to no
time to set up.”
You’ve just handed your client real value without an ask. And you’ve demonstrated that you can spot opportunities to make worthwhile changes. Now you can ask to talk about other opportunities.
“I have three more things I’ve seen that I think can make a big difference. These are more significant, but the benefits are also higher. Can I walk you through them quickly?”
If it’s a no, then it’s a no. But if it’s a yes, then you have permission
to pitch.
What you suggest might be a no right now, but you’ve raised their awareness, and that makes it far more likely you’ll get rehired in the future.
Service Discovery
Once a client has worked with you and you feel there’s a good relationship, they can help you uncover new ideas and offers. Uncover opportunities by asking something like…
“I’m always looking for ways to build my services around the needs of my clients. If you had the budget, what service would you most like me to provide for your business in the future?”
Their ideas might be great, and they might not. Either way, dig a bit deeper. What problem are they trying to solve? What metrics will they use to measure success? They might suggest X as a service, but your question might reveal Y is a better option.
It’s a sort of mini-discovery call. And most clients are grateful to engage in the conversation.
Referrals
Just because a client is happy with your work doesn’t mean they’ll refer you. You need to understand why.
Referring you is a risk.
You need to acknowledge that.
“My
business is largely built on referrals and I know the work I do for anyone you refer me to will also reflect on you. So here’s what I’ll say on that: I’ll make sure the person you refer me to is so over-the-moon thrilled with the work I do for them that they’ll send you flowers every year on your birthday.”
But this only works if something else is true:
The client you want referrals from must also be over-the-moon thrilled with the work you do. They’re far more likely to refer you if they believe you can deliver an exceptional service.
Testimonials
Testimonials are part of your payment. A good testimonial is money. But not all testimonials are created equal.
A lot of clients write generic, overly formal testimonials.
“Amy was a pleasure to work with. She demonstrated exceptional skills and delivered work beyond our expectations. We strongly recommend that you consider her for your next
project.”
If you want better testimonials, your clients need help. Give them this…
“Some people find writing testimonials hard. To make it a bit easier, I’ve written a few prompts you can use to start off. (You can ignore them if you like, but they might be helpful.) The only golden rule is to keep the language casual, as if you were having a chat. Here are your prompts:
“We reached out to Amy to help us with [the problem you hired me for]. She helped us solve that
by [what I did].”
“The greatest value we got from working with Amy was…”
“The biggest unexpected value we got from working with Amy was…”
“The biggest win from working with Amy was [results]...”
“We’re definitely going to work with Amy again because…”
Leave the door open
Most, maybe all, of your clients will be happy to leave the door open to working with you again. But it makes it more likely that they’ll act on that if you’re top of mind when the opportunity arises.
To do that, I used to send occasional emails to past clients. Maybe something I’d come across they might find interesting. One time, it was a NYT article. I sent that off and they got back to me with a project. They said my timing was perfect.
Make a list of your past clients on a spreadsheet. Send a couple of emails a year. I’ve been known to set Google alerts for anything they might find relevant and would give me a reason to reach out.
Asset Storage
Make sure you let your client know your asset storage policy. Some clients will assume you’ll have their work forever. When they need it, they’ll call you. Every time.
How you handle this is up to you, but one option is to tell them you have a copy you’ll keep for a year. But as any storage system can fail, they should make their own copies asap. Have that in your contract.
That’s it for this week and for wrapping up your project. Next week, I’m starting a conversation about growing your business.
Take good care,
Amy
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