Alright! so, if you haven’t read it yet, first check out part 1 of this series here on how you can get clients using social media so that you can get up to speed on how to get clients right from the start. I’m waiting……………
Alright, you back? Great! Now, for the fun part, once you’ve got your profiles and pages optimised, you can start networking! First off, a lot of people seem to think that networking is just pitching your services to random people and hope one of them will bite — so to speak. Unfortunately, it’s really not that simple. Though that might work sometimes — if someone really needs someone to work with ASAP, in most cases though, you’ll end up getting blocked.
According to www.dictionary.com, networking is ‘a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest’.
So then HOW DO YOU NETWORK?
Here are a few steps you can take in order to create contacts and get clients.
Treat the person you want to connect with…like a person
Seems obvious right? But unfortunately many people can’t seem to do this. I don’t mean becoming best friends and telling them your life story but also don’t start pitching your stuff when they’re asking questions. It literally makes no sense to do that. Would you buy from someone that couldn’t even answer your question and was just out to make some cash?
Answer questions
This brings me to my next point. If you’re in a Facebook group (for example) and someone asks a question, answer it. Give the potential client value without expecting anything in return. It doesn’t take much to answer a simple question but it will help you loads, even if you don’t realize it at the time.
What does this even do, you ask? Well,
- It shows that you know what you’re talking about.
- It puts your name out there so even if that specific questioner doesn’t work with you right there and then, if they keep seeing your name answering their (and other people’s) questions, they will be more likely to remember you when they finally do decide to hire. Even if they don’t, other people also see you and could end up contacting you.
- You’ve already started a conversation without being salesy
- If you can answer their specific smaller questions for free, then what can you do when they pay for your services?
networking is ‘a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest’
www.dictionary.com
**If you’re wanting to apply for a specific posted position, then respond to the original poster in the way that they’ve asked to be responded to**
What do I mean by this? Well, if someone is saying to “comment your services down below” then don’t try sliding into their DMs and messaging them privately. You won’t impress them that way and you’ll more likely either get blocked or ignored completely.
Don’t answer questions with pitches
I see this time and time again and I feel annoyed for the original poster every single time. Imagine this, you ask a question about say….your social media account. And ALL of your responses consist of “hey, I can help you with that, feel free to contact me if you’d like to get in touch” (or something along these lines). Would you jump to contact that person? I sure wouldn’t! A potential client ALWAYS wants a sneak peak at what you CAN offer before thinking about buying. If you can’t even help them with a simple request, then why would they invest in you?
If someone is LOOKING for someone to work with, they will state it in their post otherwise, do not, I repeat, do NOT start pitching until the person asks about what you do or at least answer their question THEN pitch. You can say something along the lines of:
Original Poster: Hey, I need help with _________
You: (Solution to their immediate problem to show your knowledge)
and if you need more help with anything at all, feel free to reach out, I’d be more than happy to be of service!
This way, not only have you helped them by offering free value but you’ve also thrown it out there that you’re open to work together without sounding like a leachy salesperson.
Don’t expect your potential client to contact you first…unless they have specifically stated that they will do so.
So I was in a Facebook group where the host of the group was holding a ‘masterclass’ so to speak on how to get clients through Facebook. One thing she said seemed super obvious however, not everyone knew about this, including myself. She said “you are looking for a person to work with, you get 100 responses saying to contact them. Are you going to go and contact each and every single one or will you expect them to do the work if they want the position?’ Obvious right? When we apply for jobs, do we not go and send in our resume? When we want to join a team, do we go and find out how to join or do we just go and tell them that we want to join and expect them to call us back letting us know how to apply/join? Same concept applies here. You want something, you go and get it yourself. There are very few individuals who will come and contact you when you post “I have so-and-so skills, contact me if you need help” (or anything along these lines)
What you SHOULD do instead is:
- CAREFULLY READ the application instructions first
- DO EXACTLY AS THEY SAY. If they say to comment below, then do so, otherwise;
- Send them a DM yourself:
- Introducing yourself
- Let them know how you can help them
- If they asked a question, answer that for them
- Let them know how they can get in touch with you if they would like more assistance
- When you’re done doing that, go back to the original post and let them know that you just sent them a DM and if they haven’t received it, check their message requests/spam box. If they still haven’t received your message, then let you know.
Now obviously, this isn’t foolproof, there are clients who will want something more/different than what is listed here however, most businesses want to see that you can talk the talk and walk the walk. This can be done through the steps above or through content that you post on your social media or write about on your website. However, ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE SPEAKING TO A HUMAN BEING. DO NOT BE OVERLY FORCEFUL OR SALESY AND DON’T JUST BE INTERESTED IN MAKING THE SALE BUT ALSO MAKE THE EFFORT TO BUILD THE RELATIONSHIP AS WELL!
If anything I’ve said here has helped you, please let me know here! I love hearing from you!
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