Where will my first client come from

‘Build it and they will come.’

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That might work for baseball, but you’re going to need a bit more of a plan.

“Where will I get my first client?” – This was a question that was asked of me during a Discovery Call last week and it got me thinking.

The exact answer is of course unknowable, and there is an element of luck – being at the right place at the right time. I see marketing as making your own luck in this regard – if you spend more time in the right places (online and offline, in person and as a ‘brand’), you’ll find you’re more ‘lucky’.

Here’s how you can be at the right place at the right time:

• Think about the right time – when are people making decisions about care, and how can your brand be in that conversation.
• Online care brokerages and market-places – There are more and more of these popping up and although they might not provide a huge volume of leads, all it takes is one to get the wheel turning. (It’s not always the fanciest looking ones that have the best leads and results.)
• Healthcare professionals – Building relationships locally is absolutely key, and is something we are passionate about at GoodOaks.
• Partnerships – Collaborating with companies that operate in a similar space or serve a similar client group can bring clients to you, especially when they trust the quality of your care.
• Advertising – Building baseline brand awareness can turbocharge your other activity. More about that another week I think.
• Bark – Yep. It has been known to work.
• Word of Mouth – Care is a very personal business. People buy from people, and over the years we’ve looked after the nearest and dearest of lots of people that knew what we did and simply got in touch. The financial advisor that sorted our company pensions – we looked after his mum for 5 years. The solicitor that organised our office lease – his dad needed some help for a while. You never know what is going on in people’s lives and when they might need help.

I’ve tried to keep it short and sweet this week, but in reality there’s many, many more places your first client can find you from, but using that place and time metric can be a good place to start thinking about that.

Best wishes, Ben.