Are you making getting new business harder than it needs to be?
Recently, I was with a client who asked my advice on using LinkedIn for cold outreach to new leads. I asked why he was doing it. He said, ‘to get new business’. I asked if he’d contacted his current and past clients to make sure he’d exhausted the potential with people who knew and trusted him.
He said he hadn’t.
This is a huge oversight. The easiest person to sell to is people who have used your service before. It’s far easier than a cold approach to someone new.
There are two types of expansion business you can get from your clients. Either you win more business from an existing client in a new area, or you get a recommendation from your client within their organisation. For example, you work with the Sales Director, but could the Finance Director do with your help?
To generate this kind of business, you need to ask for it.
Don’t expect your client to ask you. They might not even know that you can help in other areas. And ask with confidence – this isn’t about helping yourself, this is about finding ways to help other people.
Use these questions:
‘Apart from the area we’ve worked on together, what other big challenges are you facing at the moment?’
‘Is there anyone else in your organisation who would benefit from the help I’ve given you?’
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If you’d like some more tips and advice generating expansion business, contact us here for an initial discussion.