How do you find clients

[FireCracker37]

It has been my expierence that tons of businesses don't have a website, and many of them aren't going to go out and look for a website. How do you guys find these people, and what types of advertising do you use to draw them in?

[Design by JT]

Cold calling I have found is the best to get clients that are not web savvy. Just call them and speak with the owner, or better yet just visit the business in person. I have got more then a few clients just by walking in. Make sure you have a game plan first before walking into the door. Find a way to become on a one to one basis with the owner. You can't use the same pitch with a shoe store then a auto repair shop then a doctors office. Find something about the business first and tell them how you can improve on their customer base or sales.

[FireCracker37]

That is sort of what I was thinking about doing, I'm trying to put together a good presentation, that is as adaptable as possible, and then putting on the nice clothes and talking to some of these businesses.

[wh666-666]

Powerpoint, laptop and a suit. In powerpoint do a good presentation but have one slide that you alter in the whole show for each business, save you loads of time

Another idea is a businessperson that knows others is very valuable, offer them a website on the cheapo and then when they tell their trader friends charge them full price

[FireCracker37]

I was thinking about doing 2 different things. One would be a referer discount, for each client you send me, get a free month of my top level hosting (which is mainly just more updates then my normal hosting), and a recomendation discount, that if you like the services that I provide to write me out a letter of recomendation that I can distribute to clients, and post on my website, then I'll do something for you (haven't decided what yet, don't want to give something cool to them, or it feels like I'm "buying" their recomendation).

[wh666-666]

Yep thats a good idea, people always want a little bit extra and a small discount wont damage your bottom line at all. When I was saying about a local businessman who knows alot of others its because a little while ago i met up with a local business who knew alot of other small companies so i gave them a discount and when i finished the site they recommended me to their business friends which leads to much more business.

Anyway good luck, oh and on another point a good online portfolio can really help show off your skills so when you pass out your business card to companies make sure you have your portfolio ready for them to look at.

[KRILEE]

cold calling is grueling, but yeilds the best results.

[littlened]

I've been offering client and even non clients a 10% referral.

[NetNerd85]

I've been offering client and even non clients a 10% referral.You mean you give away money? :eek:

[Design by JT]

I usually offer an hour of free updates or a month of hosting per referal

[urquanmaster]

Business cards aren't the greatest, but they make a lot of headway. It's nice, because you can advertise casually. Even if you're not looking to do business with the person you give it to, you're still advertising.

The next thing you could do is find places to put your business cards. Try things like internet cafes, community businesses, stapling them to papers, etc. You may find people cold-calling you this time.

It also helps a lot to have an online portfolio to refer people to.

Also, just keep your ears open. There's a lot of opportunities that may come up in your day-to-day life. Who knows what you'll find. The next time you go to your barber, doctor, or dentist drop him or her a hint of the services you provide :P