Do you like to look for seashells at the beach? I do.
One morning, on a recent trip to the beach, my kids and I made our daily trek to the pier. As we looked down into the ocean to see what creatures were visible from our high vantage point, we saw a small shark, a beautiful pair of stingrays, fish of all colors and sizes. We also saw a spot where the surf met the sand that was covered in shells just beneath the water. Prime real estate for shell hunting! We quickly made our way down the boardwalk to the exact spot to see what we could find.
I couldn’t find much of anything. Neither could my son. Kind of like when we fish. But I noticed that my daughter quickly had a hand full of good shells, not like the broken clam shells that I usually find. Then I began to wonder two things: 1) what is the history of sea shell collecting, and 2) what makes some people good at it.
FINDING CLIENTS IS LIKE FINDING SEASHELLS
I decided to watch for a while. She was catching shells as quickly as she catches fish whenever she drops a line. Doesn’t matter where, creek, river, or ocean. That girl can catch fish. And she can find the best shells.
Her brother watched, too. “Look at all the shells you have and I can’t even find one!” She replied, “You have to pay attention and you have to be fast or they will roll away with the tide.”
As we made our way back up the shoreline, we noticed the places where there were tons of shells on the beach. We stopped and moved into the water to look for new shells as they rolled in and tried to grab them as they rolled back out. We did it again and again as we moved up the shoreline.
FOUR BASIC WAYS TO FIND CUSTOMERS
That made me think of something else: finding the best shells is the same as finding the clients.
Here’s why.
When you look for clients in a place where you’ll probably find them, after a little work, you will. But you have to know who your client is first. Not just any clients, your ideal clients. Then, when you do any kind of marketing or advertising, you speak to your ideal client. When you attend networking events or get referrals, you keep in mind what you’re looking for. When you look for partners or alliances you look for business owners who have the same target market as you. After a while it becomes second nature. Rinse and repeat.
JUST THE BEGINNING
There is a multitude of ways to find new clients. But you have to start with the basics and branch out from there. Experiment. See what works and what doesn’t. How do you find new clients? What works best for you?