This month’s theme is “How to Get Clients Even if You Hate Marketing.”

Sadly, clients don’t just show up at your virtual doorstep wanting your services. That’s living life in a dream world; in reality, you need to market your business every single day to attract clients. If you’re not marketing, how will people know you even exist?

I know how difficult it can be to step out from behind the computer and put your face and name out into the public eye.

But it’s a necessary step if you want to grow your business. Even though marketing your business is an everyday activity, it doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated.

In this video, I go over general marketing techniques which will transform any business and how to funnel those prospective clients into a kick-ass freebie.

Welcome to Systems Sunday, today we kick off our new theme of How to Get Clients Even If You Hate Marketing. I am Lisa Wells, your Virtual Assistant Trainer.

Sadly, clients don’t just show up at your virtual doorstep wanting your services. That’s living life in a dream world; in reality, you need to market your business every single day to attract clients. If you’re not marketing, how will people know you even exist?

I know how difficult it can be to step out from behind the computer and put your face and name out into the public eye.

But it’s a necessary step if you want to grow your business.

Even though marketing your business is an everyday activity, it doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated.

Let’s review some general marketing techniques which will transform any business:

1. Become a trusted resource to your audience. Providing lots of free content is how you’ll grab your followers’ attention and build that trust. Lending support and giving advice on social media and/or in social groups will also showcase your expertise. As you develop this trust, the next logical step is to market your paid services or products.
2. Add something new to your business consistently. Always think about delivering quality content that will help your followers solve a problem.
3. Define how you stand out from the competition. Why should your followers partner with you instead of your competitor? It sounds like a simple question but it often stumps business owners. Knowing your Unique Selling Proposition allows you to create marketing promos that highlight this difference.
4. Focus on the end result or the benefits instead of the features. Do your clients really care about all the bells and whistles your product or service has? No, they most likely only care about the end result you promise them. Make your service or product as robust as you like but remember to define the end result and make that a focus of your marketing efforts.
5. Anticipate changes in your market. Always be current on happenings in your market. You will garner more attention by being a market leader instead of always trying to catch up and change with the times.

Before you get overwhelmed with all this marketing talk, know that many self-proclaimed introverts (myself included) run successful businesses, so there’s no reason why you can’t take this information and make it work for your business. Everyone’s marketing results will vary – especially if you’re new to this and want to take it slowly – but you CAN find success by implementing some or all of the ideas we’ll be covering this month.

The first one is to funnel those prospective clients into a kick-ass freebie.

Even if you don’t use the term “sales funnel” in your business life, chances are good that you actually have a funnel in place unknowingly. A funnel always starts off with a lead magnet (or freebie gift), something that attracts a prospect to your site and onto your mailing list.

A lead magnet is often a short eBook, planner, calendar, checklist, or other printable that your audience will find valuable and useful in solving one of their pain point problems. You don’t want to give away all your secrets in your lead magnet but it should give them some action steps to take, which will help build trust with your prospects that you actually know what you’re talking about.

What makes a lead magnet stand out as kick-ass? Consider your lead magnet a 5-minute introduction to your business. Think of the question you get asked the most and create a freebie that offers answers or action steps that your audience can take to begin solving their problem. It’s a taste of what you have to offer; if your prospect likes what you have to offer, they will move down further into your funnel. If your freebie offers too much information or is presented in a complicated manner, you may lose them forever when they unsubscribe. Creating a kick-ass lead magnet takes some finesse of offering great information without being overwhelming.

Anyone who wants your lead magnet will happily give their email address to you so this serves as your primary list-building opportunity, but use your lead magnet to also promote your services. Do you have a signature service? Put a link in the lead magnet. Do you offer package services? Add a link. Do you have an eBook? Add that link, too. You could also include a biography page that includes a bit about you plus your other offerings with links directing the prospects to each landing page.

The most common way to deliver magnets is via an email autoresponder which is triggered once someone enters their email address. So your first message contains the download link and a welcome message; but what happens after that?

Set up an automated funnel with follow-up emails. Autoresponders send emails at a pre-determined schedule, such as every day, every other day, or once per week. Your email with the download link should always be set to deliver IMMEDIATELY so your subscribers don’t complain, but the schedule for follow-up emails is entirely up to you.

The idea with autoresponder emails is to keep evergreen content flowing to your audience. By doing this you’re building trust, showing your expertise, and keeping your name foremost in their mind. Consistent contact will push them to reach out to YOU instead of another competitor when they’re ready to hire because you’ve spent the time building this relationship.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to take it further, grab my Business Building Action Kit – 7 Ways to Get More Clients for Your VA Business. These action kits contain a full done-for-you action plan to give you guidance, resources, and keep you on track with checklists and worksheets.

Coming up next week on How to Get Clients Even If You Hate Marketing is “How to Grab Their Attention With Bite-Sized Videos.”

Until then, have a great week!

Catch up on other “How to Get Clients” episodes:

• [Video] Grab Their Attention with Bite-Sized Videos
• [Video] Expanding Your Reach Exponentially by Collaborating
• [Video] How to Make Sure Your Follow-Up Game Is On Point

Did you enjoy this episode and want to put it into action? Grab this kit!