You have immense knowledge and skill that you know you can use to help one-on-one clients meet their goals and needs. If only you could reach these potential clients and let them know all that you have to offer and how great it would be to work together! One of the hardest things for people just starting out in their service based business is securing the first few clients. After all, once you have some it’s much easier to get others because you can show off testimonials and examples of results, and even have the current client spread news about your business through word of mouth. But getting those first clients? That can be tough.

If you feel like you have set up your website, have your branding on point, know your offerings front and back, and are even promoting them through social media, but it’s all falling on deaf ears, here are some ways you can actually go out and get your first clients in a more proactive way.

 ASK PEOPLE

This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people just don’t ever go out and ask people that they know if they need or could use their services. It can be scary to put yourself out there like that, and people often feel weird about ‘selling themselves’ to family and friends, but that is just something you need to get over right now. People who already know and trust you are the best people to go to first. Even if they themselves don’t have need for your service, just let them know that you are currently actively looking for new clients and ask if they would be able to recommend you to one person they know who might actually need your service. Ask them to think of a specific person at the time of the conversation. You don’t need to put them on the spot and ask them to actually call them up right then while you’re in front of them, but having them think of specific people while you’re having the conversation makes them more likely to actually bring it up with the person the next time they see them. Just asking them to recommend you to people they know in general may not have the same results because they may forget or never put in the two minutes to think about who they know that would be a good client for you.

VOLUNTEER YOUR SERVICES TO A NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP OR NON-PROFIT

I know a lot of people will tell you never to give your services or time away for free but I have to disagree. If you do not yet have any experience working with clients, just being able to say that you are working with a legitimate organization can be enough to get you a paying client. What’s more, you can build up a portfolio of work that you complete for them and show off the real world results that you achieve. Being a non-profit or neighborhood group, it also is reasonable to have offered your services for free (not that you’ll go around telling people this) because people often volunteer for these groups because they have a passion for the work they are doing and want to be a part of it. The key is to be professional, and treat it like a real client. Build relationships with everyone there that you can, because many of them have other businesses or projects they are involved with that they may need your services for in the future.

RESEARCH YOUR IDEAL CLIENT + PERSONALLY TELL THEM WHAT YOU COULD DO FOR THEM

Chances are you already have an idea in your head of a couple people or businesses in your niche that you would love to work with. If you don’t, a quick google or social media search should show you people in your area or, if you have a business model that allows you to work remotely, people who you would like to work with in general. Put together information about you and your company and show them exactly what you could offer them specifically, and how it would help them personally. Show them exactly what they would get out of it. Since you’re approaching them, this may not be something they think they need and they’ll be hesitant to spend money to pay you for it unless you can show them proven benefits.

Do one or all of these, and you should be able to get your first client. You may need to do them over and over again, but every time you try one of these tactics, you will probably get a new client, or at least get one step closer. Remember, it may not happen immediately, but you’re laying the groundwork and putting measures in place to obtain clients in the near future.

Don’t forget, the most important thing is to approach any of these tactics with professionalism, and put your absolute best foot forward once you do secure the client. And also stay completely professional even if they turn you down- they may still know someone else who could use your services, or their situation may change in the future where they realize they do need you. You want to make sure you still have the contact and that they remember you as a great person to work with.

Make a goal for yourself to try at least one of these tactics this week and see if you can get a lead on a new client!

It’s common knowledge that PR is helpful in growing your business and an important part of ‘getting yourself out there’. People know publicity is always good to have. But a lot of the time, it seems like the average small business owner is a little stumped as to what exactly PR can really do for their business, in terms of actual specific benefits. It’s important to understand some of the benefits of PR so that you can determine the best ways to spend your time and resources in order to achieve what you want. Below are some of my favorite benefits of PR, in no particular order.

1 Spread your message, the way you want | Probably the most common reason people want PR for their business is because it is the number one way to let the wider world know what you’re doing and why. The ultimate bottom line is you want to get more customers, and one way to do that is to reach as many potential customers as possible, by getting attention for what you’re doing. Additionally, through PR you are able to reach the people you want, with the message you want, in a way that resonates with them. This is contrasted with, say, advertising, which allows you to spread exactly the message you want, but it comes with a (usually) steep price, and it’s always obvious that you paid for it– with PR the stories you get are always earned, so the audience knows you’re actually being endorsed by the media outlet and therefore consider it more reputable.

2 Position yourself as an expert | Let’s face it- if you own a business you are an expert in your field. It may not always feel like it, but think about it: you’re living and breathing your field every day. You’re being paid to do it (and hopefully making a living off of it)! Some days you may feel like you’re making it all up as you go along, but when it comes down to it, you know so much more about your field than anyone who is not running a business like yours. See? You are an expert! Once people start seeing your name in the media, and see articles about your field where you are the person providing quotes and insight, they start to see you as an expert. This gives you more credibility and positions you for further success.

3 Build a relationship with your audience | They don’t call it public relations for no reason. The whole point is to create relationships with the publics, ie your audiences. By reaching the relevant audiences where they are, and consistency providing information that they will find important and interesting, you are building a relationship with them- even if they will never meet you in person. It’s no secret that people are more likely to trust, buy from, and do business with the businesses that they feel they know and like.

4 Shape the story | This goes beyond your brand story. We’re talking about the big picture here. One of the smartest uses of PR is to shape ‘the story’ in a larger sense. It allows you to determine and define what is important in your field and what people should care to know about. You can use PR to draw certain things to the forefront of the news for your industry (and these would be the things that your company is specifically excelling at, of course!). By pitching certain topics to the media, or by taking control of the conversation while talking to media about a specific story, you can help determine what the media will cover to a certain extent. This means you can make sure that your audience are learning about the most important aspects of your business or industry or issue, which is so important.

There are so many benefits of PR, and they all work together so much. Most important to keep in mind, is that none of these things happen overnight. But with consistent PR for your business, you can achieve all of them, plus more. And it will set you and your business up for ongoing success.

Telling your brand’s story is one of the most important parts of your brand communication. The individual story is what sets one brand apart from another. Each brand has one, whether you start out with it in mind, or have to think about it before even realizing what it is. To figure out what your brand story is, you really just need to be able to answer the questions ‘who are we?’ and ‘what are we doing and why?’ Your brand story plays a big part and can greatly impact the future of the brand, so it is worth articulating well.

Your brand’s story can be the difference between getting new customers or clients and having them choose someone else entirely. The story gives people a chance to connect to the brand and give them a reason to care about it. This creates lasting relationships and loyal customers.

Your story doesn’t have to be long and complicated. In fact, simple is often better. It also doesn’t have to actually include all the details of how the brand came to be or everything that the business does. It just has to include a couple key facts that will make your target audience connect with you and your brand. It should be tailored to your audience and what you want to accomplish. A brand creating a girly product that is run by a mother-daughter team should play up that fact and use it to their advantage. A food brand that creates healthy, delicious food from their own 100-year-old farm has a wonderful story right there. A technology company that helps expand communication around the world and connects people to family and friends has a great story to tell as well. 

Some things to think about when crafting your story:

1 Be truthful | Nothing is worse than stretching the truth to create your story. People can tell when you’re insincere.

2 Be consistent | Have a longer version and a short version, and versions optimized for different outlets, but be very consistent in the details and voice in which it is told.

3 Communicate it as often as possible | There are more ways to get your story out there than you may initially realize. Use any and all opportunities to help tell your story, whether it’s through social media, mentioned in articles, or slipped into conversation.

A brand’s story is one of the things that makes it unique and separate from all the other similar brands out there. Craft your story and then build it into your communications plan so you can use it consistently in your outreach. It will help set your brand apart.

We’re looking for an intern! pollinaPR is growing and the exciting, high level PR and communications work that we do could benefit from a part time intern to help with many of the day to day tasks and duties that we handle on a daily basis. These include fun and engaging things like blogging, social media strategy and posting, drafting press materials and other content, and more. This is a great opportunity for a student looking to grow their portfolio and join a small company for a huge learning opportunity.

The internship is open to any Boston area students who are studying and interested in public relations and communications and will have a set amount of time available each week to dedicate to this job. Hours are flexible and start date is immediate, and will continue through the spring 2015 school semester.

Interested applicants can send a resume and two writing samples (bonus if one is a blog post, or even better- a link to your actual blog) to [email protected].