Solopreneur Tips: The Best Way To Get More Clients Quickly

One of the biggest struggles of many of my clients who come to Uncage Your Business is that they feel ready and raring to go – but they have no clients. Womp womp. And it feels like a game of chicken and egg- you kinda need clients in order to get referrals, but you need referrals to have clients. So how do you start?

Whether you have had one client or many clients, your business is going to feel like a hustle to get new clients when you’re just starting. I remember chatting with a fellow coach and while we were super excited about the work we were doing, we were starting to feel frustrated and wondering when the hustle would end. Will it ever end??

I can tell you that it did end, but learning how to get a steady stream of clients is key in your business if you don’t to burn out.

There are a lot of online marketing tactics that I could tell you about that would help you build a solid client base and keep ’em coming for months to come… but they take time to implement and time to actually start working. And my guess is that you need clients right now, not in a few months from now.

I’m all about the slow build and taking the time to build something solid and sustainable – but I’m also all about paying your rent and being able to eat and stuff. So here’s what I recommend for getting clients right NOW in your business, while you work on the more sustainable methods in the meantime.

It’s called the friends and family email. And it’s by far the easiest way to get new clients quickly in your business if you don’t have an email list yet.

Send out an email to everyone you know – friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, old boyfriend (ok maybe not that one), and let them know what you’re doing, who your work is for, and give them one thing to do at the end of the email (either reply back to work with you, or forward the email to a friend who they think would be a good fit, etc).

If you want clients, getting your name out there is key. And the reason this works is because the people you’re emailing already know you (and hopefully like you), so you remove that barrier that tends to exist when you’re trying to reach cold leads. They already trust you. WIN!

I know many people who have tried this method and it didn’t help them get any clients – and that’s usually because of a few possible reasons:

1. They were too vague about what they do
2. They were too vague about who it is for
3. They didn’t make a clear ask or offer at package to sell at the end.

*** IMPORTANT: If you’re not ridiculously specific in this email, no one will bite and you’ll be left feeling defeated.  So this method hinges on you being able to very clearly articulate all the things about your business.

If you can’t do that yet, join us here and we’ll get you sorted out!

Honestly, I don’t even recommend trying this friend and family email technique if you are super clear, because you will be wasting your one chance to reach out to everyone – no one wants to get an email now and then another one a few months later when you’ve finally gotten more clear – you have one shot to wow them!

(If you’ve already sent a version of this email and are just not realizing that dammit — you were not clear enough! Don’t fret! We can work on this together in UYB and I’ll help you draft a new version of the email that will feel good to send and not awkward!

 

STRUGGLING TO FIND YOUR NICHE?

GRAB MY FREE NICHING GUIDE HERE, AND SAY GOODBYE TO ALL YOUR NICHING WOES!

 

So, ONLY ONCE YOU ARE CLEAR:

Here’s the exact email that I use and that I recommend my clients use:

 

Greeting:

Hey ______,

Intro:

Open the email with something personal if it’s someone you know well, like you would for a regular email to a good friend. If you don’t know the person SUPER well, skip this and include a more general greeting that still sets the tone (“We may not have talked in a long time but I value the work you do and knew you’d be excited to hear what I’m up to — or something that makes them feel valued and not like you’re just trying to get something from them)

Explain why you are emailing them:

I’m writing because I’m so excited that I’m doing ________ (ie. starting my new business/launching my website/am leaving my job to join the circus etc) and wanted to make sure you knew about it (and ask for your help — see below!)

Elaborate on what you’re doing:

Give them a bit more detail about this thing you are doing and show them how excited you are about it (I’ve been dreaming of starting this business for a long time and it’s finally happening; I’m finishing up my training as a _____ and graduate next week; I know it took me a while to get to where I wanted to be, but it finally feels like I’ve arrived).

Explain how you help people/results:

Give them some detail about what you do for people/ what problems you can help with. You want to make sure that you are VERY clear about who you help and how you help them. Keep this short and sweet and to the point.

The Ask:

Let them know again that you are taking on clients how many people you’re taking and how long the commitment is (ie. “I am taking on 10 clients for 30min coaching sessions”, or “I have 3 spots open for my month-long group program” and would love your help in finding new clients/would love to work with you on helping you ______). Be CLEAR here that you have limited spots open and what exactly you are “selling” to them.

If the person you are writing to is an ideal client, ask them to be your client! I know this can be scary, but remember – courage. Tell them why you think they would be a perfect fit for them.

If the person isn’t your ideal client, tell them why you are asking them “I thought you might have some people in mind from the yoga studio you work at, or “I know you work in an environment where a lot of people might struggle with _______ so I thought you might be able to pass this on for me”

Call to action:

End with a clear call to action (“If this feels like a fit, I’d love to work with you. Click here to schedule a call to talk more about it” or “Reply to this email to book yourself in for a chat to talk more”, or “I’d be so appreciative if you could help forward this to 3 people you know who might be a fit”). Be sure to only include ONE action step. If the person you are writing to isn’t an ideal client themselves, asking them to pass it on to 3 people, or post on their Facebook page, is a great call to action.

Closing:

Sign off with a HUGE thank you.

Add a PS:

If you’re not my ideal person here, I’d love for you to forward this on to anyone you know who might be a fit. I’m so grateful to you for your support in this. It means a lot to me.

Again, this ONLY works if you can be super specific and clear about who you service, what your message is, and can articulate exactly how you can help people.

We focus on these foundations in Uncage Your Business, so if you know that you aren’t nearly confident enough in what you do, I seriously encourage you to sign up – you will leave absolutely prepared to start getting clients right away (and many people actually get their first clients during the course).

Click here to learn more about Uncage Your Business 

We’ll work together for 5 whole weeks to make sure your message is clear, your niche is defined, and you know exactly what you should be putting your time and energy into to help you get clients faster.

xo becca