Send Your First Client Pitch via Mobile in 7 Steps

Intro

Your phone: one email the next day. Can it bring your first client? Seven days, seven small steps, from who you serve to that email. Number one is that email; the easiest step comes first.

1. Choose one service and the people who need it

Number seven: choose one service and the people who need it. Define your customer or target market first, one regional portal says. These are the customers most likely to buy from you. Decide first whether you'll serve individuals or other businesses.

One guide names three kinds of buyer: individuals, other businesses and the government. One portal's example: a cleaning service may suit both, while a new clothing brand probably only interests individuals. A niche is a specific group of customers your business focuses on, a council guide says. Targeting a niche can help you stand out and build a loyal customer base, it adds.

If your service could be widely used, start locally, one portal suggests. The regional portal asks three questions to picture your ideal customer, like who uses your services the most. Another asks three more before you pick a group: is it big enough, do you have the skills, is it growing? Personas, one portal says, are made-up profiles of the people most likely to buy.

By our count, that's six questions to answer before day two. If practical guides like this help you, subscribe. Every step and rule in this video comes straight from the official guide pages linked below.

2. Say what you offer in a sentence or two

Number six: say what you offer in a sentence or two. An elevator pitch says what you do, who your customers are and what makes you different, a council guide says. It should fit in about thirty seconds, that guide adds. A public business bank says it usually runs thirty seconds to two minutes.

By our count, two minutes holds four thirty-second pitches, so the short one fits both guides. The bank gives five tips for a pitch, like describing your service in a few compelling sentences. A good pitch is simple, memorable and engaging, the bank says, and clear, concise and concrete. Customers want to know if you can solve their problems, it says.

One portal suggests finishing one sentence: customers will buy from me because my business is the only... Every business needs a reason for customers to buy from it and not its competitors, it adds. Ask yourself what makes you different in the market, that portal says. Two guides ask what makes your service unique, and what gives it an advantage.

Put your strongest selling point at the start of your message, another portal suggests. Have your pitch ready in advance, and say it concisely, enthusiastically and positively, one local office adds. Use clear, confident language, so people understand what you do and why it matters, one portal says.

3. Show what your work looks like

Number five: show what your work looks like. Use good quality images of what you do, and avoid generic stock photos, one portal says. Often an accurate description of your services and location, with some images of what you offer, is what persuades people, another says. One local workbook's examples: customers can see photos of other jobs, or websites made for other companies.

A simple website can start with three parts, one portal says: an 'about us' page, contact details, and your services. Include images where relevant, it adds. A brochure may be the first thing you put into a client's hands, another guide says. Its four parts: what you offer, who it's for, the benefits and problems you solve, and proof of what you can do.

By our count, those are three parts of a site and four of a brochure: seven things to show. Even if you only work online, a printed brochure can be handy to give someone, it adds. Make content useful, not just ads, one portal says: it reaches people who ignore ads and builds trust. Your messages should be accurate, true and able to be backed up, a regional portal says.

4. Tell the people you already know

Number four: tell the people you already know. Word of mouth is a powerful way to reach new customers, especially for a small business, one workbook says. A personal recommendation is your most powerful marketing tool, another local office says. Friends and family are naturally inclined to recommend you, the workbook says.

So are colleagues in your field who offer something related, but not competing. It suggests writing down at least ten names in each of four groups: customers, family and friends, colleagues, and influencers. By our count, that's a list of at least forty names. If you want referrals, you have to actively ask for them, it adds.

Every time you meet someone, socially or in business, you're a business owner looking for customers, it says. Networking means getting to know people with similar interests, who can help you and whom you can help in return. Networking can help you find new customers among the members, or through their recommendations, that portal adds. One portal's six networking tips start here: look up local business networks and events in your field.

Use every networking chance to talk about the market for your service, one local office says. Bring plenty of business cards, and share them only with people who are genuinely interested, it adds. You can network at local events, like a charity fundraiser or your local market, another portal says. Connect and build up your connections, and potentially your client base too, one guide says.

And ask your customers to recommend you to their friends and colleagues, one government guide says. Four days done, three to go.

5. Make yourself easy to find and contact

Number three: make yourself easy to find and contact. An online presence makes you look more professional and helps customers find you, one portal says. Your first website doesn't need to be expensive; a simple, clear homepage may be enough to start. First find out if your customers will use the web to find you, before you invest in a website, one workbook adds.

An online presence is available twenty-four hours a day, to customers around the world, the first portal says. A good website does four things, another portal says: looks professional, is easy to find and contact, promotes your services and sells online. Your website is the digital front door to your business, so promote it across your channels, it adds. That portal's general rule for answering emails is a twenty-four hour turnaround.

If you take longer, publish your expected reply time on your contact page, it adds. A 'request a call' option lets customers pick a time and day for your call. Social media can be a great way to talk to your customers, one portal says, but don't post too much. Another suggests posting regularly, at a minimum around three times a week.

By our count, that's at least twelve posts every four weeks. Make yourself easy to find through marketing and online sales, one guide says. Listings help too: business directories, online listings and association listings, one guide says. One free idea from a local office: a link to your website in the signature of every email.

People searching for a local business are often close to buying, a business support service says. Our earlier seven-step guide to starting a business is linked on screen. Five days done, two to go.

6. Reach out to the people most likely to hire you

Number two: reach out to the people most likely to hire you. Direct marketing means choosing people and offering your service with a personal approach, by phone, post or email, one portal says. Be direct, as if you were speaking with the client, and talk about their needs, not about yourself, another guide says. And don't try to say too much at once, or the message might get lost.

By our count, that's three rules for one short message. End with a call to action, one portal says: what should they do next? The more targeted your messages, the more successful they're likely to be, another portal says. If you focus on one area, flyers are a cheap way to advertise, a regional portal says.

You can print them at home and pin them on noticeboards your customers visit. Email and text rules differ where you live, so each guide's rule here is its own. One guide says you may send marketing emails to individual customers only if they've given you permission. Another says that, by law, you need the customer's permission before you send electronic messages.

One guide gives five working days to honour a request to unsubscribe, and another gives ten business days. One adds that business-to-business email gets no exception.

7. Follow up, starting with that email the next day

Number one: follow up, starting with that email the next day. When you meet someone new, exchange contact details so you can stay in touch, one portal says. It's good practice to send them a brief email the next day, it adds. Always follow up valuable contacts, and soon, a local office says.

Don't wait for them to contact you: an email or a call within a couple of days keeps you on their radar. A single promotion rarely brings a contract or a sale, so be ready to follow up, another guide says. A simple database lets you record each lead, track your contact history and spot what works, one portal says. One workbook's list includes fast follow-up of all leads and referrals.

A tracking method shows you who is a good source, the workbook adds. Another lists six things a customer list can help with, from recording contact details to measuring your marketing. For each call, it suggests writing down three things: the date, the time and the issues discussed. By our count, forty names spread over seven days is about six names a day.

Ask new customers where they heard about you, two guides say. Contact companies that didn't hire you last time; one missed job doesn't mean they'll never give you work, the workbook says. Analyse the results of your marketing to see what worked, then drop what wasn't effective, one portal says. That's the email from the start: one message the next day keeps you on a client's radar.

To recap: pick who you serve, say your pitch, show your work, tell your people, be easy to find, reach out, and follow up. Number seven was the easiest step, and number one keeps you on a client's radar. A small first step, from one guide: write down ten names of people you already know. Each guide's numbers are its own, and rules differ where you live.

Which day will you start with? Tell us in the comments. Subscribe to see the next official guides we check. If you want to price that first job, the next video is on screen now: six steps to set your rates.

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