[thelist] Advice on Getting That First Client

[Martin]

On Sunday, May 12, 2002, at 09:42  pm, Marc Seyon wrote:

> Message from Joshua Olson (5/10/2002 11:26 PM)
>> > The biggest thing is to find your own sales pitch. Mine is different
>> for
>> > different people but for the most part it's talking to them about
>> what
>> they
>> > do and then say - Hey you probably need a website don't ya
>> (obviously alot
>> > better).
>>
>> This is where I always run into a problem.  Not every business needs a
>> website, even though they seem to think they do.  For example,
>> consider a
>> two-person, non-affiliated hair salon.  What in the world gain could a
>> company like this have with a website?
>
> Reputation. Becoming known as *the* authority about something.
>
>> I asked her a few questions, and it quickly became apparent that she
>> wanted
>> an online brochure.
>
> Perhaps because she didn't understand the medium sufficiently to
> recognise
> it's real benefits.
>
> For example (purely hypothetical situation), say Ms. Hairdresser had in
> the
> course of her business experimented extensively with various brands of
> hair
> colour, and knew which ones were best for different hair types/desired
> duration, etc. Surely, publishing this knowledge online, and being
> recognised as the source of this information might potentially lead to
> being approached by a Beauty Magazine to be a columnist, etc?

Sorry, for a local hairdresser, that ain't going to happen. Magazines
don't deal with your friendly neighbourhood hairdresser. The hairdresser
would have to be *way* past that stage before a magazine would deign
to notice.

For information-led, fast-developing or changing for reasons unrelated
to fashion, non-traditional industries (technology being the main one),
this approach works.

It's too easy to assume that the models that we work with will apply
elsewhere, but that's the kind of fuzzy thinking which led to a lot of
the bullshit hype about the New Economy.
http://www.blowthedotoutyourass.com

Remember, a business doesn't *have* to communicate online. It's
just another channel, no more special than any of the other channels
available.

Rule number 1 about gaining and keeping clients - understand your
client's business & industry. If you don't, don't claim to, and learn
very,
very fast. If you can't/won't do that, stick to what you know. Only then
can
you make appropriate recommendations as to whether, what and how
a client could effectively communicate by any given channel.

Otherwise you'll just come off as another bullshit hypemerchant. Which
does not encourage clients to trust their money to you.

Cheers
Martin
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