How You Can Build An Incredible Client Base With Jen Berson

Key Takeaways Covered In The Podcast

One of the best ways to find new clients is to decide what kind of work you want to be known for. Once you have started to work for a couple of clients in this area, you will start to become known for ‘your thing’. Whilst taking everything that comes your way seems right to begin with, it can lead you down a path where you dislike the business you’re in.

If you are all things to all people, you can not get in a state of flow.

Finding new clients is all about consistency. Make sure you’re setting time aside each week to focus on outreach and business development, even if it is just five minutes a day.

Your number one resource for new clients is your network.

Although it may seem a little off putting, cold pitching is another great way to gain new clients. It’s all about making that personal connection from the start – you want to let them know you are familiar with their products or their values. Your first point of contact should be to get them to speak to you, so end with a strong call to action.

When it comes to pitching competitors to your clients, you need to consider the agreement you have with the people you’re already working with. If you have agreed exclusivity, you need to honour that. Alternatively, it’s important not to pigeonhole yourself into only being able to work with one client.

To help potential clients see that you’re the person they need to hire, you need to position yourself as an expert in the industry. You need to demonstrate the value you can bring.

The one thing you need to remember above all else…

One of the biggest fears people have when pitching new clients is that they’re worried about rejection. Whilst rejection isn’t a nice feeling, what is the worst thing that can happen? If they say no, move on. You may find that it takes 10, 20 or 100 emails before you get a yes.

Highlights you Simply Can’t Miss

• Introducing Jen – 04:36
• Finding Your Flow – 10:30
• Now You Have Yor Flow, How Do You Find Clients? – 17:24
• Looking At Your Network And Cold Pitching - 22:30
• How To Pitch Competitors Of Your Clients - 29:05
• How To Show You’re The Right Person – 39:20

Links to Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode

• Jen Berson
• Jen Berson Instagram
• Jen Berson Twitter

Transcript below

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. How are you? You know what I’m really excited about this week’s episode. Last week, if you quarter I hope you did. If not please go back and listen to it. We talked all about selling and how you can sell better in your business with a feeling horrible and sleazy and also some of the things that got me clarity on how I could price my brain which I’m not going to lie, was quite difficult in the beginning.

So if you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly recommend you do it was a really good on either is really good on fingers crossed you did too but this week follows on so lovely from it and you know what? It was a complete coincidence. It was not intentional. When I looked at who was on the following week because obviously my interviews are often scheduled much further on ahead. I then saw which it was and thought perfect. So this week I have the super lovely Jen Berson. Now Jen and I met at one of James Wedmore’s next level events which was great. She’s so lovely. You know you instantly hit it off for someone. We have such fun. We laughed lots and we’re also in quite similar industries because her agency does PR with some social media. So we were able to talk quite a lot about our businesses and how they sort of fitted quite well together. The other thing that Jen does amazingly which is why she’s on the podcast is she helps agencies and freelancers and other businesses get more clients. And this week’s episode is a great one because that’s what we’re talking about.

We’re talking about how can you get more clients in your business. And she gives us some really great proactive ways which I openly admit during the interview, that I am not proactive enough that we are very lucky and reactively we have had lots of things drip feed in which is nice. However we’ve not gone out there proactively to get clients. So for me this is a really interesting one.

And also I think it’s going to be a great one for you to know we don’t just talk about getting clients. We talk about what it’s like to work in your flow in your zone of genius in the areas that you love. Now we’ve all got these clients where we think if I could have 10 of you, my world would be a dream and you know why? Because that’s are our flow. That’s our zone of genius. That’s the work or the industry that actually clicks and connects with us perfectly. That it’s easy that it’s not difficult. And Jen and I talk about this and she talks about getting clarity on those types of clients so that when you do either approach people you’re approaching the right people or when clients approach you you are fully aware of whether they’re going to fit in that or not and if they’re not that you know to say no to them because you know what it’s not going to work in the end. And we’d all like to be in a position I’m sure where we’re only dealing with the best type of clients that we want or the industry that we want.

The other thing that was really funny that Jen and I talked about which is odd considering the industry Jen and I work in is how difficult it is sometimes to market yourselves. Obviously our jobs are to help other businesses market themselves. And therefore when it comes to marketing ourselves you’d think it was super easy because we know so much about it. I can promise you it’s not. So actually we talked a lot about how to market ourselves and put ourselves out there and she gave lots of great tips about how she could reach out to perfect clients how she almost had cold reaching out which scared me a bit but actually she gave some great advice about how she can reach out to get those clients and hey she’s now ended up with some amazing clients in her agency. So I hope you’re gonna love this one. Like I said it’s a great one to help me think about how to get new customers. If you’re not an agency or a freelancer Don’t worry there’s still lots of great information in there for you. So without further ado here is Jen.

So I’m really excited today to welcome the lovely Jen Berson to the podcast. Welcome Jen.

Hello lovely Teresa. Thank you for having me.

Thank you for coming on.

Now I’ve said in the intro that you and I met in Laguna Beach at Jane’s event which is radical and we instantly hit it off and had sort of great fun together all right. And I wanted to stay in touch because I knew that what you do not only would help me and some really interesting parts of me are my business but also lots of my podcast listeners. But before we jump into their and telling them how they can get more clients let’s just give them a bit of background as to who you are and how you got to do what you do now.

Oh good. Okay. Well let’s see. “So I started actually started my career as a civil litigation attorney did a complete 180. I know it’s kind of like “What were you thinking?” But I guess I just decided one day that it did not match my personality to be a lawyer. I did not feel like it was a career. I felt like it was a job and I kind of just wanted to you know work in a service that built businesses up that helped businesses and entrepreneurs grow and rather than litigation where you’re just spending money and trying to exhaust resources. I wanted to do something that had a positive impact on a company.

And I started doing PR on the side it just had an instinct for a certain brand. I reached out to them and I said, “Can you help me or can I help you? I’m willing to work for free. I just need a box of products like random girl that reaching out over the Internet send me a big box of free stuff. But they did and I was able to help this fragrance company get a bunch of media mentions and connect them with celebrities and I love that work so much. I love the almost immediate impact it had on the business and the tangible results. I could physically hold in my hands. You know back in the day when magazines were printed. Yeah. And I just said I want more of this. I want to I want to do more to build up companies. And I also want to be in business for myself. And so I just decided one day I am going to do this and I can always go back to law. Then I started my business and kind of worked for a reduced rate on some clients just to get the experience because I really had no experience no contacts no training whatsoever and I was able to kind of grow a business where I had an expertise in a couple nations and was able to kind of parlay that experience into a reputation in those fields where we’re now sought after I mean now it’s been 14 years but we’re sort we’re a sought after agency for our expertise in the baby and kids space and beauty and cosmetics and we’re able to charge premium prices. And I love the work so much. And I just feel so lucky to have my own business after all this time and now I’m a mom. I have two boys ages 6 and 8 and I have just like love having a business that gives me ultimate flexibility and freedom and I want to teach other women how to have the same thing.

Yeah that’s amazing. I’m like I think lots of people starting off they often do the free thing and especially. And know I wouldn’t knock it because I actually only did the same. I volunteered for charity. That was a fairly high profile charity just so. But my name was attached to the marketing so that’s to help me get my foot off the ground even though I’d done it for ages. When you start your own business you’ve got to sort of really get yourself haven’t you. So I do think there is an element tools you’ve got to do a bit of free stuff. Or do a bit of cheaper stuff. What really makes me laugh and I think you get this though probably Botox you reduce so low is when people reach out me and we’ll say even now, they’ ll say you know Do you want to do this? It’ll be a great case to do for you, to read minds who could do good stuff but very slow.

Yeah. Yeah. We’re good now. You know I would be at you know when someone is just starting out or you’re really trying to pivot and establish a new niche. It does help to be able to offer your services in a way for the right opportunity that really aligns with what you’re trying to accomplish. What your vision is for your company. You come in for a reduced rate. You look to get that right at the beginning, you know at this point. You know we’re a little bit more established we don’t need those like case studies but it does help and it’s a great way to kind of, Create a path. I like to be proactive in creating the business that you want rather than being reactive and just choosing what comes your way. You can actually decide. This is the kind of work I want to do and reach out to this companies and offer services but only if it is perfectly aligned or very closely aligned with a company like you said a charity that’s very high profile, that’s going to make you look really good. Yeah. Something that is going to raise your profile but also don’t come at it thinking you’re gonna offer the client free or significantly reduced services and then ultimately pivot them to a paying client in the very very rarely happens. So you have to decide, you’re doing it for yourself. And that’s going to benefit you and your and your agency’s profile rather than try to convert them into a paying client because it’s nearly impossible.

Yeah I totally agree that once you once you give anything as something for free, they’re never going to then go, “Oh I’ll have it again I’ll pay you.” You know that’s going to be a lot about how do you know it’s going to be a real rare thing. So yeah let me like let me just touch on the fact of what you do the fact that you hope other businesses you help other freelancers and agencies get clients or you teach them and support them and coach them how they can then get clients which I think and especially for the industry that we’re in.

So as a marketing, PR, social media. Our job is to help our clients be seen and get their clients which is why it’s so ridiculous that sometimes we find it so hard to get to market ourselves which is really all it’s considering.. That’s what we do for a living. So one question that I get an awful lot from freelancers and agencies.. The thing is how would they getting clients and I get asked how do I get clients and I know you’re gonna be like horrified but I know that you have not been as proactive. I’ve been very lucky and I’ve had always had a trickle of clients coming in and what we need. But I’ve certainly not proactively gone and got clients. So. I’m really excited that today you’re going to share with us some ideas on how people can do that how they can bring on clients and not just any client. I really want to pick up on something you said when you said, “Who do you want to work with?” Because in the early days do not find that the business is that you coach sometimes they just take anything because they’re like, I just need to work that’s fine. I don’t technically do that but I am now going to do that. All I do really want to work with this type of business. But now I’m going to just do this as well to get some money.

Yes. Well first let me go back to what you said about not being super proactive. I am not either but I will say that I know how to turn up the gas when I need new clients. I had a recent month where I had three really large clients decided to move on or not renew or whatever and I lost a significant amount of revenue in one month. Like enough where you would just be like, “Oh my God what am I going to do?” And I didn’t panic and I said if I could do that once if I could land you know now I have three billion dollar brands that I support. Well if I can do that once I can do it again and so that was July and all of August, I just kind of did what I know how to do in terms of getting clients and then by September we were you know my husband calls me even steven. We were right back to where we were. So it helps to know what to do and that’s kind of the first step is really deciding the kind of clients you want to work with the kind of work that you want to be known for because you’ve got to think about this if you go down the path and start getting you know the reason you’re getting a lot of work choices because you’re known for being really good at doing what you do. So the kinds of clients that you serve are going to seek you out knowing that the services you provide are going to benefit them because you’ve done it for other clients like them. So you want to think about creating a business that you’re going to enjoy. You know 1 3 5 10 years from now I mean I’ve been doing this for 14 years and I like the industries that I have been working in for all this time. I still really love them and I’m excited to continue going to work. But I imagine you kind of create a business where you’re reactive and you take whatever comes your way and then all of a sudden three years from now, you’re you’re feeling like you don’t even really like the business that you created because you don’t love the kinds of clients you’re serving or the work you’re doing. So it helps to really think about how you want to establish your expertise the niche you want to carve out. And it could either be the niche that’s the type of client that you serve or the type of service that you want to be known for. And I would not recommend being all things to all people. You can not get in a state of flow. You cannot be really profitable and have a business with not a lot of friction. I know you know this friction when you kind of do something for a client that’s outside of the normal realm. And it takes longer than you expect and you know you have this scope creep or you didn’t expect like maybe this Web site you’re building and all of a sudden you know a six week project to six months. And it happens you know we like to get in a state of flow where we’re doing the things that we do. We’re getting every client into a similar way that we onboard them we serve them we report to them because if you have all these little one off services you can’t get in a state of flow so you want to figure out. Who you serve and how you serve them. And then you can be more proactive about looking for those types of clients and you have more clarity about how to say no and when to say no when those clients don’t match your vision. And that’s one of the most kind of powerful things as an agency owner that you can that you can do is have that confidence and the clarity to know the opportunities that are not the right fit for you. And if you take those opportunities because you’re running your business out of fear because you are afraid either a client can’t pay the rate you want or you’re afraid you’re not going to have enough clients. You’re taking up time and energy from a spot that you can serve your ideal client for your rate that you know that you’re worth but figured in.

Like I that I think so many people start off they’re not that clear and they want to be everything to everybody and they want to serve everybody and they can find a way of serving anybody. But then like you said you end up doing stuff and I know some of the clients I’ve taken on where I’ve regretted it because I thought I’ll do that for now. And then you know some of my clients I’ve had for years and years and I mean I started off doing them what we do today. They look to very different things. So actually understanding that to begin with and I never did that I never sat down figure out who do I want to work with what we really good at like you know what can we turn so easily. I mean it’s not difficult and it doesn’t feel invisible because again working with lots of different clients their clients are really hard work. There are industries that are really hard work. There are there are things like being run like you work in very lovely industries you know they are very marketable industries. Yes. Yeah they don’t say. I mean some of the clients that I work with don’t have the most sexiest of products or sexist of service. They’re still great and fine. And then there’s those clients that are manufacturers that you friends do social media for manufacturing you’re a but like okay I’m struggling a bit. But like you said finding that kind of who is it you want to work with. And I do think I’ve personally my own world. I’m not very good at making that and I’m not very good at going. This is where I’m going to stick because like you said you do get mad. But she think you know I’ve got to be really strong to say no matter what comes my way I’m going to turn out fine because I’m going to focus on this. Okay so let’s say we have decided who are ideal clients is how do we go find them.

Well that’s the multimillion dollar question right. There are several tactics and I will say and they may seem really obvious but you don’t do them. I don’t do them all the time. It’s really about consistency and kind of being proactive and making client outreach a part of your you know weekly activities...