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Clients are the lifeblood of any business. It is through their money that the wheels of your business turn.
Therefore, it is imperative you find a way to continually bring in clients.
If your company has enough paying clients, and the total income is higher than the total costs, the company becomes profitable.
Some clients are repeat clients, while others are one time clients.
Did you ever wonder how to get clients for your software business?
For example, how to get clients for your software company that will pay you monthly?
This is a topic that we have seen come up time and again in our courses and training programs.
We have even had students ask if we can provide some tips on how to get new clients for a software company.
So, here are a few ideas that we have seen work over the years:
How To Get Customers For Software Business
Get Started With Your Own Software Program
This is probably the best way to get started.
The reason for this is because you already have a product that people want to buy. You know what works and what doesn’t.
Next, you can use your knowledge of what works to refine your existing product or create a whole new product.
By the way, I bet if you take a survey of software developers, you will find most of them would love to have more clients than they do clients.
It seems like there just aren’t enough good people with whom to work.
This is one of those rare instances when I actually agree with the market.
Give Good Value For Money
Don’t sell your clients a solution that costs 10 times as much as what they are getting.
In fact, if you are selling your clients a “solution” at all, make sure it is a solution that saves them time and money.
Clients don’t care how much you spent to get the answer for them. They do care about how much value your give to them.
If you can do that, they will be your best friend for life. Remember the old saw about how you should never charge more than 1/3 of what you would spend to get an answer to your question?
That still holds true today.
Offer Extra Help And Free Updates
Make it a point to go above and beyond what is expected.
You can do this by sending a free update two months after you initial sale, or a free update every six months, or perhaps a free update every time there is a significant change in the software.
Remember, if you have a good relationship with your client, this will build loyalty and hopefully some referrals.
Create A Lead-Generating Website Or Blog
There are a number of ways you can use this technique to generate leads.
The most common is by offering free information in exchange for an email address and name and address information.
This is one of the easiest ways to get a steady stream of new clients.
You will need a lead generation tool such as:
In fact, many people use these same softwares to build their websites or landing pages.
They each offer a trial, so it is recommended to give them each a try to see which is best for your business.
Email Marketing
Not only should you send new leads to your current list, you should also send any list you have that has been dormant for a while.
This is a great way to reignite some dead fuel in your fire.
It will also keep your relationship with those clients warm and fuzzy.
By the way, you should allow 7-days for your client to respond to your email.
To do this, you will need an autoresponder.
The current best companies are:
Much like the lead generation tools, each of these have a free version, or at the least a free trial.
Give each one a look, and the pick the one you feel is the best for you.
Social Media
Do not underestimate the power of social media.
It is one of the easiest and most effective ways to get the word out about your company.
If you are on Facebook, you should have a presence.
You should also have a Twitter and a LinkedIn account.
This is where the real money is going to be made.
You should be on every social media site you can find a place for.
Not only should you be on these sites, you should be posting on them.
This is where you should be doing most of your lead-generating activities.
In fact, you should be generating leads on a much greater scale than you are using your own software.
The reason for this is simple:
You don’t have the time or the resources to manage all these campaigns yourself.
Network With Others
There are two reasons why you should do this.
First, you can get a lot of value out of it.
Second, it can help you grow your business and your network.
You should be networking with other professionals in your industry.
It can be a great way to find new opportunities, or even new clients.
Get out there and network with others.
Meet with your local Chamber of Commerce and ask them for introductions to other business owners in your area.
The next best thing is to go to the events that your local businesses hold.
If you are a service provider, you should be at all of the trade shows and networking functions.
If you are a product, you should be at the networking functions.
The more you are out there and the more you are active, the more likely you will be to get new clients.
Use The Power Of The Press
If you run a reputable company, or you have a popular blog, you should consider using your position to generate leads.
You can do this by mentioning your client’s company in your newsletter, or you can mention them in your blog post.
Unquestionably, the most powerful way to use your position is to write a press release.
A press release is an announcement made to the news media.
They announce something that has just happened or is about to happen.
In other words, it is an “eyebrow-raising” piece of news that makes people sit up and take notice.
In fact, a well-written press release can generate more leads than any other form of marketing you can think of.
This is especially true if your client has been dormant and you can use the press to rekindle their interest.
Online Forums And Communities
Do not underestimate the power of online forums and communities.
There are a number of ways that you can use these to generate leads.
First of all, you can join some of them. You can then use them to post articles that will help others in the community.
This could be anything from a blog post to an article on social media marketing. You can also post links to your own blog posts or your social media sites.
You can use the discussion boards to discuss things like SEO, blogging, and social media marketing.
Conclusion
If you have read this far, you have taken the first step toward growing your business.
If you are serious about doing so, you should now be looking for ways to get more leads.
If you want to get more clients, you need to think about your business differently.
- You need to think about what it is that your business does and what you can do to make it more appealing to potential clients.
- You need to think about how you can use your position to generate leads and drive more traffic to your site.
- You need to think about how you can use the power of the press and online forums and communities.
- You need to think about how you can make yourself more visible online.
All of this should make you more attractive to potential clients and more able to generate leads.
