One of the toughest things in business is sales and getting clients through the door. It can be especially tough for a new business.
According to Forbes, 21 percent of businesses in the United States have already switched to digital business, and 70% are in the process of making the switch.
What does that mean for an agency, consulting, or coaching businesses?
The landscape is tough, and that means digital service-based businesses have to step up their game to survive in today’s climate. The only way for the business to survive is to have enough cash flow to continue providing its services to consumers. Free cold outreach tactics will help you save money on advertising.
This post will hopefully break it down into a simple list of steps so that you can skyrocket your growth and eventually gain market share of whatever niche industry you are trying to crack into.
Define Your Niche
The first order of business is to define who you want your clients to be. A major problem in today’s digital world is that businesses try to be a jack of all trades.
The saying is that a jack of trades is a master of none.
That saying should mean a lot to you because to truly penetrate a market in business, you should really put your time and focus on it. Nothing is worse than dabbling in one demographic and then moving over to another. To really gain market share, you should double down.
So, before you get started with your outreach, define what dream clients you want to serve and who you are going to target, and it will take a lot of the headaches away.
You can then take control of a certain sector of clients and then after you have control of that then you can look to tap into other areas.
A good example of this in action is a digital marketing company that only serves chiropractors. It would be safe to assume that you are going to be much more successful than going after every business owner. Positioning yourself as an authority in a certain industry is the best practice.
Define Your Budget and Marketing Platform
The next step is after you have defined who you want to target, now you need to formulate a plan to attack them with your outreach.
You can either do this free or a paid method depending on your experience and the platform that you are targeting.
If you do have a bit of money, then this step will be much easier than doing it in a free and organic way.
Let’s go ahead and break down some of the most popular methods and both free and organic ways to target your ideal clients. Some of the methods might overlap, but that is fine if they are a good match for each other.
Obviously, Facebook advertising is an effective way for cold outreach and to get leads for your drop servicing business. An effective ad can really skyrocket your company into oblivion if you have the budget.
You also need to have the ability to write effective copy and make an offer that is going to get you leads for your business. After receiving the lead, then you can take the relationship to the next step by emailing them and building rapport.
The free method with Facebook for cold outreach is to build a profile that becomes an authority in your niche, and then you can outreach via direct messaging. The cool thing about digital is that we are all connected. Use that to your advantage to generate business with your company and develop an offer that sells. You can also join Facebook groups that are within your target industry and engage with the member’s posts.
If you are targeting a demographic or industry that is on Instagram, then that should be your focus. Much like Facebook, you can use paid advertising to really break into a niche.
The Instagram and Facebook methods are both the same when it comes to cold outreach also. Building rapport and a relationship can be just as easy as sending a kind message and providing value to them.
A simple tip or thing of value that you offer can build a relationship that down the road will benefit both of you.
YouTube
If your budget allows for advertising on YouTube, then you should attack it if your niche is using the platform. It may take a bit of skill to learn how to make effective ads, but there are so many testimonials out there that prove that YouTube is a huge return on investment.
Also, a free way is to build an audience in your niche from quality videos. Knowledge and insights will make you an authority in your niche which will allow you to reach out on other platforms.
A major way is to position yourself as an authority and move the conversation to email.
If you are wanting to contact business owners, then it really does not get much better than this method.
All of the information on Facebook and Instagram is pretty much the same here. Just remember that you represent what your brand represents, so be mindful of how you carry yourself on sites like LinkedIn.
For tips on this platform, check out this post.
If you would like to use an awesome Linkedin-focused automation software you can use then check out SalesRobot!
Cold Email Outreach
Whether you have gathered emails from the methods above, bought email lists, or looked online and collected them for free, a major moneymaker is an email.
Writing effective copy that appeals to your readers will help you get clients in the door and effectively grow your cash flow. There are even some email marketing platforms that are free up until you get to a certain point where your list grows too large.
A simple cold email that appeals to your potential client is not good enough. Like I stated in the first section, so many companies are going digital and using these methods. You have to stand out from the competition.
That means that you need an excellent offer or a thing of value to start the relationship.
Heck, you even need an incredible subject and header to even get your email opened in most cases. Any business that you run has probably been done before, so you need to stand out from the crowd and differentiate your outreach.
To increase your open rates with cold emails, check out this amazing post from SmartBug!
Cold Calling
One of the most dreaded and last resort options in business is calling up strangers in your niche to pitch them on your business.
It might be counter-intuitive to reach out via phone to digital businesses, but this could be something that sets you apart from the competition. It can be scary, but if you position yourself as an expert in an industry, then you could set your drop servicing startup for success.
A good script does not seem very salesy, because you are presenting an offer and value that would be dumb to pass upon.
Even though it can be scary, you can conquer this method of cold outreach. This post from Yesware can be a game-changer for you!
The Biggest Key to Cold Outreach
This point should already be apparent and obvious if you have read this far.
Providing value first is the key to getting your foot in the door of a potential client.
I do not know your business, so I can’t say what your value could be. Whether it is a trial run or an initial consulting call, you need to give before you can receive it.
At least until you are a proven business in that niche. But if you were a proven company then you should already have a pipeline of inbound leads that are begging you to work with them!
The Second Biggest Thing in Cold Outreach
Even if it may seem like a long shot, you are only one text, call, or email away from landing a client.
To stop having to do outreach, you need to deliver and give them results. Referrals are easily the best way to scale a digital service business or any business for that matter. To attract more referrals, you need to know how to ask, and when the right time is.
An article that I found on Hubspot explains this process to perfection!
Too many companies put way too much effort into outreach and not enough into delivering results and a quality experience. Your relationship starts with the cold outreach, but it can easily end if you are not who you say you are or if you don’t provide good results.
Hopefully, this post opened up your eyes and is going to help you skyrocket your business to the moon after a lot of the hard work is put in with your outreach.
Just remember to keep on providing value and gaining customer satisfaction after you have started your relationship with a client. Taking good care of your customers is going to get the word spread about you, and that is the best marketing method that exists.
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