There is nothing more important to your business than generating new clients – because how else would you pay your staff!
In the modern business landscape, there are two highly effective, but very different, ways to acquire new business.
They are called active and passive approaches. Both use distinct strategies to achieve the same goal: generating potential new clients.
So to help you choose the best approach for your business, we’ve scored each approach in terms of usefulness.
Don’t forget that experimenting with many different approaches is key: your dream clients could be just around the corner!
Active Vs Passive: A Definition
First of all, what do we mean by passive and active? The difference could well be the deciding factor in what’s best for your business.
“Active” means that you are directly introducing yourself to potential new clients.
You are making an active attempt to “win” a single prospect by your own words and skills.
This approach typically yields a higher success rate: it’s also cheaper, but requires a tremendous amount of energy and socializing on your part.
“Passive” means that you’re not speaking to just one prospect.
You’re speaking to a large, faceless audience – usually online – and are taking a more general approach.
It is passive because you never know when a lead might show up.
This approach can be automated and scaled to generate multiple leads consistently, but typically requires large funding and a lot of assets.
Both active and passive have multiple strategies to acquire new clients. We’ve listed out the most effective and popular down below, complete with a scoring system for your convenience.
Can The Active Approach Work For You?
Strategy #1: Referrals
Referrals are the best kind of customer for your business. They already trust you because of whoever referred them.
They are categorised as active because you:
- Have to do a great job on existing clients first before they refer you and,
- A lot of the time you need to incentivize existing customers for referrals
While these types of clients may take a long time to come by, the effort is certainly worth the reward. These are the clients most likely to refer you again and again, and also maintain a long-term working partnership.
Likewise, your main way of generating referrals is to do a good job for existing clients, which you would be doing anyway, so you’re not losing any valuable time or energy!
Our score: 10/10
Strategy #2: Networking
Networking is a great way to meet new clients, but there unfortunately there isn’t a set formula to making it work.
A lot of the time you’ll go to an event and meet people who may not need your services or product right that second. In fact, it’s very common for leads to contact you months or even years after meeting you.
This means that the results of your efforts in networking may not pay off immediately. But if you have patience, then this strategy can result in a compounding effect: each person likely has access to dozens of contacts. So the more people you get to know and impress, the bigger your net of potential customers becomes.
Our score: 8/10
Strategy #3: Cold Emails
Unfortunately, cold emailing to generate new clients is a numbers game: you’ll most likely have to bulk send thousands of emails before you get a response, let alone a new client.
This is also not the most professional way to meet a new client. Many potential clients can see it as offputting to receive an unsolicited email from someone they don’t know, offering services they didn’t ask for.
You may generate a few clients over time this way (as long as you don’t copy & paste the same email template over and over) but these partnerships are not built on trust like referrals.
Not to mention it’s very easy to have your mail provider mark you as spam.
Our score: 3/10
How The Passive Approach Can Fit Into Your Business
Strategy #1: Posting Social Media Content
Posting content is a unique, but often misunderstood way to get new clients. This approach may take a while to gain followers to your social media page; it’s certainly a long-term strategy. Because of this, business owners can sometimes quit shortly after they begin due to a lack of perceivable progress.
However, if you stay consistent with posting your social media content and cultivate your online community, it’s a surefire way to bring in regular new clients.
Imagine that each one of your social media followers have access to hundreds of friends, family, and colleagues who could potentialy be your dream client. And they’re following you!
The time investment is certainly worth the effort, although it’s not for business owners in a hurry. Likewise, if you’re not a fan of socialising in person then this approach may be for you.
Our score: 6/10
Strategy #2: Making The Most Of SEO
SEO is an effective method of generating new clients through popular search engines like Google.
Having high-quality SEO means that when people search Gold Coast Plumber for instance, your website is the very first one that pops up.
This will net you over 87% of all people searching Google!
Depending on your industry this strategy may be very competitive. In turn, maintaining a high SEO ranking can cost a significant amount.
If you’re just starting SEO, it’s important to remember that it’ll likely take at least three months before you see results – but in the long term, it’s worth it.
Our score: 7/10
Strategy #2: Get Instant Results With Google Ads
If you’re looking for immediate results and don’t mind shelling out a few hundred dollars, then Google ads might be your best approahc.
These ads will show your business website at the top of any Google search for a cost per click. Typically, you will need a professionally designed landing page, a compelling offer, and an experienced ad manager to ensure you beat your competitor’s ads.
The good news is that whoever clicks on your ad is very likely to be ready to buy your services. They’ll be searching specifically for your product or service in order to trigger the ad.
Our score: 7/10
Make Sure You’re Active On Your Finances
The one thing you don’t want to be passive about is your finances. At The A Firm, we can dedicate our team of experienced accountants to be active on your finances, ensuring stable growth and low tax costs.
Give us a call today to book your meet and greet!