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10 Modern Ways to Find Customers

Today, there are many ways to target new clients, from leads services to social networks. If your business is struggling to find customers, don’t fret—you have plenty of options.

Willing to experiment with the latest tactics? Forbes Coaches Council has a few recommendations for you. Read these unique, modern ways to find customers, and try them out for yourself.

Members of Forbes Coaches Council offer ideas on effective new ways to track down sales leads.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS.

1. Turn Online Connections Into Real-Life Relationships

If you’re in business, then you are in the business of relationships. Through direct outreach with personalized and customized email communication on a platform like LinkedIn, you can amplify your success by turning your online connections into offline conversations and real-life relationships. – Michela Quilici, MQ Consulting and Business Training, Inc.

2. Attract Leads With Your Expertise

Attract customer leads with opportunities to experience your expertise. A free 40-minute webinar is a good approach to both engage prospects and demonstrate your expertise. Although many are looking for free content, there will be those who remember you, add you to their LinkedIn network and refer you to others as well. Sales is a process, not an event. – Thomas Larkin, Communico, Westport CT

3. Use Analytics To Target The Right Corporate Fits

Certain corporate personality types respond to our services. For example, those companies that are in certain areas of healthcare or that see their business not as a product line or service first, but a people business first, love us and contract with us. Using analytics we identify those companies that most invest in their employees. We know they are most likely to trust us with their precious commodity. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.

4. Ask The Right Question

Neuroscience tells us that we make decisions with our limbic brain. That part holds no language, nor logic, but all emotions. Ask this question to bypass the neocortex (the rational brain) and get referrals: “Would you partner with me to grow my business?” In code, you are really asking an emotional question, which connects with referrals more deeply. The answer almost always comes back positive. – John Hittler, Evoking Genius

5. Ask For Customer Referrals

In my experience, the most successful methodology in high-ticket management consulting is a combination of word-of-mouth and LinkedIn. I have experimented with many methodologies extensively. However, this particular approach has the highest conversion and return on investment. In essence, it is asking your satisfied customers to introduce you on LinkedIn to their peers. You will be surprised by the results. – Kamyar Shah, World Consulting Group

6. Focus On Direct Connections

The best way to find leads is to build relationships. In sales, there will never be anything better than a direct connection. With over 20 years in sales and leadership, the best source of business has always been talking directly with the client. Do not hide behind technology. Get out and connect! Magic happens when we talk and connect. – Clara Capano, Capano Consulting

7. Leverage Video Marketing

One of the most effective ways to create your message and establish yourself as a thought leader in today’s day and age is to create short, weekly videos to convey your message. These videos can be focused on your company’s messaging but can also include training for your employees. It’s fun, it’s effective and it’s worth the time. – Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience

8. Turn Your Daily Interactions Into Content

Each day is filled with valuable experiences from your daily interactions. Often these experiences are stored in your brain where other people can’t see them. Bring your experiences to a wider audience by creating content, big or small. Share a quote on social media, turn your quote into an article or transform your article into a workshop you can teach to businesses. Content creates engagement. – Erik Fredrickson, Erik Fredrickson Coaching

9. Get To Know Your Ideal Clients Better

We all have our favorite clients and would love to have more just like these! So spend time with them over coffee, lunch or Skype. Ask about their interests, where they hang out, what they read, who they follow for inspiration and how they build their knowledge. Send them a thank you gift. Then find ways to raise your visibility in these outlets via networking, advertising and guest blogging. – Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Leadership Academy

10. Host A Podcast

One modern way to find customer leads is to host a podcast! When you host your own podcast, not only do you create relevant content, but the guests on your podcast share your content for you. Their network can become a huge source of leads for you as your podcast guests become your brand ambassadors. Having people you wish to do business with or get in your network is a great way to engage them. – John Livesay, The Pitch Whisperer

About Michela Quilici

International Business Growth Coach, Award-winning Marketing Strategist, Best-Selling Author, Speaker and Forbes Coaches Council. Known as a Business Navigator, Michela works with growth-minded business owners, service professionals and CEOs who want to ignite their businesses and accelerate growth, while building a business aligned to who they are.

She is passionate about creating roadmaps that ignite leaders to take inspired action to navigate their growth on purpose using strategy, systems and self-leadership, so they can get noticed, get clients and get profitable.