I have customers... how do I keep getting more?

[JJHemingway]

Hey everyone,
let me start by giving some detail for context. I run a local IT service business by myself. All my work has been residential and although my income is tied to the work I do, I get incredible profit return for that work. Although this is not my ideal business model, the experience with business and IT along with the profits I earn is incredibly useful for getting myself to me.

I seek to make this business a foundation for my livelihood as I pursue more entrepreneurial opportunities. My difficulty is that I'm not getting enough consistent work to make this a possibility.

Can anyone shed some light with me? I'm always pursuing different Ideas for drawing in customers and understanding the market for my type of business but I want to hear different perspectives from the people on this forum and I'd love to have a discussion with y'all!

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

Are they customers or clients (1 transaction vs multiple transactions?)

Where did you get them in first place? How?

Are you still doing the activities that got you those customers/clients?

Have you actively let people know you are providing this service and they can refer people to you?

Have you asked for referrals from satisfied clients? Given them an easy way to refer you via email, text, flyer, .. or even (ick) a business card?

Are you a part of local communities? Neighborhood Facebook groups?

Have you settled on services that you offer so nobody is confused when it comes to what you do besides "computer stuff" ?

 

[JJHemingway]

Are they customers or clients (1 transaction vs multiple transactions?)

First off, thank you for replying. Out of the customers I've had so far this months that have all been clients aside from one.

Where did you get them in first place? How?

I've gotten them from local facebook groups by way of advertising and communicating. Also from family and friends who do contracting work recommended me to some of my customers

Are you still doing the activities that got you those customers/clients?

I remain active within the platforms i've gotten them. I keep up with constantly engaging with them and I'm definitely searching for more ways of engaging with my market

Have you actively let people know you are providing this service and they can refer people to you?

Have you asked for referrals from satisfied clients? Given them an easy way to refer you via email, text, flyer, .. or even (ick) a business card?

I always request for referrals from my satisfied customers. I keep my contact information open so it's easy to share my info to others by displaying it on my posts and yes, by giving business cards. Older folk seem to appreciate the cards

Are you a part of local communities? Neighborhood Facebook groups?

Have you settled on services that you offer so nobody is confused when it comes to what you do besides "computer stuff" ?

Definitely big on the facebook groups. I've been digging into local events too as a way to expand myself into my community and network.

In terms of clearly offering my services, I generalize myself as a private residential IT service provider for my market. I do explain my services more in detail on my posts. I also do want to keep myself open as sometimes I get odd requests that to me seem like opportunities. For example, I had someone reach out to me about building a website which turned into more work for me. Gave me more experience in web development as well good profit

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

I'm not sure where you live but it might be easy to look through google keywords and see what people are searching for locally.

Getting the whole "google my business" thing set up so if people are searching locally, they'll find you.

I'd be curious to know what you mean by you're still active and ask for referrals. By no means do I mean offense but I lived off referrals for years and have been AGGRESSIVE to get them and our processes might be a little different. Of course, I was B2B so it's a little different but I would walk into a bosses office and literally sit down and scroll through their rolodex and ask them to call people for me

 

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[JJHemingway]

I'd be curious to know what you mean by you're still active and ask for referrals.

I should definitely give more context. Within these Facebook groups, I make tech related posts like tech tips and advice that’s informative and easily digestible that ive been told by my neighbors that they enjoy. I also comment and reply to others and keep an eye out for when someone sounds like they need technical help

For referrals, I mostly mention it after I finish up a service for someone at the end. I’m not too sure how aggressive I can be without pushing people away, but I really want to make better use out of them.

 

[BizyDad]

For the less than Kung Fu aggressive approach, here's some tips:

GOLD! - MARKETING - 21 Ways To Get More Referrals ~ For Free

A quick search of the forum and I found little advice about how to get more referrals. The closest is some excellent advice from Andy Black in a couple of threads. When I find them again, I'll post them below. Sure, maybe asking for referrals isn’t as awesome as having a killer affiliate...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

But if flipping thru a rolodex still works in 2023 let us know. . (Personally, I didn't think KFS was that old...)

 

[JJHemingway]

For the less than Kung Fu aggressive approach, here's some tips:

GOLD! - MARKETING - 21 Ways To Get More Referrals ~ For Free

A quick search of the forum and I found little advice about how to get more referrals. The closest is some excellent advice from Andy Black in a couple of threads. When I find them again, I'll post them below. Sure, maybe asking for referrals isn’t as awesome as having a killer affiliate...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

But if flipping thru a rolodex still works in 2023 let us know. . (Personally, I didn't think KFS was that old...)

Gonna give this thread a deep read. Thanks very much.

Personally, id get a rolodex for my own personal amusement

 

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[Kung Fu Steve]

For the less than Kung Fu aggressive approach, here's some tips:

GOLD! - MARKETING - 21 Ways To Get More Referrals ~ For Free

A quick search of the forum and I found little advice about how to get more referrals. The closest is some excellent advice from Andy Black in a couple of threads. When I find them again, I'll post them below. Sure, maybe asking for referrals isn’t as awesome as having a killer affiliate...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

But if flipping thru a rolodex still works in 2023 let us know. . (Personally, I didn't think KFS was that old...)