Let me be a psychic for one second. C’mon, humor me!
YOU have an amazing service that you want to put out there, become well-known for, and book the heck out of.
(Psst. If I was wrong — you might want to skip this post!)
Anyway, even if you are just getting started out and don’t think that you have an amazing service to deliver quite yet, you are already on the right track, and I totally believe in you — one day, you are going to be a service-providing beast.
So, how do you get there?
The road to #beastmode is paved with….clients. Lots and lots of clients!
Being able to book out your services will allow you to do so many things! The more clients you have, the better you get at providing those services. You get feedback, you improve, you systematize, you streamline, you slay.
All the while, your income is accumulating faster than the speed of light and your reputation starts to precede you.
You know what that means? You’ve just created a business! A real, live business. One that allows you the freedom to work from home, support your family, and — best of all — do what you love and what you’re good at!
So now the question becomes….how do I actually get those clients? They’re definitely out there! But how do you go about snagging a bunch of your very own so that you can book out your services? And make sure that the inquiries from new clients keep on coming, every single day! (yup, I said daily leads, ladies!)
Sometimes clients and customers will kind of fall into your lap. But what you need in order to create a four-figure-per-month business is the kind of system (or, even better, a formula) that allows you to easily capture the attention of potential clients who need your help (on the daily!), build relationships with them, and then subtly encourage them to buy.
If you’re hesitant to market yourself, or feel like you’re in a super-crowded niche, this 7-step system I’m going to talk to you about today is going to help you solve all of your business-building problems and easily book out your services.
It’s simple. And it’s not even really “marketing” (because sometimes that’s a scary word, right?). Think of it like this —random people turn into your clients because they go through a series of actions that ultimately lead them to fill out that contact form.
First, they need to know who you are. Then, they need to like who you are. And finally, they need to trust that you’re the right choice for them. You might’ve heard of this before…it’s called the “like, know, trust” factor, and it’s the biggest key to becoming a successful online business owner.
Following these 7 steps will allow you to create a path for potential clients to follow, which eventually leads to them becoming purchasers (and lovers!) of your services. I call this: the path to purchase.
Today, the 7 steps that we’re going to talk about specifically have to do with Facebook groups, because they are (in my opinion) the BEST way to cultivate that “like, know, trust” path. If you want to learn all about how you can use Facebook groups to effortlessly book out your services, check out these other posts:
- How to Conquer Facebook Groups and Attract New Clients
- How to Be Authentic and Snag Clients in Facebook Groups
- How to Get Clients for Your First Business
7 Easy Steps That Will Book Out Your Services
Step #1: Create a Website for Your Services
I actually just saw someone today asking in a Facebook group about whether or not they really needed to have a website as an online service provider.
It’s definitely not necessary. I actually know quite a few ladies who have managed to create 5 or 6-figure businesses without one!
That being said — I have to admit that I absolutely think a website is something you should make a priority. If you’re planning to get serious about running an online business, your website is your home! It’s useful in so many different ways, and I highly recommend that it be one of the first things you work on when you’re just getting started as a service provider.
The biggest reason I think that it’s important is because it builds authority. Clients might ask you for a link to your website. You can dodge this by sending them to a Facebook page or your LinkedIn, but honestly, that is no where near as professional as giving them a legitimate business URL where they can look at all of your information in one simple spot.
And the best part about working to build your authority is that it will all be worth it when we get to the TRUST part of the “like, know, trust” path. Showing that you have authority and legitimacy by owning a website about your business is a big part of gaining the trust of your potential clients!
And once you’ve got the trust, you’re that much closer to being able to book out your services!
Step #2: Create a Facebook Business Page
Although a Facebook business page shouldn’t be a replacement for your website, it’s actually a super useful thing to have! You should 100% have one of these if you are running an online business.
The main reason for this is because one of the easiest ways to get clients is by using Facebook groups. You’re probably already part of a few, right?
When you interact with people in a Facebook group, it’s not kosher to go around popping your URL everywhere. Eew, spammy! So the easiest way for people to find your site is going to be by looking at your Facebook business page.
Just make sure that you list it as one of the first things in your profile, so that you can make sure everyone sees it! Just like we talked about, allowing potential clients to get to know you is the first important step on the path to purchase. Having a website and Facebook business page actively encourages this!
In this example above, you can see that the righthand profile is way more clickable and enticing, while the profile on the lefthand side implies that she is probably not a business owner (even if she is!).
If you want to book out your services, you have to make yourself the obvious choice. If you’re not visible, you’re certainly not obvious!
Step #3: Find and Join Relevant Facebook Groups
To build relationships with potential clients so that they can get to know you, you kind of first have to do step #0.5, which is allow them to find you. Just because you have a website and Facebook business page does not mean that people are going to randomly stumble across them!
You really need to put yourself out there and start enticing people to actually take that step and head over to your page or website.
How do you do this? Join Facebook groups!
Like I mentioned in the previous step, Facebook groups are the best way to find potential clients and start building relationships with them so that you can get them to hire you and ultimately book out your services.
In a previous post, I already listed out for you exactly how to find and join relevant Facebook groups, but let’s talk about some key elements to joining the right groups.
One mistake that a lot of people make is joining groups that cater towards them, not their clients. So, for example, if I am a web designer, I can definitely go ahead and join web design Facebook groups, but that is absolutely not where potential clients are going to be looking for you. People who aren’t web designers aren’t going to be in that group! And most web designers (obviously) don’t need to hire other web designers.
The key here is to think from your client’s perspective. Who do you do web design for? If you cater towards other online service providers, you are in the B2B niche, and will find luck by joining Facebook groups that cater towards your specific group of business owners.
Step #4: Engage and Build Relationships in These Facebook Groups
Once you’ve joined a Facebook group, you need to introduce yourself and get to work! Start answering questions, responding to posts, and interacting with the other members.
There are plenty of ways to do this effectively, which I detail out in-depth in my course Four Figure Facebook Formula, but just make sure that you are not being sleazy! You don’t book out your services by utilizing gross marketing tactics or spamming groups with over-the-time marketing ploys.
The goal is to build relationships and make real connections with people! There are absolutely ways to subtly market yourself while doing this….but if you focus on being helpful and authentic above everything else, don’t worry, the clients will come!
Another tip is to choose a few groups to strongly participate in and try focusing on those for a few weeks. You can join other groups for other reasons, but just for time’s sake, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. Choose 3-5 groups to be consistently active in every single day, and keep up with it!
This step is all about the crucial “like” step on the path to purchase. Focus on being extremely generous, friendly, and show off your unique personality. You’ll start attracting your ideal clients even more when they start to notice how much they actually love you! Let yourself shine and they will pick up on traits that they look for in an ideal service provider.
Step #5: Reach Out and Pitch to Potential Clients
Once you’ve built up a consistent presence in a few Facebook groups and have been working on building relationships, now it’s time to set your eyes on the prize. Keep your eyes peeled for potential clients that are ready to purchase.
When you’re just getting started, try to seek out job openings posted by people who are specifically looking to hire someone now. Every day, people post in groups looking for different types of service providers. Keep abreast of the latest posts in your favorite groups, and make sure you respond immediately to those interested people and let them know why you are the perfect person for them to hire!
Those job postings can get pretty competitive, though. So a key component of your success here will be timing. That is just another reason why keeping your main groups down to 3-5 allows you to be an early bird in those comments!
Make sure that when you pitch yourself to a potential client, you go above and beyond. One of the worst ways to respond to a job posting is “PM me!” As the service provider, it’s really your job to reach out to whoever might be about to hire you. Go the extra mile and send them a PM, message their business page, or even email them! Once you’ve established contact, make sure you detail exactly how you would help them and why you think that you and them would specifically be a good fit.
Step #6: Seal the Deal and Book Out Your Services
Once you’ve started a conversation with someone who is definitely interested in hiring you (or at least has a problem that you know you can solve), this is where you blow them away with the TRUST step.
My advice is always to try as hard as you can to really impress them! Whenever I get in touch with a potential client, I make sure that we hop on Skype together and see if we’re a good fit. During that free call I offer them, I talk specifically about their business and how I think I can help them. I give them my best tips and talk about exactly what I would do to improve their current situation.
Basically try to wow them so that you know that, even if they don’t hire you, they’re still coming away from the call with a super awesome impression of you. That will help establish your reputation in your field, and they might even refer someone else your way!
Obviously the goal, though, is for them to hire you! So do your best to show that you know what you’re talking about and are a leader (or at least a potential leader) in your niche.
As a new service provider, even if you’re not 100% confident in your abilities yet, one of the best things that you can do on this call is to show your enthusiasm and make it obvious that you are excited to learn on the job and can pick things up quickly.
Something that I’ve learned over time is that a lot of people who are looking to hire someone are actually more interested in if you guys vibe well or not, rather than if you are actually super qualified. Qualification is definitely important, but depending on the job, you can often do really well if you are slightly less expensive and have an upbeat professional attitude.
