Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Tiny
Marketing.
This is Sarah Norrblatt, andthis is a podcast that helps B2B
service businesses do more withless.
Learn lean, actionable, organicmarketing strategies you can
implement today.
No fluff, just powerful growthtactics that work.
Ready to scale smarter, hitthat subscribe button and start
growing your business with TinyMarketing growing your business
(00:28):
with tiny marketing.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey there, and
welcome to another episode of
tiny marketing.
This is episode 121.
I'm Sarah Noelle Block andtoday we're diving into
something I know a lot of youhave been craving, especially
with all this fuckery going onhow to consistently bring in new
clients without relying onsocial media.
We're all a little over socialmedia, so today I'm talking
(00:50):
about how to bring in newclients without it.
Yep, you heard that right.
No doom scrolling, no algorithmstress and no constant content
creation just to stay visible,just to appease the algorithm
gods.
If you've been feeling asburned out as I have about the
(01:10):
endless grind of social mediaand just the propaganda that is
thrown at us regularly, or youjust want more stability and
predictability in your business,you're in the right place.
Today, we're going to explorethree actionable strategies to
keep your client pipeline full,including one of my personal
(01:31):
favorites, which will be a freemasterclass in a couple of weeks
leveraging niche communities.
So grab your coffee, your tea orwhatever fuels your creativity
and let's get into it yourcoffee, your tea or whatever
fuels your creativity, and let'sget into it.
So, number one we're going totalk about the power of direct
(01:55):
referrals.
I do not like relying onreferrals, but I like having it
as something in my back pocket.
So let's start with the breadand butter of most service
businesses, and that's referrals.
So while I don't like relyingon them I know so many of you do
so let's talk about how to doit better.
This is a strategy that works,no matter what industry you're
(02:17):
in or your audience size.
In fact, referrals are oftenthe highest converting leads
because they already trust you.
They were recommended to you bysomeone they trust, so
obviously they're going to trustyou a little bit more.
It's transference the trustthat they felt for the person
(02:37):
who referred you in the firstplace is transferred to you.
It's just psychology, like allthe rest of the things I talk
about on this show.
Here's how you can maximize yourreferral strategy.
So one make it easy to referyou.
You can set up right in Gmail atemplate that can go out to
(02:59):
your clients on a semi-regularbasis.
I like to send it right afterI've wrapped up a successful
project or after they send me amessage saying how what I did
for them impacted their business.
That's a great time to send it,because you're hot on their
mind on the benefits that youprovide from your offer.
(03:20):
Some other easy ways to do itis let's say, you have a
referral link because your offeris maybe it's a course or it's
a program, so you have anaffiliate program with it.
Then anytime they send someonetheir referral link, they get a
little bonus sent directly tothem.
(03:41):
Even something really intimatelike a handwritten note with a
little reminder about yourservices and maybe your referral
program is another great way tomake it easy to refer you.
Number two is to incentivizereferrals.
So offer something valuable inreturn for a referral.
(04:01):
For example, you could giveclients a discount on their next
project if they send a clientyour way, or you can give them a
bonus, free consultationwhenever they send you a new
client.
You can also send themaffiliate income.
I have a contract with a fewstrategic partners where they
(04:22):
get a 10% kickback every time Iclose a client that they send my
way.
It's a little thank you Same.
I appreciate them trusting meenough to send someone that they
care about.
They value their relationshipto me.
And three ask consistently.
So don't just send them onereminder that you have a
(04:44):
referral program or that you'reavailable for referrals.
Send it semi-regularly.
I like to send it after I wrapprojects with them, and then
maybe I'll send a newsletterwith referral opportunities once
a quarter.
I have a mix of my offers, ifI'm going to use myself as an
(05:04):
example.
So I do have some clients withexecution.
So I'm doing one-on-oneexecution for them.
And I have other clients wherethey are part of the tiny
marketing club.
So I do one-to-one strategysessions with them and feedback
sessions with them.
(05:24):
But a good chunk of it iswithin the tiny marketing club,
so they have referral programsthere.
There's individual courses thatthey can send out if they
really liked them, things likethat but do it on a semi-regular
basis.
When you wrap up a project witha happy client, it's a perfect
time.
(05:44):
If you know anyone who couldbenefit from this, I'd love an
introduction so you can make itlow-key like that.
Just ask for introductions.
Think of it like yourconnection calls.
When I'm on a connection callwith someone, it's just a
15-minute conversation wherethey tell me about their
business, I tell them about mybusiness and then we talk about
how we can help each other out.
(06:05):
And it's similar when you'reasking for a referral from
somebody who's already workedwith you.
Hey, I love that.
You loved what I delivered foryou.
Do you know anybody within thesame industry as you that could
benefit from the same offer?
I'd love an introduction.
(06:25):
So just make it part of yourprocess and remember people love
to help, but they need a nudgeand a clear path to do so.
They need reminders that you'reaccepting help.
It's not easy to offer helpwhen you don't know that
someone's going to accept it.
Strategy number two is strategicpartnerships.
(06:48):
So next up, let's talk aboutbuilding those strategic
partnerships.
This is where you collaboratewith complementary businesses or
professionals who share yourtarget audience, but they aren't
direct competitors.
So here's how to do it Identifyyour perfect fit partners.
Think about businesses thatserve the same audience as you
(07:10):
but in a different way.
For example, if you're agraphic designer or a web
developer, a brand consultantcould be a perfect fit for you.
Maybe you like doing thedevelopment part, but you don't
like doing the visual.
Maybe you like doing thedevelopment part but you don't
like doing the visual strategyfor it.
Or maybe you design websites,so a partner would be a good
copywriter, for example.
(07:34):
Reach out with value.
So when approaching potentialpartners, don't just ask for
referrals.
Offer something valuable first.
This could be sharing theirservices with your network, like
with a newsletter swap.
It could be co-hosting aworkshop or creating a joint
offer.
I always recommend to my tinymarketing club members to own a
(07:59):
stage that you can leverage forbusiness development
opportunities like strategicpartnerships.
That's why having a podcast isgreat.
That's why turning your activelead generator into a signature
series is awesome.
That's why having newsletter isgreat, because you have this
stage that you've built, you own, that you can leverage and
(08:22):
invite people in so thosestrategic partnerships are built
organically through valueexchange and then last,
formalize the partnership.
So, once you've established arelationship, consider making it
official with a referralagreement or a shared marketing
(08:42):
plan, like I was talking about.
With the referrals, I have acontract with people who
consistently bring me newclients because I want them to
feel like they're gettingsomething big out of it.
They get a little kickback,they get a bonus for it.
This creates consistency andclarity, ensuring both parties
(09:03):
benefit from the collaborationand clarity ensuring both
parties benefit from thecollaboration.
I have partners where I receivePayPal notifications every
single month because I sent thema client and, in return, I get
a percentage of their monthlyincome from it.
Strategic partnerships canquickly expand your reach and
(09:23):
help you tap into warm audienceswithout spending a dime on ads
or battling that algorithm, andyou're building relationships.
At the end of the day, prettymuch everybody who listens to
the show is in the servicebusiness.
You are either executing aservice you are consulting, so
(09:43):
you're working with a business.
You're a a service you areconsulting, so you're working
with a business.
You're a fractional, and whenit comes to that, it's all about
building relationships.
People aren't going to workwith a service provider unless
they know, like and trust you,and this is a way to do that
without the social mediaalgorithm taking over your life.
(10:08):
All right.
Three, and also the last oneI'm talking about today is niche
communities.
So this is my favorite strategyNiche communities.
Joining and activelyparticipating in the right
communities can be a goldminefor new clients.
(10:30):
I've talked about this in myEveryday Profit Habits
Masterclass.
I've talked about this in a fewof my podcast episodes Hold on,
I'm going to pause this so Ican tell you exactly which ones
I talked about it in.
So I can tell you exactly whichones I talked about it in.
I'm back.
I talked about it in at leastepisode 115 and 116 and in my
(10:50):
Everyday Profit HabitsMasterclass.
So there you go.
I love it.
It's where I find the majorityof my clients, the keys to be
genuinely helpful and present,not salesy.
This is the thing.
So I talk about this sales alot for somebody who hates
(11:12):
selling, but I go with the salesapproach of soft sales, right,
non-sales sales.
I focus on value above anythingelse in relationships and then
they turn into sales.
Consensual sales is somethingthat I've talked about before
(11:35):
too.
I never start the salesconversation.
I am always the one who isapproached with wanting to
convert that conversation into asales conversation.
I want you to feel fullycomfortable with it before we
start talking about that.
I'm never going to assume thatyou want to be a client of mine.
(11:56):
You bring it up, and I thinkthat approach pairs well with
niche communities, because it'sall about building those
relationships, building thatvalue, and as you're telling
people about your offer, they'regoing to naturally say, hey,
I'm interested in that or I'mnot.
Let's talk about something else.
(12:17):
So here are some ways toleverage niche communities
effectively.
First, find the rightcommunities.
Look for spaces where yourideal clients hang out.
This could be industry-specificforums, it could be Slack
channels, it could be localmeetups, it could be online
(12:37):
groups.
Don't forget about virtualsummits and online courses.
They usually have some sort ofactive community attached to
them.
Show up and provide value.
So when you join a community,don't just lurk.
Please don't just lurk.
Share your expertise, answerquestions, provide resources.
(12:59):
For example, if someone isstruggling with email marketing,
you could offer a quick tip ora link to a free resource you've
created, or you could evenoffer a connection call to walk
them through something they'redealing with.
One way I do this is I set upkeyword alerts in all of the
communities I'm part of, so I'monly notified when someone is
(13:22):
asking a question within acategory that I'm an expert, so
I can be the first person toanswer that question for them
and we can start a conversationthat way.
So do not sleep on setting upkeyword specific notifications.
It saves you a ton of time.
All of these communities canget really overwhelming if you
(13:44):
don't have a strategy around it.
Next, position yourself as thego-to expert.
So over time, your helpfulnesswill naturally build trust.
People will start thinking ofyou as the go-to person in that
area of expertise and when theyneed help, guess who they're
going to reach out to guess whothey're going to tag.
When someone asks a questionwithin your category, it's going
(14:05):
to reach out to guess whothey're going to tag.
When someone asks a questionwithin your category, it's going
to be you.
Then use soft calls to actionwhen appropriate.
Invite people to connectoutside of the group.
For instance, you might say ifyou want a deeper dive on this
topic, feel free to DM me orcheck out this resource or use
(14:26):
my scheduling link and we canhave a quick chat.
Niche communities are powerfulbecause they're filled with
engaged, like-minded individualswho are likely in need of your
offer.
It is being the big fish a tinypond.
I love that strategy.
If you're interested, you cango down to the show notes page
(14:49):
and go to the link for theanti-social media approach to
generating hot leads so you canlearn all about my strategies
and systems for nichecommunities.
It is powerful and it is how Imade the majority of my income
last year, which also happenedto be my highest income year in
the last five years.
So yes, it works.
(15:10):
So there you have it Threeproven strategies to
consistently get new clientswithout relying on social media.
By focusing on referrals,strategic partnerships and niche
communities.
You can build a steady streamof leads without the endless
scrolling, the algorithm allthat that goes along with social
(15:33):
media.
If you're ready to take action,I challenge you to pick one of
these strategies and implementit today.
Fine this week, fine this month.
Take one of these strategiesand implement it this month.
Start small, whether that'ssending a referral request,
reaching out to a potentialpartner or joining a new
(15:56):
community.
Progress beats perfection everysingle time, and if you found
this episode helpful, I'd loveto hear about it.
Leave a review, send me a DM.
I spend my time on LinkedIn,which is funny to talk about
since I'm all about limiting mysocial media access, but
LinkedIn is one that stayed.
(16:16):
Or share this with someone whocould use this tip.
Until next time, keep buildingyour tiny but mighty marketing
empire, and thanks for listeningto Tiny Marketing.
I will see you next week.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Goodbye you love all
things tiny marketing.
Head down to the show notespage and sign up for the wait
list to join the Tiny MarketingClub, where you get to work
one-on-one with me withtrainings, feedback and pop-up
coaching that will help youscale your marketing as a B2B
(16:52):
service business.
So I'll see you over in theclub.