Every business needs clients. Every business starts with no clients. So when you arrive at your office on day one you will need to get clients for your new business.
You sit in your chair, open the phone book and finger scan for clients. Your speech has been perfected by practicing it on your family. They all think it is convincing and when it ends they enthusiastically commit to whatever you are selling. You are confident. You dial the number, clear your throat and wait for the pickup. "Hello can I speak to the person in charge of widgets."  "That's me, how can I help you?"
As you go through your sales spiel, the person on the other side of the line is either thinking whether to hang up, or to stay on the line and pretend to listen. Either way, you are not getting through – they do not care and are not listening. Even if they say at the end of the call that they are interested and that they will call you back, they won't.
New business owners arriving at the scene will face this problem – nobody wants to listen. And rightly so. Who are you? What do you want? Why are you wasting my time?
It's tough being the new guy. All your potential clients think they have everything they need and nothing needs improvement. Your job is to convince them they they have a problem and that you have the solution. But when you try to contact them, all they are thinking is, who are you? They are not listening.
Potential clients will only listen if they know who you are. That is why you cannot just pick up the phone and start to solve their problems.
Here are a few things you need to do before you pick up the phone and try to convince that you've got something better than sliced bread.
Send Them an Introduction Email
The point of this initial email is to introduce yourself generally. Nothing specific. Just a simple, "Hello, I exist," email. In broad and simple terms, mention your company and its key services. Make the email short and to the point – make it easy to skim. The company logo should be clearly visible.
The purpose of this first email is to make your potential client aware of your existence. You want to create a little space in the person's head containing your company name. In the future, when they hear your name, you want that space in their head to light up. You want them to say, "Yes, I have heard of you."
Send A Snail Mail
Snail mail is something that a person can hold in their hand. It is a real physical entity – just like your company. They will receive your snail mail and notice the return address with your company name. A little light will turn on in their head.  A very small erg of curiosity forces the envelope open. And, just like your introductory email, they quickly skim through the brief description of your company. Seconds later, they toss the mail in the waste basket. But the damage is done – the little space in their head with your company name has been expanded.
Send Them Another Email
Now that your potential client knows you exist, write them another email. The purpose of this email is to mention a specific problem that you can solve for them. Mention a problem that they have and how you can solve it for them. Make it brief but detailed. Try to capture their attention with a single issue they are struggling with and you have a solution for. At the end of the email, state that you will be calling them to discuss and answer any questions.
Now You Can Call
Call. Introduce yourself and your company. Start talking about how you can solve their problems.  They will probably not remember where they heard of you before, but neurons of recognition will be firing in their head. You might not make a sale during this call, but they are listening.
Roman Jelinek had his own business and then he sold it. Now he is hoping to start another successful business. Read more about Roman here.
