The following guest post addresses an important need for every small business owner – how to get more clients. The right mix of marketing and getting your story in the newspaper through public relations are great ways to get customers. But there are other factors involved in business development, as described below.

Are you trying to find new ideas for how to get clients to pick up the phone and call you? These are my 5 favorite strategies for attracting clients.

1. Cultivate partnerships: Business is hard when you’re on your own. It’s best to have a network of other businesses and associates with whom you can collaborate, cross promote, and share referrals.

2. Establish your authority with a newsletter: Creating a regular publication, whether on paper or online, gives you a chance to consistently reach out to clients while also showing off your knowledge and expertise.

3. Focus on your clients, not yourself: Let’s face it. This is business. As great as you are, your clients are more interested in what you can do for them than in who you are. So focus on how your business can serve them. Your job is to take an interest in your clients.

4. Listen to people: The secret to getting people to take you seriously is to listen to them. When people feel like you’re actively listening to their concerns, they’re much more likely to give you their business.

5. Incite action: In all of your marketing materials, seminars, newsletters, and so on, clearly define the things that your clients can and should be doing. Sometimes people are ready to act, but they just need that little extra nudge. Always create a clear call to action.

Editor’s Note: Small Business Coach and Marketing Strategist, Jennifer Davey, is the author of the Getting Clients Home Study Program, the step-by-step guide to getting clients, building your business and making more income.

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