Go Where the Clients Are

This past week, I attended a conference for entrepreneurs. Like many, if not most, people, I’m not a fan of traditional networking. I don’t like going up to groups of people who are already chatting, and I find it awkward to move on to new conversations.

But…

Literally, every time I told someone that I am a copywriter, they asked for my business card. Every single time.

Here’s something we forget: People want skilled copywriters but, for the most part, they don’t know where to find them.

So, when you show up right in front of them and present yourself as a friendly, easy-to-work-with, and skilled copywriter, you immediately become their solution.

Yes, it’s much easier and far less “scary” to compile a list of potential clients and send out your prospecting emails to them.

(And that’s still good—keep doing that!)

But it can be far more efficient and vastly easier to do one simple thing:

Go where the clients are.

Find meetings and events where business owners gather and go to them.

A $200 ticket to an event would be more than worth it if you land $2000 or $10,000 worth of work, don’t you think?

And here’s the thing about networking—which, admittedly, I always forget until I have to do it again: There’s an easy formula.

Step 1 (Perhaps the hardest) Spot two or more people who are already talking and walk up to them

Step 2 Say something along the lines of “Hi there! Do you mind if I join the conversation?” Generally, people will be happy to have you join. If not, screw ‘em—they’re not nice people and you don’t want their business anyway.

Step 3 Ask them what they do. Then ask them if they like it. If other natural questions don’t pop into your head, ask them how they got into it.

Step 4 When people ask them what you do, say “I’m a copywriter. I work with a lot of [describe people at this event] to [describe a desired end result.” For example, if you were at a conference with a bunch of entrepreneurs, you could say: “I’m a copywriter. I work with a lot of entrepreneurs to create high-converting copy that helps them quickly build their businesses and revenue.

Step 5 When they ask for your business card, give it to them—and then ask for theirs

Step 6 Rinse and repeat

Going in with a plan makes networking infinitely easier.

And going into a group that you already know is more likely to need your services makes landing new clients infinitely easier.

Take a deep breath, screw up your courage, and go where the clients are. It could single-handedly make the biggest difference in your business you’ve ever seen.

Your turn! What event/conference/meeting are you going to attend? Let us know in the comments below!