Lead Gen

5 Tips to Attract + Close Higher Paying Clients

Every agency owner dreams of landing those high-ticket clients who not only value their service but are also a joy to work with. If you’ve launched your agency with hopes of building a sustainable, profitable business, understanding the ins and outs of client attraction is key. Here are 5 tips to help you attract and close higher paying clients!

✅  Level-up Your Website

This is the starting point when clients want to learn more about you.

This one is pretty straightforward. Your website is typically the first place a client will go to learn about your brand and gauge the quality of your services. It should clearly showcase what you do, your body of work (or portfolio), and any past clients you have worked with.

Clearly define the services you provide and who you provide them to and make sure examples of your (best) work are easy to find.

Case studies and testimonials are also great to include because they highlight the results you can deliver (more on the importance of results later). But what about social media? In many cases, smaller agencies don’t have large social followings and may be slower to update new projects and client work to their social accounts. We encourage you to keep your social platforms as updated as possible because it will only help attract clients and showcase your skills, but your website is still the starting point.

Your website is a platform you own (remember: social media is rented land) and is the frontline when it comes to showcasing your work to potential clients.

Your website sets the tone for your relationship with a client.

✅  Create a Killer Capabilities Deck

The valuable leave-behind that get saved and shared.

Capabilities decks are by far the most requested and shareable asset when a client evaluates your agency for potential work. While your website is the frontline, your capabilities deck is the army behind that frontline that wins the battle.

Clients want clarity about your expertise, the types of services you provide, and how your work will deliver them results.

A capabilities deck is typically reviewed in more depth and is shared more frequently than your website, allowing you to showcase your work more deeply and spread awareness about your brand within a client organization and from one client to new potential clients.

QUICK DESIGN TIPS

  • Abbreviate your analytics as much as possible – ex. 157,678 becomes 157
  • Get rid of all of the zeroes – ex. 157,678 becomes 157,000 which becomes 157k
  • Remove unnecessary characters – ex. you don’t need https:// or www. before links

Your capabilities deck should be easily accessible, editable and shareable. Having a well-designed, value-led capabilities deck is critical, especially when it comes to attracting and booking higher-paying clients. It’s a must-have!

If your capabilities deck needs some love, check out our Capabilities Deck ReCraft™ service here.

✅  Highlight Your Competitive Advantage

The icing on the cake that wins you the job.

If your website is the frontline and your capabilities deck is the army, your competitive advantage is the secret weapon that will keep you undefeated! Of course, there are other agencies that do what you do, and they may do it well, but your competitive advantage is what will win over the client every time.

Your competitive advantage should be top of mind whenever a potential client thinks about your agency.

It should be prominently featured on your website and in your brand deck so that the client is fully aware of it and is constantly reminded of it during the decision-making process.

This is something you offer (a benefit or perk) that your competition can’t.

This is important! So spend some time thinking about what this could be and make sure it is front and center in all your materials and client pitches.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE EXAMPLES

  • Discounts, tools or equipment that can lower costs for the client
  • Frameworks or processes that can get the client a solution faster
  • A strong social following or audience to amplify client content
  • Relationships with influencers or PR firms that can secure talent or guaranteed impressions for client initiatives

✅  Track Your Results

The proof in the pudding.

Now it’s time to highlight the fantastic results that your clients can achieve by working with you! You’ve shown them the services you offer, highlighted the benefits that only you can provide, and now you can show them how your past clients have reaped the rewards of both… using actual proof.

This is your opportunity to highlight your successes and the value that you have previously added to past clients.

Often small agencies are so focused on doing the hard work that they overlook the importance of capturing how that work benefits the client. But this is critical to building a magnetic brand that attracts higher-paying clients.

Focus on any records you break, stats that are trending up, out-of-the-norm positive results, and places where you over-delivered or out-performed.

Clients want to understand how they will win by working with you, especially if they are paying premium prices, and there is no better way to show them than with verifiable results. In addition to showcasing these wins, identify what you did (specifically) to make those wins happen so you can connect the dots for the client and tie them back to your value.

RESULTS YOU SHOULD TRACK

  • Conversions to sales
  • Social analytics – Impressions, views, likes, shares and engagement that trend up or high-performing posts or top-performing social content)
  • Press coverage + impressions
  • Positive brand sentiment – Via reviews, comments on social or in-person testimonials

✅  Engage in Always-On Client Outreach

The gift that keeps on giving.

This will keep you top of mind with clients year-round so that even when you aren’t working with them, you are still developing that relationship and bringing them value.

You’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into forming and building your client relationships and it’s important to nurture them as much as possible.

Let’s say you pitch a client and it doesn’t work out, or maybe you delivered on a project, and that project has ended. That is just the beginning of your relationship with that client. How can you add value to that client throughout the calendar year?

Is it alerting them to discounts or new service offerings at times that may be relevant or optimal for them? Or sharing opportunities you come across that could benefit them?

For example, we keep a database of all of of ourr clients and the services they provide. So when we come across opportunities to refer work, we can easily share their details and help them out.

The options are endless, so you may need to spend some time brainstorming what’s best for your agency. But the key is to keep track of every client/potential client you encounter and check back in with them – strategically – when you can offer them something of value.