How to Turn Casual Connections Into Clients

Most entrepreneurs and business owners know how to market themselves online to their intended clients. But what about your casual connections? In particular, to the people they know in real life outside of the business environment? If you are not marketing to your casual connections, you are potentially missing out on an untapped pool of clients. In this post, we’re going to look at how you can turn casual connections into clients.

Create two elevator pitches

Chances are, you already have a simple elevator pitch that works great inside your industry. In my case, as a freelance writer, I say that I am a freelance writer who creates blog content for businesses. For someone not familiar with online marketing, they might think I write novels or may have no clue what a blog is to begin with.

This is why you need a second elevator pitch. One that over-simplifies what you do. My second elevator pitch is that I am a freelance writer who writes articles for businesses to publish on their website. From there, if the person I’m talking to owns a business, they may inquire more about how these articles can help them. And thus, I would be on my way to acquiring a new client.

Always carry business cards

Always have your business card ready for the raffle fishbowls!

Whether you’re going to a networking event or to a tennis match, you should always have business cards with you. That way, when you do get to talking about your business, you can hand out your card with more information. You may want to have two versions of your card – one for people who are in-tune with your industry, and one for people outside of it. One with your specific elevator pitch, and one with your simplistic one.

If you market services to small local businesses, always have your business card ready for the raffle fishbowls. While the business is looking to use those cards for their marketing, they might notice what you do and in turn reach out to you for your services. Make sure your elevator pitch for these cards is crafted just for small, local business owners for best results.

Invest in a car door magnet

Anytime you are parked, people will see information about your business.

This one is perfect for offline marketing as a whole, but particularly useful when you are going to casual events where people will pass by your car. Car door magnets should be simple: business name, simple tagline with a few words on what you do, phone number, and website link. You can get four of them for as little as $24 – $48 using services like VistaPrint. This would cover driver and passenger side doors as well as the back of your car, depending on what you drive and the flat space you have.

In reality, this Is a great option for anyone who has a vehicle that is parked within view of other people. Anytime you are parked in front of your home, out shopping, at a public park, or traveling, people will see information about your business. If they happen to be looking for your products or services, they might be inclined to learn more.

With this offline marketing option, you will need to be sure that your website is mobile friendly. People will likely want to look you up on the spot, and that will likely be on their smartphones.

Use a great email signature

Whenever you email someone, you should have an email signature that sums up what you do and why people should go to your website to learn more. A lot of people just include their name, their company name, and maybe their job title. If we’re talking about emails to casual acquaintances, they may not know what your company does or what your job title actually means.

So instead of something like this…

John Smith
Account Representative | My Company
(555) 555-5555

You would want to have something like this…

John Smith
Helping Small Businesses Get Customers
mycompany.com
(555) 555-5555

Now, if your casual acquaintance owns a small business, they will be intrigued at how your company can help them get customers. And with the website link, they’ll be able to do some more research without engaging in a sales call.

Gmail users can go the extra mile and install a tool call Rapportive. This will give them basic information about their email contacts. If you see that your contact is a chiropractor, you can modify your signature to say “Helping Chiropractors Get Customers” and even go so far as to create a simple landing page just for chiropractors like mycompany.com/chiropractors. This will ensure that you get closer to landing a new client from your casual connections.

Using these tactics can help you convert casual connections into clients. Do you have any particular tips on what has worked for your business? If so, please share in the comments!