4 ms·

I can't imagine a better way to promote your services than through word of mouth. Might be worth it to offer discounts/rebates if your customers recommend new l

by admoin 18y ago

I can't imagine a better way to promote your services than through word of mouth. Might be worth it to offer discounts/rebates if your customers recommend new leads.

lux 18y ago
Honestly, if you do a good job, a customer is likely to recommend you anyway. They don't need a monetary incentive to, and I know a few customers of mine that feel that this would cheapen their word of mouth. But if you want to increase the word of mouth going around, then go ahead and ask them directly. Give them a handful of cards and say that if they liked your work you're trying to grow your client base so if they can refer anyone they know please do. As for other things, hard to say. My business operates on people finding us online and by word of mouth. I tried Adwords and other things like that, but it's been a long time since I've bothered with showing up at conventions to hand out business cards or had my sales guy cold call anyone. I never really got the hang of those anyway... I would also say to be careful though. If you're looking to increase your clientele on the consulting side, that can quickly turn into a full-time thing you're left managing, with little time to pursue your startup. And there is a big difference between a consulting business and a startup - one has its revenue directly tied to someone's billable hours and the other creates some sort of recurring revenue stream with the goal of exponential growth.
- admoin 18y ago
  I'd do it on a case by case basis. I think you can probably get a good idea in a lot of cases whether people will recommend you without any incentive.
- goofygrin 18y ago
  -- I would also say to be careful though. If you're looking to increase your clientele on the consulting side, that can quickly turn into a full-time thing you're left managing, with little time to pursue your startup. And there is a big difference between a consulting business and a startup - one has its revenue directly tied to someone's billable hours and the other creates some sort of recurring revenue stream with the goal of exponential growth. This is definitely something that I'm worried about. On the other hand, a decent consulting business (that would be a full time job) gives me enough money to live really comfortably, which has it's benefits! I had a couple interviews a year or so ago at a consulting shop that used to make people "bench" for a couple weeks between clients and work on internal projects for the company. These were either used for sales to clients or spun off into their own company. I kind of liked this model since many times when I go to a company I build the exact same application (there are a couple applications that I've built no less than 3 times -- all basically the same). What's funny is the consulting shop I used to do some work for a couple years ago sold for a valuation that was 2-3x multiple. The startup that I last worked for got a round 1 (were self funded up to there) got a much higher valuation because their dollar cost for each dollar of revenue was much higher and they could lock clients into 2 year contracts. In either case, the owners of each company were all doing quite well financially!

by admoin 18y ago

I can't imagine a better way to promote your services than through word of mouth. Might be worth it to offer discounts/rebates if your customers recommend new leads.

lux 18y ago

Honestly, if you do a good job, a customer is likely to recommend you anyway. They don't need a monetary incentive to, and I know a few customers of mine that feel that this would cheapen their word of mouth. But if you want to increase the word of mouth going around, then go ahead and ask them directly. Give them a handful of cards and say that if they liked your work you're trying to grow your client base so if they can refer anyone they know please do. As for other things, hard to say. My business operates on people finding us online and by word of mouth. I tried Adwords and other things like that, but it's been a long time since I've bothered with showing up at conventions to hand out business cards or had my sales guy cold call anyone. I never really got the hang of those anyway... I would also say to be careful though. If you're looking to increase your clientele on the consulting side, that can quickly turn into a full-time thing you're left managing, with little time to pursue your startup. And there is a big difference between a consulting business and a startup - one has its revenue directly tied to someone's billable hours and the other creates some sort of recurring revenue stream with the goal of exponential growth.

admoin 18y ago
I'd do it on a case by case basis. I think you can probably get a good idea in a lot of cases whether people will recommend you without any incentive.
goofygrin 18y ago
-- I would also say to be careful though. If you're looking to increase your clientele on the consulting side, that can quickly turn into a full-time thing you're left managing, with little time to pursue your startup. And there is a big difference between a consulting business and a startup - one has its revenue directly tied to someone's billable hours and the other creates some sort of recurring revenue stream with the goal of exponential growth. This is definitely something that I'm worried about. On the other hand, a decent consulting business (that would be a full time job) gives me enough money to live really comfortably, which has it's benefits! I had a couple interviews a year or so ago at a consulting shop that used to make people "bench" for a couple weeks between clients and work on internal projects for the company. These were either used for sales to clients or spun off into their own company. I kind of liked this model since many times when I go to a company I build the exact same application (there are a couple applications that I've built no less than 3 times -- all basically the same). What's funny is the consulting shop I used to do some work for a couple years ago sold for a valuation that was 2-3x multiple. The startup that I last worked for got a round 1 (were self funded up to there) got a much higher valuation because their dollar cost for each dollar of revenue was much higher and they could lock clients into 2 year contracts. In either case, the owners of each company were all doing quite well financially!