Strategies: Getting your first customer takes work

— -- It's finally happened. You've taken the big step and decided to go into business for yourself. You're hanging up your shingle and going to be a consultant, open that restaurant, begin a doggie day care center. You've talked to a lawyer, figured your budget, found a great place to work. There's only one thing you're missing: a customer!

In virtually every business, the first customer is the hardest to land. While the Starship Enterprise may go "where no one else has gone before," customers follow where others lead. If you're a consultant, prospects want to know who your other clients have been. If you're a dentist, you're going to get most of your patients from previously satisfied patients. And no one wants to go to a completely empty restaurant.

Whether you're serving consumers or other business, you've got to have a track record for prospective clients or customers to feel comfortable. What a dilemma: you have to have customers to get customers. But how do you get the first customers?

Don't despair; there are a number of tricks to snare that first one.

1. Give your product or service away. Whether you're creating websites or wedding cakes, you can offer your first customer(s) your product or service free.

This isn't as stupid as it sounds. Even if this costs you some money, it's probably cheaper than most other marketing activities.

Giving stuff away free is a popular technique with technology companies. In fact, there's a new book, "FREE" by Chris Anderson explaining why this strategy works. It creates brand awareness, gets customers used to your product or service, develops customer loyalty, and builds word of mouth marketing.

You can later charge these customers or continue to offer some level of free service and other levels of premium/pay services.

Remember, treat your free customers exactly the same way as if they were paying. Draw up a sales document, indicate what you're providing and what direct costs they'll pay (if any), and then specify that you are "waiving" your fee. Use this experience as practice to learn how to deal with paying clients.

2. Offer deep discounts. In the early stages of your business, it's always appropriate to give clients a favorable rate since you're still learning. But to get your very first customers, charge far less than they could get elsewhere. If, for instance, you're opening a hair salon and you'll normally charge $40 for a hair cut, run an "Opening Special" of just $10 for the first week or two. This encourages people to give you a try and helps you build a clientele.

3. Use community and social networking sites. Use these free marketing opportunities to get the word out. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, don't forget Craigslist (www.craigslist.org). You can list your product or service, offer low-cost introductory specials and explain that you're just getting started.

4. Ask your competitors for their excess work. Yes, I said competitors. One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started in business was that I avoided talking to others in my field. I figured they would view me as a threat. It turned out my competitors were a source both of new business and for industry information. If they are very busy or have small clients they can no longer serve profitably, they may be interested in subcontracting or referring work to you.

5. Ask your former employer if you can work for them. If you were downsized, your former employer may be looking for outside contractors to do some or all of the work you did before. Why not see if you can be that contractor? You may not want to work for them forever, but they might be a good first customer.

A final word: Make sure you leverage referrals from those you work for first. After all, you want others to know you actually have customers. So ask your first customers for referrals and a testimonial for you to put on your website. You want others to know that you have satisfied customers and that they won't be your very first.

Rhonda Abrams is president of The Planning Shop, publisher of books for entrepreneurs. Her newest book is Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies. Register for Rhonda's free business tips at www.PlanningShop.com. For an index of her columns, click here. Twitter: twitter.com/RhondaAbrams. Copyright Rhonda Abrams 2009.