How do you get new clients

S

sadude

Active member
I was just wondering if any of you have a way of going out there and finding new clients. I am not talking about word of mouth cause that just is impossible to get right. Im talking about actually marketing your company in a clever way.

I am doing allot of free work. If there is an event happening then i would contact the event co ordinators and tell them i want to film the event they then give me there email and dates and times etc. then when i film the event i load it onto youtube and send them the link. the idea is that they will hopefully remember me and maybe next time they will want to pay for such a thing.
 
Once you've done it for free for a "client," why would they want to pay? You're backing yourself into a corner that way.

Start advertising. Rather than waiting to hear that an event is coming up (what kinds of "events" are we talking about, anyway?), put together a demo reel (3-5 minutes tops) and put it on Vimeo and on DVD. Embed the Vimeo player on your website. Send DVD copies out with a business card and maybe a letter or brochure. Get coverage... make sure the PR packet goes to several event sites.

And start charging. If you're going to do this professionally, you need to get away from the freebies. Folks will take you seriously if you charge... not so much if you're giving your services away.
 
Not charging is a mixed bag. On the one hand I can draw a line from nearly every paying client I currently have to work I did for free. So, I wouldn't have half of my clients without doing free work first. But that takes time. It also depends on your skill set. Back then I still had a lot to learn about the whole process of communicating with a client, understanding their need and delivering a quality end product.

But maybe I am the wrong guy to talk to, since you don't really believe in word of mouth. I got every single one of my clients from word of mouth. I have never advertised with the exception of having a website to send people to and a business card to hand out. I found a niche in the educational and non-profit sector and that keeps me busy. Plus I trade work with other guys I trust. Sometimes I hire them and sometimes they hire me.
 
I did a bit of mail marketing and the next day I had one asociation call me to film an event.....other than that word of mouth....
 
"the whole process of communicating with a client, understanding their need and delivering a quality end product. "


It doesn't matter how great you are, if you have bad communicating, don't take the time to understanding your clients needs and the last the final delivery. I completely agree with Jim here, this has brought me even more work in return "word of mouth".

However it also depends on where you live. I advertise and sometimes I get bites and most of the time now.... not much of anything. Again I live in Naples, FL and the business here has kind of dried up. Comcast and their little over night production company really killed us here, doing commercials for lest than $500. Yea I know....:kali:


Since our PR moved, we/I've had to learn this side of the business. It has it's challenges just like learning film/video.

Another idea good idea is start making proposal packets and picking your targets.

Good luck
 
right now im doing a docci and i am paying all the way. But it does seem to be opening up doors elsewhere, because the people i work with sometimes give me small projects to work on.
I know word of mouth works but i think my people skills are a bit rusty. At this stage nobody i work with presently has come to me from word of mouth every single one has been through me pushing really hard. Allot of free work and even with the free work i will be very accomodating even making changes for them in the edit and that type of thing. I have a website ang google swore blind to me that if i can get my website the number 1 hit for "television company" then i would get atleist 2000 quiries a month. And i did this and now my website is number 1 in my country for that search and i think it's number 6 in the world (but that does not help)

i even started a blog to write abot whats happening in my area in terms of events and stuff.
I like the mailing idea, not too sure how that would work though
 
I am going to have to agree with Jim 100% here.

As to the rusty people skills, clean them up. As a business owner, your job is to interact with clients on the business level, as well as the technical level. If they cannot talk with you and be comfortable discussing the project with you, find someone that can do that, and pay them for it. A business is successful or a failure on that alone.

What I learned a long time ago, yeah I am that old, is look at what you have done, what you know, and what you have experienced, before entering into a meeting with a client. They want your knowledge, experience and professionalism, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered talking to you. Be confident, but not cocky. And listen to what they are wanting. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't "tech-talk" them, unless they are tech-savvy. Take notes during the conversation.

Web hits alone only bring the business to the door. Once they are at the door, you have to "bring them home". And if you cannot talk/relate business with them in a comfortable way, no amount of money thrown at Google or advertising will help. For my line of business, word of mouth works. The last thing I want to do is advertise my services to the general public.
 
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Whatever it takes...

rockyhorror_paulmoore_din2003%20(46)_alanmitchell.jpg
 
Pookie said:
Whatever it takes...

rockyhorror_paulmoore_din2003%20(46)_alanmitchell.jpg
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Did that work? lol

I think the problem i have here with clients or prospective clients is that they just cannot understand why they need a video to help them sell their product or even just promote their business. And to be honest sometimes i cant see why they would need a video either.

yet there are some clients that are so video positive that they end up phoning me and telling me what they will require. I think the industry here is just not video aware, if i could say that. So that is why i have to do allot of push marketing where i go out and do stuff for them for free just to show them how they can use video. Everyone knows what an advert is and everyone knows what youtube is, but if i go to them and say im a television company their eyes go squint and their is an awkward silence that follows.
 
Maybe it's me, but the crux of the problem, based on this last post, I see is that you are claiming to be a TV company. Youtube and TV are not the same. Now if you can turn on a television set and see your channel/work, that would be different.

People have a real keen BS meter. I understand if that is your ultimate goal: to have a TV station. Good goal. But are you there now? If not, telling people you are one, or using that as a selling point does not help you. Having it in your business name leads to certain expectations. "So what have you done that has been aired on TV?" If you cannot give/show examples of your footage on TV, you just undermined any inroads you had.

Think of it this way: I start a website "Ask-a-competent-doctor.com" On first look, would you assume that there are doctors involved in this venture? Then you find out there are no doctors involved. How do you feel about that? False advertising?

Honesty and integrity are high points in any business relationship. Be honest. If you don't have a TV station or footage aired on TV, then you cannot say you are a TV company/station/channel. I suspect that is the cause of the "eye squints". If you have had footage aired on TV, tell people that. Remember, impressions are only as good as they last and the truth is revealed.
 
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Doc Bernard said:
"So what have you done that has been aired on TV?" If you cannot give/show examples of your footage on TV, you just undermined any inroads you had.
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sadude, I'm a bit confused. On your website you have footage from Mythbusters that your seemed to "drop in" your own 3D animation. Or am I totally confused by the description and your animation was part of the show?

If my assumption is correct, that is very misleading to the public/potential clients. I'm not one of those morality police type guys, but still.....
 
Deepfocus88 said:
sadude, I'm a bit confused. On your website you have footage from Mythbusters that your seemed to "drop in" your own 3D animation. Or am I totally confused by the description and your animation was part of the show?

If my assumption is correct, that is very misleading to the public/potential clients. I'm not one of those morality police type guys, but still.....
Click to expand...

i did that as part of my portfolio, i said on the website that "
A Video We made to show how our animation can be incorporated into television programmes"

why is that misleading? what must i do write on there. if you watched the show you would see that they do not use animation. they have a blue board and 2d drawings appear on the board.

Doc Bernard said:
Maybe it's me, but the crux of the problem, based on this last post, I see is that you are claiming to be a TV company. Youtube and TV are not the same. Now if you can turn on a television set and see your channel/work, that would be different
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it's not that im claiming to be a television company with a television channel. no where on my website does it say we have a television channel.
 
Sorry, I was confused by "tv" in both your website name and Youtube channel name. BTW, what your business's name? It wouldn't have "TV" in it would it? (Just looked at your site. Uh, dude, the word "television" is splashed in color all over your site.) Do you expect potential clients to see that and discern you aren't a TV company? Show me where it says "We are not a television company."

That would be exactly the "confusion" I am talking about wanting to avoid. If you haven't done TV or have a track record of footage on TV, it sounds misleading.

You have already been advertising as a business in TV. Not by you saying it directly to clients, but in just your website/youtube names and what your site promises visually. That already sets you up as such. And when potential clients find out otherwise........squints. The "Cheesecake Factory" sells cheesecake not cars, "Furniture Liquidators" sells furniture not cheesecake. It says what they do in their name. There is a lot of advertising in a name. But don't do what your business says you do, people feel cheated and that you have wasted their time. You are a Production Company, true, just not a TV one.

Everything your site says is saying "TV". So to be taken seriously, you need to be able to deliver "TV", or get a reputation for not backing up what you promise. Otherwise consider a name change for the business/website/youtube channel name.

And using someone else's footage (Mythbusters) for your advertising reel is just plain tacky. Professionals don't "borrow" copyrighted material like that, its dishonest, and you didn't make the video, you used someone else's property without permission and inserted some of your stuff then re-rendered it. Shoot something original, then insert your animation into that. That would really show what you can do.

So in answer to your original question, and forgive my being brutally honest here, I can see exactly why you are having problems getting clients. Right now, I don't think I would hire your services, either.
 
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Doc Bernard said:
So in answer to your original question, and forgive my being brutally honest here, I can see exactly why you are having problems getting clients. Right now, I don't think I would hire your services, either.
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Are you for real? If i have said something that has offended you then my bad. It's a short portfolio video, i really do not believe it's misleading and i do not see why i must write on my website that we are not a television channel. That sounds ridiculous. No i don't have a tv station. But i do have a television does that count??:happy:

Doc Bernard said:
Just looked at your site.
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thank you for looking at my site.
 
Doc Bernard said:
Sorry, I was confused by "tv" in both your website name and Youtube channel name. BTW, what your business's name? It wouldn't have "TV" in it would it? (Just looked at your site. Uh, dude, the word "television" is splashed in color all over your site.) Do you expect potential clients to see that and discern you aren't a TV company? Show me where it says "We are not a television company."

That would be exactly the "confusion" I am talking about wanting to avoid. If you haven't done TV or have a track record of footage on TV, it sounds misleading.

You have already been advertising as a business in TV. Not by you saying it directly to clients, but in just your website/youtube names and what your site promises visually. That already sets you up as such. And when potential clients find out otherwise........squints. The "Cheesecake Factory" sells cheesecake not cars, "Furniture Liquidators" sells furniture not cheesecake. It says what they do in their name. There is a lot of advertising in a name. But don't do what your business says you do, people feel cheated and that you have wasted their time. You are a Production Company, true, just not a TV one.

Everything your site says is saying "TV". So to be taken seriously, you need to be able to deliver "TV", or get a reputation for not backing up what you promise. Otherwise consider a name change for the business/website/youtube channel name.

And using someone else's footage (Mythbusters) for your advertising reel is just plain tacky. Professionals don't "borrow" copyrighted material like that, its dishonest, and you didn't make the video, you used someone else's property without permission and inserted some of your stuff then re-rendered it. Shoot something original, then insert your animation into that. That would really show what you can do.

So in answer to your original question, and forgive my being brutally honest here, I can see exactly why you are having problems getting clients. Right now, I don't think I would hire your services, either.
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Dude you actually might be right. Ive just checked the google search keywords and it will actually be better for me if i change the word "television" to "video production" Through out, it gets more traffick and i think it actually reflects better what i am doing. Although i have had some programs that i have worked on through my company aired on television.

You have actually given me more insight into my site than most others i have asked. If you could have another look at the site and just let me know what you think that would be so great. Ive even got a blog there that i use to focus on events happening in my area and events that my clients are involved with what do you think about that?

I can't change my name though thats too much a big change to have to do
 
sadude said:
I was just wondering if any of you have a way of going out there and finding new clients. I am not talking about word of mouth cause that just is impossible to get right. Im talking about actually marketing your company in a clever way.

I am doing allot of free work. If there is an event happening then i would contact the event co ordinators and tell them i want to film the event they then give me there email and dates and times etc. then when i film the event i load it onto youtube and send them the link. the idea is that they will hopefully remember me and maybe next time they will want to pay for such a thing.
Click to expand...

Why don't you tell the event coordinators that you'll shoot the event if they're interested and then talk price. Don't assume they won't pay and don't let them know you'll do it for free.
 
Deepfocus88 said:
sadude, I'm a bit confused. On your website you have footage from Mythbusters that your seemed to "drop in" your own 3D animation. Or am I totally confused by the description and your animation was part of the show?

If my assumption is correct, that is very misleading to the public/potential clients. I'm not one of those morality police type guys, but still.....
Click to expand...
Yip it was cool for a while but now i see your point. I took it down maybe il put something else up there
 
blando3 said:
Why don't you tell the event coordinators that you'll shoot the event if they're interested and then talk price. Don't assume they won't pay and don't let them know you'll do it for free.
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yes but, what must i do with the footage afterwards. How will they know what they are getting? Or are you saying that i must just approach them when i hear they are running an event and offer to film it for a fee? THe problem with that is they can't visualize the end result and what they will use it for. I thought about putting it up on youtube afterwards with some kind of logo on it that they can buy the program from me and get a version without the logo. But i was not to sure if that would work.
 
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