The search for new students by novice trainers sometimes resembles a real obstacle course. How to reach the right people? How to differentiate yourself from the competition? How to publicize your training catalog and your skills? Digiformag accompanies you in the search for new potential clients to debut in training without any problems.
Step 1 Know your target audience well
The first step of your work is to correctly define the target audience. If you start your business prospecting by targeting the general public, you won’t get very good results.
Instead of acting without rhyme or reason, ask yourself some important questions:
- Who is your training offer aimed at?
- Who might be interested?
- What are the needs and expectations regarding training?
When you have a thorough understanding of your target audience and their behavior, the chances of reaching them effectively increase. In this way, you will only target people potentially interested in your offer and not everyone.
Next, ask yourself about your recipients’ preferences:
- Where do they look for the information?
- What messages are most effective?
- How do you interact with trainers or training organizations?
Step 2 Improve your visibility
Now that you know where to look for your target audience, you need to capture their attention by offering a message tailored to their needs.
In this step of “acquiring notoriety”, several aspects must be taken into account.
2.1 Your website
When we launch a new service offering, it must be available on the Internet. And is there anything better than a dedicated website? This way, you can inform your potential clients about your training offer and appear in search results.
This site should be a source of information about your activity but also highlight those contents that arouse interest in your offer.
To do this, you can create articles, videos, or infographics that allow you to present your training differently.
You can then share these resources on social media to improve your visibility.
2.2 Social networks
Social networks are an essential communication tool for self-employed workers. These are resources that should not be overlooked when searching for your first clients. Bonus: they’re free!
Although this article will talk about LinkedIn, it is worth knowing that other social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, can also be useful.
LinkedIn is THE professional social network par excellence, that is, a gold mine to expand your network of contacts, but also to find future clients. This communication tool allows you to create a digital business card and highlight the training offer.
Through LinkedIn, you can also join professional communities and participate in discussions around training.
Staying active on this platform is another strategy to improve your visibility to colleagues and potential clients.
Also, don’t forget that your presence on social networks and the frequency of your publications will allow you to improve your search engine positioning.
Step 3 Develop a Business Prospecting Plan
Once the first two steps are complete, conduct business network prospecting. The question you need to ask yourself is: how do you go about finding potential clients and building a solid professional network?
3.1 Linkedin
LinkedIn also allows you to search for potential clients, and to maximize your chances of success, here are some best practices:
- Personalize contact requests or private messages with each of your interlocutors.
- Please do not send collective private messages, as this will be considered spam and will harm your business prospects.
3.2 Professional network and personal environment
Another alternative for creating this virtual network is to talk about your new project in your present and past personal and professional environment.
And while this option is often overlooked, it can be very fruitful. Do not forget that the people around you have, in turn, their professional network, so you will make yourself known in a more personal way.
3.3 Coworking
Furthermore, independent trainers cannot rule out the idea of using coworking spaces either. These are places where professionals from different sectors work and numerous potential contacts meet.
3.4 Events and Fairs
Consider the possibility of attending fairs or events dedicated to training to establish a direct link with contacts or potential clients.
Another possibility is to participate in after works or meetings to multiply exchanges through informal conversations that will allow you to expand your network.
And while searching for new clients sometimes seems like a hassle, it is necessary. Our last piece of advice? Don’t try all of these strategies at the same time to avoid becoming exhausted. Some of them, such as the creation of a professional network, must be done in the short term, while others, such as presence on social networks, must be worked on little by little over time and the last ones, such as natural positioning, only give results in the long run. term (at least three to six months are needed for correct positioning, although this term varies depending on the strategies developed).
Therefore, remember to define your target audience, list your possibilities, and select those that can be realized immediately, in the medium and long term.
Finally, do not forget that, in commercial prospecting, quality always prevails over quantity.
