HOW TO GET HIRED ONLINE IN 5 EASY STEPS
Written By Christopher Boise
Many business owners these days provide their services online, or at least utilize the internet to grow their business. Whether it is through pay-sites for leads or through their business’s website, a smart business owner will utilize today’s tech to expand their clientele. Some business owners prefer the “old school” ways of phone calls and “word of mouth”. While those tactics may have worked 20 years ago, today’s business owner quickly makes the shift to providing what they can online.
You may be one of those business owners who is wanting to make that transition online but aren’t sure how. Below are 5 easy steps to help get you hired online:
1) Use Lead Generation Sites: One easy and great way to get more clients is by signing up on a lead generation sites. There are a lot of sites out there (Angie’s List, Thumbtack and etc) who provide you the tools to have customers come to you. Like most service sites these days, you may have to pay to use it. A common and in my opinion situation that happens WAY too much with business owner’s doing this step is signing up and not taking the time to fine tune your profile.
In my 6 plus years of helping over 10,000 business owners get clients and grow their business, one of the biggest complaints was “Why is no one contacting me?”. The funny thing was 9 times out of 10 it was always the same situation….. a blank profile. If you are going to take time and money to invest in using a lead site to grow your business is ALWAYS and I do want to again emphasize this, ALWAYS completely set up your profile before reaching out to customers.
The most unprofessional thing you can do on a lead site where customers view your profile before deciding to hire you is by not having anything to show them why you are the best person for the job. There are many times I would speak to a business owner on the phone for them to tell me “I am the best in my field. Why would someone hire a Joe-Smo who has barely any experience?”. The first thing I would do is look at their profile then a competitors. The thing I came back with every single time was that the “Joe-Smo” took the time to fill out their profile. That “Joe-Smo” can actually back up why they are the best in their field.
A customer is going to look at your profile and within 1–3 minutes decide if you are the right choice or not. So I compel you to take the time to completely fill out your profile. A customer will look at a business owner’s profile on these sites as if they were a resume. With a blank resume you might as well go into an interview with a piece of paper that says “Please hire me” and expect to get hired. Take the time, trust me it pays off.
2) Check Out Your Competition: Some people may think that looking up your competition online may be a “sleazy” move but honestly it’s a great tactic. Look at your competitors online website or business profile as if you were a customer. If you were a customer why would you hire them? Why wouldn’t you? Make a list of both these things and implement your own personal flare to your new business website or online portfolio. Putting yourself in the customer’s shoes will give you a prospective edge on how to really draw in your potential clients, mainly because you are speaking to them on their level.
3) Create a Social Media Presence: Not only is having an online presence important and helpful for your chances to be hired, but having a social media presence is a great way to increase your chances. Social media is an effective way to show your potential clients what you can offer in a variety of ways. You can show your clients how your business works on a day to day basis, but also how your business provides services to your current clients. Another great aspect of this is your clients sharing their experiences of hiring you to other people curious about hiring you.
Be sure not to limit yourself to just one social media page. You want to make sure that you are catering to every type of online presence. No matter what service you can provide, having multiple ways to show off your value as a business owner will land you more opportunities. Create an Instagram, Facebook group page and Twitter page as your starter social media pages. Once you start these pages, be sure to stay consistent with your posting. Just like a online business profile on a lead generation site, you want to have everything filled out completely. Don’t miss out filling out everything you can and providing links to your other social media pages so they can follow you on multiple platforms. There will be a time of course where you may need to hire someone to run these pages for you, which is a great way to give someone an opportunity to really provide the attention to keeping those social media pages thriving.
One thing to take from social media pages is the many ways that customers can advertise for you. Customers can share your posts, tag you in photos and also add their side of how much they enjoyed hiring you. A great tip for this is create a hashtag for your service and encourage customers to tag you on social media with it. This is a helpful way to track the success of your presence on your social media pages and have customers spread the word for you.
There are quite a few business owners I have pitched this to over the years who have seen success on this. Sure, they were hesitant at first, but what business owner isn’t when it comes to trying something new. The business owners who were successful always gave me feedback about how they would see more followers and more contacts just by having a few people share their posts or use their hashtag. I would hear things like “I got 8 more clients just from a single post” or “I am doing posts every day just to keep the customers coming to me”. So much money has been spent on advertising in the business world. Granted some advertising is successful, yes but why fork out money when you could easily get success for free?
It doesn’t matter what service you provide, there is always a way to showcase your service via social media. I have worked with many types of people who provide services that are so much different from what someone would normally showcase online. I don’t care if you are an accountant, DJ, tutor or personal trainer, you have so much to show those clients your worth and value. Making a client feel comfortable and confident in you before they hire you is going to create a customer who will want to hire you again and again.
4) Make an Intro Video: This is one of those things I have initially got so much push back from business owners at first and even more thanks after they do it. An intro video is a 2–3 minute video where you are introducing yourself to a potential client, providing information on what you offer and why choosing you is in their best interest. Think of it like a video resume that works like your elevator pitch to your potential client. Once of the biggest reasons I have suggested this to every business owner I’ve spoken to is that not many people think to do this. It is also something that helps give them an edge against their competition. It also helps the potential customer decide faster why they should hire you over someone else.
5) Get Testimonials & Reviews: My last piece of advice for you is a lot easier to do than you think. Getting reviews from past clients on whatever online platform you use is going to be way beneficial than not having them. The standard I suggest would be 5–10 reviews. This is another one I have gotten push back from business owners at first when I suggest it. They always feel that this is “bothering a client” or “something they wouldn’t be willing to do for their business”.
The thing about those concerns is none of them are true. I have always found when talking to a past customer of a business owner is that they are happy to do it. If they enjoy your service and what you have done for them, they have been telling people why you are great and referring you to family or friends already. Why would putting that in writing be too much for them? This is also true with a client that has gotten repeat business from you.
The best way to approach this is simply asking. Let them know that you are looking to grow your business online and would love to share their experiences with people who may be interested in hiring your. Having these testimonials/reviews are gold to someone who is looking to invest their time and money into anything. Think of shopping on Amazon. If you are interested in the product one of the first things you are likely to do is check out the reviews and what people are saying. Having those solid 5–10 reviews will be much better than having 1 or even none. They are going to drive more success because if a potential client sees people love working with you, they are going to feel they will have the same experience.
These tips will take time but the overall success you will receive will be worth it. With anything in life you get out of it what you put into it. Many successful business owners will tell you that owning a business is hard work, but rewarding. Success is a drive that sees results when you get behind the wheel and take charge. So, work hard, apply these steps and add your own flare to them. I guarantee potential clients will.