If you have tried Internet Marketing or affiliation, becoming a digital marketing consultant has probably crossed your mind at some point – because, why not? There is a huge demand for the service, and compared to other methods of making money online, digital marketing is easy.
Or is it?
Before you get too carried away with this idea, there are a few things to keep in mind. In this guide, I’ll break down 4 key points to always remember as a digital marketer.
You Will Always Lose Clients
Today, there are thousands of web consultancy firms around. Inside the whole mix, there are also a lot of individual consultants and bullshit artists. This means plenty of competition and plenty of choice for companies interested in using consultancy services.
Ultimately, what all of this competition means is that you will lose a fair amount of your clients to someone else. And that’s okay. It’s just the name of the game. But you can slow down the rate of losing clients by over 50% by simply being better prepared.
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The first thing to do as a digital marketing consultant is to set your client straight about what you are going to do to help their business. Don’t go down the path of the bullshit marketing consultant – forever promising more than they can deliver.
Instead, schedule a 5-minute weekly call with all of your clients. Keep them informed of what you have done for that week. Follow that up with a monthly report showing how you have increased their productivity and sales. This way, not only do you improve the mutual trust between you and your clients, but you also open yourself to more positive referrals.
Your Client is Not Always Right
Before starting your new career as a digital marketing consultant, you need to ask yourself,
“How much crap am I prepared to take?”. Personally, I tend to steer away from extremely ‘extravagant’ clients – I don’t need you to put me on a $50,000 monthly salary to run your digital campaigns. It just doesn’t make sense.
The last thing I want is 5 clients down my throat because I didn’t fulfill their unreasonable expectations. And don’t get me wrong. I’m not afraid of hard work. But believe me when I tell you that managing just 2 websites properly is more work than most people can handle.
You might have a different opinion about this, and be willing and able to commit yourself to 18 hours a day. But for me, I prefer to keep my social life first. But remember your client is
“NOT YOUR BOSS”. Even though they like to think they are. Just because someone agreed to pay you a consultancy fee doesn’t mean that you have to become their doormat.
Show Your Clients Why You Are Worth The Money
Every once in a while, you are going to get a bitching client – you know, the type that believes that they can do your job better than you. In most cases, the person moaning the loudest is also usually the tightwad. They are probably going to be in your face insisting that you give them a discount for everything.
Whenever you find yourself in this situation (and you will), you have to be strong. Assuming that you have done your job properly, you can easily put them in their place by simply showing them their return on investment thanks to your good marketing skills.
By doing this, not only will they think twice about giving you the boot, but there is more than a good chance that the tightwad will refer new clients to your business. Let your work speak for you.
Never Undersell Yourself To Potential Clients
It might seem like a good idea to charge less than your competition, but this strategy is not always the best solution.
Sure, lowering your prices will probably get you more clients. But are they the type of people you want to do business with? You will be dealing with low-end clients that have limited budgets. And as I told you earlier, these are always the biggest moaners.
High-end clients have deeper pockets. They understand the principle of speculating to accumulate. So they pay more and moan less. In the beginning, you will probably have to rely on the lower end clients to pay the bills. But attracting the larger paying client as quickly as possible should be your main focus.
Being a digital marketing consultant is not an easy way to make money. It takes a lot of hard work and effort to land your first good client. But the key to hacking your way into success is careful planning. Build your client base slowly and steadily. Never ever promise more than you can deliver. And always learn from your mistakes.
All the best!