3 Quick tips for finding new clients

Are you a new doula without a large budget and want to get new clients?

Three easy ways to get new clients in your birth business are networking, providing informational chats or classes, and providing information and answers on social media.

Let's take each of these three and break them down.

Networking

Networking with other small business owners is the best way to reach new clients. Having a team of people working to support and promote you and your business is much quicker and easier than doing it all on your own.

Networking is developing authentic relationships with other business owners to increase your business and the business of others.  Networking should be a balanced activity by helping people as much, if not more, than you get help with your business.

The goal of networking isn't to find a client in the networking group, but to build connections in your community and build a know, like, trust factor with other business owners.

Benefits of networking:
-Learn how to speak effectively about what you do
-Get to know other business owners in your area to build your referral network
-Collaborate and make connections
-Learn about valuable opportunities in your area

Networking can be done informally by reaching out to other business professionals in your area or formally by joining a networking group.

Informal networking can be free to very low cost and done in person or virtually. You'll spent time getting to know each other's business, discovering ways you may be able to collaborate, share information with each other, have someone to mastermind, and celebrate wins. Sometimes informal networking can be quick and sometimes it can develop into long lasting partnerships.

Informal networking tip: While reaching out to others who serve pregnant people is beneficial, don't just limit your networking to them. Reach out to other local business owners as well.  Nearly every business serves pregnant people from the local cleaner to financial planners. 

Formal networking can be joining an established networking group either in person or online.  Meetings may be held weekly to monthly. Every networking group is different, so find out the values, rules, and pricing for each group to make sure it's a good fit for you. Groups can be free to over $500 per month.  Even paid groups usually offer a free or low cost opportunity to check out the group to see if it's a good fit for you.

Usually there is time to mingle and get to know others in the group, a chance to share what you do with the group, usually called a "30 second commercial", and a business presentation of some kind.  

Some groups offer sponsorship opportunities to share more about what you do with the group or speaking engagements. 

With any networking, the more active you are in the group and the more energy you put into the group, the more results you will see.

​You can search for networking groups on social media (especially facebook), on meetup.com and eventbrite.com.

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Giving Informational Talks/Classes

Informational talks are short discussions about topics your potential clients may want to learn. Talks can be done either online with platforms like Zoom, as a "live" on social media, or in person.

An informational talk on Zoom or in person is, on average, from 30 minutes to an hour with time for questions. If using a live feature on social media they can be very short: between 5-15 minutes in length.  Doing both types of talks can increase your reach and have more people see you and get to know your business.

Talks can be free or have a small fee. 

The key to informational talks is to offer them consistently. Each event does not need to have new information, but also get into the habit of changing topics, so it doesn't get old. Watch what potential clients post on social media for topic ideas or join my Facebook group Deb Pocica-Mentoring and Training for Doulas for more information.

Promote your talks on social media and during networking.  Consider paid advertising carefully. Paid advertising can be very beneficial if done well.

Do not get discouraged if you have no attendees at first. Keep offering talks regularly while promoting them to build the know, like, trust factor. When people get to know your business, the more they will attend and share your event.

Thinking big tip: These talks can be a regularly occurring series that can be held at local venues and in collaboration with other business owners. They can also be a start for your own pregnancy/postpartum group.

Offering Information on Social Media

This topic is huge, so we will just cover some basics!
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We'll break it down into the two basic categories of sharing information online:

• your pages, profiles, groups
• other peoples' pages and groups

When you are brand new and have not established your own presence or community, you can start by offering free information on other peoples' pages and groups.

At the same time, start building your own professional presence online.
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You are able to post on your own pages, profiles, and groups at any point (as long as you are in compliance with the platform).

People often come to social media to as questions about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.  You can answer these questions and provide valuable information. 

Tip: Publicly provide information rather than going to private messages to do so. You want everyone to see how you answer questions and the value that you can provide.

Be careful when you provide information in other people's groups. Nearly all groups have guidelines and rules for sharing information. Search these out, so that you use the groups appropriately and your posts do not get removed. Also, notice if the group is owned or ran by other birth workers. It isn't wise to try to promote your own business on another birth workers page unless permission has been given.

Look for groups to join that are for your potential customers. Joining other doula business groups is valuable, but not for finding potential clients outside of networking opportunities. Look for groups that are about "parents in (your city or location)".

When people ask question about pregnancy, birth, postpartum, or parenting, you can answer the questions. This is the time to be of service to others. The more you can provide information, the more valuable you become in the group and in your business. Make sure your personal profile has information on where to find your business information. This can even be done when your personal profile is set to private.   Spend more time answering questions and sharing information and less time promoting yourself. General guidelines say spend 80% of time providing information and 20% of time on promotion. Read more about the 80/20 rule here.

You can create informational posts and graphics to share on others' pages and groups if that is allowed. There may also be "promotion days" for posting.

Combining the different methods for the biggest and quickest results

When you combine networking, offering informational talks, and offering answers online, you be able to make yourself known as a professional in the area and build the know, like, trust factor which encourages people to hire you.

Each of these actions make the other stronger.

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Takeaways: 
Be helpful first
Make sure people can find your business
Be consistent in your actions
The more you put into each suggestion, the more you'll get out of it.

Check out the Social Media Made Simple e-book to give you all the tips you need to start being successful on social media!