The Source of Over 80% of My Customers

I strongly think it's about 90%, 9 out of every 10 customers I have. And that source is the internet.

image: drhurd.com

Daily I get calls or emails from prospective clients who tell me that they came about my contact and expertise while doing an online search. And they are the easiest customers to close. They don't make me sweat or call back multiple times before they make up their mind to become a paying customer and they don't aggressively price down my service. The internet has been my greatest business partner, sending clients my way more than all the other channels combined.

I can now say my being active online is beginning to pay off. Besides making me show up when people search for Excel training/expert, it brings up my profile also and gives them a high confidence in my ability when they see my online works and testimonials. By the time they contact me, it's no longer a case of whether I am the right person or not but a case of whether I am available and affordable. 

People are amazed when I tell them that I do only Microsoft Excel. They believe that I am shutting myself out of bigger business opportunities and giving my service a low profile. They also feel that I must be getting very few worthwhile jobs. They are right about my focus on Microsoft Excel limiting my business opportunities and keeping me out of the juicer non-Excel training market. But they are wrong about my not getting enough business opportunities. The truth is I get more than enough business opportunities to not bother about expanding beyond Microsoft Excel. But my biggest reason for limiting myself to Excel (for now) is that it's the recommended way to grow a small/starting business. By picking on very specific service and being the best in providing that service, you easily grow and establish a great brand. And because you don't end up competing with too many people, people are more willing to refer businesses your way and partner with you. They are not fearful that you will steal their clients because they know that you have no intention of competing with them. And how they become sure of that is by reading my online profile and company brochure.

Without the internet I would probably be out of business by now and searching for another salaried job. Almost all my clients are direct online referrals or referrals from those direct online referrals who have experienced my high quality service.