Over the years, I’ve had agencies and freelancers try to get my clients. They’ve made every mistakes in the book and the message to my client ended up on my desk. More often than not, my client didn’t even see the message. That’s not what you want to happen when you are trying to get new clients.

So if you’re wondering what you need to do next to build your business and get those new clients, let’s talk about what not to do.

Cold DMs

This is always the weirdest way I’ve seen freelancers try to get new clients. They do no research whatsoever and slide into the DMs of random brands. The ask is usually very generic and very ignored.

Here’s where it most likely will go wrong: It lands in the lap of the social media manager, not the decision maker. As a social media consultant, I laugh at these and then quickly delete them. My client doesn’t need anyone else doing their social media. And it looks a whole lot more like spam than a business pitch. So even if my client does see the message, it’s getting deleted.

Do the research to get to know potential new clients. Personalize your message to what their potential needs are. And find out their preferred method of communication. I can assure you that it’s never the brand DMs.

Tearing down the current social media

I think the biggest red flag on either side of the equation is being overly negative about the current social media program. In new clients, it tells me that they’re likely extremely hard to work with. In freelancers, it tells me that they don’t understand how to put together a social media puzzle.

What do I mean by that? I mean that there are a whole lot of pieces to it than the latest trends. The biggest part of the puzzle is the client. Their ability to respond quickly and the comfortableness with social media can affect what happens on social media. So everything that happens on social media is not in this online bubble, and if you think it is, then you likely have a lot to learn about client management.

And another thing to remember: That social media you are so viciously tearing down may have been done by the decision maker you are talking to. The fastest way to talk yourself out of new clients is to be offensive to the people who are hiring.

Obviously new clients want to know what you would do differently. The way I handle this is to find a few positives on their social media and talk about how I would build off of their successes there. And then I stay focused on opportunities that they should be taking advantage of. If they ask about certain tactics that they have been doing that I disagree with, I stay positive while explaining that is not what I would do and why. But I’m always careful about how I phrase it and make sure that any new clients know that I’m not judging them for how they have done it in the past.

Overpromise

I sat through a presentation by a social media agency, and all of a sudden they had the analytics of one of their clients up on the screen. They then walked through promises of how all new clients can expect to see this level of growth when they sign with them. It was overly large, and I’m guessing not typical of most of their new clients.

Look, I have lots of big numbers from clients as well, and I’m happy to share them. But I always tell new clients that this is not typical and their growth is dependent on lots of different factors, some of which are beyond our control. Why do I do that? Because I am interested in more than just signing new clients. I am trying to get long-term relationships. If I have overpromised and can’t deliver, then the relationship can’t last.

And clients are savvier than they have ever been. They know what is reality and what is a dream. They are more likely to look at overpromises and move onto someone who stays realistic. Because they don’t want to look bad to their own bosses when they say huge things are going to happen and something much smaller happens. It may also be a sign for them that you don’t know what you are doing. Keeping it real is always your best bet.

Only talk about you

We’ve all been there. You are in a conversation and the other person will not stop talking about themselves. I’ve been guilty of this because I’m alone so much. I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY. PLEASE LET ME. But I see the glazed over look in the other person’s eyes, and I try to stop. Sometimes I even do stop.

The same is true in conversations with potential new clients. Yes, they are interested in what you can bring to them. But you need to know a little bit about them before you can really tell them about that. And it comes off way too spam-in-real-life if you just keep telling them about you and your business. That’s not someone you want to get to know and eventually hire.

I think the most important part of the business development process is to stay curious in every way. And if you make sure you are listening to their problems and woes, you can create a much better pitch that actually addresses what they are looking for. When you show you can make their life easier, they are so much more likely to hire you. That’s the point after all.

What mistakes have you made when trying to get new clients?