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How to get more clients for your design agency

Brought to you by Flywheel

Streamline your process

Chapter 1

Before you start adding big-time clients left and right, you need to be sure

that your business has the processes in place to support speedy growth.

The most successful design agencies and freelancers continue to refine

their workflows over time in an effort to build better relationships with their

clients and coworkers. Take a look at your onboarding process, workflow, and

agency tools; then drill down and see where you can improve.

Make your onboarding process valuable for you and your clientsOnboarding new clients is a basic and necessary process that, when done

properly, can make client relationships more functional, effective, and fuss-

free. It starts with that very first phone call or email. Not every client who

needs design work actually knows a lot about design, so it’s up to you to

help them understand what it is you do. They might not actually need the

services you offer. They might not even be able to afford the work you do.

Your communications must filter out these not-clients, all while conveying

the tone you’d want to use with actual clients.

Once you’ve done the most basic filtering, set up a meeting to discuss their

project. The most important point of this meeting is the opportunity for both

sides to get a feel for each other and see if you both believe you could work

well together. Of course, you’re also trying to determine the project’s scope,

purpose, target audience, timeline, and deliverables.

Before your potential client leaves, let them know that the next step for you is

to prepare a proposal and send it to them via email. The proposal is another

way to communicate who you are and what you offer. Consider including:

• Your manifesto — what your agency believes about design.

• A short project brief that reflects your understanding of what

their needs are, based on that initial meeting.

• The scope of the project, explaining specifically what you mean

when you describe “corporate identity” or “website redesign”

(remember, they’re not all designers).

• And, of course, provide bids.

Once you hash out the details of pricing and come to an agreement, send over

the contract. This includes the agreed-upon scope of work (including number

of concepts and number of revisions), the fees, the usage agreements, and

terms. Once that’s signed and dated, the research process begins.

Gather as much data as you can about your client, their project, their

audience, and what makes them unique. Feel free to create client

questionnaires or suggest they provide you with images or whatever else

might help convey their message. Engage in independent research, too. Dig

through data and explore the client’s industry and competitors.

One of the things you should be doing throughout the onboarding process is

setting a tone that lets your client know what they can expect from you. Let

them know how you’re going to move forward. Yes, you’ve said some of this

before. Say it again. You’ve probably gone through this process hundreds

of times. They have most likely never gone through this process.. Answer

Make your workflow work for youNow that you’ve breezed through the onboarding process, make sure that

your agency workflow is easy for everyone to understand and complete.

Quality comes from consistency, and consistency comes from process. We

know that every function in a creative business can’t be standardized, and we

know that, as creatives, most of us don’t want to be stifled by stiff, structured

process documents. Still, there are areas in your workflow and functions of

your business that could benefit from a few checklists.

While you won’t be able to write a step-by-step, start-to-finish list of

instructions for every role within your agency, you can certainly break down

things like design templates, content creation, mockups and wireframes, and

other deliverables that should be consistent for every client you work with.

These workflow guides will evolve as your business does, but they help

lay a foundation for a reliable client relationship and provide the perfect

framework for onboarding new team members and partners.

Be sure you have the right tools for the jobHaving the right software, hardware, and tools to streamline your design

agency’s workflow is going to be a huge key to your future success.

There’s nothing that can botch a client relationship faster than having a site

hacked or shut down for a week because of a cheap hosting provider. Most of

your clients will be completely unfamiliar with web hosting, so it’s up to you

to set them up with a host that’s fast, safe, and supportive.

When you host your client sites on Flywheel, they’ll get a blazing fast site,

nightly backups, hacker-free security, and dedicated WordPress support. On

your end, you’ll get free demo sites, one-click staging, simple collaboration

with other members of your team, and easy billing transfers, allowing you

to design a website and transfer the payment to the client without any

trouble at all. You can rest easy knowing Flywheel will take care of the latest

WordPress update and you can get back to growing your business instead of

drowning in downed sites.

Once you have a rock-solid hosting setup, the next step is to make sure your

internal tools are in tip-top shape. Avoid the timeless tale of the designer that

saved their work on the wrong computer or the developer that overwrote the

codebase. Set up a solid infrastructure for your agency and store notes in a

central location.

Countless agencies rely on project management tools like Basecamp,

marketing platforms like Hubspot, and cloud-based file management tools

like Dropbox for document storage. For internal communication, we love

Slack, because it’s super easy to use (and supports GIFs). There is a

huge variety of agency tools for things like version control, collaboration,

wireframing, and more -- feel free to experiment until you find the ones that

work best for your business. Check out our Creative Toolbox first and see if

you can score some discounts before you fully commit.

With all of these processes in place, your agency will be a well-oiled machine

that’s ready to take on an influx of clients, new designers, and any bigger and

better opportunities that head your way. Now on to the next question: which

clients will you take on?

Carve out a nice niche

Chapter 2

If you want to spend less time fumbling through unfamiliar client needs and

more time designing websites, it might be a good idea to find a niche for your

agency.

Specializing in a particular industry allows you to narrow your focus, time,

and energy, and positions you as an expert on the needs and challenges of

a specific group of clients (making you the go-to solution when they need a

new website or brand identity). Plus, since you’ll be working with the same

types of people and projects again and again, you can further refine your

workflows, increase productivity and revenue, and capture your own corner

of the market.

If you or your team hates the idea of turning away clients, remind yourself

that by carving out a niche, you are providing clients with educated,

dedicated resources that are relevant to their business. While gigantic web

design firms have the resources to support a huge variety of clients, your

agency might not.

If you’re still not sold on the niche concept, try this: check out your past

work and see how many hours your team spends collecting information and

prepping work for your clients. If you charge per project, calculate how much

money you would save if you already had all of that research and info from

past projects. For example, if you have to spend five hours researching and

you charge $75 an hour, you’ve lost $375 in revenue, because you could have

spent those five hours working on other projects. Sounds pretty good now,

right?

Narrowing down your agency’s nicheSo how to do you know which niche to go for? If your work spans tons of

industries, here are four tips to finding the right niche for you:

1. Assess your agency. Look closely at the work you’ve been

producing as a whole. What’s been successful? What causes

stress for you and your team? Where do you make the most

money? What projects have you enjoyed the most?

2. Be selective with your services. Odds are that up until now,

you’ve probably accepted a lot of work that seemed outside

the scope of what you’d like to be working on. Take all of

your areas of expertise as a team and narrow them down into

the ones you can present confidently to clients. You could

be best at digital marketing and web design, or WordPress

development and consultancy. Branding, strategy, content,

SEO, and eCommerce are all other services you could look at,

but narrow it down to two or three at most.

3. Choose your clients. It may seem counterintuitive (because

up until now, the client has chosen you) but now is the time

to determine which industries you enjoy working with the

most. Which ones have you had the most success with? Think

about your full agency portfolio -- do you prefer working with

nonprofits? Small clients? Restaurants? Local businesses?

Corporations? You may find that you’ve earned a stellar

reputation within a certain sector without realizing it.

4. Assess your scope. How big is the industry you’re looking at? Is

it a large or growing category? Are there other competitors in

that space? Can you offer these clients something unique?

Find out what your clients wantOnce you’ve chosen an industry and specialties that you feel confident in,

the next step is to understand your target market. Listen and learn; don’t

make assumptions about what your customers want. Start with any clients

you’ve already worked with in this sector and identify common requests that

you’ve received from them. Make a list of services and sub-services they’d be

interested in, then create a pricing/offering list that specifically provides them

with what they’re likely looking for.

Next, narrow down the common questions that come up when working with

clients in this particular niche. Do you reach certain roadblocks or experience

certain issues every time? Are they completely unfamiliar with design, or

do they tend to have strong opinions? Use these questions to modify your

communications to best serve these customers.

Become familiar with the particular developments and common concerns

that affect your customers’ businesses. Research and create new products

and services that fill their specific web design needs; they will be confident

in hiring your agency if they know you specialize in their industry and are

comfortable with solving their unique challenges. Ask for feedback every step

of the way, especially if you’re still unfamiliar with certain aspects of their

business.

Don’t be afraid to adapt and evolveOf course, you might stumble and make a few mistakes here and there once

you find a niche. Maybe your niche is too small, or it doesn’t have large

enough marketing budgets to sustain your agency costs. Stay flexible and

increase or decrease the size of your niche market as needed.

Remember that even after you define your target market, your customers’

needs will likely still change over time. Keep listening to your customers and

set up services and systems that will meet or exceed their expectations. With

those processes in place, you’ll be able to adapt and keep your agency far

above water!

Now that you have your niche, it’ll be super easy to pitch your agency to

potential clients; that is, if you know how to network correctly!

Get out and network

Chapter 3

The key to successful networking is to stop thinking about it as “networking.”

People want to purchase goods and services from businesses and people

they know, like, and trust. Build those lucrative new relationships by focusing

on connecting and understanding people, rather than just tossing your

business card in their general direction.

Networking is going to be one of the simplest and most effective ways of

getting more clients for your agency, so encourage your entire staff to be

actively involved in the process. We like the philosophy that “everyone is a

sales rep” -- that is to say, all of your employees represent your company,

whether or not they’re directly interacting with customers. Building a great

reputation for your agency goes beyond just the sales team. Whether you’re

hitting an industry event, getting dinner with friends, or just interacting with

people on Instagram, you’re rolling or scrolling by valuable opportunities to

create new connections and clients.

Learn how to talk to anyone (and everyone)First and foremost, you want to make a good impression. Avoid awkwardness

and make your next networking event actually enjoyable with these four

ways to start, hold, and end a conversation with strangers:

1. Have a topic of conversation ready to fill in those dull moments

of silence. It can be a recent trip, book you’ve read or hobby

you’ve picked up. Avoid the standard “interview” questions like

“what do you do?” and share insights instead of facts or snore-

worthy small talk.

2. Tell stories. Don’t drone on about your occupation; instead, tell

a good story with a clear point or punch line. It can be related

to your work, but avoid talking about your job as a fallback

when you’re networking. Remember, you want to connect with

potential clients, not just pitch your services.

3. End conversations the right way. This is going to define how

people remember you, so make eye contact and don’t be rude

or abrupt. If you’re going to hand them a business card, be

casual and concise, not pitchy or pushy.

4. Be open. You never know who you’re going to meet, and the

next person you talk to could be the one to lead you to your

next business opportunity.

Meetups, conferences, happy hours - attend them allTraditional face-to-face networking is still one of the best ways to build

relationships with new clients. Attend local meetups and professional events

for creatives and be ready to make a memorable first impression.

A few things to keep in mind when attending a networking event:

• Polish up your agency’s portfolio and bring your business cards

• Be presentable

• Ask questions and show genuine interest

• Drink responsibly

Don’t just look for ways to sell your services; mingle with copywriters,

developers, and other agency pros as well. You can learn amazing things

from other people, from tips on finding work to managing clients or finding

partners for future projects. It’ll extend your network that much further and

ultimately create a lot of value for your business.

Pro tip: the real networking opportunities at a conference or event are going

to be at any kind of reception or post-conference party. Keep an ear to the

ground for info about these kinds of events and tag along. Not only will the

atmosphere be more relaxed, but you’ll also have the conference/event as a

good basis for starting the conversation.

They’re called social “networks” for a reasonTwitter and Instagram are great ways to connect with others if you’re running

a design agency. Use them to showcase both your personality and your work.

Identify the problems, issues, and needs of your target audience, then

address them through your social media posts. Create content that genuinely

helps people. Establish trust by providing solutions, sharing knowledge, and

demonstrating industry expertise. The next time one of your connections,

friends, or followers needs a new website or knows someone that does,

they’ll know you’re available to help.

Speaking of connections, there are a bunch of simple ways that you can turn

your molehill of an agency into a mountain by leveraging your current client

base.

Boost your current business

Chapter 4

HIG HFIVE!

Managing your existing client relationships is the most important part of any

design business. Whether the client is a kindred spirit or a total nightmare,

it’s important to have a set of guidelines to make the process run smoothly

and maximize your earning potential. Never think of a contract as a one-off

transaction; always look at the lifetime value of your clients. Chances are

that one day, that client could pass along work via referral or want additional

services from you.

Build better client relationshipsCreate a framework that will allow you to capture and build relationships

with the best clients out there. To do this, you’ll need to:

• Deliver -- always. Deliver on time, on budget, and to

expectations. Don’t settle for “good enough.”

• Be better at confrontation. Most creatives prefer that everyone

gets along and their lives are filled with high-fives, but that’s

just not always a reality. Be honest and push back on feedback

you disagree with. Remember: the best ideas are usually

uncomfortable and require risk-taking, and often, the work will

be much better for it.

• Look for partners. Think beyond clients and create

relationships that set you up for success with engaging work

that you love. Knowing what you want from a dream client

makes finding others that much easier.

• Ask for testimonials and referrals. It can be a bit awkward, but

if you’ve crafted a comfortable relationship with the client, it

shouldn’t be too much to request a few nice words for your

website or have them chat with a potential client about the

process.

Master the art of the upsellBe sure your proposal solves all of the problems that your client is having,

then tailor your upsell to serve those needs. Often, you can identify these

issues through basic conversation. Do you do branding? Ask if they’re being

perceived appropriately. Are you an SEO expert? Ask if they’d like to be at the

top of Google’s search results (who’d say no to that?). Just be sure that your

main focus is on your clients’ concerns and you have a genuine interest in

discovering and solving their problems. Ask open-ended questions and then

listen carefully to the answers. Soon your clients will be upselling themselves.

If you’re selling to other businesses, the best way to get more revenue from

them is to help them increase sales to their customers. Consider adding

services or products that will help solve common concerns and boost

business in their target markets.

Make sure you’re on their mindYou might not see your best and biggest customers as often as you’d like,

so work extra hard to stay on their radar. Keep in touch with them in a low-

pressure way: send handwritten notes, holiday cards, or personal emails

that aim to let them know you’re available and still care and value them as

customers.

You should also never assume that even your best clients are totally aware

of all the products and services you offer: remind them regularly. Consider

sending a personal letter that includes a list of your services with the ones

they’ve used crossed off. It will remind them of past projects and serve as a

cross-selling tool for additional services.

Design a marketing strategy

Chapter 5

BUY TODAY!

If you can juggle clients like a magician and a networking event is a total

piece of cake, the next step is to get your agency’s name out there and create

hype around your business.

Outline your goals and action planDetermine who your audience is for your marketing efforts, just like you

would for a client. Why are you doing this? Who do you want to reach? How

can you showcase your skills? From there, your team can outline a strategy,

choose their plan of action and get some creative ideas in motion.

Much like networking and sales, marketing is an all-agency initiative. Besides

internal projects, each department should also be working to promote your

agency. Have the content team work on article submissions, the design team

update your website, the PR team pitch stories to local publications, and the

film team create videos that highlight your company objectives.

It is crucial that you make time to prioritize the marketing of your agency. It’s

difficult to find time for your own projects when you have clients on the line,

but by creating a team of agency pros that are accountable for growing the

business, you’ll see ROI the minute new clients walk through the door.

Position yourselves as expertsBeing cited as an authority on design can transform your agency’s reputation

and credibility. Encourage your employees to join local chapters of graphic

design or advertising boards (AIGA and AAF are likely the biggest in your

community), attend industry events, speak at conferences, or sit on panels.

Chances are that some of your agency staff is well-versed in their fields; if

they’re out in public and become recognized as experts in their particular

subject matter (design, UX, copywriting, sales, SEO), it’ll give your agency a

competitive edge.

Looking for more national recognition? Consider contributing articles to

prominent online or print publications or guest blogging on the site of an

industry leader. It will provide you with a platform to showcase your creative

process, problem-solving abilities, and expertise.

Show, don’t tellIf you’re able to demonstrate that your agency offers creative problem-

solving solutions and strategies, you’ll impress any and every future client.

Find a way to showcase your work and use this content to promote your

agency. Keep in mind that anyone who hires you is looking for a way to

differentiate themselves; you need to do the same. Be sure that your

marketing gives a clear-cut impression that you don’t sell canned solutions or

the same products again and again.

Don’t be afraid to be transparent with your process and create a detailed list

of what a business can expect in return for their investment. It’ll demonstrate

not only your results, but also the creative methodology and resources that

bring your promises of a beautiful design to life.

The most important aspect of marketing your agency is making sure that your

website is a shining example of your work. You wouldn’t go to a mechanic

who couldn’t fix his own car, so don’t expect your design agency to attract

potential clients if your own site is anything less than stunning.

Craft a content strategyThat’s right -- not only do your clients want one, but you need one. Without

it, there’s a void in your agency’s digital presence that leads to infrequent/

inconsistent social media posts, irrelevant articles, and a lack of cohesive

brand messaging.

Inject strategic content into your agency culture. Encourage teams to

promote the business through intentional social content. You’ll constantly

create new content that’s brand-compliant and on-target. Plus, you’ll connect

your brand to your team’s social network. That’s how you engage people who

don’t know you and get new followers.

Strategizing for your agency goes beyond marketing and content. Determine

what services to sell and what your best bets are by committing to a culture

of learning.

Keep your skills fresh

Chapter 6

In the design world, a surefire way to drive your agency in the ground is

to stop learning, stop growing, and allow the competition to pass you

by. To keep pace with it, your business needs to be in tune with all of the

technological changes that are happening in the industry. Reserve a small

slice of your work week to discover what’s old, what’s new, and what’s next.

Strategizing for your agency goes beyond marketing and content. Determine

what services to sell and what your best bets are by committing to a culture

of learning.

Commit to constant learningWhether it’s coding, creating copy, video production, or entrepreneurship,

there are areas where you can continue to develop and grow your team’s

talents (and your own). Your entire staff has the potential to learn new things

that will impress your clients, expand your imaginations, boost your skills,

and improve your passion for the industry.

Most of all, you need to be open to learning because new trends are always

emerging in the design industry. Just look at the design trends for 2015 --

material design, ghost buttons, parallax -- which barely existed just a few

years ago and now are the standard for any trend-setting agency.

If you’re in a leadership position, take time to develop your own business

skills and to understand the talent of your team. If you have the budget,

reimburse staff members for taking classes or attending seminars that can

build their skill set. The return on investment will be obvious when you can

sell a client on something other design agencies aren’t capable of producing.

Be proactive in the pursuit of new knowledgeAs a decision maker, it’s unlikely that someone is actively telling you to learn

new skills, take an online class or attend a seminar. Challenge yourself to

further your abilities and understanding.

Your agency can’t always experiment on client sites (and they probably

shouldn’t), so make time to play around. If you want to learn how to code a

WordPress theme, open a new file and start creating one. Want to figure out if

you should be selling content strategy to clients? Draft one up for an existing

client as practice to see a final result.

If you want to incorporate these ideas into your work, then make a conscious

effort to try one new thing that you haven’t done before with every client or

project you work with. It’ll keep your portfolio interesting while continuing to

develop your skills.

Take a break from the everyday design grindIt’s easy to become buried in the world of web design and never come up for

air, but you can find some of the greatest sources of inspiration outside of

your own industry.

Many of the skills that it takes to be a great CEO, creative director, web

designer, copywriter or salesperson can be cultivated through your hobbies

or activities outside of work. Pursue other interests and you may discover a

new perspective, develop a new ability, or come up with a new idea that you

would have never thought of before.

All in all, the most important thing you can do to maintain and grow your

agency is to never lose sight of the quality of your work. It takes a ton of

perseverance, effort, understanding, and a dash of luck to get a steady

portfolio of valuable clients. Continue to produce beautiful sites and

thoughtful work, and we’re confident that you’ll be able to build your

business into a truly awe-inspiring agency.

Interested in absorbing more information about agency life, design trends,

WordPress tips and more? Check out Flywheel’s online design publication,

The Layout.