Best way to pick up clients for a new promotional staffing agency?!?

[HLF90]

In the process of starting up my own Promotional Staffing Agency as I have been working in the industry for years (promotional staff!).

Just wondering if none has any good advice on who to approach to gain clients? At the moment I'm approaching local night clubs etc, marketing agencies and events agencies...planning on leafleting to lots of businesses too....what's your thoughts and advice?

[Pr]

Hi, so long as you think (via Market Research!) there is sufficient demand during this recession, I have a few ideas for you.

A source of clients could be shows such as agricultural, motor and other trade shows, at venues like Olympia, NEC, etc.

With your promotional methods such as flyers, I think these might not get taken seriously. Instead, I suggest you make an appointment with the organisation's marketing manager. This could be simply at their workplace. Then you can show her/him your promotional material. To treat this meeting as an opportunity to educate the potential client in the whole range of promotional management.

Also, do be contemporary, by having :-

- computer presentations via a tablet computer
- a few social media accounts;
eg. Facebook 'Page'; Twitter; Pinterest
- photos of your agents in a contact manager application;
eg. Windows Contacts
- photo galleries of your agents in fancy dress etc;
eg. Flickr
- video(s) of previous events;
ie. YouTube
- website with links to the social media, photos & videos.

On your flyers encourage the potential client to also view your images in their own time. And to look right up to date, you could even use a 'QR code' (Quick Response). These are little square images that people can scan with their smartphone.

Twitter you should use to build business relationships, recruit staff and drive client traffic to your website. Remember to use #UK #business 'hashtags'.

If you don't know Pinterest, I think this would be ideal for a visual business like yours. It uses the pinboard metaphor, whereby you 'pin' a collage of photographs. Have a look to see how others are using it.

For your website I recommend spending money on a professional developer. Yet to keep down the price I advise use Wordpress plus add-ons. And ensure they understand keywords and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

That'll give you plenty to think about! Remember to complete a formal Business Plan (to both focus your mind and to attract possible funding).

Good luck...

[Meghan]

View the lead generation marketing section on the Ren Scott Creative Marketing site.