How To Get B2b Clients: A Primer For Copywriters

How To Get B2b Clients: A Primer For Copywriters

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In more than 20 years of copywriting for both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) clients, I have found mid-size and large B2B clients to be generally easier to work with, and more professional than B2C. (I do not recommend working for small business in either B2B or B2C.)

In my experience, B2B companies tend be more corporate and less entrepreneurial in their thinking and procedures than B2C companies. For instance, B2B clients are more likely to use creative briefs, meet deadlines, and pay on time.

The marketing departments of B2B clients also tend to be more sophisticated in their approach to marketing; this is nice for the copywriter who wants to have more say in testing, offers, and other elements of a response campaign.

The more process-driven a marketing department is, the easier it is to get winning promotions, as well as information on the results of promotions, work samples, and other data that helps a copywriter build his business.

Winning a B2B Client

Because B2B clients are by nature more oriented to professional processes and thinking, the copywriter who wants to win their business must also appear professional. Heres what youll need in order to successfully approach a mid-size, large, or enterprise-level B2B client:

Professional-quality letterhead, envelopes, and business cards are a must. You dont have to be exotic or fancy; graphic designers need flash and dazzle but copywriters dont. Dont fret about designbut do make sure your most basic business tools look professional. If you cant afford a designers help, opt for simple and straightforward.

Know what you stand for. It pays to create your own unique selling proposition (USP). These days both B2C and B2B clients want to know why you are the best copywriter for them. Once you determine what sets you apart, you should create a tag line that appears on your business cards and letterhead.

For instance, the tagline I helped one of my coaching students create is Helping your build and maintain profitable long-term customers.

Go to a niche market. Related to the advice above, you will do well to go to a niche market for which you have a connectiona point of differentiation that sets you apart. Many experts will tell you that you can find your point of differentiation in your work history. But this is only partly true.

With my coaching students I regularly help them discover what makes them unique and special not only in their work history, but in their passions, and their talents.

For instance, one of my students wanted to use her literary talent to sell her copywriting; so we carved out a unique copywriting market that would appreciate and benefit from the power of her written talent for story telling.

You must have a Web site. And it had better be professional. A professional Web site for the corporate market must exhibit obvious elements of good lead-generation.

The elements of a good lead-generating Web site are many; however, for the purposes of this primer, I will touch on the most important four elements:

1. Your Web site must have you orientation. Its not about you, its about them. Your Home Page headline must acknowledge a pain of your audience, and offer a solution. One example from one of my coaching students: Are you a software marketer looking for a steadier stream of qualified software leads?

Contrast this with this me oriented Home Page headline of another copywriter: Bill S., Freelance Advertising Copywriter. Even the lead-in sentence was me oriented: Im an advertising copywriter, which is why my website utterly lacks graphics.

2. Your Web site must have an offer. Direct marketing without an offer is not direct marketing. If you are a copywriter who wants to make a great income, then you must let your potential clients know that you will bring in more than you cost.

You offer should in some way convey that. In lead-generation, which is what your freelance business depends on, one of the best offers you can advance is free information in the form of a report, or other valuable information product.

3. Your Web site must have either a very clean, orderly, and simple but sophisticated designor it must be designed by a graphic designer.

If designed by a direct response designer, your Web site will exhibit signs of high level branding and direct response design magicall of which will impress a B2B audience.

An aside: In my experience, Webmasters are excellent at what they do, but they do not have direct marketing graphic design skills even though they usually think they do!

If youre going to build your Web site yourself, take the time to learn about direct response design; otherwise, invest a small sum in having a direct response designer create a design template that you can followor have her design the full site herself.

4. Post samples. Samples are the equivalent of showing a portfolio. For new copywriters, this is a tough one. But there are lots of ways to work this to your advantage.

First, understand that no potential client wants to see more than three samples; then understand that you can post a spec sample that never mailed; and third, know that you can even post a sample that was never entirely finished

If, for instance, you did a critique of a potential clients campaign, you can post that critique on your Web site as long as you gained permission to do so.

A note on testimonials:

Yes, theyre important. But I was lazy in this department. Instead, I concentrated on getting response rates and writing case studies of my winners. Not having testimonials on my Web site never hurt me. However, one day I wanted to diversify into coaching and other copywriting related pursuitsand then I became concerned.

So my advice to you is to be vigilant about collecting testimonials. The moment your client says something positive about your work is the moment to say can I quote that?

You must have business processes. Once again, because of their professional nature, B2B companies work best with copywriters who use fee agreements, creative briefs, meet deadlines, and nail down exactly what it is theyre expected to do (right down to the size and fold of the brochure), put it in writing, and then do it.

Many copywriters work without fee agreements, set in stone timelines, and like the handshake approach to doing business.

But not only is this a sure path to disappointment, its also a red flag to corporate clients that the copywriter is insecure, a poor business person, or both. Having a clear process for how you do business will not only make your business more profitable, but it will make the B2B client more confident in your abilities.

Be a salesman. Whether their marketing is lead-generating or order-generating, B2B clients are very efficient at salesmanship and closing. Dont shy away from mailing sales letters to them and then following up. They do it, and understand that its just business to be on the receiving end.

In fact, Ive found it much easier to market to B2B companies than B2C. If youve done a good job of targeting youve created a niche or USP that matches you with your target then you should enjoy at least a 1% conversion rate to your marketing efforts. B2B companies are generally accepting and interested in your call, as long as youve done your homework to determine why youre the best copywriter for them.

About the Author:
Master copywriter and coach Chris Marlow publishes a free ezine for copywriters who want to quickly build a profitable business. Visit:



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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