How to get Clients for your App Company

Summary

In this episode of the Daily Overpass, Eric discusses strategies for client acquisition in the app development industry. He shares his passion for attracting clients and his preference for inbound marketing over cold-calling. Eric highlights the importance of content creation, SEO, and LinkedIn for increasing visibility and attracting potential clients. He emphasizes the value of professionalism and establishing a strong brand to stand out in a crowded market.

Takeaways

• 📱 Eric enjoys client acquisition and finds it more satisfying than maintaining existing client relationships.
• 🔍 The company Overpass receives 3 to 4 project requests per week but often turns away most due to capacity constraints.
• 💰 Eric admits to using a higher quote strategy to deter potential clients when Overpass is too busy, knowing they might seek other providers.
• 🚀 Initially, Eric struggled with self-promotion and cold outreach, which is a common challenge for many business owners.
• 📚 He references 'Cold Calling Techniques That Really Work' as part of his learning process for effective outreach.
• 🌐 Most of Overpass's clients come from inbound marketing, meaning they find Overpass through various online channels.
• 🤝 Eric prefers working with companies rather than individuals as it involves less emotional investment and stress.
• 📈 Three main channels for client inquiries are identified: video content, SEO techniques, and LinkedIn networking.
• 🎥 Video content aimed at app developers occasionally attracts clients interested in Overpass's services.
• 🔍 SEO strategies, like setting up location-specific pages, help Overpass rank higher in search results and attract local clients.
• 🔗 LinkedIn, despite being Eric's least favorite social media, is a significant source of client leads for Overpass.
• 👥 Eric's strategy on LinkedIn involves accepting all connection requests to increase visibility in search results.
• 💼 The apps developed by Overpass serve a dual purpose: generating revenue and acting as a portfolio to showcase their work.
• 🛠️ Eric emphasizes the importance of professionalism and establishing a strong brand presence in the industry to attract clients.
• 📝 He compares the long-term benefits of content creation and SEO to the immediate but less impactful outbound marketing efforts.
• 🏆 The takeaway is that building a reputable brand and being proactive in inbound marketing strategies are key to client acquisition.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the Daily Overpass video by Eric?

The main topic of the video is discussing strategies for client acquisition in the app development industry.

What does Eric find more challenging, acquiring clients or maintaining them?

Eric finds client acquisition more challenging than maintaining them, as he enjoys the process of bringing in new clients.

How does Eric describe his initial experience with cold-calling and cold-emailing?

Eric describes his initial experience with cold-calling and cold-emailing as really hard and awkward.

What is the current ratio of project requests to acceptances for Overpass?

Overpass currently turns away about 3 out of 4 projects, accepting only a fraction of the 3 to 4 requests they receive weekly.

Why does Eric prefer working with companies over individuals for app development?

Eric prefers working with companies because it is less emotional and involves fewer high-stress situations compared to working with individuals who may invest their personal savings into the project.

What are the three main ways clients find Overpass according to the video?

The three main ways clients find Overpass are through video content, SEO techniques, and LinkedIn.

How does Eric utilize SEO to attract potential clients?

Eric uses SEO by setting up location pages so that when someone searches for an app developer in his area or nearby locations, Overpass appears at the top of the search results.

What is Eric's strategy for LinkedIn that helps increase Overpass's visibility?

Eric's strategy for LinkedIn involves accepting all connection requests, which increases his visibility in search results due to the proximity in connections.

How does Eric view the role of apps in an app development company's portfolio?

Eric sees the apps developed by a company as a portfolio piece that showcases their work and capabilities to potential clients.

What advice does Eric give for establishing a professional image in the app development industry?

Eric advises to work on one's social media presence, create and maintain high-quality apps, and establish oneself as an authority in the industry through content creation like blogs and articles.

What is Eric's preference between developing his own apps for revenue and working on client projects?

Eric prefers working on his own apps for revenue, but he acknowledges that client work is also important and beneficial.

What does Eric suggest to do when someone contacts you rather than you reaching out to them?

Eric suggests that when someone contacts you, it puts you in a more favorable position because the potential client has already done their research and is eager to work with you.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Client Acquisition in the App Business

Eric from the Daily Overpass discusses his passion for client acquisition in the app industry, highlighting the challenge of attracting clients when starting out. He mentions his initial reluctance to engage in cold-calling and the learning process involved in outbound marketing. Eric explains that most of his current clients are inbound, finding Overpass through various channels, emphasizing the importance of content creation and SEO for visibility. He also shares his preference for working with companies over individuals due to the reduced emotional involvement.

05:03

🔍 Strategies for Inbound Marketing and SEO

This paragraph delves into the specifics of inbound marketing strategies that have proven effective for Overpass. Eric talks about the role of content creation, including videos, blogs, and social media, as well as the impact of SEO techniques implemented by Matt from KYO digital. He explains how setting up location pages has increased Overpass's visibility in local searches. Additionally, Eric discusses the unexpected effectiveness of LinkedIn for attracting potential clients, despite it being his least favorite social media platform, and how he manages connections to improve search rankings.

10:03

📱 The Role of Apps in Portfolio and Revenue Generation

Eric emphasizes the dual role of apps in an app development company's strategy: as a source of revenue and as a portfolio piece to showcase the company's capabilities. He shares his personal experience with a company that included his apps in their marketing materials, which were not solely their intellectual property. The paragraph also touches on the importance of establishing a professional brand and the challenges of outbound marketing. Eric concludes with advice on building a strong brand identity and the benefits of inbound marketing over cold-calling.

Keywords

💡Client Acquisition

Client acquisition refers to the process of attracting and securing new clients for a business. In the context of the video, it is the primary focus as the speaker discusses strategies for an app company to attract clients. The speaker mentions that they enjoy client acquisition more than having clients, indicating the importance of this process for business growth and the enthusiasm the speaker has for it.

💡Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing is a strategy where a company actively reaches out to potential customers through various channels such as cold-calling, direct mail, or email campaigns. The speaker mentions their experience with outbound marketing, including cold emailing, and how it is a challenging yet effective way to attract clients to the app company.

💡Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is the process of attracting customers to a company through content creation, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media, among other methods. The speaker explains that most of their clients are acquired through inbound marketing, as potential clients find Overpass through various online platforms, indicating the effectiveness of this approach in the digital age.

💡Content Creation

Content creation involves producing various forms of media such as videos, blogs, infographics, and social media posts to engage an audience and promote a brand. The speaker highlights the importance of content creation in making the company known in a crowded market, even though it may sometimes seem like it's not making a difference.

💡SEO Techniques

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques are strategies used to improve a website's visibility in search engine results. The speaker mentions hiring a professional to set up location pages for SEO, which helps Overpass appear at the top of search results when potential clients look for app developers in specific areas.

💡LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that the speaker mentions as a significant source of clients for Overpass. Despite the speaker's personal dislike for the platform due to its spammy nature, they acknowledge its effectiveness in client acquisition, as many potential clients find Overpass through LinkedIn.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of work samples that showcase an individual's or company's skills and experience. The speaker discusses how the apps they develop not only generate revenue but also serve as a portfolio piece, demonstrating the quality of work that Overpass can deliver to potential clients.

💡Professionalism

Professionalism refers to the quality of being professional, which includes competence, efficiency, and adherence to high standards. The speaker emphasizes the importance of professionalism in attracting new clients, comparing it to the difference between a self-proclaimed expert and an established authority in a field.

💡Brand Establishment

Brand establishment is the process of creating a strong and recognizable identity for a company in its industry. The speaker advises that to attract clients, an app development company should work on establishing its brand through social media and app development, positioning itself as an authority in the field.

💡Revenue Generation

Revenue generation is the process of earning income from business activities. The speaker mentions that while apps developed by Overpass serve as a portfolio, their primary purpose is to generate revenue for the company, highlighting the dual role of product development in business strategy.

💡Cold Calling

Cold calling is a sales technique where a salesperson contacts potential customers who have not requested information. The speaker shares their personal struggle with cold calling, referring to a book on the subject, and how it is a difficult but necessary part of outbound marketing for client acquisition.

Highlights

Eric discusses the importance of client acquisition for app companies and his personal preference for acquiring clients over having them.

He admits to turning away about 3 out of 4 projects due to being overwhelmed with requests, highlighting the demand for app development services.

Eric shares his initial struggles with outbound marketing and cold-calling, suggesting it's a challenging but necessary part of business growth.

The speaker mentions using 'Cold calling techniques that really work' as a resource to improve his outreach efforts.

He differentiates between inbound and outbound marketing, with most clients now finding Overpass through inbound channels.

Eric explains the two types of clients: individuals looking for app development and companies seeking solutions for their users.

He expresses a preference for working with companies over individuals due to less emotional involvement in projects.

Content creation, including videos, blogs, and social media, is emphasized as a key strategy for making the company known in a crowded market.

SEO techniques are discussed as a way to increase visibility for app developers, with examples of how location pages can attract local clients.

LinkedIn is identified as a surprisingly effective platform for client acquisition, despite being the speaker's least favorite social media network.

Eric talks about the strategy of approving all LinkedIn connection requests to increase visibility in search results.

The role of apps in a development company's portfolio is highlighted, showing potential clients the quality of work they can expect.

The speaker admits to struggling with outbound marketing but acknowledges its importance for establishing professional relationships.

Eric emphasizes the importance of professionalism and establishing oneself in the industry to attract clients.

He compares the effort of creating content and improving apps to going to the gym, where long-term benefits outweigh immediate results.

The speaker advises against being the company that sends generic emails listing services, suggesting a more personalized approach.

Eric concludes by encouraging listeners to start establishing their brand now and to consider the perspective of potential clients.

Transcripts

Hi, this is the Daily Overpass, my name is Eric and I make apps! Now today I wanna talk

about getting clients for your app company.

Ok so today I wanna answer a question by Nabster,

he left this on the complexity of charging clients from last Friday. He said "I like

these videos, I didn't know you were a motorcycle guy, cool" - yeah, I'm a cliche midlife crisis

guy, the motorcycle and stuff, I'll get a sports car one of these days - "Can you talk

a bit about client acquisition and how to get clients if you are in the app biz? Thanks".

now this is something I really like to do. In fact, I love doing client acquisition,

right, i love bringing in clients! I like clients acquisition more than I like having

clients, if you know what i mean. It's nice to go out there and toot your own horn and

try to get people to come in, even though a lot of times we don't have time to take

them on. So right now we turn away about 3 out of 4 projects, well more than that I guess.

So we get about 3 to 4 requests a week and a lot of times we just don't have time to

take them on, so I'll either just say that we don't have time or I'll go for a a bit

of a higher quote, because they'll go onto somebody else, which I know I probably shouldn't

do. But for the longest time it was really really hard. So I mentioned this before, when

I became a contractor to begin with, when I set up Overpass, I used it to contract first,

so I needed a company entity so I set up Overpass, but what I really wanted to do was have my

pwn software company with my own clients, all that kind of stuff. So I'd work for a

few years at a contract and eventually I would have enough money save that I could say "that's

it, I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna find some clients." And then I would have these

awkward moments where I would work on my own stuff, I would do the websites, all the stuff

everybody does. "I just need to fix up my website first, I just need to read this book

first, I just need to do this first", and I didn't wanna get on the phone and call anybody,

and when I did it was really really awkward. And I showed you this book already before

- 'Cold calling techniques that really work' and I've got a bunch of these books. So it

was really really hard to do the out reach thing. So doing outbound marketing. So actually

cold-calling or cold-emailing, all that kind of stuff. And I still do that, I cold email

sometimes. So, right now, most of the clients that we get are inbound, so they find Overpass.

And there's two different types of clients, you've got the individuals - somebody like

me when I started out, they just wanna do an app and they're looking for a developer

to help them with it, or a company, so like maybe a small company, they have something

for their users. And between the two of them I prefer the company, but we've done work

with both. The company just because it's less emotional. So if somebody invests their savings

in something that's their hopes and dreams, a lot of times it can get really stressful

because they just want everything to be perfect and they don't want anything to go off the

rails and all that kind of stuff, so you have to be very reassuring. But anyway, I think

there's probably three ways that most of the enquiries come through. One of them is the

video. So this video is to talk to developers, the audience for this video is mostly app

developers, and none of you are ever gonna need Overpass to do your apps, that's just

the fact of the matter. But, a lot of people night do searches and they might find stuff

and occasionally we'll get somebody who calls up and says "I saw one of your videos, I'd

like to know how much it costs to do this" and all this stuff. So that's one way. So

basically all the content creation, not just the videos but the videos, the blogs, the

infographics, the social media, all that kind of stuff which seems frivolous, and this is

one of the reasons why it's hard to stay with because it seems like I don't know if this

is really making a difference, but it is a case of getting out there and making yourself

known. Like I said a few days ago, every market is crowded and to be an app developer is really

crowded. Another way is just through SEO techniques. So a friend of mine Matt, he now runs a company

called KYO digital, I hired him for a while and he wanted to do some SEO work, and he

basically set up location pages so that if somebody says app developer in Wantage, which

is the town we're in, Overpass would come up at the top. But also if they put other

places that are nearby, then it comes up high there too. So we've got loads of them! In

fact, we've got loads where I've actually had calls from - one of my clients is in the

Isle of Wight and when they called up they said "Yea Eric, do you think we could have

a chat about this requirement that we have?" And I said "Yeah, yeah", and they said "ok

I'm in the Isle of Wight" and I said "ok cool", because I'm american I didn't know where the

Isle of Wight was. All those years as an american high school student, filling in those maps

of the states with no labels on them, I know all of the states in America but my geography

of the UK is still not very good. But 2 - 3 hours out there, got to take a ferry, it was

awesome! So there's the SEO side of things. So there's content, there's SEO and then one

of the one's that's really big is LinkedIn. So for some reason a lot of people find us

through LinkedIn, which is probably, of all the social media networks, is my least favourite.

It's the most spammy, it's the most...all that kind of stuff. So every time we put out

a new article or sometimes the videos but not so much the daily ones, those go through

LinkedIn, the profiles set up every time we get the endorsements and all that kind of

stuff. And also, when somebody gives a request on LinkedIn, I always approve it. So regardless

of whatever it is, and usually it's like a development company, somebody says "you got

a connection request from John Smith" and it says business development, or business

development manager and you just think "ah, that just means salesman". That means he's

gonna email me immediately, but I just approve it anyway. So I just get loads of spam. and

the reason I do that, my strategy for LinkedIn that way is that the search works that the

closer you are in connection to the person, then the higher you show up in the ranks.

So if you do a search for app developer, it'll show first all your first degree connections,

the people you're directly connected to, and then your second degree connections where

you're just one person between you and them. So, all these people who are massive connectors

and they connect with as many people as possible and they connect to me also, then that means

that for a lot of people, for 20,000 people or whatever, I'm higher up in the rankings

because of that. So it's surprising how many people, when I say how did you learn about

Overpass, they say LinkedIn, which is kinda like the most...it's the one I don't like

the most. It's like "I looked you up in the phone book" kind of thing. I like it when

they find the videos, when they find some of our content, all that stuff that we worked

on, but it isn't. And then of course there's the apps, so when people see the apps they

get to see that kind of stuff. I think, if you're gonna run an app development company,

your apps are primarily to generate revenue, so primarily to bring money in, but also in

a secondary way they work as a portfolio piece. So if anybody wants to know what kind of work

we do, I don't need to show them every other client we've had, and believe me, I don't

like it when a software company contacts me and they give me a list of their apps, but

they're not their apps, they're other peoples apps. I prefer it if it's their own because

that means that they worked on it.to give you an example, the first company that I hired

to work on Ear Spy, they started including Ear Spy in all of their marketing material

as well as a lot of my other apps, and those apps were not all their intellectual property.

I brought in designers from other places and I brought in people from other places to work

on these, but it was still part of their thing. So for me, I was so terrible at doing the

outbound marketing, although it is fun to do and I have done it, I've had some really

good meetings with companies based on outbound stuff, but we've been so busy lately that

we're just doing inbound stuff. And you could say inbound is really nice, it's nice when

somebody contacts you and you don't have to go out there and reach for something because

they're already sold, they've already done their research for the most part and they're

really eager to get that done rather than cold-calling companies that may or may not

even need an app. That's just my experience. I think that if you're going to do an app

development company, work on your own - appearance is everything - work on your own social media,

work on your own apps, establish yourself. like with every job, whatever you're gonna

do, try to establish yourself in the industry. Say if you were hiring window washers for

example, and you had two people come to you, one guy said "yeah, I'm a window washer, I'm

from john smith window washing" and another guy said "yes, I'm with fantastic window company

and I've written articles, I've done blogs, I'm an established authority on window washing",

even though you don't need all that because it's just a simple job, that's more the person

you're linked to because you think "well, he's a professional, he knows what he's doing",

and professionalism is probably one of the biggest things you could do in terms of getting

new clients. It's difficult because it always feels like it doesn't make a difference. It

feels like it doesn't make a difference to make the app a little bit nicer or to do a

keyword research, or to do those extra blog posts. it's easy to say "I don't have time

to do a blog post today" but in the long run it's like going to the gym, it's important

even though you don't see the immediate effects of it. Anyway, that's it for today. I hope

it makes sense. People will disagree with me on that. And doing client work - if I had

a choice between our own apps that generate revenue and the client stuff, the own apps,

all the time! But the client stuff is good too, so if that's something you're looking

to do start establishing your brand now, start looking at it from the people contacting you,

and don't be that person who sends the email that says "Hi, we're a company, we specialise

in this, this, this" and name like 50 things and everything, because if they go to you

rather than you go to them, then you have a lot more in your favour. so anyway, that's

it for today, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow!