Trade Herrings for Whales: Solopreneur Insights, Vol. 19

My first big client was a little bit crazy.

This was 2006, and they were a $500 million company at the time. The obvious choice for them would have been a traditional agency with a larger team. But, I had served their marketing director before, and she knew what I was capable of.

The truth is: I was a bit crazy, too. My other clients were in the $1-5 million range. Their marketing needs were proportional to my solo business.

Regardless, we all agreed to get after it and build a powerful brand for them as they grew. From that point on, my job was to make sure that I proved them right to go with me. Fast-forward to now, and they’re worth $9.5 billion and still a client. Their name on my client list also attracted other large companies. Over time, I carefully constructed my client list around 3 large clients and a handful of smaller clients that were effectively passion projects.

Training wheels for business

When first starting out, it’s natural to go after smaller clients. In many ways, this is smart. It’s helpful to face fundamental business challenges when the stakes are lower and there are fewer variables. Over time, you steadily build your skills and equip yourself to face bigger challenges.

But, here’s the problem: People get comfortable operating at a level that’s only sufficient for the small clients. They either settle into this comfort level or they believe that the small clients somehow add up to the ability to attract larger clients. As if there was some Client Exchange, where you trade in seven small clients for one big client.

It doesn’t necessarily work this way. Serving small clients just tells the bigger clients that you serve small clients. That doesn’t help them. They are distinctly not a small client.

You need to convince them that you’re capable of taking on their challenges. At some point, your first large client must take a leap of faith. Your job is to turn that leap into a tiny step. The rest of this article will explain where to get started.

First, let’s look at the difference between a small client and a large client.

The difference between a whale and a herring

If you’ve never worked with a large client before, you may not recognize the difference between working with them and smaller clients. Differences vary by industry, of course, but there are some commonalities:

• Scale

• Sophistication levels

• Budgets

• Professionalism

• Corporatism

We’ll use this list as a guideline for what you can do to position yourself as someone who can serve large clients.

Scale

The most obvious difference is the scale of the work they need completed. A local restaurant’s marketing campaign might need a visual identity, menus, a website, a couple social media templates, and basic Google Maps training.

A national chain restaurant needs all of that, plus 100 other items that must all work together seamlessly with millions in ad spend, high-level customer research data, and omni-channel campaigns across 3,000 locations.

You’re not going to make that leap all at once. But, that small restaurant client you have now? You can begin to introduce some of these concepts to them.

1. Study the needs of the next client up the ladder

2. Introduce these concepts to your current clients

3. Implement select initiatives to provide more value to current clients and to demonstrate your ability to handle the larger initiatives that will attract bigger clients

Ideally, the smaller client has enough budget to fund these initiatives. But, it may also require you to invest some of your time and energy. As long as the relationship with the client is healthy, you’re using them as a real-life case study to attract larger clients. Don’t discount the magnitude of the potential payoff.

Sophistication Levels

Smaller clients often cannot afford an expensive, experienced Marketing Director. Often times, you’re working directly with the owner. They may have no team at all, and no experience working with people like you. They’re learning how it all works as they go. This means you effectively control the entire framing of the relationship.

Large clients don’t work this way. They have the Marketing Director with 15 years of experience and 1,000 notches in their belt. They have teams. They have departments. They have brand history. These folks can distinguish between a professional and an amateur from a mile away. Large clients have no time for people who aren’t committed to their craft. Here are three keys for matching their level of sophistication:

1. Study your craft: Constantly learn and practice your craft. Push yourself to be your best version. Stay on top of topics and trends. Frequently post content that demonstrates your commitment to your craft. Connect with others in your industry.

2. Be a leader: Participate in industry associations. This matters to large clients. Lead sessions, publish materials, volunteer your time, and become known in these circles. Adopt an attitude of leadership and bring that to your online content.

3. Look the part: Large clients are going to research you before hiring you. All posted content should be professional and on-topic. Your website, social media profiles, and portfolio samples should look like you didn’t just roll out of bed. It’s not that hard. There are countless cheap or even free resources out there to get a basic set of designed materials in a weekend. Trade services with a designer. You don’t have to look like the $100 million agency. But, you won’t get by with garbage.

Budgets

Large clients = large budgets. Finally, a taste of that sweet, sweet corporate money! Well, sure, but there’s a lot more to it than just signing up for the cash machine. One of the most common issues I see with people moving up to larger clients is that they have no idea how to deal with pricing. Their pricing is either way too low—and, thus, not serious—or it’s all over the board. Both of these will make sophisticated clients question your abilities.

1. Know how to establish and negotiate larger budgets. Reach out to your connections in the industry and ask them for info. You are networking with high-value people in your market, right?

2. Unlike many smaller clients, large clients often have set budgets and know the market value of work. Be prepared to ask clients about their budgets and navigate the conversation.

Professionalism

I can always tell who has experience working with larger organizations and who doesn’t. Always. It’s that obvious. I cannot overemphasize the difference between the world of small/individual clients and the world of larger organizations. The clearest line is the level of professionalism. If you want to play the game with larger clients, you better be a professional.

The hallmarks of a professional:

1. Always on time and prepared

2. Impeccable with your word

3. Accurate in speech and actions

4. Committed to your craft

5. Proactive

There is absolutely no excuse to not be practicing these now. Establish professional standards for each item above and practice them religiously.

Corporatism

Larger organizations have multiple departments and hundreds of variables tied to each decision. This is what leads to corporate red tape and utterly nonsensical projects arising from some SVP’s latest whim. The largest clients are publicly-traded, where even the CEO can be fired if shareholders aren’t happy. With smaller clients, you don’t have these variables. It’s simply a different game. You can’t truly practice the items below until you encounter them, but you can prepare.

1. Learn how to be a team player. Your client contact has co-workers and bosses to deal with. This means their motives might not always be 1:1 with the objective at hand. Be patient and always get to the root of the client's motives.

2. Balance immediate fires with proactive ideas. The small-client fires are generally easy to put out. Once under control, the best small clients are ready to move forward and grow. In the corporate world, the fires can add up to unmanageable levels. It can become your client’s (and your) entire job. When this happens, the last thing they want to hear is some new initiative that they will only equate with risk. Think now about building teams of people who you can bring in to help alleviate the constant fires. Once you ease the burden for your client, you can begin to find ways to unlock big budgets for big ideas.

3. Legal exposure. If you aren’t structuring your client relationships around a defined scope and signed contract, start now. With larger clients, this is even more imperative. They often have legal teams in-house or on permanent retainer, just itching to work. Water-tight contracts will help you defend yourself should the worst-case scenario arrive.

One step at a time

As you routinely practice the items above, opportunities will inevitably begin to arise. Remember: you can never take another step without leaving the balance of standing on two feet. There will always be some level of insecurity and Imposter Syndrome. That’s perfectly fine. In fact, it’s your sign that you’re growing. Just remember that it’s a liar and that EVERYONE who levels up in life experiences it.

Level up together

Now, one final note. Remember my first big client? Yeah, they were already a big client when they signed me. But, nothing like what they are now. Over the years, I grew alongside them. I have countless stories about us working together on an initiative for the first time. If you’re still in the early stages of business, pay careful attention to the smaller clients with big aspirations. One of the best ways to land a big client is landing them when they’re still small.

– Torrey