6 Steps to Hosting a Successful Client Acquisition Event

Giving prospects the opportunity to try out your services at no cost is a great way to attract them to your business. One-time events attract prospects that have a fear of commitment or who aren’t sure if your service is right for them. But pull off the event well, and you’ll turn those skittish prospects into loyal clients.

Here’s how:

1. Offer a Workshop

Offer a one-time workshop, rather than an invitation to a recurring class. This makes the event seem more special and exclusive, and creates a sense of urgency that will get people to sign up. Workshops are also a great way to showcase what your business does to potential clients.

2. Keep it simple and fun

To make the workshop as accessible as possible, tailor it to beginners. Prospects are less likely to show up to a class if they don’t know the business and are unsure of their abilities. Your goal is to make them feel comfortable at your facility and ease them into your services. Once they’re established as beginners, you can encourage and inspire them to push further.

3. Invite your current clients too

Of course you should open the event to the entire community, but if you want to get new clients, the best place to start is with the clients you already have. Encourage your clients to bring a friend or two with them. Most likely they’ll reach out to people who are already interested in the type of service you offer, greatly increasing your chance at converting them to a loyal client.

4. Have extra staff members on hand

You’ll need enough staff on hand to schmooze your prospects. Your staff should be ready to enthusiastically answer questions about the business and the services you offer. It’s also beneficial for prospects to see staff interacting with current clients. Staff-client relationships are an important part of the client experience.

5. Offer an incentive to come back

At the end of the workshop, offer a discount on membership or a class package. If prospects enjoyed the workshop, they are likely to be interested in coming back to try something else. Make this as easy for them as possible by showcasing your beginner offerings, as well as a preview into the intermediate and advanced classes that they can aspire to.

6. Capture contact information

Ideally, your prospects will be so excited about your workshop that they’ll sign up for membership on the spot, but if they don’t it’s a good idea to have a way to stay in touch. Gather email addresses so you can reach out with news an updates about class offerings. You might just be able to hook some of those prospects back in.