Some points and suggestions ...
The beginning stages of any business are the hardest. When clients go looking for contractors, one of their first concerns is have you been around awhile. Under most conditions you will find that your revenues will increase each year for the first several years. People either don't know of you yet or they don't know if you're worthwhile yet. You have to find a way to develop the staying power to get to where you need to be. That might mean taking a job and running your business part-time until it will support you. In the meantime, do an exceptional job with whomever is bringing you business and let it grow for you.
Above all, be yourself. Avoid putting on a front or overdressing etc. But always work towards achieving as high a sales rate as possible. In my first years in the business, early 1980's, I used to keep track of my closing rate and discovered that there is a high benefit to providing the assurance to the client that you are the guy that will be doing the job ... not a sales rep. This related to what I wore. I started out in slacks and a business shirt and did just so-so. My closing rate was 50% and my average sale was just over $100. So I switched to jeans and a pull over shirt and my closing rate went up to 70% and an average sale of $300. I eventually shifted to shorts, flip-flops, a bit of paint splashed on my clothing and neglected to shave. My closing rate went up to 90% and my average sale was $500.
Always close a sale when you're with the client and never close on price. I found that "when" worked best in most situations but any detail or alternate of choice is always preferable to price in determining whether or not the client buys.
There is a strange phenomenon that takes place in sales. When you are truly busy, you will find more clients wanting you to do their work and also more willing to care less about your prices. I think this is mainly due to the many little subtleties that creep into one's choices of words, body language and general attitude. Basically, while giving the client every confidence in you, attention and courtesy, there will still be an underlying communication that if he or she doesn't give you the order they stand to lose much more than you will. Thus, an unspoken "fear of loss" on the part of the client will result in more and better sales for you. All you have to do is to develop a mindset that you are truly busy and in danger of getting overbooked and backed up with work ... even if you aren't.
Finally, and some may disagree, I firmly believe that there is an inverse correlation between sales efforts and the quality of the results. In other words, my business is a contracting business, not a retail business. It is built first and foremost in establishing myself or my employees as the best choice to do the job. Therefore, the more I reach out to develop sales ... to be the one who makes the first contact and pitches my wares, versus more passive advertising and word of mouth referrals, the lower will be the quality of my results. Ask yourself whether you would prefer to be handed Joe the Plumber's business card by a third party with the suggestion that you give Joe a call, or have your phone ring with Joe on the other end of the line because he heard from a friend that you were the best guy around to do his new fleet of trucks. You call him and you're a salesman looking for a sale; he calls you and you're a professional being called in to provide a solution.
Develop your staying power at any cost so your dream has time to become a reality and don't ever let them see or feel how anxious you are to get their business.
