As the calendar flipped to a new year, more than a couple of designers I talked to wondered whether this will be the year that the economy finally “snaps out of it.” It’s tough to say; no two economists can agree, and even though business seems to be a bit stronger lately, it also seems like we still have a long way to go to get back to “normal.”

But even more importantly, I’m not sure any of us should really care as much as we do.

As many of you already know, I spent some years in sales and marketing before I moved over to writing full time. Because of that, one of my strengths has always been the ability to make a plan to find new clients and stick with it… something that can take a lot of the sting out of a tough economy.

Just to be clear, I’m not claiming that I haven’t felt a pinch over the last couple of years – I definitely have. But while many of my clients have cut back or canceled projects, I’ve been able to keep my calendar pretty full, and my business moving ahead, by doing a little bit to create new opportunities every day. And you can do the same.

In this short article, I’m going to share my dozen favorite pieces of advice for bringing in new business. I hope you’ll give them some thought, and that they will bring you a 2011 that sees your business go to the next level… regardless of what the economy is doing.

Find your joy

Every creative professional or company has some kind of project that they are ideally-suited for. Start your marketing plan by finding yours; it should be something you enjoy working on, that pays well and challenges you creatively, and that you wish you could do more of.

It’s not necessarily important what your perfect project is, so long as you have one. So don’t skip this crucial step. It can generate the kind of focus that keeps you pointed in the right direction while letting potential clients know exactly what you’re about.

Identify your perfect client

This is really just an extension of the previous step, but one that is still incredibly important. In the minds of business owners, something that’s for everyone is something for no one at all. In other words, good clients want to do business with you because you have a particular skill or specialty, not because you were the lowest cost. These are the kinds of relationships you want to cultivate, since they will still be there if another designer comes along with a lower bid.

Make a list of 500 high-value potential clients

Now that you’ve nailed down exactly what you want to be doing and who you want to be doing it for, start making a list of the men and women who could make that happen. They could be marketing managers, business owners, or other key contacts. The only requirement is that they be able to hire you for your ideal project.

The Internet is obviously a great place to start for this kind of research, but so are trade association directories, business journals, networking events, and even your existing clients. Try to make sure you have as much detailed contact and background information as possible for each person on your list – at least some of these people will be your clients for years and years to come.

Build a very specific marketing piece highlighting your perfect project

Try to create a 1 to 3 page document that’s easy to read, visually compelling, and can be printed or forwarded via e-mail. That way, when you start contacting potential clients, you have a high-quality marketing piece that you can send along to create interest.

A couple of pages isn’t a lot of space, so try to stick to an attention-grabbing headline, a couple of key points, a good quote from a prominent existing client, and an invitation to get in touch with your company. The point isn’t to tell them about everything you do, just to interest them enough to keep the conversation moving.

Start contacting 10 people on your list every day

Why ten? When it comes to marketing your business, ten is something of a magic number. It’s not so many that you feel overwhelmed or have trouble keeping track of them, but neither is it so few that you won’t see results. 10 contacts would equal 50 per week, or 500 every 10 weeks. Even if only a small percentage responds to your introduction, you should have at least a couple dozen new clients by the end of the year. Remember, these aren’t just any clients, but the ones you handpicked to take your business to the next level.

How should you contact these people? My personal preference is over the phone, since it’s fast, cheap, and personal. However, recognizing that many people absolutely hate finding business on the phone, I know that direct mail or even e-mail can work as well, albeit with a smaller percentage of “hits.”

Stay in touch

Given that you’ve taken the time to find your perfect client, put together a marketing piece that speaks directly to them, and then put your best foot forward, it doesn’t make any sense to give up after the first try. In fact, you’ll find that the majority of your new clients won’t come from the first phone call or letter at all; instead, it will take half a dozen or so tries before you catch their attention.

With that in mind, once you reach the end of your list of 500 potential clients, take a deep breath and start all over again. You never know what could happen in a couple of months, and you’ll usually get a higher response rate each time you go through your list.

Reward your own effort

Here is a secret used by top salespeople all over the world: concentrate on the things you need to do, and don’t worry at all about the results. Whether your 10 contacts result in two new projects, or just a couple of people slamming the phone down on you, does it really matter on any given day? That’s because, the longer you stay at it, the better you’re going to get and the higher the odds of your success are going to become. Whether you are a good marketer or a terrible one, the 2500 contacts you’ll make this year (going through your list five times) are going to make a big difference.

The trick, then, isn’t in making something happen, but being patient enough to keep it up until you break through. For that reason, reward yourself with an extra cup of coffee or some other treat every time you make it through your list for the day – you’re doing what you need to while building good habits, and the work will pay off sooner or later.

Keep new business coming in other ways, too

The great thing about the plan I’ve laid out so far is that it works regardless of what’s going on in the economy, what your existing clients are doing, or what other challenges might pop up because you’re being proactive. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get clients the easy way once in a while, either. Keep up your search engine optimization and pay per click campaigns, submit some articles and press releases to magazines and local business journals, or offer to speak at business events in your area.

Taking control of your own marketing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing any of these other things, only that you don’t have to be dependent on them for the short-term.

Learn to ask the right questions

Regardless of where potential clients are coming from, ignore the impulse to tell them about your company, or how great you are. Instead, become an expert at asking the questions that matter to them: what do they need your design expertise for, what sort of results are they hoping to achieve from the project, and what sorts of setbacks have been encountered in the past?

The hallmark of a good salesperson – or in this case, a busy designer – is his or her ability to get clients to open up. Being a good listener is one of the most powerful sales and marketing skills you can have.

Talk profits, not designs

Hard as it might be to believe, lots of clients don’t really care how good or bad the design work they get is. What they really want to know is how it’s going to make them more money. Remember that, and try to sound less like an artist who needs business and more like someone who understands the realities of a marketing budget in a yearly business plan.

A big part of that process is explaining to clients, and hard numbers. Half of what you’re going to do will create a stronger bottom line for them in the future. If your proposal includes features that can help them make more sales or save money in other areas, mention it earlier and often.

Let your past work speak for itself

When it comes to helping clients make the final decision to go with you, what you need is often not a set of samples or the right price on your bed. Neither of those can really answer the question that comes to prospective clients most often: will this person or company really do what they say they can?

To help on that front, put together a handful of concise case studies, showing exactly how other clients benefited from your work and how happy they were with it. It’s a great way to calm a potential client’s fears and let them know you’re going to be there for them after they sign their deposit check.

Have fun!

So many designers think about marketing like a chore, and then can’t understand why potential clients don’t respond to their phone calls, mailings, and e-mails. But like anything else in life, if you are bored with what you’re doing, you can’t expect others to be excited by it.

For that reason, it’s important that you have fun with your marketing. Don’t think of it as a dreadful task, but something that’s going to make you a lot wealthier and busier in the long run – because if you do it the right way, it will!

About: Matthew Aaron

Matthew Aaron is a professional blog ghostwriter who works with dozens of design firms across North America and the United Kingdom. You can see more about him and his work – at matthewaaron.com.

You can also contact him directly at matt@matthewaaron.com to find out about special pricing for designers.