In this Ask Evan episode, Evan Carmichael answers a question from Blake, a 22‑year‑old founder of a small marketing‑services firm serving home builders and remodelers. Evan outlines a step‑by‑step growth strategy: (1) acquire initial clients—even at discounted rates or through charitable projects—to build a portfolio and credibility; (2) raise local visibility by securing newspaper coverage, writing white papers, giving seminars, and being quoted as an expert, which creates social proof for future pitches; (3) lower buyer resistance with risk‑reversal tactics such as opt‑out clauses or money‑back guarantees on long‑term contracts; and (4) deliver exceptional, education‑focused service, positioning yourself as an extension of the client’s business to earn testimonials and referrals. He emphasizes that these tactics together generate momentum, shorten sales cycles, and create repeat and referral business for a fledgling agency. The video ends with a call for likes and comments.
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Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael. Welcome to another edition of Ask Evan. In today's episode, I'm going to answer a question from one of my readers, Blake, who is part of a young company. They sell marketing services to home builders and remodelers. They don't have a lot of experience yet, and they don't have a lot of client work to be able to show off. So he's wondering how he can promote his company and get new clients because he's 22 years old and all of the responsibilities for marketing the company lie on him. So Blake, congrats on the new company. I know it's a lot of pressure to be the one guy in charge of sales. In my first company, I had two partners and they were kind of the product people, and it was up to me to be able to go out and sell. I was 19 years old, and I know it's stressful and hard, and it can work out following the right strategy. So for you, I think it's really important that you start building some momentum. So you need to get some clients on board and get some, some work to be able to show off, even if that means working at a slightly discounted rate at the start. If it's kind of a brand name client that you can reference, or perhaps a charity— I don't know if there are charities kind of related to the home renovations building model— but just to build up some credibility, you may not be able to charge premium price at the start because you want to build up something. You want to show that what you do works, and you let them know that, you know, this is a trial period for them as well, and they're getting a discount on it. Next, I try to build up some recognition with the media. So if you can get in your local newspaper, if you can write white papers and be seen as an expert, and you're doing presentations and seminars and speaking, and if you can be quoted as an expert in the media, that adds a lot of credibility, and you can reference those when you're going out and pitching clients, and you may get a lot of new clients because they've seen you on, you know, whatever TV station, or they read whatever magazine article or newspaper article. Doesn't have to be national scale right now. Think about your local community, whatever local paper there is. That's a great way to start and build up from there. So that adds some momentum to your business. You may consider also doing some kind of risk reversal strategy. So if you have long-term contracts that you're trying to sign people offer some kind of opt-out clause if they're not happy, potentially some kind of money-back guarantee if they're not happy with what's going on, or a way to cut the project at a certain period of time to make it easy for people to want to say yes, especially at the beginning, to get people kind of on board, make them want to do business with you, get the ball rolling. Now that means you're gonna have to actually deliver on what you say you're gonna do, right? If people can get some money back or cancel out of the contract You have to make sure you're actually good at what you're selling. And then the last part is really, really, really service your customers. So think about other ways that you might be able to really help them out. Explain the concept to them. A lot of the home builders and remodelers are not really online savvy, tech savvy, so explain to them in language they can understand about how to market themselves, what you're doing for them, what are the things they might be thinking about. Think of yourself as an extension of their business, not just a service provider. And really, really service your customers well so that they want to give you good testimonials, they want to give you referrals to other potential customers as well. And it's a great way to build your business. It is a little bit longer-term strategy, but it's a fantastic way to grow your business because they'll be repeat clients, and referred clients that come through them will buy more, easier to sell, will, you know, spend more money with you, and the closing period is a lot shorter. So Blake, I hope that helps. If you guys like the video, please give it a thumbs up. I'd also love to hear what you have to say if you leave a comment under the video. The thumbs up and comments really help motivate me to want to do more of these videos for you guys, so hope to hear from you soon down below, and stay tuned for the next episode.
