Cardiff Web Scene

Hay guys,

Is most of your client work fron Welsh clients in Wales or is there more opportunity to get work, dare I say it, over the bridge? Just a little bit of research for a possible show case event.

Let me know if your increasingly getting work form outside of Wales.
How did you get it (direct contact, tender, cold calling, luck)
And importantly if you believe there is juicer work waiting in foreign lands...

Cheers Vicky aka sp0t0n if your in twittervirse

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Vicky,

You pose an interesting question here. I have clients not just from Wales and across the bridge in England but also in Portugal, France, Germany, and Spain and in the USA.

It has taken a few years to reach out to a wider market but it has been worth it. In Wales over the last 10 years there has been considerable funding for many of the business services which has made it difficult for fee charging businesses as we are to get passed the inevitable question “Are your consultancy services funded?”

How did I get the clients abroad? Firstly I met most of the European clients by travelling to conferences and events in Europe, sometimes as a delegate and sometimes as a speaker.

As a speaker there is a higher conversion rate and the respect you get from audiences helps the trust as long as you give a confident and polished performance and you know what you are talking about.

The publication of an Internet marketing book last year has also helped to get profile across the world from Australia to Canada from Sweden to Nigeria. I have had many interesting reviews for the book but more importantly it has led to more speaking engagements and direct consultancy work.

I am not sure what your role is but if you are based in Cardiff and if you have exhausted the opportunities in Wales then direct your marketing efforts over the bridge. Get involved with International Business Wales and see what other countries have opportunities.

Drop me a line and we can talk further.

Best of luck

Nigel T Packer

Reply to This

For the last year and a half all my work has been outside of Wales.

It's quite depressing as Cardiff seems like quite a wasteland when it comes to opportunities. I'm brushing up on some of my coding knowledge and may go freelance next year.

Reply to This

That is an expansive question.

I am not a fan of cold calling. Not just because of its pants conversation rate of 3% but because they are an absolute nuisance and people do not like to be sold to by people they do not know from Adam.

I have found word of mouth to be the most powerful means of marketing for us. Building a reputation through references, testimonials and referrals has meant that people a little further from home have become aware of what we do because somebody else was happy with work we did for them.

It can be relentless and it takes time to build a reputation, but I would suggest doing exactly what you are doing here. Interact with other people through forums, linkedIN, blogging, and social media. Ask for referrals, testimonials and over time people across the bridge will come to hear of you.

Reply to This

Reply to This

RSS

Badge

Loading…

© 2010   Created by Dan Zambonini   Powered by .

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service