Difficulty Finding clients

[Hayati]

Hello everyone
I am the owner and founder of" Hayati Staff" an international Private Household and domestic staff agency
We provide private household with staffing services such as nannies, housekeepers, house managers, butlers and more
I started this agency 2 years ago as I was myself a nanny before
Unfortunately since then things have been very slow , the only few clients i had so far are people I personally knew and worked for
I tried everything from SEO , cold email, flyers, social media marketing and getting in touch with other business but nothing worked so far
I really don't want to give up but have been spending too much money on any kind of Marketing strategy that does not work so don't know what to do now
Is any anyone has an idea or there an other way to get leads would love to hear it as I really think I tried everything so far with no results

 

[IanSuth]

If you are letting people in to your home and you are rich enough to afford the kind of services you offer you are going to want to be super sure.

I doubt those kind of people look at adds or google for ideas - they will ask their peers.

You need recommendations from existing customers - personally to their friends - not on trust-a-nanny

Have you asked your existing clients if they have friends who would be interested in you quoting for their needs ?

 

[Shopclicks]

Welcome to the forum.

You have a classic chicken & egg situation. No clients means no staff & no staff means no clients.

You need to discount your fees pricing while you're starting out to help create a demand for your service.

You need to create a registration form for both clients and staff, so they don't need to contact you first.

You need a website review because your SEO and UX need an overhaul. You will need to be a full member of this forum to get reviews.

If you have no budget for marketing, you need to get active with organic reach on multiple Social Media channels.

 

[Hayati]

If you are letting people in to your home and you are rich enough to afford the kind of services you offer you are going to want to be super sure.

I doubt those kind of people look at adds or google for ideas - they will ask their peers.

You need recommendations from existing customers - personally to their friends - not on trust-a-nanny

Have you asked your existing clients if they have friends who would be interested in you quoting for their needs ?

Hi , Yes I already have , and it does work sometimes but not always unfortunately.

 

[Hayati]

Welcome to the forum.

You have a classic chicken & egg situation. No clients means no staff & no staff means no clients.

You need to discount your fees pricing while you're starting out to help create a demand for your service.

You need to create a registration form for both clients and staff, so they don't need to contact you first.

You need a website review because your SEO and UX need an overhaul. You will need to be a full member of this forum to get reviews.

If you have no budget for marketing, you need to get active with organic reach on multiple Social Media channels.

Hello ,
Registration form for clients and staff is already incorporated on my website
I already have an expert taking care of SEO
Same as social media
As for the price my fees are lower then most agency that offers the same services then me

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If you are not selling to UK & Europe, don't cast your net too wide - focus on one country.

 

[Mark T Jones]

You are in a business which relies heavily on trust and referrals.

Your best source of business by far is your existing clients (assuming they trust you)

If looking externally then you need to ooze respectability and authenticity - which unfortunately your website doesn't.

- Accreditations / certificates / licences
- Reviews - they are a bit 'skimpy' and could well be made up.
- Company details - legally required and essential for trust.

A posh London serviced address doesn't fool anyone any more!

Why on earth have you randomly thrown in VAT registration? - just further dilutes your offering.

My personal view is that you are letting yourself down by pretending to be a BigCo - my suggestion, go back to basics.

Be Miss Hayat, whose skill & experience and credentials are...

Offer one or at most 2 services in a specific geographic area.

Pick up customers - discount if you must (avoid if you can). Push them (nicely) for referrals and testimonials.


Add services & geographical scope as you go along.

 

[Shopclicks]

Registration form for clients and staff is already incorporated on my website ...On the frontend?
I already have an expert taking care of SEO ...No you don't
Same as social media ...No you don't
As for the price my fees are lower then most agency that offers the same services then me ...Established agencies?

 

[Hayati]

Registration form for clients and staff is already incorporated on my website ...On the frontend?
I already have an expert taking care of SEO ...No you don't
Same as social media ...No you don't
As for the price my fees are lower then most agency that offers the same services then me ...Established agencies?

Hello Shopclick
Thank you for your reply
In fact the registration form is on my contact page, would you recommend to put it on my home page for more interaction?
As for the SEO could you explain why you think I don't have any as I am working with an SEO expert currently who is in fact taking care of my website and google ads. Would you say then it is a waste of money and I should focus on something else?

 

[Hayati]

You are in a business which relies heavily on trust and referrals.

Your best source of business by far is your existing clients (assuming they trust you)

If looking externally then you need to ooze respectability and authenticity - which unfortunately your website doesn't.

- Accreditations / certificates / licences
- Reviews - they are a bit 'skimpy' and could well be made up.
- Company details - legally required and essential for trust.

A posh London serviced address doesn't fool anyone any more!

Why on earth have you randomly thrown in VAT registration? - just further dilutes your offering.

My personal view is that you are letting yourself down by pretending to be a BigCo - my suggestion, go back to basics.

Be Miss Hayat, whose skill & experience and credentials are...

Offer one or at most 2 services in a specific geographic area.

Pick up customers - discount if you must (avoid if you can). Push them (nicely) for referrals and testimonials.


Add services & geographical scope as you go along.

Hello Mark
In fact this kind of business do relies a lot on trust and referral that is why I made some changes on my website as I had some advices from a professional on marketing strategy who told me that explaining my experience will make a good impact on potential clients ( as I was a nanny myself before) that is why he said that incorporating a video would help witch I did as you can see on my contact page.
As for :
1. Accreditations / certificates / licences
What kind of certificate or licence are you talking about and is something you would recommend putting on the website with the kind of services I offer? I am asking because when i check my competitors they do not have that on their website
- Reviews - they are a bit 'skimpy' and could well be made up.
This is something I really am working on right now and would definitely put on my website soon
- Company details - legally required and essential for trust.
What kind company details are you talking about??

Why on earth have you randomly thrown in VAT registration?

What do you means by that?

 

[Shopclicks]

In fact the registration form is on my contact page, would you recommend to put it on my home page for more interaction?
As for the SEO could you explain why you think I don't have any as I am working with an SEO expert currently who is in fact taking care of my website and google ads. Would you say then it is a waste of money and I should focus on something else?

That looks like a contact form, not a registration form?

I can't tell you what is wrong with your SEO as you need to be a full member of the forum.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

As for the SEO could you explain why you think I don't have any as I am working with an SEO expert currently who is in fact taking care of my website and google ads. Would you say then it is a waste of money and I should focus on something else?

I think you have already answered that yourself!

 

[Mark T Jones]

Hello Mark
In fact this kind of business do relies a lot on trust and referral that is why I made some changes on my website as I had some advices from a professional on marketing strategy who told me that explaining my experience will make a good impact on potential clients ( as I was a nanny myself before) that is why he said that incorporating a video would help witch I did as you can see on my contact page.
As for :
1. Accreditations / certificates / licences
What kind of certificate or licence are you talking about and is something you would recommend putting on the website with the kind of services I offer? I am asking because when i check my competitors they do not have that on their website
- Reviews - they are a bit 'skimpy' and could well be made up.
This is something I really am working on right now and would definitely put on my website soon
- Company details - legally required and essential for trust.
What kind company details are you talking about??


What do you means by that?

I've no idea what accreditations / licences etc are relevant to your business - you need to research it.

Company details - your website is required BY LAW to show the legal entity with whom they are contracting. You have a limited company which is currently dormant - who is the contract with? This kind of detail marks you out as an amateur.

VAT - My mistake - sorry!

If your marketing professional is any good, the first thing they will do is work with you on identifying your target customer, n minute detail. This doesn't come across at all on your website. Until you do that money spent on SEO or SM will be p!55ing up the wall.

 

[Hayati]

If you are not selling to UK & Europe, don't cast your net too wide - focus

I think you have already answered that yourself!

Hello Paul
So It is quite recent since I started with the SEO expert ( 2 months) so maybe that is the reason why it is not as efficient as it should be
Because of my budget I have done it and stop it maybe time but going back to it right now for the next 6 month to see if it something i should keep doing or not

 

[japancool]

I am not convinced that someone looking for a butler is going to fill in a registration or contact form. They're going to pick up the phone and call you.

Your website needs to do everything to convince them to do that.

 

[Hayati]

I've no idea what accreditations / licences etc are relevant to your business - you need to research it.

Company details - your website is required BY LAW to show the legal entity with whom they are contracting. You have a limited company which is currently dormant - who is the contract with? This kind of detail marks you out as an amateur.

VAT - My mistake - sorry!

If your marketing professional is any good, the first thing they will do is work with you on identifying your target customer, n minute detail. This doesn't come across at all on your website. Until you do that money spent on SEO or SM will be p!55ing up the wall.

I do realize that my website reflect the image of my agency so need to make some change there
The issue is potential client will first need to FIND it or look for it and that is the issue I have right now. Plus lot of other agencies that have been doing it for a while now offer the same services then i do
So i think i really need to find a way to stand out from the others but don't know how yet

 

[fisicx]

Registration form for clients and staff is already incorporated on my website

That's the first problem - people don't want to fill in forms.

I already have an expert taking care of SEO

In which case they are failing and you are wasting your money

Same as social media

As above.

As for the price my fees are lower then most agency that offers the same services then me

This can be a red flag - people want quality service and if you are too cheap they won't trust you.

 

[Shopclicks]

I am not convinced that someone looking for a butler is going to fill in a registration or contact form. They're going to pick up the phone and call you.

I've built similar sites which create a profile for the butler, nanny, etc. using a registration form. The Admin then has the opportunity to publish the profile or not. The profiles are displayed as service providers/staff.

Clients can register as a client (with no public profile) to start the Admin conversation. The registration form can provide details of the position they have available.

It's important for a client to register as you're going to charge them for the service. And unless that's going to be a manual process, better to get their details upfront.

 

[fisicx]

@Hayati - just had a look at your website. There are so many things wrong I don't even know where to start. If you upgrade your membership you can get a website review. But be prepared for the worst.

The address on the site is 130 Old Street London. This is a huge red flag. It's not even a proper office. If I'm looking for a Nanny I'd expect to be able to visit your office to discuss my requirements.

 

[fisicx]

Clients can register as a client (with no public profile) to start the Admin conversation. The registration form can provide details of the position they have available.

Yes, but take a look at their site. Spot the deliberate error when you try to register...

 

[Hayati]

@Hayati - just had a look at your website. There are so many things wrong I don't even know where to start. If you upgrade your membership you can get a website review. But be prepared for the worst.

The address on the site is 130 Old Street London. This is a huge red flag. It's not even a proper office. If I'm looking for a Nanny I'd expect to be able to visit your office to discuss my requirements.

Once again the issue with the website is something that can be resolve easily
As for the address , this is a registered business address as I work remotely but it never been an issue with clients as 90% of them are outside London or even if in London they just call and don't visit as we offer a services for their Household and they meet the candidate face to face or on zoom

​

 

[Hayati]

Yes, but take a look at their site. Spot the deliberate error when you try to register...

What kind of error?

 

[Shopclicks]

Yes, but take a look at their site. Spot the deliberate error when you try to register...

The biggest error is ... it's not a registration form. By registration form, I mean it creates an account and profile for you and gives you access to a bespoke dashboard.

 

[fisicx]

Once again the issue with the website is something that can be resolve easily
As for the address , this is a registered business address as I work remotely but it never been an issue with clients as 90% of them are outside London or even if in London they just call and don't visit as we offer a services for their Household and they meet the candidate face to face or on zoom

​

But you aren’t getting new clients. The address is a red flag.

 

[fisicx]

What kind of error?

There is no registration form! The whole site needs sorting.

Did you build it yourself?

 

[MBE2017]

- Reviews - they are a bit 'skimpy' and could well be made up.
This is something I really am working on right now and would definitely put on my website soon

Reviews are your best sales tool, particularly when starting out. To touch upon other points, why try to appear a worldwide agency offering so many types of staff, when you are struggling to get ANY clients.

Why not be the top quality specialist agency people can go to, nothing wrong being small. Hard to say any more since you are not a full member, but you need a lot of help on the website.

 

[Hayati]

Reviews are your best sales tool, particularly when starting out. To touch upon other points, why try to appear a worldwide agency offering so many types of staff, when you are struggling to get ANY clients.

Why not be the top quality specialist agency people can go to, nothing wrong being small. Hard to say any more since you are not a full member, but you need a lot of help on the website.

Hello ,
Thank you for your message
I appear has a worldwide agency as the clients I had so far are from the UK and the middle east so putting it on my website is necessary for potential client outside the UK to see that we can offer staff not only in the UK but worldwide
Yes reviews is definitely something I need to work on I agree
But once again the issue is being seen first and that's what I am trying to find a solution to
Working on SEO and google ads hoping that would help
But i think it is not enough so wanted to have a opinion with people who maybe had this issue before

 

[Hayati]

There is no registration form! The whole site needs sorting.

Did you build it yourself?

Not at all
A web developer did

 

[fisicx]

Not at all
A web developer did

Then you were ripped off. As I said before, the site has many issues that a proper developer wouldn’t have incorporated.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Hello ,
Thank you for your message
I appear has a worldwide agency as the clients I had so far are from the UK and the middle east so putting it on my website is necessary for potential client outside the UK to see that we can offer staff not only in the UK but worldwide
Yes reviews is definitely something I need to work on I agree
But once again the issue is being seen first and that's what I am trying to find a solution to
Working on SEO and google ads hoping that would help
But i think it is not enough so wanted to have a opinion with people who maybe had this issue before

Then focus on where your clients are.

Or, if you must have 2 specialist areas.

I guarantee that presently your outward marketing budget will be a bottomless pit.

 

[fisicx]

@Hayati - are you based in the UK?

 

[Hayati]

@Hayati - are you based in the UK?

Yes!

 

[fisicx]

Then focus on the UK. Trying to go international adds a whole new level of pain.

What I do know is people looking for a nanny or cook or whatever won't be looking on a generic site like yours. They will use sites where there is a big choice of candidates. Or a concierge service where you find them a suitable candidate.

The only reason I know this is because I've been involved in this type of business for a while.

 

[SBC Marketing]

Hello everyone
I am the owner and founder of" Hayati Staff" an international Private Household and domestic staff agency
We provide private household with staffing services such as nannies, housekeepers, house managers, butlers and more
I started this agency 2 years ago as I was myself a nanny before
Unfortunately since then things have been very slow , the only few clients i had so far are people I personally knew and worked for
I tried everything from SEO , cold email, flyers, social media marketing and getting in touch with other business but nothing worked so far
I really don't want to give up but have been spending too much money on any kind of Marketing strategy that does not work so don't know what to do now
Is any anyone has an idea or there an other way to get leads would love to hear it as I really think I tried everything so far with no results

Firstly, your personal experience as a nanny can be a powerful selling point. Consider sharing your story on your website and social media platforms to connect with potential clients who value that personal touch.

To address your marketing struggles, it's crucial to analyze your previous efforts. Focus on the strategies that showed some promise, even if they didn't yield immediate results. SEO and social media marketing, for instance, can take time to generate leads.

Additionally, consider exploring paid advertising on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These platforms offer advanced targeting options to reach your ideal audience.

Networking remains a valuable tool in your industry. Attend local events or join online forums where potential clients might seek staffing solutions. Personal connections can often lead to word-of-mouth referrals.

Lastly, we recommend conducting a thorough competitive analysis to understand what's working for successful agencies in your niche. This can provide insights into new approaches.

Remember, building a client base takes time and persistence. Keep refining your strategies, track your results, and adapt as needed. We believe with the right approach and determination, you can achieve the growth you're looking for.