How to Attract Your First Clients - for Marching Arts Designers

As a music designer for the marching arts, one of the most common challenges you'll face—regardless of where you are in your journey—is attracting more clients. Every designer must tackle this hurdle at some point in their career. In this post, I'll share several strategies to enhance your ability to attract new clients for your design services.

MINDSET

First off, it's important to adopt the correct mindset around client attraction. You and your business exist to solve problems. That's the fundamental law of business. Someone out there has a problem they need solved, and they're willing to pay someone to solve it for them.

In simple terms, as a designer, you're solving specific problems for clients or ensembles:

• MUSIC - They need music for their competitive show
• CONSULTATION - They need help designing a show
• EDUCATION - They want to tap into your expertise to improve their students' performance

It's easy to assume you're competing with hundreds of people doing the same thing, perhaps with more experience, accolades, better resumes, or more education. But you have to put that aside. This feeling will persist throughout your career. There's no "top of the mountain." In fact, you should always push yourself and seek bigger, better competitors.

Start thinking about how you can differentiate yourself and what unique advantages you might have. Here are some simple advantages to identify and leverage:

• LOCATION - Living closer to a client and being able to work with them directly is a huge advantage. When I started designing for front ensemble and winds, it was for local groups I already taught. This is how most designers you admire got their start.
• SPEED - When you're building your client base, highlight your ability to complete work quickly. With fewer projects, you can offer faster turnaround times. Make this a key selling point early on.
• EDITS / REWRITES / CUSTOM TAILORING - Related to speed, when you're starting out with fewer opportunities, emphasize your commitment to your clients' success. When I began arranging for winds, why would any band director take a chance on a percussionist? The few who did knew how dedicated and resourceful I was. They knew I'd work tirelessly, seek advice constantly, make edits without hesitation, and be fully invested in the ensemble's success—as if my life depended on it... which it did!
• EASY TO WORK WITH / COLLABORATIVE - When you're starting out, you'll likely inherit the team you work with. Be easy to work with, but don't be a pushover. Your early investment should be in becoming someone people want to hire again. Be someone people enjoy working with. Many new clients will come through networks of other marching professionals like drill writers, program coordinators, and color guard designers. During initial gigs, ask your collaborators how you can make their jobs easier.

MARKETING

You have to start thinking like your ideal customer.

To think like your ideal customer, you must first define them. It might seem counterintuitive, but thousands of potential customers could be a great fit for you. However, they either don't know you exist or aren't considering you when it's time to hire.

How can you define or narrow down your ideal customer? It's tempting to say, "My ideal customer is ANY marching band or ANY indoor ensemble." However, in reality, every group has vastly different needs and situations.

You should identify which type of ensemble you'd be best suited for and learn to address their specific challenges.

EXAMPLE

High School Band A:

• 100 Students
• Beginning / Intermediate Skill Level
• Local Competition Circuit
• Smaller budget, but creative in-house team
• Flexible timelines

High School Band B:

• 250 Students
• State finalist / Intermediate to Advanced Skills
• Travels to BOA Competitions
• Aiming for Grand Nationals in 3 years
• Healthy Budget
• Intensive timeline / Large established design team

Both programs need a show for their competitive season. However, their desires and challenges differ significantly. Learning to communicate with and meet the needs of either type will be advantageous.

I've worked with both types and many others throughout my career. You'll eventually learn which clients you want to take on and which you don't. At first, you might feel compelled to accept any offer, but I encourage you to analyze your strengths and determine how you can best serve a group.

A newcomer might land a High School Band B by chance, but if you're unprepared for their demands, it could be a harsh wake-up call. Conversely, a high-demand, premium-charging designer taking on a High School Band A might disappoint the ensemble if they can't provide the hands-on attention the group needs.

Consider these additional factors when defining your ideal client:

• GEOGRAPHY
• ENSEMBLE SIZE
• CLASS OF COMPETITION
• ENSEMBLE STYLE (Jazzy, Classical, Modern, Pop, Avant-Garde, etc.)
• BUDGET
• ENSEMBLE / DIRECTOR EXPERIENCE (Emerging / Established)

Social Media

• Are you leveraging your social networks to attract your ideal client?
• Are you creating content that provides value to your ideal client?
• Are you educating yourself and growing your skillset in this area?

Whether you like it or not, this is where many people in 2024 are missing an opportunity. Investing time in strategizing, learning content creation, and copywriting is something many designers often overlook.

There's huge potential for building trust on social networks that many creatives avoid, either out of ignorance or fear of judgment.

Once you've identified your target clients, start brainstorming content ideas that would appeal to them.

For instance, if you're aiming to attract A Class Percussion Ensembles that love modern shows, start sharing clips of your work in that category.

(No content to post? Well, get writing! There are plenty of resources to help you get started. If you're serious and don't know where to begin, drop me a message—I'd be happy to point you in the right direction.)

In “Show your Work”, Austin Kleon talks about how creatives can share and come up with a plan for social media. Part of his message is to just show others where you are on your journey, show things that end up on the cutting room floor, show ideas where you were inspired.

The point of social media is to get people to know, like, and trust you. Don’t worry so much about selling.

Provide value.

Make someone feel like you know the kinds of things they struggle with, and that you are the kind of person that wants to solve the unique problems that they are facing.

REALITY CHECK

‼️"But Kevin, all that sounds great... How do I get that first gig? I've got no experience, why would they hire me?"

This is where you have to take ownership.

❓ WHY would someone hire you?

You have to make it a no-brainer. They must believe they're getting more value than they're giving.

If I asked you to give me $100 and I'd give you $50 in return, would you accept?

What about if I offered you $100 in exchange? $200? $5000?

Generally, most people don’t purchase goods or services when they think they're getting less value than they’re paying. And conversely, people line up to buy things that are a no-brainer, crazy bargain, solve their problems quickly, or give them an amazing experience.

What can you do about it?

Well... a few things. But they require a growth and investment mindset.

I vividly remember my very first marching band winds gig. I was sitting next to the band director of the marching band where I was writing and teaching the front ensemble.

They were commiserating with me about how they didn't love the show we'd gotten that year from our custom arranger, and wondering who we should look at for next year.

I just put it out there: "What if I did it for $500? I'll write it super early... you can give me all your notes and edits... I'll be at every rehearsal... and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you love it."

Band director: "What's the catch?"

Me: "No catch. I just want to get better, and I know I can do a great job. I'm super invested in doing it."

The moral of the story: If I hadn't made that initial investment in just going for it and jumping into the deep end, I might not have had the career I do today. At the beginning, it's not about getting PAID... it's about gaining experience and getting opportunities to DELIVER and create outsized returns for your customers. (If he had said no to $500, I would have offered to do it for free.)

The amount of hours and effort that went into those first few schools and shows was insane. But then I was able to build a portfolio. I had references. I built a network of other designers that got me more gigs because they wanted to work with me. I didn't let my lack of knowledge and experience stop me... I bought books on orchestration... I bugged all the other wind arrangers I knew... I shared my scores with the other band directors I knew and worked for, asking for their feedback... I learned from my mistakes... I learned how to make better mockups... I leaned into the communities of other people who were also learning and creating, trying to absorb as much as I could from them.

Eventually, I learned how to make a website... I posted my music up there... someone emailed me asking if they could purchase a show...

It "sounds" easy... but it wasn't. It was chaotic and unplanned... and VERY serendipitous.

This was before social media... and before YouTube. This was before online communities like this existed and before there were readily accessible coaches online willing to help you on your journey.

You can do this. It doesn't have to be complicated. Make a commitment to level up in the following categories:

• 🧠 MINDSET - This is probably the #1 thing you can do to fuel your growth in all the other categories. How you approach problem solving, strategic thinking, long term investment, and your philosophical approach will be the cornerstone of how you navigate your career. READ BOOKS … For the cost of a few fancy coffees, you can learn the most valuable lessons from so many people who have achieved greatness.
• 🎼 YOUR SKILLS- Whether it's becoming a better music designer or educator, your skillset is the foundation of your business. Invest in courses, coaching, gear, and software.
• 📱 MARKETING - Social Media, Email, Website. Commit to building something... start small... but commit to something. It will gather momentum over time. Gather content... show your work... build your portfolio.
• 📞 NETWORKING - Join communities of like-minded individuals. Seek out coaching or mentorship and surround yourself with people who are further down the path you want to travel. Attend conventions and national championships like WGI World Championships or BOA Grand Nationals. Make connections, introduce yourself, ask questions (but don't be awkward). Further, you most likely have experience marching, whether it was your high school, drum corps, independent ensemble … who are in your support environment from those ensembles that would love to succeed and give you a shot? Who would be willing to make a connection for you? Who might write a recommendation for you? Who could you partner with? Make a list … send them an email letting them know you’re starting out as a designer and that you’re looking to find areas where you could add value or be an asset for them and that you’re willing to do what it takes to get a foot in the door. Don’t underestimate the power of a personal email … or better yet a hand written letter.

Finding work when you’re starting out can be a daunting task, but you’re not without agency. You have a lot of power when it comes to building yourself up, finding opportunities, making yourself known (as well as indispensable) and starting down your road to a full time career as a designer.

Kevin Shah, 11/13/2024

I hope this article was helpful - and if you'd like more content for the marching arts, here are a few more places to connect with me:

• prmworkshops.com - education for designers for the marching arts
• projectRISEmusic.com - my publishing website
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinsshah/
• Join my free Facebook group for designers for the marching arts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prmworkshopsprivategroup

Cheers! - Kevin

PS. If you're interested in working with me directly to level up your design career, I'm developing a program for designers who are highly motivated to increase their revenue and are serious about their career growth. Stay tuned!

... if you're super motivated and don't want to wait for a more public announcement, fill out the form below to get details before the public launch.