This is a great question and one I get asked a lot. I get it – retainers are reliable and stable agency income so you wanna score lots of ’em. I have two pieces of advice on this one…

First, think about changing your terminology. Really put thought into your word choices. If, for example, you’re trying to sell clients a “support retainer” they interpret that as “someone to can call when there’s an issue” or a reactive solution to their potential needs. Instead, I called this a “continuous improvement”. Now you’ve put a proactive spin on the wording. Think from the client’s perspective. Think from your own consumer behavior… do you pay for “support”?

Next, STOP trying to sell the retainer first. I know, I know… you’ve got your blog and you’re putting out all this goodwill content so you think you should go in for the kill off the bat. DON’T DO IT.

[ctt title=”As I always say, you’ve got to court before proposing marriage. ” tweet=”You’ve got to court before proposing marriage. http://ctt.ec/CDa0j+ via @jswenk #agencyretainers #agencygrowth” coverup=”CDa0j”]

Start slow. Sell a paid discovery first, where you roadmap the ways in which you’d be able to help this client. Then, convert that into a paid project over a few months. When you’ve knocked that out of the park, then propose a retainer.

Your content established trust and authority. Your proven work on the discovery and project(s) will score the retainer.

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