33 Ways To Get
More Clients
“How
do I get more clients?”
It’s
the question every consultant asks.
Why?
Because
clients are the lifeblood of any consulting business.
Without clients, you can’t keep
the lights on.
Without clients, you can’t make payroll.
Without clients, you can’t grow.
So
how do you get more clients? There’s certainly no silver bullet. I wish I could
write a blog post and say do “X” and you’ll have clients knocking down
your door today, and for years to come.
Instead,
getting new clients takes time, energy, and lots of effort. To get a steady
pipeline of clients, you have to invest time into building relationships,
networking, and marketing your consultancy.
In
this post, I’ve covered 33 strategies you can use to get new clients. You
may be familiar with some of these at a glance, but read through
because I’ve included helpful advice, resources, and tools for each.
1.
Ask for referrals, don’t wait for them
Okay,
okay, I know…referrals are the most obvious and well-known way to get new clients.
However,
too many consultants just wait for referrals to fall in their lap. After all,
happy clients should spread your name, right? Most clients will, but
sometimes clients are busy and won’t go out of their way.
Instead
of waiting, open your email and find 2 happy clients, who haven’t sent you
referrals yet.
You
are going to email them right now asking for a
referral. Seriously…do this.
Below
is the email copy I used which worked really well. I opened by checking up on
the client and then asking for a direct referral. Don’t beat around the
bush or leave it open ended, and always keep it short.
Hi [Name],
How is [Company] doing? I enjoyed working with you on that
project and would love to hear how it’s going.
On a side note, I’m looking for new clients to work with.
Can you connect me to any people or companies in your
network that could use my services right now?
– Marco
2.
Partner with agencies
Partnering
with an agency is a great way to bring in new clients. I’ve used this exact
strategy and built a partnership with an agency that sends me at least 1 new
client per month. I also make sure the agency is larger than my consultancy, so
I’m not competing.
I found agencies usually pass on work because:
I found agencies usually pass on work because:
·
The budget is too low
·
They have no interest in the
project
·
They don’t have availability
·
They don’t have the required
skills or expertise
Normally
when an agency turns down a prospective client, they’ll refer the client to a
new company in their network. That’s where you come in.
I
reached out to a dozen or so web agencies with a personalized email offering to
partner or take on any work they pass up. I received responses from about half,
and set up phone calls with each to discuss further.
I
would usually email the person in charge of business development, since
they were focused on building relationships with outside vendors.
3.
Browse job boards
This
is really another no-brainer, and chances are you already use job boards. If
you don’t, bookmark all of these below and check them daily for new projects.
This is probably one of the easiest ways to get new clients.
These
boards include design, development, marketing, copywriting and miscellaneous
jobs. Positions cover remote, full-time, part-time, contract and more, so
there’s plenty of options.
Did
I miss one? Post in the comments and let me know.
·
Dribbble
·
Behance
·
Juiiicy
·
Folyo
·
Krop
·
Inbound
·
GitHub
·
YC Jobs
·
Tuts+
·
Indeed (try keyword + your location (or) remote
(or) contract (or) freelance, etc.
If
you don’t want to check these boards daily, you can subscribe to a service
like Workshop (design
and development only) or Working Nomads (remote only). They’ll email you
the best leads from job boards daily (note that only some boards are included).
4. Follow
up with lost clients
When
I say “lost clients”, I’m referring to clients you may have spoke with or sent
a proposal to in the past, but didn’t win the business.
Go
through your email and find clients you lost 2+ months ago. Send them a follow
up email asking how their project is coming along, and if there is anything you
can do for them.
This
tactic is about being helpful and showing you care about the
client. This can lead to a small project or even spark a new
conversation about hiring you, if they are unhappy with their
previous selection. If not, you’re still putting yourself on their radar and
might see some referrals coming your way.
5.
Follow up with your network
Browse
through old email conversations with colleagues, connections and people you’ve
spoke with in the past, who could be a fit for your consultancy. Follow up with
each, asking what they’ve been up to and how you can help.
Asking
how you can help the person, whether its giving feedback, advice, tips or doing
a small task, can be rewarding, and it helps you build up
relationships with the right people. Remember, if you go out of your way to
help someone for free, they’ll likely return the favor and help you.
I
followed up with an entrepreneur I met a few years back, who had recently
founded a company. He asked for my feedback on his product and any advice I
had. I hopped on a call with him to discuss, and he later hired my
consultancy for some internal design and UX work.
6. Run an
ad campaign
Facebook
ads and Google Adwords are great ways to advertise your consultancy to
prospective clients. Both platforms let you set a small daily budget for those
that are cash-strapped, or want to test the waters.
I
found Facebook ads easier to use than Google Adwords, which definitely has a
steep learning curve if you’re new. PPC University is
an amazing resource to learn about running effective campaigns, or check
out Kudu, a service that
will manage and run campaigns for you.
For
visitors who come to your website and leave, you can use retargeting services
like Adroll or Perfect Audience.
These platforms allow you to track who visits your site, and lets you later
serve ads to them via Facebook, Twitter, and other online marketing channels.
You
can also try buying display ads from BuySellAds. However, there may be a higher minimum
budget, depending on the sites and creatives you select.
7.
Start blogging
Blogging
is an amazing way to build relationships and become an expert consultant. My
first blog post ever has
gotten over 15,000 visitors, 50+ comments, hundreds of newsletter
subscriptions, and has introduced me to some amazing people.
Start
by blogging about topics that tie into your services, and will appeal
to prospective clients. Peep Laja writes a blog about conversion optimization,
which is filled with articles that help companies increase their
conversion rates, and make more money. By posting quality content,
Peep is viewed as an expert on conversion
optimization, which helps him build an audience and generates new business
for his consultancy.
The
big question that comes up with blogging, is how to drive traffic to your
posts. After publishing an article, I like to post it to GrowthHackers, Inbound, Reddit
(find a subreddit for your blog niche), Hacker News, and my
twitter feed. You should also email each company or person you mention in the
post, with a note that you’ve mentioned them.
I
also reach out to my network and send a link to people who I think
might find my post interesting. This is usually enough to get the ball
rolling and to get some traffic to the post.
Blogging
takes a lot of time, especially since you need to do it consistently, for
better results. Scripted is
a great content writing service you can use to outsource your blog post
writing.
8.
Write an eBook
Write
an eBook that can help solve a business challenge or create value for your
prospective client. Marketer? Write an eBook on how to decrease shopping cart
abandonment. Writer? Write about how compelling copy can help a business make more
money. Designer? Write about how user onboarding is key to getting customers to
use, and later pay for your product.
Write
the eBook and give it away for free or sell it on your website. If you
give it away for free, be sure to capture emails in exchange for the
book, that way you can build a list of prospective clients to market to.
9.
Guest blog
Find
blogs that your prospective clients read and ask to guest post on them. You
should write about a topic that fits within the blog, but also something
that readers will get tons of value out of.
Guest
blogging is great because you can share your expertise and grow your brand
by tapping into someone else’s audience.
Alltop is a
good place to find popular blogs in your industry. Peter Sandeen has also
compiled a large list of blogs you can get guest post on.
10.
Generate leads
Generating
leads consists of finding prospective clients that could benefit from
your services, and coming up with a plan to reach them.
In my previous post, I detailed the process I used to
generate leads for a cold email campaign, which is something you can
replicate right now.
There
are also services that can do the lead generation and sales process for
you, like Leadgenius, Hiplead, and GetProspects (shout-out
to Scott, who happens to be a reader of the blog!)
11.
Use Twitter search
Twitter search is
a powerful way to find real-time tweets from people and companies looking to
hire or that need help. You can find these tweets by using certain keywords and
phrases like below:
Hiring a [your keyword here]
Looking to hire a [your keyword here]
Looking for a [your keyword here]
#hiring
#yourkeywordhere
Be
creative. Try different search phrases and you’ll discover some great
potential clients and projects. You can use Warble to automate your searches and
have them delivered to your inbox each day.
12. Network
online and offline
Instead
of sitting behind the computer all week, plan to go to a meetup or
a conference, where
your prospective clients may be mingling. If you go to conferences and meetups
where all your competitors are, you’ll have a hard time finding people
that need your services.
Online
networking is important as well. Complete a LinkedIn profile with up-to-date information and
work samples. Import your contacts and connect with as many people in your
network as possible. Share your blog posts, website and other interesting
content directly to your LinkedIn news feed.
Just
like going to meetups or conferences that your prospective clients attend,
join LinkedIn groups where they post. There are groups for every industry
on LinkedIn, so this is an excellent way to get in front of prospective
clients.
Answer
questions, offer help, post useful content and you’ll not only grow your
connections, but you might also land a new gig.
13. Be
on demand
Share
your expertise and skills on marketplaces like Clarity, Liveninja or Google Helpouts.
These sites have a lot of people to choose from, so consider giving away a few
free sessions, to build up your profile.
My
colleague, Khuram
Malik, built up his profile by giving away free calls to people in
his network, which resulted in great reviews and referral business.
14.
Create a course
Create
a course on Udemy to
tap into a large audience of students and prospective clients.
Tapha
Ngum wrote a course on Building and Selling a Niche Website From Scratch,
which has thousands of students. Tapha made money from selling his course,
and from people who reached out to hire him directly.
15. Productize
your services
Productized consulting is a powerful way to create recurring revenue and get new clients. With productized consulting, you bundle your consulting services into “package” that the client can purchase for a monthly fee.
Best
of all, you’re creating predictable, recurring revenue.
If
you offer services like design, marketing, development, writing and so on,
consider selling your offerings as a package that clients can purchase.
Here
are some examples of productized consulting to get you started:
Have another great example? Post in the comments and let me know.
Have another great example? Post in the comments and let me know.
·
WPCurve
·
Impress
·
Bench
·
Linowski
·
Kudu
16.
Capture leads
You
might already have a contact form on your website, but this is normally used by
people who are ready to hire you, or say hello. Most of the time, a
potential client will browse your website, then leave – without ever
contacting you.
In
order to establish trust and build up a relationship with visitors, you can try
to capture their email by giving something away. Give visitors an eBook (as
mentioned above), a whitepaper, a free 30-minute consultation or even a
step-by-step guide to increase their conversion rates, in exchange for their
email.
You
can later turn these leads into paying clients through a drip email campaign or
by contacting them to find out more about their company.
I
recommend SumoMe, which
easy to use and great for capturing leads.
17.
Write a playbook
A
playbook is a great way to attract new clients, as it provides detail on your
process, how you work and how you can help the client.
The
team over at thoughtbot have the best playbook I’ve
seen to date. It covers their processes from design, development, sales,
hiring, operations and more. It gives prospective clients an inside look at how
projects get done at thoughtbot.
A
playbook is a powerful marketing tool, as well as a good “closer” to win new
business.
18. Start
coworking
If
you work from home, consider coworking at least once a week. Coworking spaces
are great for meeting like-minded individuals and becoming part of your local
community.
You’ll
build up strong relationships and be a go-to consultant for people at the
coworking space. Most spaces also host events, meetings and conferences, which
are great platforms for connecting with people and spreading your brand.
Find
coworking spaces by Googling “coworking + your zip code”,
browsing the Coworking directory or by searching on the map
at DeskSurfing.
19.
Always offer advice and help
A
long-term strategy to bring in new clients is to help people who are connected
to your prospective clients. Offer ideas, intros, feedback, thoughts or help
them in any way possible with their business challenges. This is a bit
different than following up with your network, mentioned earlier, because its
an ongoing process. You might not close a client or get referrals immediately
with this strategy, but its a proven tactic to build relationships and win
new business over time.
A
friend of mine, Brandon Pindulic, uses this strategy to build relationships and
get new clients. He helps out anyone who gets in touch, whether its
giving advice, feedback or helping with some marketing stuff. Though he
says this strategy is pretty taxing and can take up a lot of time, he’s
landed big clients and received referral business just for helping.
20. Send
a handwritten letter
If
you’re looking to land a new client and really want to get their attention, try
sending a handwritten letter.
Find the
person at the company that is most likely to hire you. Write and send a
letter that focuses on solving their problems, and also include an easy way to
reach you.
This
strategy is also great to use when following up with acquaintances, prospective
clients (“hey it was great meeting you…”) or keeping current clients happy. A
letter in the mail adds a nice personal touch and shows people you truly
care.
You
can write the letters yourself, or use services like Handiemail or MailLift to
have the letters written and sent for you.
21. Piggyback
on platforms
What
do platforms like Shopify, WordPress and Drupal have in common? Besides being
great content management systems, they are home to millions of customers who
rely on these platforms to run their blog, website or store.
“Piggyback”
on these platforms (and others) by tailoring your services to directly help
their customers. For example, market yourself as the go-to design shop for Shopify stores,
the Drupal
experts or WordPress pros. Piggybacking on platforms is a
proven method to tap into a large customer base, where help is almost
always needed.
22.
Utilize industry networking sites
Almost
every industry has networking sites that bring the community together. These
sites are an amazing way to grow your brand and land new clients.
If
you design, make sure you have a profile on Dribbble, Behance, Coroflot and/or Krop. Also join the discussion on Designer News.
If
you’re a developer, be active on GitHub, Stack Overflow and Hacker News.
If
you focus on marketing and writing, dive into the conversations on Growth Hackers, Inbound and Reddit
marketing.
I
personally know several people who receive client inquiries from
Dribbble and GrowthHackers, just for uploading work or engaging in the
discussions.
23.
Answer questions on Quora
Find
questions on Quora in
your industry, and write thoughtful answers. Fill out your profile and link to
your website, so people can learn more about you.
Be
sure to not just spam your website around Quora. Instead, build up
relationships with people and be helpful. Millions of people search for
answers on Quora (and most questions are heavily indexed in Google) which
brings traffic and visibility to your replies.
You
can start this strategy by answering 1 question a day, or a few per week.
You’ll be amazed at the responses and relationships you’ll build up in the
community.
24. Get
press
To
get press for your consultancy, you have to come up with a unique angle that
would be appealing to reporters and their audience. Don’t pitch your services
and company, instead act as an expert on a certain topic – increasing
productivity, hiring employees, remote working, managing teams, etc.
HARO, PitchPigeon and Muck Rack are
great resources for pitching the press (you can also go to Product Hunt and
search “press” to see tons of other tools available).
Coming
up with your own story and getting in touch with the right reporters can be
difficult. Try contacting local PR firms and offer your services in exchange
for some PR work.
If
you have a budget, you can hire someone with AirPR or use a
service like Bite
Size PR.
25. Create
a presentation
Create
a presentation and upload it on SlideShare and Speaker Deck.
If
you’re a marketing consultant, create a presentation on 10 growth hacks
startups can use to get more customers. If you’re a management consultant,
create a presentation on how companies can improve their workflow and
processes.
The
possibilities are endless, and creating an engaging presentation will bring in
traffic, social shares and new leads.
26.
Write a guide
Similar
to the SlideShare tactic above, write a guide on a specific topic that you have
expertise in.
Guides is a
great place to distribute your guides, along with your personal network and on
social channels. Creating a guide is proven way to drive traffic,
capture leads and become an authority on a topic.
27.
Write a case study
Case
studies show prospective clients your results and success with a
particular project.
A
case study usually covers the client, challenges, process and results of a
project or engagement. Ben Gran has written an in-depth post on how to write case studies.
These
are some awesome case studies to help you get started:
28.
Create controversy
Mark
at Tiger Tiger told
me a story about a local design consultant, named Justin, who took a
controversial approach to land a new client.
Justin
found a company in his home country of New Zealand, who he thought
could benefit from his services. He then bought the crappiest beer in New
Zealand and visited the company’s headquarters. He walked into the CEO’s
office, placed the beer on his desk, and said, “this beer is like your
website…it’s nice on the outside, but tastes like absolute crap.” After a
discussion, the CEO agreed, and Justin left with a contract to work
on the company’s website.
This
is just one example of creating offline controversy, but can certainly be
replicated online. Unbounce has written a great post on the science of controversial content.
If
you’re going to take a similar approach, make sure you don’t cross the line by
doing something harmful or illegal.
29. Be
extremely personal
If
you’re replying to a job ad, or cold emailing, its a good idea to be personal
to stand out against your competition.
I
came across a post by Devesh Khanal, on how he landed a
paid contract from a CEO in 1 week. Why was Devesh able to get the
CEO’s attention andclose a contract in just 1 week?
He
made his email super personal.
Devesh
recorded a screencast of the CEO’s website, and offered steps he could
take to increase his conversion rate. The CEO was amazed by the
effort Devesh had put into his cold email, as well as his expertise
on conversion optimization, so hiring him was an easy decision.
This
is one of the best examples of how to be extremely personal to win new
clients. Clients are normally bombarded with emails from consultants that
contain a bio and website link. Devesh’s approach is personal and
captured on video, so its easy for the prospective client to understand his
ideas.
A
personal touch like this can be replicated in so many ways, whether its doing a
redesign of a website, revising marketing copy or coding up a quick prototype.
Being personal takes time, but its likely to help you stand out and close more
clients.
30. Speak
at industry conferences
Attending
conferences is great, but you should also try speaking at them. Find
conferences in your industry and reach out to an organizer about
speaking. Pitch them on topics you’d like to speak about, and back it up with
your skills, expertise, experience, website, blog and more.
This
isn’t going to be for everyone, especially new consultants (or people afraid of
public speaking), but its a great way to build up your personal brand and forge
new relationships with a live audience.
31. Make
creative business cards
Business
cards can be an effective marketing tool, if executed properly.
Mark
from Tiger Tiger hands out business
cards printed on 600 gsm stock letterpressed, which are of high quality
and make a great first impression. They cost 3 bucks a pop, but have helped him
close some serious deals with companies.
When
he gives these business cards to prospective clients (or people connected to
his clients), they’re immediately impressed with the card quality, which is a
reflection of his brand. They end up being shared around the office, at
meetups, on social media and more.
This
post has 30 of the most creative business cards ever, which are
guaranteed to spark some creative ideas for your next business card.
32. Have
an SEO strategy
Search
engine optimization is a great long-term strategy to drive targeted traffic to
your company website. You won’t see overnight results with SEO, but with a
sound strategy in place, you can drive traffic over time and convert visitors
into paying clients.
Here
are some great guides to get started with SEO:
33.
Partner with non-competing firms
I
talked earlier about partnering with agencies. Another strategy, is to partner
with a non-competing company to offer your services as an extension of their
business.
Find
non-competing companies and pitch your services to them (as mentioned in
#2) to form a partnership.
For
example, my consultancy partners
with a web development company that has no design or creative lead. I handle
the creative direction for some of their projects, while they focus on the
development. In exchange, I sometimes have projects that need development, so
I use them as my development resource. Its a win-win partnership for both companies.
Your
Turn – Choose 3
I’ve
covered some great strategies that will help new and veteran consultants
land more clients.
A
lot of you will read this whole post, but never take
action.
I
want you to choose 3 strategies from the list and come up with a plan to
implement them right away. Don’t make excuses – choose 3, make a plan, set
some deadlines, and getting going.
Post
in the comments the 3 strategies you plan to implement for your consultancy.
Closing
These are my best
strategies for getting new clients, but I want to hear from you. What
strategies do you use to land new clients? What tools and resources are
helpful? Have you used some of these strategies before? What worked and what didn’t?
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