Are you a new consultant or coach? Here are some ways to grow your network and your client base for success.
As you may know, my husband and I have spent the last 15 years growing an IT consulting firm. On top of that, since 2018 I've been working as a money and business coach. Based on that experience, here's what I'd recommend to someone new who is getting started and looking to grow their list of clients.
1. Be prepared to be found.
I don't necessarily think you can count on social media as the only – or the most effective – way to be found by potential clients. With that being said, once someone does find out about you (say from meeting you at an event or hearing about you from a colleague), you can bet they are going to look you up to see if what you are posting fits with what they have heard about you and what they need.
Check to see what comes up when someone Googles your name and your business name. Is it clear from your social media presence what you can do for them? Has each of your networks been updated in the last 3-6 months? If you have a blog, is there a blog post for the current year?
Social media can be a huge time suck, so let me be clear – I'm not saying you need to be active on social media. I'm just saying to need to be alive on social media, and that what you offer to clients should be clearly stated and visible.
2. Get clear on your ideal client.
When STS was starting, we put a lot of work into getting clear on who our ideal client was (both as an organization – what kind of company – and as an individual – what role within that company). I recommend clients who are working in a B2B services based business have a Top 10 list of companies they'd love to work with posted prominently to keep them focused.
For B2B services, who inside the company could hire you? What is the process to get in? (Hint: it's not procurement. In my experience, they are the last to know. It's probably also not HR. In our experience, the manager decides what they need and then gets procurement and HR to facilitate the transaction.)
For B2C services, who is your end client? I would strongly suggest at least one of your two descriptors be EXTERNALLY VISIBLE. For example: “I work with firefighters who want to learn about starting a business,” NOT “I work with people who want to start a business.”
I learned this the hard way when I started this business. I started out wanting to teach people about how to manage their money in a way that can lead people with professional level incomes to have a million dollar net worth and be on track for retirement (still something I can help with, by the way). I learned the hard way that when you want to help EVERYBODY you get his cousin NOBODY. It is much easier for someone to refer to you when you are specific about who you help and when what you are looking for is externally identifiable.
I recently had a conversation with a coach friend of mine on exactly the same topic. She said she wanted to help people who wanted to do the “self-work” (self-worth, self-belief, self-confidence). The problem with that is no one puts that on their business card. So while someone could opt-in and say that's them, no one can go find the person and connect you to them very easily.
If I say “I help firefighters who want to start a side business,” your brain says, “well, I don't know if he wants to start a business, but my cousin Bob is a firefighter. Do you want me to connect you?” If I say “I help anyone who wants to be a consultant” your brain says, “yeah nope, I don't know anyone like that.”
3. Start working your network.
If you have a top business you want to target as an IT consultant, who are you connected to on LinkedIn that works there now? Could you invite them to a Zoom meeting to network and catch up?
For B2C businesses, who is your ideal client? Could you invite them to lunch and talk to them about the challenges they have and see who they know who might be a good fit? Find out what they are up to and let them know what you are doing.
4. Have a “keep warm” strategy.
For the ideal clients you've identified that weren't ready when you first talked to them (or who you weren't able to speak to), what of value could you offer to stay in touch with them?
STS has had great success with educational webinars. IT is a constantly changing landscape. Professionals in the industry need to keep up to date on what's going on. We do a good job of offering seminars with a lot of meat and minimal sales. The idea is to stay top of mind with the client so when they do have a need they think of you first. Keep them “warm” on the back burner until they are ready.
Are you interested in starting a new business or a side hustle as a consultant or a coach? I have the experience and training to help. Feel free to schedule a call. It's free and a good way to see if we'd be a fit to work together.
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