How do consultants get their first clients?
Networking is one of the most effective ways to get your first customer.. Ninety percent of all independent consultants find their first contract through their personal and extended network. Here are 4 ways to get your first consulting client. If you’re just getting started and want to find your first counseling client, the first thing you should do is use your first-degree connections.
Second-degree connections are people you don’t know directly. If you don’t know the ideal customer directly, but you know that person and that person knows your ideal customer, your ideal customer is a second-degree connection. LinkedIn shows you who your first-degree connections are, who your secondary connections are, and you can filter a few search criteria to identify the ideal customers. Reaching out directly is a really good step after you’ve done number one and number two..
The key is to sell what they want to buy.. And then you sell what they want to buy. Whether you’re in the early stages or you’ve been a consultant for 10 or 15 years and want to take it to the next level, we’ve got resources for you. Join over 62,592 consultants and learn strategies to get more clients and grow your business with our FREE consultation plan.
Share examples of your previous work and explain the project to put it in context. Explain what you’ve achieved, how you achieved it, and be sure to include a testimonial from the customer to top it off. You want to present so much evidence that you’re the real deal. If you don’t have the budget to hire a web developer, use Squarespace or Weebly, which have WYSIWYG website builders that make it easy for anyone to use them.
You can ask friends and family for recommendations. It’s effective to ask people you already know to introduce you to potential customers, as they transmit their trust and appreciation when they do so.. Your current network can be of great help to attract your future customers. They will promote your services if they have had positive experiences with you.
You need to add value every time you work with someone.. Value is the basis of your marketing. Work hard to get your first customer, but also lay down the marketing and consulting principles that will secure your future as a consultant.. From finance to human resources, strategy to IT — the consulting market is also growing in value from year to year. You can choose between highly paid customers if you know how to attract them.
After working as a freelance marketing consultant for a few years, I’ve learned a lot about finding new consulting clients. Many consultants mistakenly believe that by broadly defining their expertise, they will reach a wider audience and attract more customers.. Clients who have had a positive experience with an advisor are generally willing to refer services to another point of contact but may not think of doing so voluntarily.. So it’s a great place to find potential clients who are willing to offer your consulting services..
Some consultants send the client a proposal that they must sign and approve first, and then send a separate contract for the client to sign.. Before you even start looking for consulting clients, you need to find out who they are and create an online presence or portfolio to attract them.. Finally, research shows that customers use their networks more than any other method to select advisors, and they undoubtedly know someone who knows you. If your goal is to build a sustainable consulting practice, the real question isn’t how you get your first customer, but how do you start a business that attracts the second, third, and fourth client to your practice..
Even if your working relationship with a consulting client comes to an end, don’t see it as the end. If I’d like you to take away one thing from this post, it’s that getting clients to your consulting business isn’t as hard as you think, but it’s also not as easy as you might hope. While there are more and more options for consultants, you need a steady stream of clients to maintain a consulting business. A recently published customer admitted that his team had spent three years trying to solve a complex transportation issue before hiring consultants and giving them four weeks to find a solution..
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References:
- https://www.consultingsuccess.com/get-your-first-consulting-client
- 10 Fast Tips to Winning More Consulting Clients [According to Consultants Who Did It]
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Networking is one of the most effective ways to get your first customer.. Ninety percent of all independent consultants find their first contract through their personal and extended network. Here are 4 ways to get your first consulting client. If you’re just getting started and want to find your first counseling client, the first thing…