7 Ways to Acquire New Clients

Methods you can try to acquire clients

One of the most common questions independent consultants who are just starting out would ask is, “How do you get clients?“.

I’ve asked myself and some other fellow consultants this question. Here are some things you can try out to acquire client projects.

• Cold outreach

• Existing contacts (e.g. Old colleagues or companies you worked with)

• Social media / online presence

• Recruiters

• Networking (in person, virtual)

• Freelancing platforms

• Word of mouth

Let’s take a look at each.

Cold outreach

This is basically virtual door-to-door sales. Cold outreach may mean emailing an executive of a company or giving an analytics manager at your local start-up. You don’t know if the potential client is interested in your services yet. Once you get a response, you’ll need to pitch and sell your solutions and services.

I’ve never done cold outreach. I don’t seem this is that effective given the amount of effort you need to put in the process. But I heard some people are good at it and get clients without problems.

Existing Contacts

You’re probably working for a company and/or have worked at a company. That means you have coworkers and bosses you used to work with. You can reach out to them saying you’re available for contracting and helping with a project. An advantage of this is that you already have some trust with the potential client (e.g. your old boss).

One of the consulting projects I took on this year came from my old colleague I used to work with.

Social media / Online presence

I believe putting yourself out there in public is one of the most effective things you can do as an independent consultant. Whether it be posting content on LinkedIn, or building an awesome portfolio of your work, having an online presence means that:

• You’re telling others you’re available to take consulting projects

• You have chances to showcase your skillset/expertise to others

• You have a place where people can reach out to you

I have a client I’ve been helping with a small project throughout this year. This happened because the CEO/Founder of this company found my article on my blog and reached out to me on LinkedIn. He recently told me he’d like to work more with me in the coming year.

Recruiters

If you’re active on social media, especially on LinkedIn, recruited may have reached out to you for a full-time role. Some are looking for contract positions as well. When they reach out to you, it’s good to set up a good expectation on what kind of gig you’re looking for and how much you’d charge (if you do hourly pricing).

Typically, when recruiters reach out to you for a contract position, it’s likely that it’s the kind of position in which you work as if you’re a full-time employee for a fixed term. If that’s not what you’re looking for, then tell them that and present what you offer instead. Or shift the focus on establishing a relationship with the recruiter for future opportunities.

It’s also good to refer anybody who you know might be a good fit for the role the recruiter reached out to you about. Giving is receiving.

Networking

Networking means meeting with and getting to know other people. When I say people, I mean other consultants/contractors, vendors, and potential clients.

You can go to conferences like PyCon or attend local meetups for example. Anything that gets you exposed to other people and opportunities is my definition of networking.

You can even meet with people through a Zoom call, which I have been doing these last couple of months. It’s been awesome to get to know how other consultants are doing what they are doing.

These kinds of networking efforts can lead to acquiring subcontracting gigs as well as partnerships with vendors and consulting firms.

Networking, especially attending and speaking at local meetups and conferences, is something I’d like to focus on doing in the coming year!

Freelancing platforms

Using platforms like Upwork and Fiverr may be something that comes to mind for many of you. What they do is provide a platform or a marketplace where both freelancers/consultants and clients register and look for the best match for what they’re looking for.

For example, clients post projects freelancers send proposals and the client decides who to work with. Another example is that freelancers have a project showcase or product page from which the client chooses what they want.

There are pros and cons to this since it’s easy to feel like these kinds of platforms as a race to the bottom. The reason is you compete with other freelancers who live in another country whose cost of living is 10 times less than where you live.

Word of mouth

This is not something you try or anything, but more of a result of what you did on a project. Many independent consultants I’ve talked to said that that’s how they often get projects. It’s simply that you get a project and do a great job, and that leads to more projects and clients.

Just like when your friend introduces you to a new restaurant you have never been to, but you trust your friend’s taste, and so you’d want to try it out.

Summary

To me, getting projects and clients is all about building trust and relationships. Any of the methods I listed above are ways to build that trust with the potential client. That requires you to go out and do something, whether it be putting yourself out there on social media and sharing your expertise or reaching out to your old colleagues for potential projects. Whatever it may be, you need to show that you’re available and that you can do the job.

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Q. If you’re working on your independent consulting business, what method of getting clients/projects worked for you?