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.

In addition to my work as a coach, I've also been running an IT consulting firm for the last 15 years.  Here's a few secrets I've learned from that experience and from our peers.

 I'm working on a research project right now where I'm interviewing a lot of our friends who are IT consultants for their best tips and tricks so I can share them with my IT consultant clients.  Here's what I've learned so far:

1.  Your work is to bring a balance of expert energy and learner energy – and to be in service to the client's goals.

One of our friends said, “I may be the expert on the technology, but the client is the expert on their business, their processes, and their industry.  I'm always eager to learn from them.”

The same consultant said, “I know I'm not the very top in my field, but I'm in the top 25%.  My job is to bring the knowledge from the top 25% to the other 75%.” First learning, then sharing. 

That mix of confidence and humility goes a long way.

Another consultant I talked with was referred to by his peers as “genius level”, but has spent more time on the bench then the consultant I referenced above.  The difference?  The genius level guy “hasn't met a hill he isn't willing to die on” per one of the other consultants.  Even if you are correct, the guy who fights with management doesn't get invited back as often as the one who is less of a genius but shows up in service.

2.  Be visible.

The consultants I spoke with who've had the most success are always in sales and marketing mode (although they don't think of what they are doing as sales and marketing).  They attend (and look for opportunities to present at) conferences and user groups for their technology and for associated niches or areas of expertise.  They are in Facebook and LinkedIn groups.  They are on Slack and Stack Overflow. 

Top consultants aren't just building their profile by having the answers.  Even asking questions can be a way to be visible.  One consultant said if he posts about a problem he is having, he is often later contacted by potential clients who have the same problem and figure he must have the solution by now.  So ironically, even admitting you don't know something can increase the perception of your expertise in the area in the future. 

When the time comes to look for their next gig, top consultants have a warm network of contacts who are actively using the technology they are experts in they can hit up for work.  Often just announcing their availability on social media is then sufficient to get them their next project.

3.  Think (and talk) about your bill rate and time between projects in a positive way. 

One consultant said he told a recruiter he needed $100 an hour for a project because he “would be unemployed six months out of the year”.  (Note:  clients pay based upon their perception of your value, not on the basis of your belief in your inability to find your next gig in a timely manner.)  Another guy told me he'd never had more than a week of down time between projects in the last 15 years.  Same skill set – different belief about the state of the market.

My husband charges a very high bill rate, but his belief about it is pure gold.  “My clients pay me very good money to get them a result,” he says.  With a belief like that he has the confidence to ask for and receive a high bill rate.  This belief also keeps him focused on the client's end result (which means he tends to finish projects in a small amount of time, which helps keep the cost of the overall engagement down).

By the way – coaching is a great way to uncover, explore, and change unhelpful beliefs into profitable beliefs like this one.  If you are ready to hire a coach to help you keep your pipeline full and your brain focused, schedule a call to review your goals and see how I can help.