Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header about About Home Profiles articles Tools forums inspirational quotes About facebook Twitter YouTube Blog
Share for a Cause











5 Ways to Find Clients for Your Consulting Business

Guest post by: Gary Shouldis

Article Overview: Starting your own consulting business is just like any other business; you need to have an assortment of skills in order to succeed. One of the biggest mistakes that someone makes when starting a consulting business is thinking that the only skill they need is the one they will be consulting in. Wrong......very wrong.

Free Download - 5 Ways to Find Clients for Your Consulting Business By Gary Shouldis
Name: Email:

5 Ways to Find Clients for Your Consulting Business

Starting your own consulting business is just like any other business; you need to have an assortment of skills in order to succeed. One of the biggest mistakes that someone makes when starting a consulting business is thinking that the only skill they need is the one they will be consulting in. Wrong......very wrong.



You need an assortment of skills if you want to make it as a consultant. The most important skill you will need is the ability to find prospects and turn them into paying clients. If you cannot do this, it doesn't matter how skilled you are in your field, the world will never know just how great you are.


Stop thinking of your business as a consulting business and start thinking of it as a lead generation business. Below are 5 ways that you can find clients for your consulting business.


Build Your Brand Start building your own personal brand and become an expert in your niche. Think of yourself like a brand and build your business around that concept. Think about what your brand stands for and how it can help others and build everything around that. Your website, business cards and marketing materials should all have the same message........that you are an expert in your niche.


Join Local Civic Groups and Associations Become part of your local community. Join local groups both in your niche and with other professionals in your field. The only way to get found is to be out in the open. Join as many relevant groups as you can and get yourself out there. Local groups like the Kiwanis Club, the local Chamber of Commerce or even the local library are always looking for experts to speak to their membership base. Introduce yourself to these people and start positioning yourself as an expert.


Network online Join the online conversation. Good and accepted online etiquette is to not do a lot of self-promoting but to add valuable content. If you do this, you can leave your bio and contact info if people want to find out more.

There are several places you can go to find prospective clients for your business.


LinkedIn is a great source for leads. Design a great profile and join a lot of groups in your niche. Become an active participant in each group and become known as a source for valuable information.


Blogs and forums related forums. Find blogs and forums related to your niche and start participating. Be sure to add valuable content and don't get into the habit of being a blatant self-promoter.


Work With Non-Profits If you are just starting out, you will need to build a referral base. Non-profits are always looking for people to help out in all aspects of their business. Donate some of your time to help out on a project and you may find you can earn some valuable contacts as well as referrals.


Create Partnerships with Other Professionals Seek out and network with professionals in related fields. Often times the best referrals are other consultants. If you specialize in web design, seek out marketing consultants that you can exchange business with. Become a preferred vendor with several consultants and let them send you the leads.

Related Articles
  Start your consulting business as a side hustle
  Get This Book
  International Marketing - Engaging Consulting Firms
  IS A CAREER IN MANAGEMENT CONSULTING RIGHT FOR YOU
  Building a Consulting Practice
  SEO Consulting
  Is Your Business Model Healthy?
  CRM Consulting Partners Revealed
  Technology Consulting Career Potentials
  BRAND YOUR CONSULTING BRILLIANCE
  HR Consulting: Taking The Plunge
  MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - THE TRUSTED ADVISORS
  Review of Ultimate Consultant, Alan Weiss
  WHAT IS MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
  How To Cold Call Effectively: What To Say First
  Leveraging partnerships
  Fear of Marketing - How to Prepare for Marketing & Sales Without Feeling Like a Used Car Salesman
  Could Now Be The Perfect Time to Consider a Move Out Of Management Consulting?
  So You Want to be a Consultant?
  How to Become a Franchise Consultant

Home > Business-Coach > Gary Shouldis > 5 Ways to Find Clients for Your Consulting Business >
Article Tags: find clients, find customers, find prospects, how to find prospects, new consultant tips, start consulting business

About the Author: Gary Shouldis
RSS for Gary's articles - Visit Gary's website

Gary Shouldis a small business owner, coach and consultant, teaching small and local business owners how to market their businesses online. As a franchise consultant, he teaches small business owners how to create systems and operating plans that will allow them to run a great business while enjoying the freedom of owning your own business.
You can find out more on his small business blog, thesmallbusinessplaybook.com and can request consulting services at garyshouldis.com

Click here to visit Gary's website Dashed Line

More from Gary Shouldis
5 Ways to Find Clients for Your Consulting Business
5 QR Code Uses For Your Business That Really Work


Related Forum Posts
Exclusive: Interview with Results Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.
The Little Man Introduction The Little Man Introduction - Good Morning, This is John Hoover from Little Man Consulting. Our company has been floating along as a after thought for a few years. This year we decided to make a go of it. So far we are doing great. We are Virtual Administrators, Web Developers, Database Designers, and Software instructors. Basically, if you have someone in your office to do it, we can do it virtually. Our company was created to "Provide Big Business Resources to the Small Business". Wish me luck, I plan on revolutionizing the small business world with this!
Re: Who Did You Learn Most From and Why? Re: Who Did You Learn Most From and Why? - Hi Martin, You missed out on the most essential community that helps you grow - Your Clients. Well, I believe that my Initial Clients have been the ones who have given me the moments of 'aha' in my business. They have stood by me even when I was a starter and that has helped me shape and build my stand. They have helped me grow as an entrepreneur, learn to have loads of patience and make the most of what comes across. They have also helped me to strengthen me as a person. btw, personally speaking, my Grandfather always kept me on track and lent me emotional support when I was down in any matter - be it business or otherwise.
My entry My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Ideas For Business Re: Ideas For Business - Hello Lucy, you may consider this list for Ideas for Business: (Top 23 list) Rank Company 1 Google 2 Genentech 3 Wegmans Food Markets 4 Container Store 5 Whole Foods Market 6 Network Appliance 7 S.C. Johnson & Son 8 Boston Consulting Grp. 9 Methodist Hospital Sys. 10 W.L. Gore & Associates 11 Cisco Systems 12 David Weekley Homes 13 Nugget Market 14 Qualcomm 15 American Century Invest. 16 Starbucks Coffee 17 Quicken Loans 18 Station Casinos 19 Alston & Bird 20 QuikTrip 21 Griffin Hospital 22 Valero Energy 23 Vision Service Plan


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article

Bottom Footer



Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Winning Market Share in a Tough Economy

Starting a Business a Brave Move or a NoBrainer

Too Many Sales Reps Are Wimps
Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.