The first thing people usually ask me when they go out on their own to be a consultant is how I get clients. I’ll admit that at the beginning of my business I was absolutely stumped on how to answer this to someone just starting out. I came out of my previous job with an established client and pretty quickly had a full slate with very little work from my end.

But now I have experienced many ups and downs, as most consultants do, and I have figured out how to navigate those dry periods where it feels like I will never have a full slate of clients ever again.

So if you have found yourself as a new social media consultant, here is my advice for finding your next client.

Speaking

I’m going to preface this by saying this is my least favorite way to find new clients. I have also seen a lot of consultants who have put a ton of focus on speaking and end up having to go in-house again. So why am I including it? Because there is some value to speaking, especially as you are first getting started.

When I first got started and was worried that I wouldn’t have enough clients, I started doing webinars. It wasn’t very lucrative and none of the attendees converted to a new client. So I have never hosted a webinar again. I think in this crowded atmosphere, it’s just really hard to get an audience and really make a webinar or in-person seminar worth your time.

Partner up

So a smart thing to do when you’re first starting out is to connect with associations that put on educational content for their members and partners. They have established audiences and will immediately give you more authority in your field if they bring you in. So it’s a huge win.

BUT… do not speak for free. I have made this mistake once and will not do it again. The association expected me to do all of their marketing for them and kept asking for more and more and more for free. Did I mention they were charging their members for this seminar? Charging a fee, even if it’s small, will discourage this kind of behavior and prevent a speaking gig from becoming a black hole for your time and energy.

Also, make sure to have low expectations for signing on new clients from a speaking gig. The audience will likely not have any kind of vetting, so expect very low budgets. For that reason, I will make sure to mention my lower budget products to let them know that there are ways to work with me that won’t eat up even the smallest of budgets. Afterwards, I almost always get a call for one of those products. So speaking will get you clients. They’re just more likely to be smaller dollar, so make sure you have something they can buy post-speaking.

Networking

My most effective way to get clients is word-of-mouth, so I spend a significant amount of time of my business development time networking.

I hate networking. I feel like I’m terrible at it. Where everyone else wants to talk about what they do, I get super tired of myself and would rather focus on others. But it’s a huge mistake on my part. Getting out and talking to people, whether it be in-person or online, about what you do and your wins within reason will make others keep you in mind when they hear of someone needing help with what you do.

You should also be listening to where people need help that you can provide. I always remember who helps me. I will go out of my way to help them when it’s in my power. I’m not alone. So jumping in when it makes sense can really help your business in the long-term, even if it’s just a small piece of advice.

But don’t get too focused on business. People don’t like to do business with robots. So make sure you throw in bits of color from your life as well. Things that are relatable will draw people closer to you and make them trust you in the long run. And as we all know, trust will many times lead to recommendations and/or business leads. Those are absolutely vital to keep your business running.

Doing work for free

This is a huge slippery slope. So be very weary if this is a route you want to take. In almost all cases, you will get taken advantage in some way.

Take a look at the nonprofits who do work you are interested in. What does their marketing look like? Is there some way that you can assist? More importantly, do they have a budget for marketing?

If this is an organization that has a budget for marketing, do not offer free work. Offer a proposal for paid work instead, especially if you have a relationship with the organization. Don’t think that if you offer work for free now that they will pay you later. They’re much more likely to hire someone else later on than they are to pay you for your work. They just won’t value your work as much when you’ve been giving it away. So if there is any chance that there is some kind of budget, then give them that proposal. The worst that can happen is that they say no, and then…

But there’s no budget

With no budget available, look for ways to work for free that will be beneficial to the organization as well as you. Only give away work that you know you can do to the best of your ability and that you can sustain long-term. This will be a bit of an advertisement to board members and other interested parties who can give you work in the future. Beyond giving back, this is a huge part of the reason to do work for free. So if you can’t do it to the best of your abilities for a long period of time, then don’t bother. It will give the wrong impression and actually hurt your business if you don’t go full out.

Like I said above, my best source of clients is from word-of-mouth. People will see your work for a nonprofit, and if it’s good, they will tell others. If it’s bad, they will tell even more people than if it was good. The best calling card you can leave is fantastic work and a great relationship with the organization. That is frankly a lot to ask when you’re giving it away for free. So make sure you do it sparingly and for organizations you truly love.

These are obviously the three traditional ways to get clients for your business. Lots of people do them and do them poorly which is how they can also lead to destroying your business. As long as you walk that thin line and keep your head about you, you can do this. Just keep going and the clients will come.

What has worked for you to get new clients?