♦️ How your consulting firm can get more clients (by thinking about just one)
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Every consulting firm wants to get more clients. The multi-million dollar question is: “How?” We could answer this with many abstract ideas and tactics. But I realized there is an easier way. To think about a single buyer. A recent discovery call I had with a consulting firm founder inspired me for this. He joined the call. And the first thing he said was: “Ozan, I don’t know how I found out about Frontera, but I love your content!” After thanking him, I told him how he found us from our CRM, which was open on my second screen: “Well, you actually clicked a link on an ad five months ago and subscribed to our newsletter. Then you opened 14 emails, downloaded one resource, and shared two newsletter editions. You also connected with me on LinkedIn. And finally, you filled out our contact form after reading the latest email, and here we are.” So a chain of interactions happened for us to end up in that call. And all the abstract words we use like ‘client acquisition’ or ‘go-to-market’ come down to designing that chain of interactions for a single buyer. So to answer the “how to get more clients” question, let’s think about what should happen for a single buyer to buy your firm’s services. We’ll call that buyer Joe. Joe has never heard of your firm. And he doesn’t even have a friend who can refer you. How can you turn Joe from a total stranger to a client? If we do that right, the rest is easy. Because getting more clients means getting more Joes to buy from you. But there are some criteria for the chain of interactions to happen: 1. The first touchFirst, Joe has to hear about your firm. Somewhere, somehow. This can happen in old-school business development methods like going to conferences. But you already know that part, so let’s focus on the digital side. Joe can:
One of these lucky events has to happen. So Joe can find out about your firm. If not, there is no way for Joe to find you. This is the step that enables the rest. What it means for your firm:
2. RelevanceJoe might hear about your firm. But that’s not enough. Joe also has to find whatever he sees relevant to him. And this relevance has to be obvious. Joe has to see clear signs that it’s specifically for him. Because if it’s not immediately clear, Joe hesitates. He might not see a reason to read one more article, click one more page, and eventually contact your firm. Relevance keeps Joe around after the first touch. What it means for your firm:
3. ImportanceJoe might hear about your firm and find everything relevant. But for him to even consider hiring your firm, the subject matter has to be important to him. He needs to feel a high emotional necessity to do something about it. If his CEO isn’t asking about it, or if it’s not presenting him with an opportunity for his career, it stays at the bottom of his to-do list. Yes, Joe might still consume your content. He might even agree with it. But he wouldn’t consider buying. What it means for your firm:
4. TrustJoe might hear about your firm and find everything both relevant and important. Great. But Joe also has to trust you. Because if he decides to hire your firm, he will put his career on the line. He’ll try to convince other decision makers and key people in the company. He’ll commit his budget. So he has a lot to lose. And he’s already been burned by other firms before. That’s why Joe has a trust-meter in his mind. He judges your firm based on every signal. Positive interactions with your firm (e.g., reading a perspective-changing article, getting a genuinely useful resource, topic consistency and depth, etc.) increase his trust. Negative interactions decrease it. What it means for your firm:
5. Clear next stepsJoe is busy. He sees thousands of emails and pieces of content every day. He doesn’t have time to decipher complicated stuff. So he needs clear steps to proceed in the chain of interactions. Visited your website for the first time? Clear explanation of what your firm does, for whom, and how Joe can stay in touch. Read an article fully? A clear invitation to download a relevant resource. Already followed your firm for months and ready to buy? Clear offers he can choose from and clear explanations of what he’ll get. The moment he sees something that requires too much mental work, you risk losing Joe. Joe doesn’t want to go through a list of 20 capabilities and 15 industries to understand what exactly your firm does. Joe needs clarity. And he needs it quick. What it means for your firm:
Once you have all these criteria met, the rest is tracking. Have a system to track Joe’s chain of interactions with your firm and its profitability. Optimize the performance on an ongoing basis. That’s it. — The moral of the story? That founder on my discovery call had no idea how he found us. It felt random to him. But none of it was random. He went through a chain of interactions, designed specifically for him. “Getting more clients” is all about designing that chain of interactions. So instead of abstract terms like ‘go-to-market,’ think about a single buyer. Makes it easier to do marketing right. Some consulting firms are invisible to the buyers who need them mostIt usually comes down to three things: Prospects can't find you or hear from you consistently (distribution). They don't understand your expertise and value through your content (messaging). They can't tell what makes your firm different (positioning). We help consulting firms solve all three. Following our engagement, you end up with:
From there, we continue as your ongoing partner for thought leadership content or guide your team to execute the strategy. Want a pipeline that finally matches the quality of your work? Fill out this form. Let’s talk.
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