The Upside

These 2 Steps Might Be Keeping You from Attracting Consistent Clients

Christina and Derrick were building a new house from the ground up. Their vision was to build a solid home that would bring them years of joy and last for generations to come.

While Christina was busy picking out wallpaper and finishes, and Derrick was designing the backyard pool area, the builder walked over to the couple and said:

“Congrats you two! We’re about ready to break ground! But first I need to know what type of foundation you have in mind. Choice A will last a lifetime but takes more time for us to construct. Choice B we can start today, but is likely to require maintenance and work down the road.”

The two looked at each other, confused. They didn’t know that building a long-lasting, high-quality house started with the foundation – and one that required time to build.

Generating clients for your service-based business is not so different than building a strong foundation for your home. 

If you want a business that can sustain for the long-term and that requires little business development work down the road, then building that client pipeline foundation is key.

That’s why anytime someone asks me the question, “How do I get clients?” I first want to know two things:

  1. Is their personal LinkedIn page optimized
  2. Have they been posting consistent content for at least 6 months

99% of the time, the answer to both is “no.”

These two simple strategies – optimizing your personal LinkedIn page and posting consistent content – are hands-down the best foundation for building a client pipeline that results in very little business development work down the road. 

In fact, just  yesterday, Upside member Stephanie Blair Caranante told me, “I’ve seen close to a 75% increase in traffic to my LI page and a 50% increase in traffic to my website after posting two recent podcasts where I was a guest.”

So before you spin your wheels with cold outreach strategies and question why it’s so darn hard to get clients, lay a strong client pipeline foundation with content and LinkedIn. 

This will help position you as the expert you are, stay top-of-mind and draw in warm client leads… without ever having to sell one thing.

And if you’ve read this far, then I’ve proven my point that content really does work! 

Want more resources to help your consultancy thrive?

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Are you a consultant looking to expand your network and advance your business? Then The Upside Membership is for you. 

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Erin Halper

About the Author

Erin Halper is the founder and CEO of The Upside and the leading authority on independent consulting. Since launching The Upside in 2017, Erin has helped thousands of professionals transition from corporate life into consulting to achieve flexibility, autonomy, and a renewed sense of purpose in their careers.

Erin has been a frequent speaker at Columbia, NYU, Harvard, and Brown and has been featured as a leading future of work expert on dozens of podcasts as well as in Forbes, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Crunchbase and many more.

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