Clever Counsel #4 - What are you creating for yourself?

What are you creating for yourself?
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I’ve talked to a great number of consultants and freelancers about the ways they’ve found and won new clients. I think it’s genuinely interesting, I learn new tactics all the time, and I love sharing my strategies in return.
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There’s a huge amount of variation in how consultants are winning business. But generally the tactics fall into one of two categories:
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#1 Opportunities that happened to pop up
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#2 Opportunities that they created

Overwhelmingly, I hear some version of #1.
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Here are some examples:

• I heard about a project through my network

• An old employer asked to engage me for a contract

• I received a LinkedIn message from someone with an opportunity

• I just have good conversations with people and opportunities surface

• I saw a hiring manager’s post and replied to it

• A recruiter reached out to me to talk about a contract

• I applied for a contract opp posted to a job board

Perhaps 1 out of 10 consultants will have stories about the second type of opportunity - and all of them come through intentional, focused action to reach and engage a specific target client. Typically these consultants are more seasoned, more selective, more innovative, more ambitious - or all of the above.
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Here are some examples:

• I audited my target clients’ public-facing content and sent them personalized, complimentary recommendations to improve their reach and positioning
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• I booked a series of speaking opportunities and podcast interviews to dig into my ideal client’s biggest pain points and the best ways to solve them
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• I created a LinkedIn thought leadership campaign to add value for my target audience, tagged people who fit that profile, and intentionally commented on some of their content as well
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• I cold messaged a number of senior leaders in my target spaces and industries with a quick, value-focused pitch on what I could do for them - and followed up at least twice
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• I built a compelling package or productized offering, gave it away for free in exchange for testimonials, then used those testimonials (plus a special offer for first time clients) to convert followers into buyers

Let me be clear - there’s nothing inherently better or worse about either of these approaches. Client money pays bills no matter how it comes your way.

But if you’ve typically fallen in the first camp - letting opportunities happen upon you - why not try out a more proactive, targeted strategy in 2025?

The greatest potential payoff is reaching a point where you have more opportunities than you can reasonably take on - and then you get to be in a position of choosing what you want to do, instead of having to take what’s offered.

This is a position of great power and privilege.

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful holiday last week - and I’m wishing each and every one of you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2025.


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