Finding Clients – My Way! (And Why It Might Work For You)

So many people are sharing tips on how to find clients, market and generate leads. It can be a minefield and not easy to figure out the best way to find clients for your business.

To be honest, when I started out 11 years ago, I had no idea who my ideal client was, let alone how to market to them. I used the ‘spray and pray’ approach – did it work? I’m not sure. To some extent yes but it also attracted the wrong clients to my business.

So, what did I do? (This isn’t to say you need to do the same but it’s how I’ve grown my business.)

Talking to People I Already Knew: Your Existing Network is Gold

I started to talk about my business and what I was doing on my personal social media, which led to some of my personal contacts getting in touch who were looking for support.

Why it worked: People are more likely to trust and work with someone they already know or have a connection with. By sharing my business journey on personal social media, I tapped into a warm network of potential clients.

This is about building on the relationships you already have, rather than always looking for entirely new ones.

Being Helpful in Social Media Groups: Showing You Know Your Stuff

I joined lots of business-related social media groups and looked at what the most common challenges were for people and I then offered my advice/support to these posts.

Why it worked: Giving good advice upfront shows you know your stuff. By actively engaging in relevant groups and offering helpful advice, I showed my expertise and became someone people turned to. This created trust and made people more likely to seek my services, it also made others more likely to refer people to me for help.

It’s about being visible and helpful, not just trying to sell. I find being my authentic self the best way to attract new clients,

Writing Blog Posts: Sharing What You Know

I started to blog about topics that were coming up in these groups to grow my expertise. Looking at the daily posts for the questions people were asking, the problems they were sharing, even for tips and tricks I hadn’t thought about, were great ways of finding new blog post ideas.

Why it worked: Writing blog posts lets you share your knowledge in a more detailed way, showing people what you know and bringing in more people. This high-value content not only helps with your website SEO but can also be re-purposed into social media posts, even lead magnets or webinars!

Showing rather than telling what you do is a great way of letting people see for themselves what you’re capable of and how you can help them.

Networking Events: Finding Your People

I went along to networking events with mixed success. I’ve written a few blogs about my networking experiences, such as whether to choose a locked in networking group or not, and how to get the best out of networking. So, do have a read of those!

Why it worked (and didn’t): Networking can be good but it’s about finding the right events and then finding the right people at those events. It’s not as easy as just turning up to a meeting and expecting sales to come flooding your way.

While some events led to good connections, others were a waste of time. The key is to be selective and focus on events where your ideal clients are likely to be.

Asking for Referrals: Your Best Fans Are Your Clients

I have reached out to past clients and asked them to refer me – sometimes this has led to further work for those clients as well. Just keeping in touch with past clients (and collaborators) through your social media and newsletter marketing can keep lines open.

Why it worked: People telling others about you is a great way to get new clients. Happy clients are your best fans, they know first-hand how good your service or product is and will share their experiences with their friends, family and contacts. This ‘word of mouth’ marketing is like gold dust!

Sharing Your Story: Being Real Builds Trust

I have shared my personal stories to allow me to build more authentic relationships. Such as sharing my personal vision and values and how they align with my business, to talking about my business journey and some of the wins (and mistakes!) I’ve had along the way.

Sharing personal stories made my business more human and made me more relatable. This helped people connect with me and want to work with me. People want to work with people they like and trust.

Trusting You’ll Find Your Next Client: Staying Positive

I have trusted that I will find the next client and generally it has worked. I know it sounds quite ‘woo’ but changing from a fearful mindset to one of optimism and confidence has really helped me.

Why it worked: Self-belief is so important. Believing in my skills and what I offered gave me confidence, which people picked up on. Testimonials from happy clients helped pick me up on the days when things didn’t seem to be going so well and kept me motivated to find new clients.

It’s about having faith in your business and yourself.

Looking back, I realise that finding clients isn’t just about marketing tactics; it’s about building a business that reflects who you are. It’s about showing up as your authentic self, sharing your knowledge and trusting that the right people will find you. And honestly, it’s worked out pretty well for me.

I hope these insights help you on your own client-finding journey.