How do you find new clients?

by Paul Baldwin | Jul 11, 2001 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Paul Baldwin

Takeaway: When it comes to landing new work, independent consultants have to work twice as hard as, say, their Big Five brethren. What's your most proven strategy for keeping work in the pipeline? What's not worth your time? Tell us.

If you’re the only dentist in town, it’s fairly easy for you to land new work. When someone has a toothache, it’s likely the patient will appear in your waiting room.

For independent IT consultants, finding new clients is a little more challenging. You probably aren’t the only consultant in town. If your competition includes a big-name consulting firm, you face the added task of convincing potential clients that you can offer the same—or better—service than an Accenture, a KPMG, or a Hewitt Associates.

How do you beat the competition—and a sluggish economy—to land new clients? Do you count on word-of-mouth or traditional advertising? Do you concentrate on cold calling or a killer Web site?

Please take this week’s poll, “What’s the best way to find new clients?,” and then join the expanded discussion of the issue by sending us an e-mail or posting your comments in a discussion.

If your success is due to hard work and client satisfaction, tell us about it. If you hit the phones and cold call at the beginning of the month, give us your story. If you play golf with the company IT director….(Well, you get the picture.)

The most interesting and valuable responses will be included in an upcoming TechRepublic article.