Find my first clients
The status is set up, the profile is up to date. And nothing happens. You know you need to "prospect", and the word alone makes you open another tab.
The word is scary, the gesture is small
You picture prospecting as cold selling: calling strangers and getting turned down. So you keep polishing the website and the brochure. Ready, but silent.
First clients come from conversations with people you know, or people your contacts know. You simply told them what you do and who it's for.
Start with a list of twenty names, no sorting. Then a short message to each. The first client often comes out of the conversations that follow.
An example of the path
Here's what this project can look like once it's broken down. Yours starts from your answers, beginning with what you already have and what's holding you back. It will come out different, and that's on purpose.
- Milestone 1
Know who I'm talking to
- List twenty people or businesses who might need me, without sortingDone
- For each one, write in a word why they'd need it
- Spot the five I can write to tomorrow
- Ask three people close to me if they know someone with this need
- Milestone 2
Prepare what I say
A short message with one example of what I do. A sentence people want to reply to.
≈ 4 steps planned, detailed when you get there - Milestone 3
Reach out
Ten messages sent at a pace I can keep, to get three conversations.
≈ 6 steps planned, detailed when you get there - Milestone 4
Sign the first one
A simple quote with a start date. Then deliver well, and let it be known.
≈ 5 steps planned, detailed when you get there - Milestone 5
Bring in the next ones
Ask for a referral, and keep an hour a week for the list.
≈ 4 steps planned, detailed when you get there
Your first step, tonight
List twenty people or businesses who might need me, without sorting
Fifteen minutes and a sheet of paper. Tonight, the number is what counts. Sorting comes tomorrow.
How the path adapts to you
You say all of this in the opening questions, and you can change it later.
- Already have one client? Say so: the plan can start from them, from what they'd say about you and to whom.
- Hate writing to strangers? Put it under "What you want to avoid": the path goes through your network first.
- Aiming for the end of the quarter? Give the date: the steps are dated to meet it.
Your project has waited long enough.
Name your goal. It starts here.
In a few minutes, you'll know exactly where to start. The first step takes less time than thinking about it again.
Start this project