Your next client will come from a friend not a funnel.
Strategic connections: Your overlooked growth engine. Part 3 of 3 on "What it means to run an Authority-led business"
Authority-led businesses don’t rely on content alone. Their best opportunities often come from other people doing the talking for them.
You see, after studying the most in-demand consultants and coaches (and combing through my own client wins) it became very clear to me that the people in most demand always secured at least half of their business through word-of-mouth.
We’re trained to believe that content is king (and of course, it goes without saying, I’m a big advocate for great content) but the real magic happens when your ideas meet your relationships. It’s a combined effort.
If you’ve been following this series, you’ll know I’ve been sharing the foundational pieces of that puzzle: why clear positioning and a strong Authority story is the first step, and how building a Body of Work allows your best ideas to scale.
Add strategic connections into the mix, and you’ve got the recipe for an in-demand practice.
Welcome to the final part of this series, and, if you’re reading along thinking, “I’d love help applying this to my business”, do yourself a favour and get on this list.
Let me share something I don’t see talked about nearly enough: Your clients and existing connections are where the money is at. They are your powerful allies who can amplify your body of work, validate your authority, and bring a steady stream of clients your way.
Nurture your existing contacts
I was happy to be celebrating a strong Q1 in business this year.
Within those wins, only about 10% of the revenue came from a truly ‘cold’ channel. Meaning: 90% of clients came either from a warm intro (someone in my network referring me) or from a previous client returning for more.
If you’re nodding along but operating from more of a ‘cold start’, maybe you recently pivoted into entrepreneurship, changed industry or reshaped your offers, then your stream of leads might feel more like a trickle.
But that’s ok. We all start somewhere.
You know what you do have?
What I had when I started my business?
You have existing contacts.
People who already know and love you.
This is about connecting with previous colleagues, uni friends or peers. Anyone who trusts you because of who you are and know your values, personality or skillset. Not because of the headline grabbing statement you’ve been copywriting to an inch of its life.
Your network is already warm—don’t let it go cold just because you’re in a new field.
One of my 1-1 clients just landed a six month high-ticket consulting engagement with a consumer brand that would be on most creative business owners’ vision boards. It’s a dream. She is brilliant at what she does, but guess what… she already knew the team who’ve hired her.
Our coaching sessions haven’t been focused on opening that door, but on closing the deal. On crafting the right pitch, proposal, pricing and follow up process.
Another client is in negotiations with a leading software provider, for a similarly large engagement. Yet again, it is a team they’ve already worked with.
These aren’t one-call closes. There are five- six-figure deals and the trust required for those kinds of commitments isn’t built from hot air.
A blog or Whitepaper can only do so much ‘warming up’ of your ideal clients.
But if you have met someone in real life, worked with them or get a warm (hot?) introduction from a trusted source? You’re immediately setting yourself up for success in winning the business.
So — ask yourself. Are you having regular, genuine check-ins with your network? If you are, they are much more likely to hand over your dream opportunity.
During these check ins, also check in: how are you showing up? Are you listening, observing, being curious?
These are all are wonderful (free!) tools for connecting with people. Super-connector Chris Fralic responds thoughtfully to over 10,000 emails every year. His thesis is ‘the best way to be highly influential is to be human to everyone you meet’.
Show up where your people already are
Your clients are not hiding from you.
They are out there, doing their thing, waiting for someone like you to show up.
Posting on LinkedIn is rarely enough, the algorithm does not want you to cut through, especially if you’re trying to take audiences off the platform.
My advice to clients is always to actively engage in communities and networks that are available and to do so intentionally. This can be online, offline, professional or personal. They all work, provided that you are intentional, you want to be there, and your ideal clients might be there, too.
New doors and opportunities await you.
Serendipity calls your name.
I have a long list of these networks built from my own and client’s research over the years, and I’m putting them into a resource for consultants and coaches.
But when you find these groups, communities and spaces…. remember that you have to go first. Participate. Offer your time and workshops for free. DM people to have a virtual coffee.
It’s a confidence muscle you can build up, much like approaching a new machine at the gym… intimidating at first but soon, it’s second nature.
I landed a long-term client as a result of hosting a free workshop last year. This client is absolutely wonderful, and I don’t know that we’d have otherwise connected.
I put myself forward to do this workshop. And it’s funny because I know many business owners (especially those who consider themselves a leading authority) might well sniff at doing free work.
I say, bring it on! If (and only if) it’s for an aligned community and it’s building on your body of work. Why would you not?
Over time, showing up to the same places time and time again allows you to establish Authority with ease — thanks to the warm, fuzzy, organic word-of-mouth referrals that build over time.
“Oh have you met Stephen yet? You need to meet Stephen. Let me intro you”.
We forget that pre-Internet this was the only way most business happened.
So get on that speaking circuit, Slack channel and Substack comment section! Your best clients are often one intro away.
Whilst you’re there, don’t forget to put yourself forward for opportunities, please. This isn’t cheating, this is the entire point! :)
Clients beget clients
One of the reasons I encourage newer coaches or independent consultants not to price themselves too high to start, is that when you have less experience it can pay (literally) to under-price yourself, so that you will win the work.
When you have clients, if you do high quality work for them and you get them amazing results then you create a world where your existing clients become your biggest advocates and in turn, lead to referrals.
Then over time, as demand for your services surge, so can your rates. You should price yourself according to what the market is demanding of your time. I know Alex Smith for example, top strategy consultant whose fees have massively increased since going viral on LinkedIn and growing his community.
But Alex went viral on LinkedIn because of the depth of insight he shared on LinkedIn. The only way he had such depth of ideas, was the number of clients he’d worked with, I assume on more standard consultant rates.
I am such a big advocate for this process: Doing great work with real-world clients is what helps you to create great content, which in turn, creates even better clients.
And getting those clients starts by always delivering high-quality work for the clients you already have.
Because the best marketing? Is being exceptional to work with.
If you consistently meet your clients’ expectations you’ll find yourself winning their repeat business and gain access to their black book of contacts.
Many independent consultants I’ve met are so focused on their skillset (e.g. strategy, advisory, training, leadership coaching etc) and forget that delivering a great service also entails knowledge and execution around the business-side of their practice, too:
Which looks like learning how to effectively:
Write proposals
Send follow ups without annoying a prospect
Design smooth onboarding processes
Manage boundaries between deliverables and what a client asks for
Close off an engagement
Re-engage old clients in the right way
I’ve learnt a lot of this stuff from my career in client-facing roles, often from previous bosses, and now from other coaches or mentors ahead of me in their journeys.
We often learn this stuff by observing leaders.
A client sent me this message after a call we had about whether we’d continue ongoing work:
What can I say, all of the details matter!
You know you’ve claimed your Authority status when others talk about you when you’re not in the room.
There is a reason this three-part series has been written in this order— because this journey starts with your own sense of agency. It starts by crafting your positioning in a way that is clear and compelling for others and it is grounded in the existing experience that you already have.
Your agency then continues as you build a Body of Work that ensures your ideas can scale beyond you.
Doing these two things first means that when others are thinking of your work, not only is it clear and memorable, but you should be top of mind thanks to a recent or particularly insightful piece of writing, or podcast conversation that you recently published.
Authority takes resonance and visibility.
But without the connections, strategic referrals and relationships? It’s nearly impossible to build a fully booked client base.
People buy from real people, not taglines and sharp copy.
If you know your work is valuable, but you're craving more clients, collaborations, and recognition (in part because of who you're surrounded by)…. I’ve got something coming your way. Join the early access list.
Thanks so much for reading as always!
Until next time,
Ellen from The Ask.
So well stated, and very true for my business. I love the way you painted that ideas need to meet relationships and that's where the magic happens. This is also very true. Ideas alone are not sustainable. But it's the ideas birthed in relationship that generates immense value.