There are many ways to get consulting clients without a website. You have to get creative. Here I’ll give you three, none of which need a website: events and conferences, cold outreach, and warm referrals.
1. Events and Conferences
This one is simple: go to where your clients will be. If you’re a consultant who specializes in helping people within a trade, go to their trade shows. Go to events as well. Be a part of your local and regional community by going to events in your area, not necessarily related to your target audience. You’d be surprised who you could meet at a house party. You’d also be surprised who they may know.
2. Cold Outreach
It is a good idea to make cold outreach a habit, to build up awareness about who you are and what you are doing, and even to close clients. It can take the form of making phone calls, emailing, sending bulky mail, or connecting with people on LinkedIn. Set up a separate business line and a separate email domain before you start, so your main number and domain stay protected. Here is how to do cold outreach as a consultant, including setup, scripts, and the rules to check.
3. Warm Referrals
This one is KEY. After every consulting engagement, after every satisfied client, ask who they know that could use your services. Make this a habit. This is the easiest way to get new business. Consulting is bought on trust. A client who hears your name from someone they respect arrives already convinced. Referral work tends to start further along: the client has a problem, a recommendation, and a reason to say yes. You spend less time explaining yourself and more time on the work.
Where to Go From Here
If you are weighing whether to build a site at all, read how to run a consulting business without a website. If you already have steady clients and want to reach further, read what a website can do for a consultant.