20 Proven Ways to Find Agency or Consulting Clients

Without Spending a Fortune on Advertising

The following list isn’t an exhaustive list. It’s a short list of some of the many ways you can
find new clients for your consulting, coaching or agency business.

1. Create a Local Business Alliance

Create a networking group consisting of 3-5 other people who also sell to the
local businesses (or niche) that you target. For example, if you sell social media
marketing management to restaurants, partner up with the person who handles
their payroll, their payment processing, their P.O.S. systems, their insurance, their
wine salesperson, etc. Offer 10% commission to anyone who refers a new
customer with you – and pay them residually 10% on every monthly payment
because they will help retain your customer as well.

Action step: Write out what type of sales professionals are already selling services
or products to YOUR potential prospects? (i.e. think payroll services, credit card
processing, P.O.S. systems, products, food, equipment, insurance, etc.)

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2. Yelp.com
This strategy is particularly useful if you sell to restaurants, salons and other
businesses people tend to search for using Yelp.com. Here’s the Yelp search
strategy to find qualified prospects: 
Go to Google.com and do a search exactly
like this (substitute location or business type): 
site:yelp.com "watch video" +

© Marketing Agency Academy | Joe Soto 1

 restaurant + dallas tx 
Why? Because this will pull up Yelp listings in Google of
businesses that feature of Video on their Yelp listing/profile. 
Why is this
important? Because having a video on your profile costs money, and often costs
at a minimum $375/mo. to have an updated Yelp listing (on up to $1500+/mo.
depending on the type of advertising package they’ve purchased from Yelp). What
does this tell you about them? They are a qualified prospect because they are
already paying for local marketing and advertising.

Action Step: Go to Google now and type in the formula and start making a
prospect list of qualified advertising buyers.

3. Speak at Local Events

Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and get involved. You can join for
very little for a yearly membership and they are always looking for speakers for
local events, including lunch-and-learns and other local business workshops they
put on throughout the year. Create a brief speaking media kit, essentially a
positioning statement, a bio, speaking topics and some testimonials and give it to
your local Chamber so they know you’re an option when they are in need of local
speaker.

Here’s the directory of essentially every Chamber of Commerce in the United

States. http://www.officialusa.com/stateguides/chambers/ 


There are a lot of other organizations you can find who need local speakers and
presenters at workshops, conferences or at their association meetings. 


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 • http://www.ipl.org – this is website of The Internet Public Library, which
contains a search box that will allow you to search for associations 


• http://www.marketingsource.com/associations - this website allows you

to purchase the U.S. Directory of Associations, either in its entirety or by
region or individual states

• http://www.ipl.org – this is website of The Internet Public Library, which

contains a search box that will allow you to search for associations.

• http://www.marketingsource.com/associations - this website allows you

to purchase the U.S. Directory of Associations, either in its entirety or by
region or individual states

Here is a list of associations that are often looking for speakers – and they ALL
have regional chapters and conferences. They all want a topic specific to their
group – digital targeting topics are hot.

• FPA – Financial Planners Association

• ICF – International Coach Federation
• NAR – National Association of Realtors
• NAPO – National Association of Professional Organizers
• NRA – National Restaurant Association
• NDA – National Dental Association
• NAWBO – National Association of Women Business Owners
• And many more! Do some research, they all have websites and all have
events you could be attending and networking at with potential clients.

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 Action step: Go to one of these sites above and/or Google and start searching
for local events coming soon to a city near you, that you can attend and network
at to find new clients.

4. Local Networking Groups

As a member or even as a non-member of your local Chamber of Commerce you

can attend local chamber breakfasts, luncheons, and cocktail events. This opens
up the door for you to network with local business owners. Tip: Never focus on
giving your business card out. Focus on getting to know business owners, find out
why they started their business, etc. Take a genuine interest in other people and
they’ll ask for your card. Make sure to get their card so you can initiate the follow
up. Again, here’s the directory of essentially every Chamber of Commerce in the
United States. http://www.officialusa.com/stateguides/chambers/ 


Action step: What local networking groups could you get involved with or join
membership with? Go to Google and start searching!

5. Meetup.com
I call it the “forgotten social network.” It’s still huge. And why not utilize the
Internet’s largest network of local groups to attract new clients, while helping you
lead a community of your ideal potential clients? Go find a meetup (or start one)
in your area and you’ll have immediate access to other business owners, and some
who may also be your alliance partners. 


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 Action step: Go to www.Meetup.com and search for groups in your local or
regional area. Identify the popular groups you could a) attend and b) model to
start your own group that is hosted and led by you. What are they doing in their
groups, how do they have it structured and organized?

6. BNI
Particularly if you are a new business coach, consultant or agency owner, take a
look into joining a BNI group near you. “The mission of BNI is to help members
increase their business through a structured, positive and professional referral
marketing program that enables them to develop meaningful, long-term
relationships with quality business professionals.”

Action step: Find a chapter here: https://www.bni.com/find-a-chapter 


7. LinkedIn Direct Outreach

Use direct outreach, be genuine and there is no reason to sound like a solicitor. If
you find a client prospect who could use your help, simply ask them if they are
open minded to some suggestions you have that you are happy to help them out
with.

Action Step: Leverage Sales Navigator so you can leverage their prospecting
strategies – do your own digging, research for $79/mo. 

https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/sales-navigator

© Marketing Agency Academy | Joe Soto 5

8. Facebook Direct Outreach
You’ll be surprised how many business owners you can reach, simply by friend
requesting them or messaging them through their Facebook business page. But
that’s not a green light to spam them or send them a commercial. Everyone’s
human and expect to be approached that way. Keep it simple, pay them a sincere
compliment about their business and say something along the lines of “I have
some ideas that can help you if you’re interested in hearing them let me know.”

Action step: Find your prospects on FB and reach out with value. Send them an
audit (or a video audit) really helping them and adding value with something that
related to what you can help them with.

9. Facebook Page Interaction

Most people interact with other Facebook pages, but as their personal profile, not
as their business page. If you want to post directly to the wall of a Facebook page
as your page use the drop-down at the top right of the status update box to select
the page you want to comment as. Choose which page you want to post with.
Then add value, don’t spam, solicit or sell your services. Add value to the
conversation, and post comments. Doing this can show your value and ultimately
position you as an authority in your nice. When you comment and interact on
very engaged pages, everyone who has reacted (liked/commented/shared) that
same post gets notified that you’ve also commented. This is why it’s also
important to be one of the last to comment on an engaged post.

Action step: Find the pages in your niche or local market that are active and be
proactive!

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10. LinkedIn Groups
There is a rumor that LinkedIn “Groups” may be going away. This also applies to
any forum or group online, but in essence sharing your content or value added
articles into groups on LinkedIn is a proven way to get the attention of business
owners – particularly if you aren’t trying to just pitch people or sell your services.

Action step: Find the groups where your prospects interact or where your
potential referral (alliance) partners hang out: https://www.linkedin.com/groups

11. Audits

Website audits, SEO audits, and Social Media Audits all add value to any
prospective customer’s condition. And my suggestion is to offer them for free,
even though you could also sell them if they are thorough enough. A business
owner is always trying to evaluate their own business, but they don’t have the
experience or know how to truly evaluate their own digital marketing efforts. You
can truly help the business owner here whether they eventually hire you or not.
Worse case, when a business colleague of theirs’s talks about needing a new
website, SEO or social media help, you’ll be top of mind for someone they’ll
think of to refer.

Action Step: How can you add value with Audits for your prospects? Think
video walk through teaching them something in under 5 min of REAL value (tip:
use Jing – it will allow you to do under 5 min. screenshare videos for free, and
then you can send a link directly to your prospect to watch.

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12. Industry Events
Attending and sponsoring. At the end of 2010 I was one of a few businesses that
paid to be a sponsor at a local seminar that was in town. It cost $10,000 and it was
out of our budget at the time. It paid off, resulting in over $500k in new business
over the following two years based on the relationships formed there that led to
new clients.

Action step: What industry events are your potential clients attending? Spend
some time on Google and find out. Write them out here and decide which are
local or regional enough for you to attend. I promise you, there are MANY.

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13. Local Publications

Go pick up as many local newspapers as you can. There are still local businesses
that are wasting their money by advertising in the local newspaper. Many are
paying hundreds per ad, per month (some thousands) to do this. They just need
to be educated.

Action step: Make a list of the local publications in your area, and/or go out and
pick some up at your local grocery store or convenience store. You’ll find
advertisers doing a horrible job – help them by actually helping them first.

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14. Lead Lists

There are thousands of lists out there for purchase, and some will contain new,
relevant data that you need on your prospects, including name, website, phone
and email. www.Infousa.com is just one of many lead list brokers online.

Action Step: Do some Google research, chances are there are industry specific
lead lists for your niche.

15. Competitor Clients

Clients of competitors have already proven they are willing to pay for consultants,
coaches or agencies – services like yours. Find them, scout them out, and if you
can do better go for it. The strategy to is to add value here too which you can do
with an audit or an article that can help earn your trust, show your value and
position you as another authority or expert that can help them get to the next
level. Some businesses will stick with an agency only until a better one comes
along that can actually produce the results they desire. It’s staggering how many
businesses are unhappy with their current agency partner, but don’t know where
to turn so they feel mediocre results are better than none at all. Also, you can
focus on selling these clients something different. If you find a marketing agency
that provides SEO and PPC services, perhaps you can offer social media
advertising services as well, to supplement their efforts.

Action Step: Do a Google search for marketing agencies in your area or region.
Also, try searching more specifically for SEO company, Web Development
company, etc., and start making a list of competitors or close competitors and
their clients.

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16. Target Businesses that are paying for Google AdWords
If you don’t know what it is, Google it, as it’s Google’s most popular online
product. Businesses that are willing to pay for Google AdWords make great
prospects. Why? Because they’re already spending money on online advertising.
And, in most cases, Google PPC is more expensive than Facebook PPC.
Although, also in most cases it can benefit the business from leveraging both
platforms. Typically, a business that is advertising on Google has a marketing
agency that manages it for them. That doesn’t mean that same agency knows how
to do social media marketing or Facebook advertising. It’s your job to find out.
You can also click through their ad and evaluate their online sales funnel. Does
their PPC ad go to an optimized landing page, with a lead magnet to build their
list or does it only go to a website page that sends their potential customer or
client in several different directions (not optimal)? Just because someone is
advertising on Google, doesn’t mean they are optimizing the customer journey
which is where you can come in with added value.

Action step: Do a google search for your niche and make a list of who is paying for
Google Ads and go to work!

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17. Local/Organic SEO
If I searched for a digital marketing agency or marketing consultant in your city,
would your website show up on page one of Google? What about on Google
Maps? If you’re in Topeka, KS and you provide SEO services and a business is
searching for an SEO company in Topeka, would they find you? If not, you’re
going to have a difficult time selling SEO services. Make sure to claim and
optimize your business listing on “Google For Business,” and if that’s foreign to
you, Google it and get it set up. It takes 15 minutes. If you don’t know how to
optimize your website for local search, and if you don’t have very many sites
linking to you (backlinks) then get some help.

Action step: Optimize your website for SEO. If you use Wordpress, start by
adding the Yoast SEO plugin to your website.
https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/ - They also have some great
inexpensive SEO courses ($39 – $199), but you can also outsource this if it’s not
something you enjoy.

18. Purchase Google AdWords for Your Agency

This takes investing some money into your business, but you get to set the budget
and it can help you get clients quickly.

Action step: If you have an ad budget, visit https://adwords.google.com/home

and start showing up with your own ad at the top of Google for your keywords so
client prospects can find YOU.

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19. Facebook Advertising
You can target just about anyone on Facebook, including business owners,
entrepreneurs, CEO’s, Dentists, Attorneys, and more. Localize your advertising.
Businesses prefer to do business with local businesses they can meet with in
person, so you’ll have an advantage over others outside of the area who are also
advertising to your potential clients. Check out www.Facebook.com/blueprint.

Action Step: If you’re a FB advertising agency then this option is a no-brainer for
you. Be your own case study and show clients how you can attract clients locally
through the power of FB advertising.

20. Online Sales Funnel

This one really goes with 18 and 19. If you’re going to pay for advertising, you’ll
want to build out an optimized sales funnel to fully maximizing your ad spend.
Some people run ads directing traffic to their website or a page on their website.
This is a mistake. It’s not strategic and you’ll lose so many potential prospects by
not guiding them in the right way through your funnel. If you have the time and
budget, and know how to make an online funnel, it’s a lucrative way to get new
clients to schedule appointments (strategy sessions) with you. Market one of your
success stories (case study) and offer an audit to a lucky local business upon
request. But, unlike many of the other ways to find clients, it takes an upfront
budget and sometimes hundreds if not thousands of dollars before you dial it in
and get clients with this method.

Action steps: Get your Clickfunnels free trial and account set up. It’s very easy to
use, and their funnels and templates are already done for you, all you have to do is
customize it.

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Exercise:

List 5 of the 20 ways to clients that you can take action on this week:

1. _______________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________

Notes:

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Ready to take your business to the next level? Visit: MarketingAgencyCourse.com

today to learn more about Marketing Agency Academy.

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