What are the Best Ways to Network to Build Clientele?

To answer this question, I want to hone in on the word ‘networking’. Now, my personal definition of the word is that when you’re networking, you're engaging in an action that expands your social network. I like to think about networking like this because I think if people have a narrow definition of networking, then they're limiting themselves in terms of how they network and who they network with. 

Networking can look different in plenty of different ways, for example, pre-pandemic, a lot of people would define networking as going to a mixer with a cocktail in one hand, and a handshake in your other hand, ready to “work the room” and talk about yourself. While that is certainly one way to go about it, it is not the only way, and I don’t want you to limit yourself and your networking to in-person or online networking events because there are so many other ways you can network! Like I said before, I define networking as engaging in any action that you take to build your network. 

Now before we dig in, I want to talk about the two most important layers of networking when it comes to networking to build clientele. The first layer has your ‘Direct Ties’, the second layer has your ‘Indirect Ties’. 

Layer #1: Direct Ties - Your direct ties are people that you know directly and already have a relationship with. This could be a former boss, this could be someone you went to school with, this could be a colleague. 

Now, in terms of the depth of the relationship, that can vary, but the key point is that you all aren't strangers. 

Layer #2: Indirect Ties - Your indirect ties are people who you're 1, 2, 3 degrees of separation removed from. Think a colleague of your former boss, or a friend of a friend, you may not have met them, but you do have a connection to them through someone else. Those people are folks that you can consider as being ‘in your network’ as well, so you want to think as expansively as possible. 

In networking to build clientele, it’s vital that you think expansively about your network! Networking is a concept of building your network and people who are connected to the people that you know, are folks you should be thinking about in your network too. 

Here are a few actions and strategies that you can leverage to help build your network, and ultimately, your clientele. 

Action #1: Map Your Network - When I say “map your network”, I mean actually sit down and write (or draw) out your network. Think about your entire professional career. What are all the different stops that you made or intersection points that then would have resulted in some type of network that you have? 

Let me give you an example. So, my career in education started off as a teacher for Teach for America. That is the first network that I have, because I happened to be a Teach for America Alum. The school that I worked at as a teacher is the second network that I have. That includes previous colleagues and my previous principal. I went to undergrad at Ohio State, that is my third network including people that I went to school with and folks who work there. After teaching, I then joined New Leaders, which is a leadership preparation program for principals, so that's a fourth network that I have, including people who either went through the program or were in my cohort. And for this program, they could be a cohort above me, a cohort below me or people who work for the organization. 

So you can see, that just from my Education and Professional history alone, I have at least 4 networks I can tap into! Even better, each one of those networks, depending on who your target client is, includes a direct or indirect contact (tie) that you can network with right away.

This is why I highly, highly recommend that you take some time to reflect and think about your professional journey. What are the different pit stops that you made, and therefore the different network groups or social groups that you have within your hemisphere? 

Action #2: Explore for Direct & Indirect Ties- Once you map your network, the next thing I would recommend doing is looking within your networks for direct and indirect connections with people that either are your target client, or can get you closer to your target client. 

Once you’ve found a few, you’ll want to reach out. And that could look like just sending an email to folks. 

If it’s a Direct Tie, you can email them and be pretty straightforward because there's an existing relationship here. If it’s indirect, you might not want to be super direct. You can say something like this:

"Hey, I am in the process of growing my consulting business. Through my consulting business, I'm seeking to do X, Y, and Z. I know that you are a leader in this field and wanted to connect." 

So for a more concrete example, your initial reach out could sound like, "I'm seeking to support principals and their instructional leadership to ensure that they're creating more space and time to be able to coach teachers. And I would love to learn more about your priorities." If this person is a principal, "I would love to talk more about you to learn more about your priorities and see how I can support you in your work this year."

You can also approach your initial reach-out as a request for information and market research and this works for direct and indirect ties. Your email could looks something like this: 

"Hey, this is the business that I have, this is the problem I'm seeking to solve in my business. And I would love to connect with you for about 30 minutes, sometime over the next couple of weeks, to learn more about how this problem is showing up for you."

Now, if you do this, do not go into the conversation focused on pitching. Go into the conversation focused on learning how they are experiencing the problem, determining what resources they have sought out and found effective or ineffective and what resources they are seeking. That is going to not only help you and your business, but it’ll also give you a chance to build a connection or deepen an already existing connection. So you may not pitch at the end of that conversation, but guess what they might ask?

"Well, tell me more about your business. Well, what services do you offer?" 

So with that ‘permission’ you can follow up in the email conversation and share more about your services. 

Action #3: Attend and Speak at Conferences - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, conferences are a great way to expand your network and build clientele! There are plenty of in-person and virtual conferences throughout the year, and you may not be presenting but that’s fine. Attending a conference still gives you a great opportunity to network and build relationships with other attendees and speakers.  

Action #4: Networking on Social Media - This is exactly why I started off this blog encouraging you to expand your definition of networking. If you only went to networking events, you’d miss out on the amazing opportunity that social media provides when it comes to networking. 

When you’re on social media and you have a public presence and you’re building awareness around you and your business, you are building your audience, which is building your network. When someone likes and shares a post you’re building your audience, and if they hit your follow button, you're building your audience. Which is a powerful form of networking. 

So I share that because I know many people are afraid or even frustrated when navigating social media, but once you find a strategy and system that is consistent and works for you, engaging on socials is such a low lift way to build your network and your clientele. 

Again, I really encourage you to expand your definition of the word ‘networking’ because once you do, you’re going to see connections you never saw before!

If you are ready to invest in coaching to help you grow your consulting business to six-figures and beyond, click here to apply for your invite to special training on how to build a six-figure consulting business!