What cycling can teach us about getting clients

Hi! You’re here because you’re a woman who runs a consulting business, and you want to learn how to make it more profitable, more stable, and more fulfilling. In our world, that means being able to get more of the right kind of clients into your business and get paid on your value, not your time, so you can build a business that supports your life, not the other way around.

If you’re like a lot of women consultants, you’re so good at the work you do, but the process of getting new clients feels a bit like unfamiliar territory. You’ve gotten this far with referrals or word of mouth, but you know you should be doing something more proactive (but you don’t want to be salesy). You also know that what got you here won’t get you to the next level in your business.

If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

Here you’ll learn strategies you can use to attract more of the right kinds of consulting clients and get paid more for your consulting contracts, in a way that doesn’t even feel like selling.

Along the way, you’ll discover that you aren’t “bad at sales.” (I promise.) You simply haven’t learned yet. But you can learn how, feel comfortable, and actually be good at it.

We’ll cover the three critical areas to master in order to get higher-paying consulting clients:

Attract (attracting more of the right clients and filling your client pipeline)

Guide (leading a sales process and keeping clients engaged)

Close (helping clients say yes and getting paid more than you ever thought you could).

I'm glad you're here! Let's dive in.

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One of the most important lessons I learned about getting clients, I learned on a bike.?

I was in my early 20’s, living in Chicago, and I discovered cycling. Of course, I had learned to ride a bike as a kid. But riding as an adult is different.

There was nothing like riding my road bike along the lakefront path for hours, feeling the sweat drip off my face in the summer and the icy wind off Lake Michigan in the winter.

I was hooked. I immediately wanted to get better, get stronger, and go faster.

So I started reading as much as I possibly could about cycling. I devoured information about bikes and bike brands. I read about gear, technique, and rides I could go on.

But I was doing more reading than actual riding. And when I went out for long rides on the weekends, I had fun, but I wasn’t actually getting faster.

That’s because the way to get faster on a bike isn’t by thinking about it. You get faster by riding.

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It’s the exact same with landing higher-paying consulting clients.

I talk to a lot of women who want to getting higher-paying clients, but they’re spending time on things that don’t actually help them do that:

Thinking about their service offerings.

Thinking about their messaging.

Clicking around on the internet.

But these don’t actually help you get in front of potential clients, help them understand the value you provide, and move them through the sales process to say yes.

That’s because the way to land consulting clients isn’t to think about it. It’s to actually start selling.

I don’t say this to depress you.

I say this because if you’re going to actually get the clients you want, I can’t let you deceive yourself about why you’re not getting those clients right now.

But once you’re honest about the problem, you can start to fix it.

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After you’re honest about the problem, it’s time to be honest with yourself.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

1. Am I really putting myself out there as much as I can? Does every single person in my world know what I do, and know who they can refer me to?
2. Am I talking to the right people, not just the ones that come my way?
3. Am I talking about my business in a way that communicates the value I provide?
4. Do I feel totally capable leading a sales process all the way to a successful close?
5. Are my prices where I want them to be (not just what I think people can say yes to)?

And once you learn HOW to sell, you can actually start to land the business clients who you really want, who can pay your prices, and who can help you build your business.

You can go fast, and you can go far.

To your success,

Leah

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Hi! I'm Leah Neaderthal. I'm a sales coach for women consultants and the founder of Smart Gets Paid .

When I left my corporate career and started my first consulting business, I learned three things very quickly:

1- It’s 1000x harder to sell your own stuff than to sell someone else’s.

2- Marketing is not selling.

3- I had no idea how to sell.

I needed clients, but I didn’t know how to actually get them, and I was terrified of coming off like a used car salesman. It made me doubt whether I was even cut out to run a business.

So I taught myself how to get new clients in a way that feels authentic, allows me to be myself, and that works, consistently. I now teach these techniques to others. Because I know it’s possible to learn how to land clients, and actually feel comfortable doing it, once you know how.

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Whenever you’re ready to start landing higher-paying clients, here are three ways I can help you.

1. Listen to the Smart Gets Paid Podcast

You’ll hear me chat with my actual clients as we tackle their biggest challenges in getting new clients, and you’ll learn sales strategies you can use today in your own business. It's the only podcast that can help you land higher-paying clients in your B2B consulting business. Listen on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform.

2. Get your copy of the One-Page Sales Strategy

If you’re looking for a clear, easy-to-follow sales strategy for your B2B consulting business, get your copy of the One-Page Sales Strategy, and create a customized, focused strategy for your business, today: onepagesalesstrategy.com

3. Land higher-paying consulting clients with help from my team and me.?

Learn the proven, step-by-step system women like you are using to start landing the clients they really want, get more Yes’s, and get paid dramatically more for every contract, with help every step of the way. Send me a message here on LinkedIn with "Clients" in the first line and I’ll get you the details.