All client acquisition strategies aren’t created equal

How do you get your clients?

According to the data we collected in this year’s survey, most of us are getting the bulk of our new work from referrals.

Getting referrals is great — and generally a sign that you’re doing something right… but because it’s mostly passive, it makes controlling the flow of new business difficult. 

But every client acquisition strategy has it’s pros and cons… It’s costs, difficulties, and skills required to be successful.

And not all of them will yield results in the same amount of time, either. 

Like with anything, there’s always some kind of tradeoff to make. 

This week I went down the rabbit hole of different client acquisition strategies trying to map out their cost, difficulty, lead time for results, pros, cons, and the skills required in order to be successful.

Here are the results of that effort.

Keep in mind, these are not hard facts, but more general assessments of each of these tactics. 

My hope is that seeing them mapped out this way helps you identify which strategies might suit you best.

Got plenty of time, but not much cash? Content marketing might be the way to go.

Got plenty of cash and need to see results immediately? PPC might be your best option.

In my experience, keeping the pipeline full requires at least 2-3 of these methods working in unison and there are some that are just a better “fit” for you than others.