How to Land Your First Consulting Client as a Data Scientist or Data Engineer

Create A Website With A Blog

In the modern era, creating a website is more important than having a business card. It used to be that the only way you could get clients was by knowing the right people. Now, it is by knowing what potential clients will be Googling. You want to get your site noticed by executives and individual contributors by creating content that answers their questions.

The content doesn’t need to be overly detailed or contain thousands of words.Concentrate on giving advice on common problems, like how to calculate metrics, create a database, or implement a model.

Blogs may seem cliche, but actually creating posts that answer people’s questions are valuable and make your website stand out. Some people feel like they have to hold all they know close to the vest, but sharing what you know is ok! Companies still need someone to execute and implement what the blog posts contain. The knowledge alone is never enough.

For instance, if I were ever to need a SQL consultant, I would consider hiring Pinal Dave, the person behind SQL Authority. Anytime I have a SQL question and visit the SQL Authority site, I know I am going to get the right answer. Pinal clearly knows what he is doing and has provided a lot of valuable content for free and I am sure he still gets plenty of clients. Don’t stress about giving away knowledge. Knowledge is cheap. Everything is a Google click away. People hire you for your understanding of how to use that knowledge.

Create A Free Services Or Resource

Offering free resources or a simple free service related to what you are consulting on are great ways to attract possible clients. For instance, what if poorsql.com, a site that auto-formats your SQL neatly, was on a consulting site. Now, every-time some user wanted to format their SQL quickly, they would visit that site.

This would a pretty simple application to develop and it could provide a lot of value.

A simple resource could be something like templates for proposals and presentations. Making a very solid proposal and or presentation can be a lot of work, especially adding all the finishing touches. If you provide a well-made template and your post comes up first when people Google “How to write a proposal”, you again have an opportunity to create customer trust. Thus, making it more likely a person will reach out to you for their future project.

Attend Meet-Ups, Do a Talk

Writing posts online is great for introverts because you can get your opinion across without needing to venture too far outside of our comfort zone. For those who are extroverts, however, going to meet-ups and giving talks is very valuable.

When I give talks and interact in meet-ups, I maybe talk to two or three people. However, I know plenty of people who can talk to everyone, get all their emails and learn the names of their dogs or some other fun fact that you can reference when you send them a follow-up. Speaking and attending meet-ups are a great way to meet new people. Yes, a lot of people at these meet-ups might also be looking for connections, but you never know who you will meet. Finding clients is about the long game. So don’t go to these meet-ups looking at everyone as a client. Instead, approach them with genuine care and interest

Even if you aren’t that good. It is still worth going and doing the occasional talk. It improves your public speaking skills and gets your name out there.

Social Media Marketing Works

We lightly referenced social media earlier, but we wanted to point it out one more time. Social media marketing is an effective method of getting people to notice your service.

The best part about social media marketing is it is often an asymmetrical investment when you start to get better at it. That is to say, as consultants, we aren’t trying to sell a $20 dollar hoodie. Instead, we are often trying to get work worth thousands of dollars. This means if we invest a few hundred dollars into advertising and get a single client, it can be worth it. Now, you do need to start to get a feel for who you’re targeting and the content you need to create. So I would recommend waiting on this until you have a stockpile of content at your disposal.

Be a Content Creator

This is all leads to my last point. Content. For your first client, you have nothing to really show. You don’t have any previous clients you can point to, so it is hard to develop trust. Creating content is a great way to develop trust and show you know what you are talking about.

One great example of marketing that I apply to consulting is Disney. I know you are probably wondering, “What does Disney have to do with getting consulting clients, and or marketing?” Well, here is the thing, Disney is essentially one giant marketing apparatus. Their movies push their TV shows, their TV shows and movies push their toys, they have music and so much other content that everything they do essentially ties back and resells some other aspect.

In the same way, as a consultant, you will be doing work for clients, which leads to case studies, which ties back to your blog which ties back to your services, etc. It all ties back. Content is a great way to create trust and new clients.