Any tips how to find clients in the EU to offer my Strategy/Consulting ?

[1ElephantStrength]

Hi everyone, apologies in advance if this post is on the wrong thread,


Ok so I have worked with 2 startups in the EU this year and I worked for them as a freelancer, the value I added for them was implementing a marketing and sales strategy for them. The businesses I worked with recognised the value I delivered for them so I am sitting here and asking myself how can I replicate this and organically scale this by having multiple clients i.e. startups or small organisations less than 10 in the EU and NA.

I would implement a sales and marketing strategy in place for them. I could also go the extra mile and make calls for them from a prospect list that I would generate but I would need to employ someone to do that.

How can I get this idea started? Do I have to register on companies house? Do I make a website ? The 2 clients I had this year found me from Linkedin and we just connected from there. I would like to have clients working for me on a 1 month rolling contract for a set fee and have more than 1 client to begin with and grow from there.

So if anyone has any input or ideas please try and help me out. I am willing to also work within different time zones and in any industry at this stage until I can carve my niche.

 

[japancool]

So what's your marketing and sales strategy for this business?

 

[1ElephantStrength]

So what's your marketing and sales strategy for this business?

Hi Japan, my marketing and sales strategy is maybe create an agency on fiver or other freelance websites, I will also use sales navigator and connect with startup founders/owners to offer my services. I was also thinking of building an email list of 3000 contacts and cold email the lot of them offering my services to them.

 

[japancool]

Hi Japan, my marketing and sales strategy is maybe create an agency on fiver or other freelance websites, I will also use sales navigator and connect with startup founders/owners to offer my services. I was also thinking of building an email list of 3000 contacts and cold email the lot of them offering my services to them.

There you go - you've answered your own question.

 

[1ElephantStrength]

There you go - you've answered your own question.

Hi Japan, once I have the client who wants to work with me whats the best way to get them to come on board? Is a rolling monthly contract best or a 3 month retainer contract in your opinion ? My idea is to keep them on a month to month rolling contract and invoice them at the end of the month. I also need to look at websites that allow me to invoice clients where I can use the templates to look professional.

 

[1ElephantStrength]

One more thing, do I have to register on companies house if I seek to work with clients in the EU? I am happy to create a basic website to begin with for £500 with my contact details on

 

[japancool]

One more thing, do I have to register on companies house if I seek to work with clients in the EU? I am happy to create a basic website to begin with for £500 with my contact details on

If you form a company, yes.

 

[Mr D]

It seems odd to offer strategy / consulting to small businesses and ask about what to do.
The elements you offer others should be used by your own business.

Figure out what business you want to be. You are already self employed? If you set up a limited company then you deal with companies House - or carry on with your self employment as you have been doing.

 

[1ElephantStrength]

It seems odd to offer strategy / consulting to small businesses and ask about what to do.
The elements you offer others should be used by your own business.

Figure out what business you want to be. You are already self employed? If you set up a limited company then you deal with companies House - or carry on with your self employment as you have been doing.

Thanks MrD, what I mean is will I attract a better calibre of clients in the EU and North America if I am listed on companies house? I really don't want to because at this stage im just myself i.e. freelance and if I create an agency I will use my agency name as my website url name. Outside of the UK is the companies house register revalant if Im sourcing clients from overseas?

 

[Deleted member 335660]

Hi Japan, my marketing and sales strategy is maybe create an agency on fiver or other freelance websites, I will also use sales navigator and connect with startup founders/owners to offer my services. I was also thinking of building an email list of 3000 contacts and cold email the lot of them offering my services to them.

My tip would be to focus on the area where your clients are and get their help to promote your work. Either their local physical area or their type of business. Create case studies and promote them in your platforms including a LinkedIn.

 

[1ElephantStrength]

My tip would be to focus on the area where your clients are and get their help to promote your work. Either their local physical area or their type of business. Create case studies and promote them in your platforms including a LinkedIn.

Thats also a good idea, thanks Trevor

 

[mattk]

Is there a reason you're looking for clients in the EU/US and not the UK?

What sort of fees are you looking to charge? The reason I ask, as I assume a strategy consultant would be upwards of £1k a day, but then your idea was advertising on Fiverr, which is definitely the bottom end of the market.

The stock answer is to become an expert in your niche. Write articles about sales and marketing (the "other" S&M), publish them on LinkedIn, Medium, Reddit, HackerNews and other places where startup founders hang out. Speak at conferences. Produce YouTube videos. That way people will come to you and you won't have to fight to stand out on sites like Fiverr.

 

[Financial-Modeller]

It seems odd to offer strategy / consulting to small businesses and ask about what to do.
The elements you offer others should be used by your own business...

The OP has form on this.

Go back and check his other threads, which are all variations of "how do I market my marketing expertise?"

 

[japancool]

The OP has form on this.

Go back and check his other threads, which are all variations of "how do I market my marketing expertise?"

He even asked UKBF to help him come up with a marketing strategy for one of these EU companies he was advising!

 

[1ElephantStrength]

Is there a reason you're looking for clients in the EU/US and not the UK?

What sort of fees are you looking to charge? The reason I ask, as I assume a strategy consultant would be upwards of £1k a day, but then your idea was advertising on Fiverr, which is definitely the bottom end of the market.

The stock answer is to become an expert in your niche. Write articles about sales and marketing (the "other" S&M), publish them on LinkedIn, Medium, Reddit, HackerNews and other places where startup founders hang out. Speak at conferences. Produce YouTube videos. That way people will come to you and you won't have to fight to stand out on sites like Fiverr.

Hi Matt, aplogies for the delay, you have really helped me out a lot with your ideas above, I have a lot to think about and I agree fiver is the bottom end of the market, Just a question does the content have to come from me? Or could I outsource someone to write my articles in the hope something will stick? Thank you

 

[1ElephantStrength]

The reason why I am looking for clients in the EU is because of a larger pool of potential clients that's all is my reason