For consulting firms
Finding new clients as a consulting firm of 15 to 50 people
Trouve Tes Clients helps consulting firms of 15 to 50 people stop relying on word of mouth alone: one ideal customer sentence per problem the firm solves, chosen accounts and, for each decision-maker, a prepared message that the partner reviews and sends themselves.
In a consulting firm, an assignment is sold several months before it starts. When word of mouth slows down, the gap shows up too late to avoid it. This page describes prospecting that fits an expert position, and the exact role of Trouve Tes Clients.
The problem: an order book nobody manages
Word of mouth relies on each partner’s personal network, cannot be measured and brings in clients who look like the previous ones. A simple test: list the last ten assignments and note where each one came from. If most of them go through two people, the firm depends on those two people, whatever its size.
Partners are right to be wary of prospecting: a firm sells judgement, and a standard sales message cheapens it. The answer is not to give up, but to write the way an expert writes, starting from a specific problem. The full reasoning is in the guide to moving beyond word of mouth.
How it works, in five steps
These steps follow the five-stage system (target, understand, personalise, prospect, manage), applied to a consulting firm.
- Target: write one ideal customer sentence per problem you solve, not per sector, with an observable trigger (an ERP change, an acquisition, a new finance director). The method is in the ideal customer in one sentence.
- Understand: score each account against that sentence and drop the ones that match poorly. A partner’s time is the firm’s most expensive resource.
- Personalise: each partner posts about their problem once a week (see LinkedIn posts for business leaders) and leaves useful comments on target accounts’ posts before writing, following the three-interaction method.
- Prospect: a first message that opens with a specific observation and offers twenty minutes on the problem, never a catalogue of services. One or two follow-ups that bring something useful, then stop.
- Manage: the partner who owns the topic leads the conversations; a consultant or manager keeps the lists, watches the signals and tracks the follow-ups.
Confidentiality is part of what you sell
Never cite a client, even anonymised in a recognisable way, without their written agreement. A point of view is built from what repeats from one assignment to the next, not from a named assignment. The rule applies to a post as much as to a prospecting message.
What Trouve Tes Clients does for a consulting firm, and what it does not do
| Trouve Tes Clients | |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Partners and managers of consulting firms of 15 to 50 people in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg, where selling is still led by the partners. |
| What it does | Helps you define your ideal customer, analyses the profile and posts you provide to suggest an angle, gives each prospect a score, suggests a message written for each decision-maker and organises follow-ups in a pipeline, with a built-in booking page. |
| How the message is sent | On LinkedIn, you review the suggested message, adjust it if needed and send it yourself. By email, campaigns and sequences with unsubscribe management. |
| What it does not do | It sends no LinkedIn invitation, message or comment on your behalf, never acts on your LinkedIn account and does not replace the partner’s conversation with the decision-maker. |
For the rules that protect your account, see prospecting on LinkedIn without risk.
Frequently asked questions
How can a consulting firm prospect without sounding like a salesperson?
By starting from a specific problem of the company rather than a presentation of the firm. The first message describes an observation, offers a short conversation about that problem and lists no services. Follow-ups bring something usable, never a mere reminder.
Should a consulting firm define its target by sector or by problem?
By problem. A plant manager and a finance director in the same group do not buy the same assignment. A firm usually has three or four ideal customer sentences, one per problem it solves, each with its own accounts and buying signals.
Who should prospect in a consulting firm?
The conversation with the decision-maker stays with the partner who owns the topic, because the client buys the person as much as the method. What can be delegated is the preparation: account lists, signal watching, follow-up tracking. A fixed weekly slot per partner keeps the effort regular.
Can LinkedIn posts replace direct prospecting?
Rarely. A post makes a partner recognisable to their target and makes the first message easier, but it does not choose the accounts. Content and direct prospecting work together: you post about your problem, then write to the people affected by it.
Can you cite a client assignment to support a message?
Not without the client’s written agreement, even in an anonymised but recognisable form. Confidentiality is part of what a firm sells. It is better to describe what you see repeating from one assignment to the next.
Does Trouve Tes Clients write on behalf of the partners?
It suggests a message for each prospect, based on the analysis of the profile and posts you provide. The partner reviews it, adjusts it and sends it from LinkedIn: the tool sends nothing on LinkedIn. The tone and judgement remain the firm’s own.
Further reading
- Consulting firms: moving beyond word of mouth without losing your expert standing
- LinkedIn posts for business leaders: write for your future clients, not for likes
- Comment before you write: the three-interaction method
- Write your ideal customer in one sentence