How to Land Consulting Clients on Linkedin

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Hi there!

We had a mandatory “life skills” class senior year of high school.

They thought us things like:

• How to change a tire

• Taxes 101

• How to balance a checkbook (lol….not super critical in today’s world!)

• How to get a job

They made us get a Linkedin as part of the “How to get a Job” lesson. Since then, it’s just been sitting there.

Sure, I updated it here and there. But I always had to reset my password when I do. I used it so infrequently.

That is, until one of the top ten largest companies in the world used it to message me about a consulting opportunity. That turned into a six-figure project at a really cool client.

After that, Linkedin became a core part of my sales process!

So let’s talk about my best tips on how to use Linkedin to land consulting clients

The big debate: Inbound vs Outbound

There are two different ways to approach Linkedin:

• Inbound: You post a lot of content and clients come to you

• Outbound: You use Linkedin to find and pitch on projects

There are pro’s and cons here.

Inbound sounds like a dream: clients come to you.

However, many people are uncomfortable putting themselves out there. You will get nasty messages (I had a former client send me some terrible messages after seeing a Tweet I wrote).

Also: inbound takes a long time to build up. I only got that big client because they saw my Twitter, then reached out on Linkedin.

It took me 3+ years of Tweeting before that happened!

For that reason, I personally prefer outbound on Linkedin. You can get clients faster that way.

How to find consulting projects on Linkedin

Let’s talk through the flow here on how to get there:

#1: Go to “Jobs” Section

#2: Search bar

Importantly, DO NOT type anything in there. Just click in the search bar and then press enter.

#3: All Filters

#4: Select Your Filters

Linkedin constantly changes the filters here; it always looks different. You can (and should!) also select filters that are relevant to the kind of work that you specifically do.

However, make sure to have these filters selected:

• Experience level: Everything except internship or entry level

• Job type: Contract

• On-site/Remote: Remote

This will return a list of consulting projects! Then, you can either apply for the gig or email the hiring manager directly.

A word of warning

There are some low-quality consulting projects here. You might need to scroll through 100 projects to find 1 that is worth your time reaching out about.

However, that 1 project can turn into a $100K+ consulting contract.

I think of it this way: it’s a huge pain in the butt to scroll Linkedin for work.

But, I only need to do it for a few hours a day. And I only need to do that a few times a year.

In return, I make an income that’s ~10X the median US income. In my mind, it’s a trade-off worth making.

But, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t warn you: this isn’t easy. You will need to sort through some garbage projects first!

How can I help?

If you reply to this email, it will come directly to me & I’ll respond early next week.

I am a bit behind on these messages: I apologize! I will catch up!

To head off a very common question: I’m sorry but I don’t have any quickstart guides, courses, communities, or other paid resources!

What would be most helpful to read about next week?

Please email me back with anything helpful to see next week!

What am I up to these days?

This newsletter isn’t about me; it’s about you. However, I keep getting asked, so I’ve added this little section.

Traditional consulting

My client now has not paid their invoice….which is a first for me! They told me to expect at the end of this month, so we’ll see!

Skin-in-the-game consulting

This is a new consulting model where I work with a client as their advisor, but I also own a significant piece of equity in the business. I have “skin in the game” to ensure my clients succeed.

I’ve been deep into a conversation with one company. We agreed to have me come on as their consultant/advisor for a 15% stake in the business and are finalizing the details now! There’s also a world where we structure it instead as a revenue share.

I’m speaking with a few other companies right now regarding similar models.

Real Estate

Scholastic Capital (a fund of single-family homes in elite school districts) is progressing nicely! We’re finalizing our legal documents and we should be able to “officially” start fundraising in ~30 days.

However, we have had some inbound interest and commitments thus far! All in, we’re at $1.45M raised and another ~$8.5M to go!

If you are interested in following along, click here!