Securing Your First Agency Client: A Strategic Approach to Early Success

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Key Takeaways

• If you’ve invested in building the right relationships before launching your solo agency, you almost certainly already know your first client.
• By asking for feedback from those in your network, instead of pitching and pushing to strangers, you will build exposure and find your first client.
• Understand that your first client is not truly yours until they’ve paid you.

To establish your solo agency, you need a clear ideal client profile (ICP) and a transformative ideal client journey (ICJ). When combined, these elements define your agency’s niche. However, understanding your niche alone isn’t sufficient. To sustain your agency, you must secure real paying customers. Like many worthwhile endeavors, your success begins with acquiring that crucial first client.

If you’ve identified a valuable niche, attracting your first client won’t depend on market conditions. Instead, it will result directly from your existing relationships—who you know and who knows you. Your first client will typically emerge from your current network.

In fact, I’d argue that if you don’t already know your first client (and potentially your first few clients), your chances of long-term success as an independent consultant are limited. You may not be ready yet.

Before considering leaving your full-time job to build your agency, ensure you have at least 20 individuals in your target market whom you can approach for feedback. Notice I said “ask for feedback” rather than “pitch to.” This distinction is crucial, and I’ll explain why shortly.

Learn from my mistake

Before discussing strategies for finding your first client, I want to share a mistake that nearly ended my agency before it began. This lesson proved invaluable.

Between 2019 and 2020, I spent considerable time planning how to enter the Salesforce CRM ecosystem as an independent advisor. Confident in my approach, I had developed a clear client journey. In the fall of 2020, I officially founded my agency, MVRK.

In early 2021, my first potential client contacted me through a referral. While still employed full-time, I had several excellent conversations with much of the company’s senior leadership team, culminating in a request for a proposal.

I prepared the proposal eagerly and sent it promptly. After some negotiation, we reached a verbal agreement to begin at the start of the following month. Feeling optimistic after our verbal commitment, I gave my three weeks’ notice to my employer.

Can you guess what happened next? My potential client disappeared. No signed contract, no deposit—just silence. I made a rookie error that left me with nothing.

The lesson is straightforward: You don’t truly have a client until they’ve paid you.

Instead of pitching, ask for feedback

For most people, this would have ended the journey before it began. However, for me, it became a setback before an incredible breakthrough. That breakthrough evolved into a sustained effort that continues today. I now lead a small team with over a dozen excellent clients.

But every journey begins with a single step. How did I find my first paying client after being ghosted? I followed what successful entrepreneurs do—I shifted my focus toward gathering feedback on my strategy from people I trusted.

Rather than desperately trying to return to my former employer, I reached out to former clients and business contacts, requesting 20 minutes of their time. During these meetings, I didn’t attempt to sell myself or propose a partnership. Instead, I asked for their feedback on my designed client journey.

The most effective question I used for gathering feedback—especially from former clients—was: “If you’d had the option to choose what I’m offering now when you originally decided to work with my team, how would that have influenced your decision?” Feel free to adapt this question for your own use.

Regardless of the questions you ask, pay attention to two key signals:

1. What resonates with your audience. The elements they respond to positively will become the foundation of your pitch.
2. What confuses your audience. Anything that doesn’t make sense to the person providing feedback needs immediate refinement.

These feedback sessions will represent the most valuable time investment you make when starting your solo venture. Unlike my experience, conduct these conversations before leaving your current job.

Start strengthening your network today

How did these conversations lead to my first client? It’s quite straightforward. A CFO I met with from a previous client mentioned my consulting firm to his VP of Sales. The VP reached out, requesting my assistance. After discussing what I offered, they signed a contract, paid the deposit, and we began working together.

They remain my client to this day—over five years later. You’ll likely find your first client through a similar process.

This is why I recommend that before starting your solo journey, you should be prepared to reach out to as many relevant people as possible for feedback—20 is the minimum, but 50 is more ideal. If you’re thinking, “I don’t have 20 people I can ask for feedback,” you’re not ready yet. Rather than rushing in, focus on strengthening your network.

Even if this means working for someone else longer, it’s worth the wait because your network’s strength will directly impact your early agency success.

Key Takeaways

• If you’ve invested in building the right relationships before launching your solo agency, you almost certainly already know your first client.
• By asking for feedback from those in your network, instead of pitching and pushing to strangers, you will build exposure and find your first client.
• Understand that your first client is not truly yours until they’ve paid you.

To establish your solo agency, you need a clear ideal client profile (ICP) and a transformative ideal client journey (ICJ). When combined, these elements define your agency’s niche. However, understanding your niche alone isn’t sufficient. To sustain your agency, you must secure real paying customers. Like many worthwhile endeavors, your success begins with acquiring that crucial first client.

If you’ve identified a valuable niche, attracting your first client won’t depend on market conditions. Instead, it will result directly from your existing relationships—who you know and who knows you. Your first client will typically emerge from your current network.

In fact, I’d argue that if you don’t already know your first client (and potentially your first few clients), your chances of long-term success as an independent consultant are limited. You may not be ready yet.

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