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I have a small statistical consulting firm and I only have one client at a time. I would like to expand and have more clients and employ more statisticians. Dose anyone has any suggestions/advice on how to find more clients and/or expand a small statistical consulting firm.

Thank you,
Chandra

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Chandra Thames
Lead Biostatistician/CEO
CStat Inc
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If it was easy to find new clients, we'd all be millionaires.

The most common way to get new clients is through word of mouth. That means that your current customers like your work so much that they recommend you to their friends. There are several ways to encourage "word of mouth" referrals.

First, be old. Older people have done more in their lives to meet new clients simply because they have lived longer. Okay, that's not a practical solution.

Second, about a week or so after finishing a job with a client, ask them if they liked the job you did. If they say "yes" (and they always say "yes"), then ask if they know someone else who might benefit from your consulting

Third, stay in semi-regular contact with your old customers. Out of sight is out of mind, so make sure that your old clients don't forget who you are. There's a fine line between staying in touch and spamming. Don't do this more often than once a month. It helps to give them something useful. So, for example, if you come across an article that you think they would be interested, send it as a PDF attachment with a comment like "I thought of you when I read this article."

Fourth, when you exchange business cards at a meeting, it is pretty much an open invitation to send an email. Wait a couple of days until after the meeting is over and send a brief email saying that it was nice to meet you. Add a brief comment like "If there is any project I can help you with, please let me know." or "If you know anyone who might be interested in hiring a statistical consultant, please let me know." Don't bug them again if you don't get a response, again so you can avoid the spam accusation.

Finally, let your friends and colleagues know that you are an independent consultant. You'd be surprised how often someone at your church or in your bridge club knows of someone who needs statistical consultation. Don't be obnoxious about it, just make sure they know that you are in the business of consulting.

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Stephen Simon
Independent Statistical Consultant
P. Mean Consulting
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Dear Chandra:

Typically, I use word of mouth (WOM), social media, and paid advertising, with WOM being most effective. 

Here are some ideas that may help you increase WOM referrals:

1. Ask your client if he/she would be willing to write a brief testimonial for your LinkedIn page, your website, etc.  Feel free to give your client guidance on what to say or provide a written testimonial as a guide/example.  I asked someone to highlight the impact that I made to her business.

2. Followup with former clients via a quarterly newsletter that brings value to your clients.  For example, if you notice that your clients tend to contact you after sampling and data collection was completed, you might include a short article on the benefit of including a statistician at the start of a study.

3. Use power partnering.  For example, I power partner with a writer.  He and I tend to come in contact with clients who need both analytic experts and writing experts (for marketing).  So we have a mutual referral party going on.

Here are some general business ideas to help grow your business:

1. After working with a client, ask them to complete a short survey about your performance (would they hire you again, would they be willing to refer you, etc.). Collecting and analyzing this kind of information over time will give you business insights.

2. Team with consultants who have different strengths, such as data management, programming, writing, etc.  This allows you to go after a greater variety of projects, as some projects are heavy on advising and others are heavy on data management, programming, etc.

Best,
MJ-


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Monica Johnston
Statistical Consultant & Instructor
Mostly Math
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