I currently work in my spare time as a consultant with a very small set of clients that I gain repeat business from and came word of mouth.

I am considering looking at more work in this field and was looking for peoples opinion (ideally experienced consultants) in what works best attracting new clients? I.e. Cold calling, email marketing, advertising or mail drops?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks Bob

Got some ides on doing this but think even more so that attracting clients is getting harder with an influx of consultants on the market, surviving currently (just) with current clients who value my service.

TSC
I'd say all ideas you put in your first post (cold calling, email marketing, advertising or mail drops) are rarely effective. You may get lucky if your advert/call just happens to coincide with a potential client suddenly realising they need the particular support you are offering. But how often do you respond to these types of marketing for anything you do, either at work or home?

The only real way of winning work is getting to know people. Getting good introductions is usually the challenge. Your existing clients are probably the best source. Ask them if they can introduce you to people they know.

You can go to networking events, but you have to choose them carefully. IOSH meetings may be good for CPD, but you may be more likely to meet competitors than potential clients. People seem to have mixed experience with the National/Global organisations that organise breakfast meetings etc. They can be expensive to join, so try to go as a visitor the first few times.

I think Bob is pretty well on the money with his last post.

I'm reading "The Google Story" at the moment. The Google homepage has been the most visited webpage in the world for years, and the company has never advertised, not even in its early days. That says a lot to me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/...;creativeASIN=0330508121