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Business Advisory Launch Programme · Stage 9 of 10
Win Your First Clients
Build the referral engine that advisory really runs on, starting with accountants.
How long
Ongoing, the core of the first 90 days
You’ll have
A referral engine and your first pipeline
Steps
5 steps
Resources
3 resources
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01 Step 01
Step 01
Build the accountant-referral engine
Accountants are the number-one source of advisory referrals: their clients ask, and they refer to a partner they trust.
Do it yourself
- List local and known accountants whose clients fit your niche, prioritising firms without an in-house advisory arm.
- Approach it as a two-way partnership: you send accounting and compliance work, they send advisory.
- Make it easy to refer you with a one-line "who to send", and nurture a few deep relationships not many shallow ones.
- Give first by sending a client, to prime the reciprocity. Fee norms exist (~10% one-off / ~5% recurring) but the relationship matters more.
Common mistake · Treating accountants as a one-off "please refer me" ask, and pitching firms that already do advisory in-house.
TimeOngoing, the core of the first 90 days CostFree DifficultyHardResource for this step
PDFAccountant partnership playbook
Who to target, the reciprocal pitch, the "who to refer me" one-liner, and a nurture cadence.
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02 Step 02
Step 02
Add the other referral partners
Banks, solicitors and IFAs all sit next to SME owners at decision moments and can send advisory work.
Do it yourself
- Identify bank relationship managers, commercial solicitors and IFAs in your area or network.
- Offer reciprocal referrals: they need someone to send business-advisory clients to as well.
- Tie this to the referral bench from your scope module: the same people you refer out to can refer in.
- Keep each relationship warm with occasional value, not just an ask.
Common mistake · Building only the accountant channel and ignoring the other introducers, who each own different trigger moments.
TimeOngoing CostFree DifficultyMedium -
03 Step 03
Step 03
Show up: networking
Local, in-person credibility still converts well, and referrers want to know you as a person.
Do it yourself
- Choose one or two groups that fit (a referral network, the Chamber, a sector group).
- Go with the clear, repeatable one-liner from Module 1 so people can refer you.
- Follow up every meaningful conversation within forty-eight hours.
- Judge each group on referrals after a fair trial, not on how it feels.
Common mistake · Attending sporadically with a vague pitch. Networking rewards consistency and a one-liner people can repeat.
TimeA few hours a week CostFree to variable (some groups paid) DifficultyMedium -
04 Step 04
Step 04
Publish thought leadership
Consistent, specific insight builds inbound trust and proves to referrers you know your niche.
Do it yourself
- Pick three or four core topics you can own.
- Publish regularly on LinkedIn and your insights page, with something genuinely useful.
- Repurpose one idea across a post, a short article and a talk.
- End each piece with a soft next step (book a call, download the healthcheck).
Common mistake · Publishing generic business-platitude content that signals nothing, or starting strong then going quiet.
Time~2–3 hours a week, ongoing CostFree DifficultyMediumResource for this step
PDF90-day content starter calendar
Your niche topics mapped to weekly posts, each ending in a soft next step.
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05 Step 05
Step 05
Work your warm network directly
Your fastest first client is usually someone who already knows and trusts you, not a stranger.
Do it yourself
- List ex-colleagues, former clients and contacts who fit the niche or know people who do.
- Reach out personally, not with a sales pitch, telling them what you now do and who you help.
- Ask for introductions to specific types of person, not "anyone who needs help".
- Offer your entry diagnostic as the low-risk first step.
Common mistake · Staying quiet with your warm network out of pride or awkwardness while chasing cold strangers.
TimeFirst two weeks, a few hours CostFree DifficultyEasyResource for this step
PDFWarm-network launch kit
A personal launch message and a tracker so nobody worth contacting slips.
What you’ll have after this stage
- A handful of reciprocal accountant partnerships
- Other introducers (banks, solicitors, IFAs) in play
- One or two networking groups worked consistently
- A steady thought-leadership habit on LinkedIn
- Your warm network activated with a personal ask
Next · Stage 10 of 10
Onboard & Deliver Your First Engagement
Keep going yourself — carry your momentum straight into the next stage.
Prefer we build it?
Hand this stage to us
The relationships, the partnerships and the discovery calls are your craft, and they stay with you. What we build is the engine behind them: the website, the local and LinkedIn visibility, the thought-leadership content system, and the follow-up that keeps you in front of referrers. When you would rather that engine ran without eating your week, talk to us.