Why Aren't You Getting More Clients?
Find what's getting in the way, and where to focus next.
You're putting effort into getting clients.
Building relationships. Showing up. Having conversations. Following up. Maybe refining your offer or trying a new approach to marketing.
And yet, getting clients can still feel surprisingly unpredictable.
Some conversations lead to work. Others go nowhere. Some months you're busy, others you're wondering where the next project will come from.
And when things slow down, it's hard to know what to do differently.
Should you be more visible? Reach out to more people? Rethink your offer? Get better at sales? Spend more time nurturing relationships?
The problem is that all of these things might help. But trying to improve everything at once is rarely the answer.
Especially when you're working for yourself and your time, energy and resources are limited.
Getting clients isn't one thing.
It's a series of connected activities.
You need an offer that people genuinely want. Ways for the right people to discover your work. Relationships that build trust over time. And a way to turn promising conversations into paid engagements.
When one part isn't working well, it can affect everything else.
And sometimes, what looks like a visibility problem is actually an offer problem. Or what feels like a lack of leads is really about what happens after someone expresses interest.
The challenge is figuring out where to focus.
That's what we'll explore together.
What we'll do
This is a 90-minute interactive workshop, with time to reflect on your own business rather than just listen to advice.
Using a simple framework inspired by how gardens grow, we'll explore four connected parts of getting clients:
Design: Are you offering something the right people genuinely want and are willing to pay for?
Sow: Are you making it possible for the right people to discover you and your work?
Tend: Are you building and nurturing relationships so opportunities can develop over time?
Harvest: Are you helping interested people take the next step and become clients?
You'll use a guided worksheet to reflect on each area, recognize what's already working, and spot where there might be gaps.
Then we'll bring it together and consider where your attention could make the biggest difference.
What you'll leave with
A simple framework to make sense of the different parts of getting clients.
A clearer picture of your strengths and where things might be getting stuck.
A better sense of what deserves your attention next, rather than trying to do everything.
One practical action to start moving forward.
You won't leave with a perfect strategy or all the answers.
But you should leave with a clearer sense of where to start.
Who this is for
This workshop is for independent consultants, freelancers, fractional leaders and purpose-driven founders who want to build a more consistent flow of meaningful client work.
Especially if you:
Rely on referrals and relationships but find opportunities unpredictable.
Are doing plenty of business development activities without knowing what's actually making a difference.
Feel pulled between improving your offer, marketing yourself, nurturing relationships and selling.
Want to grow your business in a way that feels aligned with your values, without relying on pushy sales tactics.
Whether you're relatively new to working independently or have been doing it for years, you'll have space to reflect on what your business needs now.
About your host
Lilli Graf is the founder of IMMA Collective, where she brings together purpose-driven independents to build sustainable businesses through relationships, collaboration and shared expertise.
Her approach combines business design, systems thinking and relationship-driven business development to help people build businesses that work for them, rather than following one-size-fits-all growth formulas.
This workshop is part of IMMA Collective's ongoing series on relationship-driven business development.