Building a Thriving Atlassian Consulting Business: Part 11

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Grow Your Network

In 2017 and 2019, I accomplished a personal goal. I spoke at the Atlassian user conference.

Attending Atlassian events is a great way to meet new contacts and grow your network. In between events, you can also leverage social media and your own website. Make sure that your website has a way to capture leads. It could be a simple contact form, a lead gen form, or a blog subscription form.

Next, don’t overlook the great resources in your neighborhood. A chamber of commerce is a local business network that exists in over 100 countries. They host regular networking and business education events. I met many clients and even my significant other at a chamber event.

Also look for local business development centers and schools. Community organizations are a great way to learn business skills, practice networking, and meet new clients. For example, I won a business plan contest and picked up a new client at the awards dinner!

Your network is all around you and you probably already have many contacts to utilize.

“Help” Don’t “Sell”

Here’s a networking and a content tip. Always approach your audience from a helping perspective, not a selling perspective.

• If I say:  Hi, I’m Rachel Wright and I want to sell you something, no one is interested.

• Instead, if I say:  Hi, I’m Rachel Wright and I can help you get your users to log time on their Jira issues” that approach is much more effective.

Be a Resource

Always try to be a helpful resource and source of information. If you’re the one with answers, people will come to you with their questions. Questions often lead to future sales.

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Part 12: Increase Professionalism