How do you get customers for your business?
You get customers by doing three things in order: write down exactly who buys and what problem they pay to fix, work out how many conversations you need to reach your target, then choose the channel that matches how those buyers look for help. If they search, make sure you are found. If they don't, go to them.
Every channel works for someone, so a list of channels can't tell you which one works for you. The sentence below can.
If you can't fill in the third line, ask five recent customers how they found you and what they tried first. That answer decides more than anything else in this post.
How many people do you need to contact to get one customer?
Work backwards from the number of customers you want. It tells you how much activity a channel needs and whether one person can do it.
Here is a worked example with invented rates for a sample firm, Northwind Bookkeeping. It wants 4 new clients a month. Replace each rate with your own once you have two weeks of data.
| Step | Assumed rate | Arithmetic | Needed per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| New clients | Target | Goal | 4 |
| Sales calls | 1 in 4 calls becomes a client | 4 x 4 | 16 calls |
| Replies | 1 in 3 replies books a call | 16 x 3 | 48 replies |
| People contacted | 1 in 10 people reply | 48 x 10 | 480 people |
| Per working day | 20 working days | 480 / 20 | 24 a day |
Now add the time. At 5 minutes to research and write each message, 24 messages take 120 minutes a day. Sixteen calls at 45 minutes each add 12 hours a month. That is a part-time job, but one founder can do it.
Change one number and the picture changes. If only 1 in 20 people reply, Northwind needs 960 contacts a month, or 48 a day, which is 4 hours of writing daily. At that point the fix is better targeting (people with a reason to need you now), or a second channel that brings people who already want the service.
Then check the value side. If a client pays $400 a month and stays 18 months, each one brings $7,200 (400 x 18). In this example each client costs about 13 hours: 120 messages at 5 minutes (10 hours) plus 4 calls at 45 minutes (3 hours). Spending 13 hours to win a $7,200 client is easy to justify. Spending 13 hours on a $20 one-off sale isn't, which is why price decides the channel in the next section.
What is the best way to find customers?
The best way depends on two facts: whether buyers search for what you sell, and how much one sale is worth. Use this table to pick a starting channel, then commit to it for two weeks before judging it.
| Your situation | Deciding fact | Start with | First step this week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyers search for your service near them (accountant, clinic, repair) | Distance matters to them | Google Business Profile and reviews | Complete every field and ask your last 10 customers for a review |
| Buyers search online, not locally (software, remote services) | They type the problem into a search box or a forum | Pages and answers that match those searches | List 10 phrases buyers use and answer one a week |
| Buyers have the problem but don't look for a fix | Nobody searches, so nobody finds you | Direct outreach to people with a reason to need you now | Contact 10 people a day, each with one specific reason |
| One sale is worth thousands | Each customer justifies hours of work | Named-company outreach, introductions, partners | Write a list of 50 named companies that fit your sentence |
| One sale is worth tens of dollars | You can't spend an hour selling to each buyer | Self-serve sign-up, search, communities | Remove one step between first visit and payment |
| You already have happy customers | They know other buyers like them | Introductions, repeat work, past customers | Ask three customers who else has the same problem |
If two rows fit, start with the one whose first step you can do today. For the last row, we cover the full plan in how to get more clients from the ones you already have.
How do you get found when customers search for you?
If people search for what you sell near them, Google decides who they see first. Google's help page on local ranking, checked 4 Nov 2026, says local results are mainly based on "relevance, distance, and popularity", and describes the third factor under the heading prominence: how well known the business is, including how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has. The same page says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
That gives you three things to work on, in this order:
- Relevance. Pick the category that matches what you do, and fill in hours, address (if customers visit) and other details such as parking. The page says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up.
- Distance. You can't change it, so don't pay anyone who promises to.
- Prominence. Reviews and links. Ask every finished customer, the same week, with a direct review link.
One popular tactic breaks Google's rules. Its tips page on getting more reviews says offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting or changing reviews, or removing negative ones, is treated as fake and misleading content and is strictly prohibited (checked 4 Nov 2026). Ask for honest reviews and give nothing in return.
For buyers who search online but not locally, take the words customers used when you asked how they found you, write down the exact phrases, and give each phrase its own page that answers it in the first paragraph. Start with the phrase you heard most often.
How do you reach customers who aren't searching?
Go to them, one person at a time, with a reason. A reason is something that makes your offer timely: they asked a question about the problem, complained about a tool, posted a job for the work you do, changed role or raised money. A message that names the reason reads as help; one without it reads like a mass mailing.
Where to look for reasons, with no budget:
- Forums and communities where buyers ask for help. Our guide to finding customers on Reddit without getting banned covers search, alerts and each community's rules.
- Job boards: a company hiring for the task you do has the problem today.
- Public posts on LinkedIn and X where people describe the problem in their own words.
If searching by hand takes too long, Siela's Lead Finder does that part: you paste your website, it suggests who to reach, looks for a reason to reach out now and scores every lead hot, warm or cold with a one-line reason.
Email outreach has rules wherever you send it. In the US, the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide says "The law makes no exception for business-to-business email." It also says opt-out requests must be honoured within 10 business days and that each email in violation can bring penalties of up to $53,088 (checked 4 Nov 2026). This isn't legal advice; for the UK and EU rules as well, see whether cold email is legal under GDPR, PECR and CAN-SPAM.
What do business owners on Reddit say worked?
We read five threads from January to June 2026 where owners of service and B2B businesses asked how to get customers: a sales agency owner who had tried LinkedIn, TikTok and cold calls, a service business with inconsistent leads, a virtual assistant business, someone asking how to market to businesses and a process consulting firm with three finished projects. Together they had 116 top-level replies that weren't removed.
By our keyword count (a reply can mention several ideas, so read these as rough):
| What the reply recommended | Replies mentioning it, of 116 |
|---|---|
| Direct outreach (cold email, calls, DMs) | 56 |
| Narrowing to one niche or ideal customer first | 36 |
| Referrals, word of mouth or your network | 22 |
| Paid ads | 11 |
| SEO or blogging | 7 |
Two repliers who explained why outreach had failed pointed at the targeting or the offer, such as reaching companies before they need help or sounding like every other agency. Two others said generic messages sent in bulk rarely worked, while a specific message to a few chosen targets got better responses. About ten replies, a few of them nested, promoted a lead tool or paid service, so treat the threads as what practitioners report, not as proof.
What should you do this week to get customers?
Here is a plan that fits around running the business. It uses the sentence, the arithmetic and the table above.
Monday: write the sentence
Fill in the callout at the top. Ask five customers how they found you if you don't know the third line.
Tuesday: do the maths
Set a monthly customer target and work backwards with your best guesses for each rate. Write down the daily number.
Wednesday: pick one channel from the table
One. Two weeks gives you a first read on your rates; spreading the same effort across four channels gives you four samples too small to read.
Thursday and Friday: start the daily number
For outreach, 10 people a day with a named reason. For search, complete your profile and ask for reviews. Log every contact and reply.
Every call: find the problem first
When someone replies, the call decides the sale. Use our 40-minute client discovery meeting structure so you learn what the problem costs them before you pitch.
After two weeks, put your real rates into the table from the arithmetic section. If one stage is far below your guess, fix that stage before adding a channel.
Frequently asked questions
How do you attract customers?
Make it obvious who you help and with what. At least three repliers in the threads we read said things started working once they narrowed to one type of client, such as blog posts for ecommerce brands, instead of offering a general service. Then be visible where they look: a complete search profile and honest reviews if they search, or a short direct message with a named reason if they don't.
How do I get more customers to my business without ads?
Start with people who already know you. Ask recent customers who else has the same problem, contact past customers with a specific reason, and ask every finished customer for an honest review. Then add one direct channel, such as 10 targeted messages a day. At least four repliers in the threads we read advised holding off on ads until another channel brings customers.
Can I offer a discount in exchange for a Google review?
No. Google's Business Profile help pages say that offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting or changing reviews, or removing negative ones, counts as fake and misleading content and is strictly prohibited. You can still ask every customer for an honest review and send them a direct review link or QR code.
How many people should I contact a day to get customers?
Work it out from your own target. Divide the customers you want by your close rate, then by the share of replies that book a call, then by your reply rate, and spread the result over about 20 working days. With 1 in 4 calls closing, 1 in 3 replies booking a call and 1 in 10 people replying, 4 new clients a month means about 24 contacts a day.
Is cold email legal for getting B2B customers in the US?
In the US, CAN-SPAM sets the rules for commercial email, and the FTC says the law has no exception for business-to-business email. You need accurate sender details and subject lines, a clear note that the message is an ad, your postal address, a clear way to opt out, and you must act on opt-outs within 10 business days. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- FTC: CAN-SPAM Act, a compliance guide for business (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Reddit r/Entrepreneur: How do I get clients online? (posted 11 Feb 2026, checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Reddit r/business: Struggling to get leads for my business (posted 11 Jun 2026, checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Reddit r/Entrepreneur: Growing a business (posted 2 Jan 2026, checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Reddit r/Entrepreneur: What are the best ways to market for B2B? (posted 22 Feb 2026, checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Reddit r/Entrepreneur: Best ways to find clients? (posted 21 Feb 2026, checked 4 Nov 2026)