How to Land Your First Client Step-by-Step
Aug 15, 2025
You're chasing shadows, throwing spaghetti at the wall, burning through your savings faster than a Ferrari burns through gas.
Enter Neil Patel.
This legend helped companies like Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce grow their revenue.
And he discovered something fascinating, regardless of company size: "Customer acquisition is a huge pain point for many business owners."
But here's what separates the winners from the wannabes...
The Brutal Reality: There Are Only 4 Ways to Find Clients
I have analyzed thousands of successful businesses.
I have poured hundreds of hours into the strategies of legends like Neil Patel, Alex Hormozi, and Russell Brunson.
And a shocking pattern emerges...
Despite all the noise, complexity, and "revolutionary" marketing tactics flooding the internet, there are only four fundamental client acquisition methods that have ever existed:
The Quadrant of Client Acquisition:
1. Warm 1x1 - Direct outreach to people in your existing network
2. Warm 1x Many - Publishing content to your followers and subscribers
3. Cold 1x1 - Systematic outreach to strangers through lists and databases
4. Cold 1x Many - Running targeted advertising campaigns
That's it.
Every single business that has ever made money has used one (or more) of these four methods.
There is no secret fifth method. There is no magic bullet. There is no "hack" that bypasses this fundamental truth.
Alex Hormozi, whose portfolio companies generate over $250 million in annual revenue, built his empire understanding that "Acquisition.com's portfolio companies reportedly acquire a new lead every six seconds."
But here's the kicker—he didn't reinvent the wheel. He just mastered these four core methods.
Why Most Entrepreneurs Choose the Hardest Path to Success
Here's where it gets interesting (and a bit infuriating)...
The vast majority of entrepreneurs completely ignore the easiest, fastest path to their first clients.
Instead, they dive headfirst into the most complex, expensive, and time-consuming methods.
But building a rocket ship makes no sense when a bicycle can get you to your destination faster.
Let's break down each method:
Warm 1x1: The Unfair Advantage Hiding in Your Phone
This is your secret weapon, yet most entrepreneurs treat it like their last resort.
Alex Hormozi's strategy for getting first clients involves "Get a List (Start by scraping all your contacts across all of your platforms)" and "Pick the platform where you have the most contacts."
Why it's powerful: These people already know, like, and trust you. The conversion barrier is practically non-existent.
Why most ignore it: It feels "too simple" or they're afraid of being judged by people they know.
The reality: Neil Patel got his first major client, Elpac Electronics, through a speech he gave in a college class. One student introduced him to their company's marketing department. That single warm connection launched his entire career.
In Craftsmen, I teach the ERA method: Engage, Relate, Ask.
Simple. Powerful. And I have NEVER seen it NOT work.
Put another way, every person I have coached to use the Warm 1x1 method, won at least 1 client. Some many more.
Warm 1x Many: The Long Game That Pays Forever
Neil Patel explains that "content marketing provides content that customers want in exchange for permission to market a product or service" and that "thousands of people can read one post that took two to five hours to write."
Why it's powerful: Your content works 24/7, building authority and attracting clients while you sleep.
Why it requires endurance: Success in content requires producing "about 150-200 videos before it started gaining significant traction." Most quit after 10.
Cold 1x1: The Courage Builder
This method transforms you from someone who "hopes" clients will find you into someone who actively hunts them down.
Why it builds character: Every "no" makes the next call easier. You develop bulletproof confidence and thick skin.
Why most avoid it: Fear of rejection paralyzes them. And that's why you should do it too. The more business owners too afraid to do it means more prospects left for you to win!
To give perspective, Four Rooms Mastermind has their sales agents call 150 strangers a day. No wonder they are one of the three highest revenue masterminds on planet earth.
Cold 1x Many: The Technical Marvel
Why it's seductive: The promise of "set it and forget it" advertising that prints money.
Why it's dangerous for beginners: Russell Brunson learned this the hard way when "Google changed the advertising algorithm and pricing that turned Russell Brunson's profit to a near-term loss." Without a solid foundation, ad costs can bankrupt you overnight.
If you forget it, it will kill your business. You must monitor your ads like parents with a newborn.
The $100M Insight: Why Warm 1x1 is Your surest method to wining your first client
Russell Brunson teaches that "ultimately, the business that can spend the most to acquire a customer wins."
But when you're starting out, you don't have money to spend.
You have time, energy, and one massive advantage: your existing network.
Alex Hormozi explains the concept of "client-financed acquisition" - where "initial customer payments cover both acquisition costs and fund future customer acquisition."
Warm 1x1 is the purest form of this strategy because your acquisition cost is essentially zero.
The Warm 1x1 Multiplier Effect
When you land your first few clients through warm connections, three magical things happen:
Instant Credibility: You have real case studies and testimonials
Referral Engine: Happy clients become your personal marketing army
Cash Flow: You have money to invest in the other three methods
So don't just win clients this way. Ask them, "Who else would you recommend?" Pay them a referral fee for anyone they bring you who signs up.
And whoever signs up, ask them the same question. This creates a compound effect where one warm connection can generate dozens of new clients.
The Strategic Advantage of Each Method
Warm 1x1: The Sprint
Timeline: Days to weeks
Cost: Your time and courage
Scalability: Very limited but crucial for foundation
Best for: Proving concept and generating initial cash flow
Warm 1x Many: The Marathon
Timeline: 6-18 months for momentum
Cost: Time and consistency
Scalability: Medium but infinite long term potential
Best for: Building long-term authority and attraction
Neil Patel's approach shows that "content marketing is a lynchpin for e-commerce brands" and emphasizes "the long-term value of a solid content plan."
Cold 1x1: The Volume Engine
Timeline: Weeks to months
Cost: Time, tools, and mental fortitude
Scalability: High with systems like AI
Best for: Rapid expansion and skill development
Cold 1x Many: The Scale Machine
Timeline: Months to master
Cost: High financial investment
Scalability: Unlimited potential
Best for: Explosive growth with proven offers
The Strategic Sequence That Creates Millionaires
Russell Brunson's success came from understanding that "every new customer costs significant marketing expenses to acquire, but getting each customer to spend more gives you more revenue at no additional marketing expense."
Here's the sequence that separates the successful from the struggling:
Phase 1: Foundation (Warm 1x1) Start here. Always. Mine your network ruthlessly but respectfully. Get your first 3-5 clients to prove your concept and generate initial revenue.
Phase 2: Authority Building (Warm 1x Many)
Use your early client success stories to create compelling content. Build your following and establish expertise.
Phase 3: System Building (Cold 1x1) Develop repeatable processes for finding and converting strangers into clients. This builds your sales muscles.
Phase 4: Scale Acceleration (Cold 1x Many) With proven offers and strong cash flow, invest in advertising to multiply your reach exponentially.
The Million-Dollar Mindset Shift
First, you need clients.
The entrepreneurs who struggle are the ones who try to skip Phase 1. They think Warm 1x1 is "beneath them" or they're embarrassed to reach out to people they know.
Meanwhile, the smart ones are quietly laying their empire foundation from their contact lists.
Russell Brunson's "Secret Formula" starts with four simple questions:
Who Is Your Dream Client?
Where Can You Find Them?
What Bait Will You Use to Attract Them?
What Result Do You Want To Give Them?
For Warm 1x1, these questions become incredibly focused and actionable because you already know many of your dream clients personally.
By the way, if you are thinking, "Seth, I'm not comfortable asking friends to become my customers," I have good news!
You don't have to. Just ask them if they know anyone who would be interested. And if they are interested they will tell you.
The Tactical Implementation That Changes Everything
Here's how to implement this systematically:
Step 1: The Great Contact Audit
Export every contact from every platform - phone, email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, past colleagues, classmates, neighbors, family friends. Your goal is 200+ names.
Get them into a CRM or at minimum a Google spreadsheet.
Step 2: The Dream Client Filter
Identify who among these contacts could be your ideal client or knows your ideal client. Focus on quality over quantity.
Step 3: The Value-First Approach
Ask, "Hey X, how have you been?...."
"May I ask you a favor?..."
"Who do you know who might be interested in...[the service you offer]."
That's it!
Make your ask even more attractive by offering to pay them a referral fee for anyone they bring you who signs up.
The temptation is to overthink this process.
Don't.
Just be honest about what you want, be kind, and do NOT worry if they ghost you.
Some people get weird when they see you are fishing for business.
It's okay.
They probably don't understand that the grocery store they walk into every week or the mechanic they visit every year or the doctor they see once a quarter all had to win their first few clients too, and most of the time, it was someone they already knew.
Step 4: The Systematic Follow-Up Create a simple system to stay in touch and nurture these relationships over time.
The Truth About Scaling Beyond Warm 1x1
Neil Patel emphasizes that "scaling a business without understanding your customer acquisition cost (CAC) is like trying to fill a leaky bucket."
This is why you start with Warm 1x1 - it gives you the cheapest possible way to understand your market and refine your offer.
Once you've mastered Warm 1x1, the other methods become exponentially more effective because:
You understand your ideal client deeply
You have proven case studies and testimonials
You've refined your messaging through real conversations
You have cash flow to invest in growth
BTW, this is how I won my very first Craftsmen clients.
The Final Truth About Client Acquisition
There are no shortcuts, but there is a shortest path.
The truth is that your first clients are probably already in your network, waiting for you to provide them with something valuable.
The entrepreneurs who win are the ones who embrace this simple reality and execute relentlessly. The ones who lose are busy searching for complex solutions to simple problems.
Tim Ferris loved to say, "Your network is your net worth." This is true, but only if you work it.
The choice is yours: Keep searching for the "perfect" strategy, or start with the proven path that's worked for every successful entrepreneur who came before you.