How to Reconnect With Former Consulting Clients and Discuss New Work

To reconnect with a former client, refer to the work you did together, give them a clear reason for your message and ask about something relevant to their business today. Their answer will help you decide whether to suggest another engagement.

The difficult part is choosing a reason that feels credible.

You already know each other. But you may not know whether their priorities have changed, whether they still own the same budget or whether the problem you helped solve has stayed solved.

Before offering another project, find out where things stand.

Start with former clients you would choose to work with again

An old client list needs some judgment before it becomes an outreach list.

Review your previous engagements and ask:

• Did the work end well?
• Is there a current reason your expertise could be useful?
• Are you still in contact with the person who understood and valued the work?
• Would another engagement make sense for your business?

Start with a small group you can review properly. Ten former clients is a manageable first batch, rather than a target you must hit.

Read the final project email and your last meaningful conversation. Look for a postponed phase, a question left open or a business priority the client mentioned.

For example, a client may have completed an operating-model review but delayed implementation until a new director joined. That gives you something specific to ask about.

If an engagement ended with an unresolved complaint, address that first. A new sales message will not repair unfinished work.

Write a message that continues the previous conversation

A useful reconnection message gives the recipient enough context to answer without searching their inbox.

Include three things:

1. The work or conversation you shared.
2. The reason you are contacting them now.
3. One question they can answer easily.

Here is an example for a consultant whose client postponed part of a project:

Hi Anna, when we finished the operations review, you mentioned revisiting the regional rollout once the new director joined. Is that back on the agenda, or have priorities changed? Happy to pick up the discussion if it would help.

The client can explain what happened, say the timing is wrong or reopen the discussion.

For an SEO consultant, the same approach might look like this:

Hi James, we left the collection-page work until after the website migration. I saw the new site is live. Is improving those pages still on your list? I have availability next month if you would like to revisit the scope.

Use details you have actually checked. A launch announcement does not prove that the project needs help.

Send the message through the channel you previously used together. If the relationship lived in email, start there. There is usually no reason to send the same message on LinkedIn that afternoon.

What if you do not have an obvious reason to reconnect?

You can ask about the outcome of your previous work.

Hi Sara, I was reviewing our customer onboarding project and wondered how the process has held up since the handover. Is the team still using it, or has anything become difficult as you have grown?

This is a reasonable question when you care about how the work performed. It also gives the client room to describe an issue you could help with.

You can be direct about wanting to work together again:

Hi Mark, I enjoyed working with your team on the pricing project. I have room for another engagement next month and wanted to ask whether pricing or packaging is back on your agenda. If it is, I would be glad to discuss what has changed.

Avoid inventing a business trigger or offering a resource you have not prepared. A straightforward message is easier to trust than a manufactured excuse.

Use the reply to understand whether there is new work

A friendly response does not automatically mean the client needs a proposal.

Your next step should follow what they actually tell you.

Their response

What to do next

“Good to hear from you. Everything is going well.”

Acknowledge the update. Let the conversation end naturally unless they raise another topic.

“We still have the problem, but we cannot tackle it yet.”

Ask what needs to happen first and whether they would welcome contact after that point.

“We tried implementing it, but the team got stuck.”

Ask where progress stopped and what the consequences are. Suggest a short conversation if your expertise fits.

“Someone else owns this now.”

Ask whether they would be comfortable introducing you. Give them a short explanation they can forward.

“Yes, we need help.”

Clarify the current scope, timing and decision process before preparing an offer.

Suppose the client says the regional rollout stalled because managers could not agree on responsibilities.

A useful response would be:

Where is the disagreement holding things up most? If it would help, we could spend 20 minutes looking at what changed and whether a short working session would be useful.

On that call, establish what has changed since the previous engagement, what the client wants to achieve and who needs to be involved.

Then recommend a defined next step. That might be a diagnostic, a workshop or a new project. Explain its scope and fee before work begins.

Previous trust can make the conversation easier. The new engagement still needs a clear purpose.

Follow up once, then give them space

For a non-urgent message, one follow-up after roughly a week or two is a reasonable starting point. Adjust that to your relationship and anything you know about their schedule.

Keep it connected to the original question:

Hi Anna, following up on the regional rollout question. If it is still paused, no problem. If someone else is leading it now, I would be happy to send them a short recap of where we left things.

If there is still no response, pause. Repeatedly changing channels or sending “any thoughts?” adds little.

If they explicitly ask you to return after budgeting or a leadership meeting, record that event and the agreed timing. You now have a specific reason to follow up.

Manage former-client outreach in Andsend

When your previous clients are spread across LinkedIn and email, the practical challenge is keeping track of the conversations.

In Andsend, you can create a Smart Tag with a description such as:

People I previously delivered paid consulting work for, where the engagement has finished.

Use Preview to inspect the suggested matches. Smart Tags use available conversation and profile context, so check that the results contain former clients rather than people who only discussed becoming clients.

Next, filter Actions by that tag and review the relevant conversations. Andsend can suggest a message using relationship context; edit it to reflect the reason you are reaching out. Its Actions feed also surfaces replies and contextual follow-ups, helping you keep track when a client responds or agrees to a later conversation.

Keep a simple record of the outcome: no current need, revisit at an agreed time, conversation booked or a defined opportunity. This helps you see whether your outreach is leading to useful discussions.

Once a relationship is active again, use an ongoing approach to staying in touch with important clients.

To get started, choose three former clients whose work you remember well. Read the last exchange with each, identify one relevant question and write the message.

Try Andsend to organize those contacts and manage the conversations that follow.