I ran a paid training recently for a client that has a network of consultants working under them.
Many of them are new to consulting or starting a consulting business for the very first time and many of them are naturally preoccupied with getting new consulting clients.
I shared with them a mindset and positioning framework that I think can really make a difference to how succesfull you are in profitably acquiring consulting business.
Not just for your first few clients but for the lifetime of your consulting practice.
The Most Dangerous Position You Can Be In
Before I share what I think (and I'm open to being challenged) is the very worst positioning you can create for yourself.
Read the text on the image below...
The image above is from an inbound enquiry to my business from a B2B Consultant who was relatively new in his own 1 person business.
Can you spot the problem?
Let me also add extra context to help:
The consultant had limited business development expertise.
The consultant had limited marketing expertise and certainly hadn't ever considered advanced concepts like changing existing beliefs or category creation.
The consultant had a small cash runway saved up and needed to see results quite quickly or be forced to return to the corporate world and get a job.
The problem is very clear - there was very little chance he was going to be succesful selling a solution to the people who make the decision on YES/NO when they weren't even aware that the problem existed.
Or, if they were aware, they hadn't prioritised the solution as a necessity in their business.
Are You Chasing Sharks?
Think of it like this.
Many consultants are trying to work on a shark project.
The shark project has no movement
In the image above the shark project is laying inert on the ground. There is no forward momentum and it's going to take an incredible amount of energy exertion to lift that shark off the ground and get into motion - especially if it doesn't want to move.
Think of it like you trying to originate a brand new project in a company that isn't aware they have a problem or haven't already prioritised it as a problem to solve.
And while you are trying to get that shark in motion, it's highly likely that the shark isn't going to be too happy with your advances so will be making it's own counter.
That shark may not be as nice as you and if they catch you the consequences can be catastrophic.
The shark has attention
The shark's inertia has already attracted some attention from other little sharks. They've already started attaching themselves to the bigger shark looking for their pay day.
Now while you are trying to get it in motion, you'll be fighting off the other smaller sharks who are fighting to keep you from destroying their staus quo.
What is the alternative?
The Whale Project
I'm still working on my analogy on this but I'd suggest you should consider yourself to be a remora on the hunt for a whale.
A remora is a type of fish that attaches to other species of fish using a suction disc on their under body. In some cases they are parasitic (hey, so are some consultants!) but in most instances they provide value by eating other parasites and cleaning the host.
Some interesting points:
Once a seal has been created on the Whale, they expand very little energy to stay connected and infact any forward motion from the Whale makes the seal (bond) tighter
It's not unusual for a smaller remora to attach itself to a larger remora already attached to the Whale (think bigger consultancy)
To release itself from the Whale, the remora swims forward and carrys on going with greater momentum than it had before
I'll also add that the remora is also charachterised by:
Attaching itself to the Whale when then the Whale is already in motion. They expend a little bit of energy to get to them but then very little energy to stay attached to them
The 1 Thing That Will Make The Most Difference
The number 1 thing - the SECRET - I guess, is to be the consultant that is on the hunt for projects that are already green lit within your best prospects i.e they already have forward momentum.
If you are a solo consultant or a boutique then your path to quick wins is by working out how you can align yourself to projects the company has already given the go ahead rather than trying to navigate the complex situation of major project origination.
If you are good at major project origination then hats off to you!
You have skills.
But even you must also admit that your path will be fraught, unpredictable, inconsistent and more likely to end in anguish rather than success.
There are a number of strategies you can employ to align yourself to projects already green lit.
1) Better Questions To Use In Your Existing Conversations
Be on the hunt for these projects at all times. Make them your priority. Ask smart questions like the ones below to help you:
What projects have been green lit for the next 18 to 24 months?
How confident are you they will hit the objectives set out for them?
What’s the ripple effect through the organisation if these results aren’t met?
2) Better Positioning Of Your Solutions
If you are selling consulting to mid market and Enterprise clients then most of the things you've read about positioning, product developlment and category creation DO NOT apply to you.
If you're following the Enterprise tech or SaaS business building model as a Consultant, you'll be in for a hard ride. In this world the holy grail of Unicorn growth is built on developing a totally new and unique solution to a problem.
The more differentiated and unique the better the growth and the bigger the returns.
But as a consultant you have to appeal to the exiting processes and structures that already exist within the companies you want to hire you.
You can't be too unique or they won't be comfortable hiring you.
They won't have a process to hire you, to engage you or to pay you.
You’ll be seen as a risk by the majority of large company staff that are very focused on their own preservation, career advancement and perception.
As a rule of thumb aim for:
80% known and familiar: i.e consulting, training, research, L & D. This is the broad category they are comfortable to put you in that satisfies their internal risk process, their buying process and of course - how you get paid. This doesn't have to be passive. Use your marketing and sales skills to control the 'BOX' they put you in, but make sure they can comfortably put you in a box.
20% new and unique: This is the WHY YOU. This will be based on you the consultant, the frameworks you use, the speed of delivery, the assets or IP you bring to the table, the clarity of how you articulate the problem or even the speed and depth of your multi stake holder relationship building. These are the reasons why you'll be the only logical choice.
I do have more depth on this positioning piece which I could cover in my next edition. If you'd want that let me know in the comments.
3) Using Intent Data Or Triggers
Here you set up a sales and marketing system where you are actively seeking to inject yourself into an opportunity that has a visible indicator that it has been green lit.
This could be:
New senior hires
New junior hires
Funding
Product launches
Merger and Acquisition
The list is huge and I have never worked with a consultant where we couldn't create an opportunity to leverage some type of market signal as a reason to enter into a conversation.
A conversation about an already green lit project.
I plan to go deeper into exactly how to do this in a future episode. If you want to see that let me know in the comments.
If you want to speed time to revenue and cash on your business development then always be on the look out for green lit projects that you can inject yourself into.
If you want help building this into a system:
I work with consultants who are excellent at delivery but inconsistent at business development. We combine AI that surfaces opportunities in your network with coaching that makes sure you actually follow through.
No cold outreach. No content treadmills. Just a system for finding clients through relationships you already have.
See how it works at nynch.com/vip
Thanks for a good read, Peter!