Well, even though I didn’t complete my 30 Days of Marketing Effort, putting my intentions out there for business development seems to have had a positive effect. I find myself right now with as much work as I can feasibly handle for the next month at least, and probably through until February if I count a few things that are in the pipeline.
The sales pipeline of an independent consultant isn’t like a typical B2B sales pipeline in some ways. Of course I have leads, prospects, proposals, closing, etc. One thing that differs is that I am very picky about what I consider to be a real sales prospect, and I typically do not invest in proposals or planning unless the client is very well qualified. Unlike bigger consulting firms, I don’t typically respond to Requests for Proposals unless I have been specifically invited to do so through a past client or close colleague. There have been the odd occasions when I knew I was being compared against other consultants for an engagement, but those instances do not generally require me to make a big investment until there is a clear match.
This is an excuse I sometimes use for not following a disciplined marketing program. Is it an excuse or a reason, though? Or maybe my rendition of a “disciplined marketing program” is just a lot more anal-retentive than it needs to be. Hmmm… no. I’m lucky right now that there is client work to be had and it seems to have drifted past my inbox at a time when I was paying attention, but I need to be more organized in the future if I’m going to expand my repertoire.
It’s written and said in lots of places that you need to fire your clients occasionally to prevent your consulting business from getting stale. I did that in a BIG way when I moved to Victoria from Vancouver. It takes a while to build things up again, but it’s worth reviewing clients once a year or so to make sure you’re both still growing and learning from the relationship. Am I still providing value to this client or that one? Am I challenging myself to learn and grow and provide better value all the time? Am I working too much to satisfy the whims of one or another big client who pays a lot? These questions are part of an annual client review. Sometimes this review tells me that I need to go outside my comfort zone in marketing so that I can attract clients who are unlike the ones currently in my calendar. It means more work, but the alternative is (as I see it) stagnation and DOOM. Okay maybe not DOOM but you get the idea. Oh and by the way, that kind of client review is really cool as the basis for a visual planning exercise!
Have a good weekend!
