How to Get Consulting Clients With This Weekly Routine

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Table of contents

• Introduction
• The weekly routine to get consulting clients for your business
• The 5 steps to facilitating an effective sales process for closing ideal consulting clients
• The 6 prerequisites for getting consulting clients and your consulting routine
• Tips to make your weekly consulting business routine easier
• How NOT to use your time in your weekly consulting business routine
• Frequently asked questions
• You started implementing the winning routine for getting consulting clients, now what? 

Introduction

One of the biggest challenges for independent consultants is consistently landing new consulting clients.

It's easy to get caught in a feast or famine cycle because of the challenges of juggling client delivery with business development.

Oftentimes, independent consultants avoid business development either because they’re too busy knee-deep with client delivery or because it feels hard and stressful to sell themselves. Often it’s both.

For many consultants, we get trapped doing contractor, staff augmentation type work because it’s the type of work that is easiest to find and land. Often, this type of staff augmentation work comes from our past colleagues and past clients.

But, this type of work that lands in our lap as independent consultants is usually not the type of consulting work that is most fulfilling or the most highly-paid.

As a result, it’s common for independent consultants to feel frustrated and that they don’t have control over their own businesses.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the simple, powerful, and proven steps to build a winning routine for getting clients as an independent consultant.

 

The weekly routine to get consulting clients for your business

Create a simple, easy-to-execute routine for yourself so you’re consistent with your consulting business development work, and so you ultimately create a steady stream of consulting leads and revenue.

First, we'll dive into the routine to fill your consulting pipeline and then we'll talk about how to fit this into your busy schedule.  

 

What to include in your lead generation routine

The routine involves three simple steps to fill your consulting pipeline.

Step 1: Meet people

The first step to get consulting clients is for your ideal clients and/or people who would refer or connect you to your ideal clients to become aware of you and what you do as a consultant. You can accomplish this in multiple ways including networking with your existing network to reconnect and maintain the relationships, meeting new people who are connected to your ideal client type and/or who could be your ideal consulting client, or speaking to audiences in person or remotely.

To figure out the best way to meet potential clients, connectors, channels, and collaborators, I recommend identifying activities you most enjoy (e.g. one-on-one networking, joining an industry association, and/or speaking) AND then from that list of options choose one that you think will most resonate with your 

 

Step 2: Add value

Next, add value to the audience and network you’ve built. Provide your network of ideal clients, potential referrers, and collaborators with strategies, recommendations, tips, and insights into the types of problems they face and how they can overcome those challenges. You want to become known for being the person who fully understands and can help your ideal clients solve their problems (even those they don’t realize they have) and achieve their goals. Examples of adding value to your audience include speaking, hosting roundtables, facilitating in-person or online communities, hosting events, providing articles or videos, speaking on podcasts, etc.

 

Step 3: Propose a next step

And, as you’re adding value to your audience, you’ll want to make offers to help them. It can be a “mini” offer such as having a 20-minute strategy call to discuss a specific problem and lay out a plan or a more substantial offer such as a discovery call, to fully assess their situation and needs.

By consistently implementing these three steps on a weekly basis, you’ll fill your consulting pipeline with opportunities.

 

How to schedule your weekly business development routine

The key to an effective consulting lead generation and sales process is consistency.

To build a consistent routine, you'll set aside time on your calendar for business development activities.

If you don't have clients, I recommend you spend 4-6 hours a day on lead generation, moving prospects through your sales process, and optimizing your business development foundation (I share the list of 6 areas later in the article).

If you're fully utilized with clients, I recommend you spend 2-4 hours per week on lead generation and sales. Consistently dedicating 2-4 hours, even when you're very busy with clients, will help you to maintain a healthy pipeline and avoid feast or famine.

If you are partially utilized, I recommend you spend the time you'd be working on client delivery PLUS your 2-4 hours per week. For example, if you have built a business model where you spend 30 hours per week on client delivery, 4 hours a week on business development, and 1 hour a week on admin, for a total of 35 hours. Let's say you have one client who utilizes 20 hours, so you're partially utilized. In this case, I recommend you spend 14 hours a week on business development until you land a client that fills that remaining 10 hours. 

 

Additional resources for the routine to get consulting clients

• My book, Grow Your Consulting Business: The 14-Step Roadmap to Make Your Independent Consulting Goals a Reality by Melisa Liberman and the 14-Step Consulting Business Toolkit will help you get started. They have specific routines, including sample schedules from practicing consultants. Click here for the book and click here to download the complimentary toolkit that is the practical guide to implementing the concepts in the book.
• Click here to download the Routine Builder for the Successful Independent Consultant.
• Click here to request the Checklist to Fill Your Consulting Pipeline in 26 Minutes a Day.

 

The 5 steps to facilitating an effective sales process for closing ideal consulting clients

The next step of your weekly routine is to move prospects through your sales process to a decision, using this 5-step sales process to close this consulting work. 

Set aside time each week for the steps in this process.

It's important to protect time on your calendar to facilitate this consulting sales process. 

 

The routine for closing ideal consulting clients

Here's the routine for closing ideal consulting clients.

Step 1: Identify a Potential Opportunity

The first step in an effective consulting sales process is to identify a potential opportunity to work with a client to solve a problem and/or achieve a specific goal. The result of this step is to qualify a potential opportunity to move forward, or to rule out an opportunity at the time.

 

Step 2: Conduct Discovery and Needs Analysis

Next, after you identify a potential consulting opportunity, you’ll conduct a discovery and needs assessment process. This may be one meeting or multiple meetings. During this discovery and needs analysis phase, you’ll want to accomplish four main objectives: (1) collect information related to the client’s current state, their desired state, and what is preventing them from accomplishing their goals. (2) You’ll also want to understand the client’s decision-making process, including stakeholders, contract signers, and any detractors. (3) You’ll want to understand the impact the potential client foresees the engagement will have, both qualitatively and quantitatively. (4) You’ll want to understand the client’s budgetary and financial considerations.

 

Step 3: Co-Develop the Solution

Next, you’ll work with the potential client and any relevant stakeholders to co-develop potential solutions that will address the findings you uncovered in the discovery and needs assessment phase.
The result of this step is to hone in on 1-3 options that the potential client agrees will accomplish their objectives, including the pricing for each of the 3 options.
It’s important to leverage this step to (1) create solutions that will address the client’s needs and (2) also use this process to develop a relationship and buy-in for the options and approach with the potential client.

 

Step 4: Finalize and Gain Buy-In for the Selected Approach

Next, after you have developed the solution and 1-3 options, you’ll want to work with the client to navigate its decision-making process and finalize an agreement to proceed with one of the options for your consulting work.

 

Step 5: Execute Contract

Finally, you’ll want to execute a contract with the client for the selected option. For the simple option, you can turn your proposal into a simple contract, including any terms and conditions you require to protect your business and have the potential client execute that proposal in the form of a contract. If the client requires a more robust master service contract and/or statement of work, you may consider agreeing to use the client’s templates so that it cuts down on the back-and-forth and typically lengthy legal reviews.

Now that you have an executed contract, you’re ready to officially launch your engagement.

 

Making time to close consulting work

It's common to self-sabotage when it comes to selling consulting work as an independent consultant.

One of the biggest challenges is worrying about selling too much work, and so you end up underselling.

Another challenge is finding time to sell consulting work when you're busy with delivering work for your existing consulting clients.

 

As a result, it's important to protect time on your calendar for sales-related activities, so that you don't neglect them or push them out too far.

Here are some examples of time management strategies for your weekly business development routine. Set them up based on the best-case scenario as opposed to trying to fit in meetings as you go:

• Block off time to write proposals. Then, if you don't have a proposal to write that week, you can redirect the time to lead generation.
• Block off time a couple of days a week for sales-related calls. Then, you'll be able to easily offer options to potential clients so they fit into your availability. If you don't schedule a call during the spot, you can redirect your focus to lead generation tasks.

 

Additional resources

Here’s a list of resources to help you build a winning routine to get independent consulting clients:

• Click here to download the Routine Builder for the Successful Independent Consultant
• Click here to download the Checklist to Fill Your Consulting Pipeline in 26 Minutes a Day
• Click here for Consulting Sales: Tips & Tools To Help You Get More Clients

 

The 6 prerequisites for getting consulting clients and your consulting routine

There are 6 prerequisites for getting consulting clients.

 

1. Know who your ideal consulting clients are

An important pre-requisite to landing consulting clients is to be clear on who your ideal consulting client is. When you have a specific, ideal consulting client type that you’re focused on, you’re able to:

• Help people clearly understand what you do and what types of clients you work with when you’re networking.
• Clearly address your ideal clients’ pain points and solutions when you’re speaking (e.g. at events, at roundtables, on podcasts) so they are able to see you understand them and are someone who will be able to help them solve their challenges and accomplish their goals.
• Write compelling articles that resonate with your ideal client.
• Develop clear, compelling solutions and service offerings that your ideal clients seek you out to deliver.

Here are the 6 steps to get clear on your ideal consulting client:

1. Brainstorm a list of all the possible consulting client types you can help. Label each as Ideal Client Type #1, #2, etc.
2. For each consulting client type, answer the following questions:
   • What problems do you help Ideal Client Type solve?
   • Why does Ideal Client Type care about those problems, what's the ROI/benefit to them?
3. Interview ideal clients to validate your assumptions about their pain points, what they value, and why they would want to work with a consultant. An added benefit is that these types of interviews often turn into potential consulting opportunities. So, you get the benefits of clarity about your ideal consulting client AND a bigger pipeline.
4. Brainstorm why you would choose to focus on each Ideal Client Type. Separate the shoulds, coulds, and wants to decide on your targeted ideal client for reasons you like, and to build a lasting business.
5. Decide which ideal consulting client type you will focus on for your consulting practice and commit to it.
6. Continuously refine and adjust as you meet and work with your ideal consulting clients.

Click here to download a workbook on How to Nail Down Your Ideal Client - Get Clear To Attract Clients You Want to Work With, Doing the Type of Work You Love.

Listen to Episode 009 of the Grow Your Independent Consulting Business podcast - Nailing Down Your Ideal Client.

There are 3 common challenges you’ll want to be aware of and overcome when you’re honing in on your ideal consulting client type. If you feel resistant to narrowing down to an ideal consulting client type, you’ll want to look into and address these:

1. Thinking that narrowing down to a specific client type, or niche, will leave money on the table. It’s common for independent consultants to resist “niching down” to their ideal client type because they feel like it will turn away potential clients, and money. The opposite is true. When you go all in on a specific client type, or niche, for your consulting business you build a reputation, case studies, meaningful stories, and the specific language that helps your potential clients recognize that you’re an expert in your niche, and pay you accordingly.
2. Thinking that narrowing down to a specific client type, or niche, will limit your ability to take on a variety of consulting work. When you choose a specific consulting client type to focus on in your marketing, branding and positioning, you become known for and eventually sought after as an expert in this area. At the same time, this doesn’t mean that you won’t be approached to do other types of work. You can have a “secret menu” of consulting services that you agree to provide to clients when it’s opportunistic. In other words, you can have a specific type of consulting client you focus on messaging for, and then also choose to take on a variety of work that consulting clients want done without it needing to dilute your messaging.
3. Thinking you’re more of a generalist and that you don’t qualify as an expert in a specific area. It’s common for independent consultants to doubt themselves. It’s common for independent consultants to avoid giving themselves credit for what they do know and the depth of experience they do have. Ask yourself - how might this be true for me? Where am I not giving myself enough credit for what I know and what problems I’m capable of solving? Continue to build up your “evidence list” and thinking of yourself as someone who is an expert in solving the problems of your ideal consulting client type.

 

2. Define your value proposition

Next, you want to clarify your value proposition, position, and messaging. When you're more clear on who you best serve as a consultant, what types of problems you solve, the types of outcomes you achieve, and why your ideal target clients will want and need your help, you'll set the stage to be much more targeted in your lead generation approach.

 

3. Cultivate a network and audience of your ideal clients

Then, you want to cultivate an audience and network of your ideal clients. You can create a network of your ideal consulting clients through activities such as networking, attending events, participating in forums, hosting events such as executive roundtables, speaking at events, or guesting on podcasts. You’ll want to capture them in tools such as your LinkedIn network and in your email marketing system.

 

4. Meet and develop relationships with people and companies who work with your ideal consulting clients

At the same time, you’ll want to meet and develop relationships with other people and companies who work with your ideal consulting clients. These are potential collaborators who have already cultivated groups, communities, and lists of your target audience. This is a benefit because you can support each other, to provide valuable content to their audience as a value to both them and to the ideal clients. Examples of these collaborators are software vendors, other suppliers to your ideal client, consultants who provide complimentary services to yours, recruiting agencies, and facilitators of forums.

 

5. Consistently add value to your audience and network

Then, you’ll want to find ways to consistently nurture the audience you’ve created, including your direct audience and the audience you meet through the collaborators. This will establish you as an expert at solving the specific problem and achieving the specific goals that resonate with your ideal clients. You’ll build your reputation as the go-to person for those ideal clients. Examples of nurturing your consulting audience include sharing relevant articles over email, providing recommendations through video, publishing podcast episodes, inviting them to forums, or inviting them to events where you’re speaking.

 

6. Consistently make offers

Consistently make offers to your growing audience of consulting clients and collaborators, to invite them to conversations. Depending on the scenario, these conversations can take the form of an initial get-to-know-each-other, a discovery call, an initial strategy conversation, a review of your services, a discussion about speaking engagements or other events, brainstorming on collaboration opportunities, etc.

 

Tips to make your weekly consulting business routine easier

Running a consulting business can be time-consuming. There are strategies to make the time you're spending as a consulting business owner more effective and efficient.

 

Start the right way with some marketing and personal branding fundamentals

Your weekly consulting business development routine will be much more effective when you have marketing and personal branding fundamentals in place.

 By optimizing your online presence and reputation, you can make simplify your business development routine.

 

How to optimize your LinkedIn profile to make developing relationships easier

The first strategy to make your consulting business development easier is to drive relationship building and inbound leads through LinkedIn. 

To achieve this, you should craft a compelling and clear headline that highlights your unique value proposition, target client, and expertise.

A well-written summary that outlines your experience, skills, and the specific problems you solve for clients can draw attention from potential leads.

Additionally, using keywords relevant to the your specific niche can improve search visibility.

Regularly sharing insightful content, engaging with industry-related posts, and joining relevant LinkedIn groups can help build credibility and expand one's network.

By actively maintaining an optimized LinkedIn profile, you can attract more targeted leads and cultivate meaningful professional relationships.

 

What to include in your website to attract your ideal consulting clients

First, I want to caution that a website is not necessary for you to land your first set of consulting clients. Even as you're ready to grow your consulting practice, you don't need a fancy website.

Building a website can be valuable for you as a consultant, as a proof point for your potential clients. But, don't go overboard. 

When you're clear on what you offer, who your ideal client is, and you're ready to attract ideal clients into your lead generation pipeline, build a simple website that highlights this messaging.

The easiest way to build out the messaging is to talk to one person, who would be your ideal consulting buyer.

Include sections such as:

1. Clear messaging on the types of clients you work with
2. Specific messaging on the types of problems you solve and outcomes you achieve
3. Description of services you provide, with phrases that describe the benefit to your clients
4. Valuable content targeted at your ideal clients, for which they'll provide their name and email address to gain access to it (e.g. a white paper, an assessment)
5. Clear next steps on the first step to engage you. Take down the barriers and make it as easy as possible. You can always add more gates later when your consulting pipeline is thriving.

  

Tips to create an effective online presence as an independent consultant

Another strategy to make the most of your time as a consulting business owner is to build and strengthen your reputation. When you're known for in the industry, ideal clients will seek you out, making the time you need to spend on business development much more targeted and value-added.

Building a strong online presence as a specialized consultant is key to attracting high-quality inbound leads. 

Regularly produce high-quality content such as blog posts, videos, and case studies that showcase your expertise and provide value to your audience. Sharing this content on platforms like LinkedIn or industry forums can help you engage with potential clients and establish yourself as a thought leader.

To further boost your online reputation, participate in guest blogging, podcasts, and speaking engagements to reach a broader audience.

Building an email list and sending out newsletters with valuable insights can keep you connected with potential clients. Encourage satisfied clients to leave testimonials and reviews, and showcase these prominently on your website and LinkedIn profile. Engaging in online industry communities, engaging, and responding to feedback can also help build visibility and trust. By leveraging these strategies, you can effectively build your reputation (online and offline) and attract more high-quality leads.

 

How NOT to use your time in your weekly consulting business routine

Your time is valuable as a consulting business owner and consultant who delivers the services to your clients. To this point in the article, we've focused on how to use your time most effectively and efficiently. Now, let's take that a step further and cover how NOT to spend your time as a consulting business owner.

 

How NOT to acquire consulting clients: Common pitfalls to avoid

There are two primary pitfalls to avoid when it comes to spending time on consulting client acquisition..

 

1. Partnering with consulting firms or staffing firms as a way of getting clients

If you're past the point of landing your first couple of consulting clients, and you're ready to start landing ideal clients directly, you'll want to avoid depending on third party firms such as consulting firm or staffing agencies. These third parties will typically pay less, put you in less fulfilling, more tactical type engagements, and rob you of the ability to implement and optimize the routines that lead to you directly landing clients.

 

2. Relying on consulting marketplaces to find clients

Similarly, you'll want to be opportunistic when you're applying to roles through marketplaces. While marketplaces can be a valuable source of consulting engagements (I've personally landed over $500k in consulting work through marketplaces), they are highly-competitive and typically a time drain for you.

If you choose to leverage marketplaces, consider choosing very carefully which marketplaces have the most fitting types of client engagements for your expertise. Then, spend the time to optimize your profile on that marketplace, and getting efficient at submitting proposals to their roles.

In the case of marketplaces, going deeper into a few platforms can be much more lucrative than spreading yourself across numerous platforms, and diluting yourself and your time as a result.

 

Frequently asked questions

Here are the answers to several commonly asked questions when it comes to building an effective weekly routine to land consulting clients and to save you time in your consulting business development routines.

 

How can I find time to work on consulting business development when I'm consumed with client delivery?

Finding time for business development while managing client delivery can be challenging, but it’s crucial for the growth of your consulting business.

To strike a balance, start by scheduling dedicated time blocks each week specifically for business development activities, just as you would for client meetings or project work.

Automating certain tasks, such as invoicing, can save time and keep your marketing efforts consistent.

Delegating tasks or outsourcing non-core activities, like administrative work, can also free up valuable time.

Consider integrating business development into your daily routine by setting aside a few minutes each day to engage with your network, share valuable content, or follow up on leads. By treating business development as an essential part of your workflow, rather than an afterthought, you can gradually build a pipeline of future clients without compromising on the quality of your client delivery.

 

Should I continue my consulting business development routine even when I'm fully utilized as a consultant?

Yes, it is important to continue your consulting business development routine even when you are fully utilized as a consultant.

Maintaining a consistent business development routine ensures a steady pipeline of future opportunities, which is crucial for long-term stability and growth. It helps you avoid the common feast-or-famine cycle where you might have plenty of work at one time but face a dry spell later.

By consistently engaging in activities such as networking, marketing, and nurturing leads, you can secure new projects well in advance and maintain a balanced workload. Even small, regular efforts can keep your business visible and top-of-mind for potential clients, ensuring that you always have new opportunities lined up as current projects come to an end.

If you're worried about landing too much consulting business (a good problem to have), consider raising your rates and/or building a pipeline of subcontractors and referral partners who can take on work when you have more demand than capacity.

 

How can I build a high value network faster?

To build a high-value network faster, focus on being strategic and intentional in your networking efforts.

The most important and first step to building a high-value network more quickly is to cultivate the best mindset for your networking strategy. Approach your networking with the mindset of "How can I add value" instead of "What can I get from this."

Next, put a plan in place to identify and meet key individuals and organizations within your industry that align with your business goals and values. Attend relevant industry events, conferences, and online events where these individuals are likely to be present, and actively participate in discussions to make meaningful connections. Utilize LinkedIn and Slack groups to connect with thought leaders, join industry-specific groups, and engage with relevant content to increase your visibility.

As you meet people, offer value before seeking it by sharing your expertise, providing introductions, or offering assistance without expecting anything in return. Building relationships based on mutual benefit and trust can accelerate the growth of your network.

Regularly follow up with your contacts to maintain and strengthen these connections, and consider leveraging existing relationships to get introductions to other high-value individuals.

By being proactive, value-oriented, and genuine in your approach, you can build a high-value network more quickly and effectively.

 

Can paid ads help with cultivating a network and audience more efficiently?

No, paid ads generally aren't the most effective way to cultivate a network and audience unless you have a highly specialized consulting niche.

To make paid ads worthwhile, you need to be very clear on your messaging, fully understand the specific pain points and challenges of your target audience, and be able to pinpoint that audience with precision. Without these factors in place, other strategies like organic networking or content marketing may be more effective for building a meaningful and engaged audience.

 

How essential is it to have a portfolio and client testimonials to see results from the weekly routine?

Having a portfolio and client testimonials can be valuable, but they are not required to see results from your weekly routine.

What's more important is demonstrating your expertise through the quality of questions you ask and your ability to lead the client toward a value-added approach to the engagement. Guiding clients with options they can consider to achieve their desired results is often more impactful than simply showcasing past work.

 

What about partnering with other professionals or micro-influencers for thought leadership?

Partnering with other professionals or micro-influencers for thought leadership can be a powerful strategy, especially when they have amassed and earned the respect of your target audience. Collaborating with specialized software vendors, other consultants who do adjacent work to yours, or similar professionals can expand your reach, enhance your credibility, and provide access to new audiences. The key is to ensure that these partnerships align with your expertise and target market, making the collaboration mutually beneficial.

 

Is joining LinkedIn groups a good idea for creating an effective online presence?

Joining LinkedIn groups can be a good idea for creating an effective online presence, but only if you believe the group is something your ideal client would join. It’s important to be fully committed, willing to engage regularly, and prepared to invest in building a longer-term community. If you're ready to contribute valuable insights and foster meaningful connections, LinkedIn groups can be a valuable platform for networking and establishing your expertise.

 

Should I create e-books, templates, assessments, or other materials as part of this process?

Creating e-books, templates, assessments, or other materials can be valuable, but it's essential to first have an audience to send these assets to. Without an established audience, these resources may not achieve their intended impact.

Building an audience of consulting buyers is challenging, especially through SEO or other search methods alone. It’s crucial to focus on growing your audience through targeted networking and direct outreach before investing heavily in creating these types of materials.

 

You started implementing the winning routine for getting consulting clients, now what?

So now that you have the framework for a winning routine to get consulting clients, you may realize that (1) it’s challenging to figure out how to handle the various scenarios that occur within each of the steps you’re executing. You know there’s value in having an expert sounding board to become more effective at selling consulting services and (2) you’re getting in your own way through overwhelm and self-doubt.

You’re not alone.

Even the most skilled and experienced consultants feel this way, whether they’ve been in business for one year or 20 years. It’s common to feel anxious and incapable when it comes to business development.

If you’d like more support to grow your independent consulting business so that you make more money, have more impact, and enjoy more autonomy without the constant self-doubt and overwhelm, there’s a solution for you.

Click here to learn more about private coaching for independent consultants.