Once you have had some success in marketing your business, landing a client or two and successfully completing a project, you are ready to ask the question: “Should I stick with the consulting business? If you think the challenges are worth the rewards, then there are some important next steps to help you in growing your business.
Getting Add-on Work from Current Clients
If you exerted great effort to acquire your first clients, you’re not alone. There have been many studies on client acquisition that attest to the effort involved. For example, Bain and Company reports that “acquiring a new customer can cost 6 to 7 times more than retaining an existing customer.” In addition to the cost, there is the time involved as well. That’s why it is so important to look for opportunities to provide additional services within your existing client organizations. This is known as add-on work.
Keep your eyes and ears open for other opportunities while you are working on your current project. Document these opportunities and your proposed solution or approach. Then, when you are close to wrapping up your current project and your client has seen the quality work you deliver, discuss the opportunities you noticed. They may be aware of some and not of others. Don’t get discouraged if your client doesn’t move forward right away. Keep in touch and continue to look and listen for new opportunities.
Reevaluate Your Niche
As you are working on your project and identifying other opportunities, continue to evaluate your skills and how you market yourself. You will find that in the course of your work you are learning new skills and developing the ability to deliver a broader base of services. Think about how your clients’ project could be applied in a different situation or how you could develop a solution set that you could market to others. Make sure your marketing materials are updated to reflect these changes.
Network with Other Consultants
ne of the reasons organizations choose larger firms is their ability to bring in a wide variety of consultants to provide a complete solution. You can provide the same service to your clients by networking with other consultants who are skilled in other areas. For example, rather than just recommending that your client needs a customer resource management tool, offer to build them a custom solution. If you don’t have the technical skill, you can partner with another consultant who does. These types of alliances can provide mutually beneficial, as they bring new opportunities to you as well. It is important that you are comfortable with the quality of work these partner consultants deliver. If they create a delivery issue for one of your existing clients, it will reflect poorly on your judgment.
Treat Your References As Gold
As you become established in the consulting business, new clients will to want to examine references where you have done similar work. Previous client reference checking is often much more thorough than that performed for a resume or job application. Calls are made requesting details of the job as well as your specific performance. Make sure you have permission to use your client as a reference. Let clients know if you have included them in a proposal and that they might be contacted. Don’t overuse them. They are not in the business of fielding inquiries about your performance. This can be difficult at first, when your consulting experience is limited. But as you gain experience, try to spread your references around so that the same clients are not always contacted.
Protect Yourself
Once you are serious about your consulting business you should meet with an attorney to discuss the legal options to protect yourself. There are specific professional corporation and limited liability corporation (LLC) options available to you that can protect your personal assets. You should also find a business insurance provider and learn about professional liability insurance and other products that could be useful. There are numerous examples of litigation where consultants have been sued for damages far beyond their fees. Organizations have attempted to hold consultants responsible for lost revenue and increased expenses as the result of a failed implementation. These settlements could not only wipe out a small practice but personally damage the consultant if he or she is not protected.
Hopefully, you will find the consulting business to be interesting and rewarding. Growing your business will result in greater rewards. Prudently investing in additional marketing and productivity tools along with a growing network of clients and other consultants are the tools to this growth.
Effective leadership is a valuable skill in consulting; an organizational leadership degree offers information on how to set direction and lead by example.
The Articles in this Series:
Part 1: Is Becoming a Consultant Right For You?
Part 2: Finding Your Niche in Consulting
Part 3: How to Develop Your Unique Personal Brand
Part 4: How to Manage Your Consulting Business
Part 5: Growing Your Consulting Business
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