How I Build a Pipeline of Work by Focusing on My Clients’ Professional Advancement
An alternative that works
Consulting sales is a tricky job.
I love to say we spend most of our working time closing deals.
Unfortunately, that is not true. We spent the bulk of our time building a pipeline of work.
Chasing leads is that unspoken day job no consultants speak about.
I do not enjoy it. It is tiring.
And it can be futile too.
The bulk of my opportunities come to me from my existing clients. If you hate to work on cold leads, then maybe this technique will be of interest to you.
People Move from Time to Time
We often forget that people are mobile.
By that, I mean,
- We change jobs.
- We change roles.
- We change companies.
- We change industries.
- We change countries.
And each time we change, new opportunities present themselves to us. It works the same way for consulting clients too.
This is the thing.
We miss event-based opportunities when we bury our heads deep under a barrage of work. Or follow-up appointments. Or cold calls.
Want to know where clients are moving to, by when, and who they are working with now?
This is my (rather obvious) answer.
Stay in close contact with them.
Have them next to you.
A Client Chief Information Officer Got Promoted
I pay a ton of attention to my engagement sponsors.
These are the people who,
- Endorses the budget for the consulting engagement.
- Makes the major vendor onboarding decisions.
- Destroys organization red tape.
I think about my relationship with high-profile corporate executives this way. This is not a one-time working relationship.
My rationale is a simple one. High-profile senior executives get more opportunities within the organization. Therefore, they are mobile. And they move frequently.
Just 3 months ago, I was working with a client CIO at a local entity. Jonathan draws attention from the global headquarters because he gets things done.
He was tasked to lead a basket of emerging market local entities 30 days back.
I caught that piece of news while on a client site visit. I asked the person next to me if this was official news. She said yes.
I went to Jonathan, gave my hearty congratulations, and wished him good luck.
Of course, the story did not end there.
“Hey Jonathan, any possibility for us to work together when you are in Vietnam? I enjoy working with you, and you know that our software is a great fit for smaller-scale operations.”
He smiled.
“Funny you should ask. I want to work with you further. Are you able to visit my Vietnam office in a month? I am going to put you with the local executives in a meeting. It will go well.”
Pipeline extended.
An Engagement Counterpart Changing Jobs
Man, don’t miss this boat.
A project manager running the software deployment of my product in Sydney resigned last week. We hopped onto a call today.
I thought it was for the project.
You know, complaints and such.
I was shocked when the agenda was about her departure. She has spent 5 years deploying software for the company. She feels underappreciated and suffers from protracted fatigue.
She said the following when I asked what that final trigger was.
“I am tired. My request for additional headcount has been rejected repeatedly, and I cannot see myself doing 4-persons work continuously.”
I was bemused. I asked how Sheryl knew that her workload is meant for 4.
“My boss’s boss hired 4 headcounts to take over what I am doing.”
I remember thinking, this is a lost cause. Sheryl will leave for sure. And it annoys me because I enjoyed working with her. I can trust her to get work done.
“Aldric, I mentioned working with you during a coffee chat with my new boss.”
My ears shot up like a puppy seduced by a dangling sausage.
Sheryl told me the following.
- She submitted a paper to her current boss to extend the software subscription for 2 years.
- She spoke to her new boss about using the software I am selling for her new company.
- Her new boss is setting up an appointment with me this week.
The contract renewal with Sheryl’s outgoing company is about USD 300,000.
The new contract with Sheryl’s new company is around USD 250,000.
She puts an additional USD 250,000 into my pocket with a job hop. I rejoice.
Parting Keynotes
There are many ways to build a pipeline of work.
The conventional way is to focus on lead conversion. Take 1,000 cold leads, slap a 1% successful conversion rate, and close 10 deals.
Often, the price we pay can be measured in time.
I prefer to focus on my existing clients. They move. And each time they do, an opportunity presents itself to me. Of course, I stay close to them to keep my fingers on their pulse.
This chore pays dividends.
And a handsome one too.
I recommend you have your consulting clients within arm’s length. You never know when opportunities are coming your way.
And let us not forget this. You are in the best position to catch such opportunities.
All the best.
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
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