How I Create Bespoke Contract Structures that Consulting Clients Want
You want to make sure you have more than 1 thing to sell
Firstly, consulting clients is extremely demanding.
It is natural. Consulting services, and overall packages, are designed to be high-ticket items. Selling on the cheap does not attract quality clients.
And clients who are willing to pay good money? They want more from 1-Man consultants.
Therefore, we need to be creative with our contract offers.
How do we do that? By ensuring a healthy mix of product subscriptions and services.
It Is Not What We Have. It Is What We Can Pull Together.
Imagine running one 7–11 stand that sells only M&M candies.
What would your sales be like? More specifically, how would the sales revenue from this single product 7–11 stand be, compared to those multiple product lines 7–11 stores?
(No prizes for the correct answer, by the way)
And we can postulate this thought experience to other businesses.
- MacDonald’s selling hamburgers only
- Starbucks selling Americano only
- Walmart selling chestnuts only
You will arrive at the same conclusion as I did. Unless you are recognized for doing one thing really really really well, your best bet for consulting business success is offering multiple lines of products and services.
And that does not mean selling something foreign.
It means selling what we know plus we are good at plus piling additional services on top.
Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.
Leave the Why Behind. This is the How.
1-Man consultants need to recognize what we are selling.
Many believe we are in the business of products cum professional services. Yes, and no.
We are, at the core, in the business of monetizing our existing knowledge. That is what we do, and that is what we are about.
Monetizing our existing knowledge comes in multiple forms. Take, for instance, the following.
- Prior experience — What we went through
- Industry acumen — What we know the industry needs today
- The path ahead — The next-step future
And then, these bodies of knowledge are wrapped into the products we sell and the professional services we offer. Let me explain.
Let us assume you have executed and completed a digital transformation program previously. You would have amassed tactical know-how in the following.
- Software implementation
- Project management planning
- Business requirements elicitation
- Software-based quality assurance
You can run the 1-Man consulting practice selling software subscriptions or any digital products you know best. Always start with what you know.
How do you sell a software subscription? That is right. You start by selling software implementation.
You see, you cannot just sell a thing. You can extrapolate and sell services around that one thing.
In this example, you need not build or own software that has a Trademark under your name. Of course, it rocks when you have one.
My point is simple. We can monetize our professional knowledge without building a product.
I digressed. Let me come back.
We can sell software implementation as a package for consulting clients. It fits into their demands.
Many institutional clients do not want that thing only. They want to the implementation work to be completed for them.
And so, we perform that implementation work for a fee.
Next, figure out other demands they may have during the software implementation.
Do they have a lack of human resources?
Are they all tied up in their operational work?
If so, you can pile project management services on top of software implementation work. This offer creates a separate revenue stream where we take care of the following.
- Managing the timeline of the software implementation
- Manage all client stakeholders for a common goal
- Ensure that all work that needs to be done is done
You are (basically) selling yourself into a managerial role your consulting client needs to fill or refuses to hire. Projects must be managed. Keep that in mind.
So on and so forth.
Contract Structures Become Creative When We Expand Our Knowledge-Based Offering
Think about the basket of goods you pile into the basket from Walmart.
That is what you want your consulting client to pay for. Granted, they might not buy everything you offer.
But. Consulting clients pay you for some.
1-Man consultants can initiate the following offer structure in your contract with this thought process.
- Product subscription — One-time payment per annum, pay per use, pay for add-ons.
- Professional services — Do this for you, do some for you, do all for you.
- Management services — In charge of time, budget spending, quality, and covering contingencies of all types.
The permutations of a knowledge-based consulting contract are perpetually endless.
That said, we must do one thing first. Make a list. Run through the knowledge and experience nested deeply in our minds.
And then, we can work out various mix-and-match offers that consulting clients will take.
Parting Keynotes
Consulting clients is difficult to handle.
Of course. Clients become exponentially demanding when they pay more.
It is our job to meet them where they are. 1-Man consultants must match what we can do to what they want us to do.
There is a high chance for them to walk away, buying something from us. It happens when we have an elaborate list of offers presented to them.
Remember this.
The 7–11 stand that sells many things beats the 7–11 stand selling M&M candies anytime.
Maybe, all the time.
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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