I Spend 4 Hours A Week on Unproductive Consulting Work. Here’s Why.
Stop your hands from working so the mind starts thinking
I know it sounds counterintuitive. But it is true.
My average time away from my 1-Man consulting practice, week on week, is 4 hours per week. That is costly measured in terms of potential or actual revenue because it can be used for billable work.
But it is necessary. And this is my analogy.
Spending time in the jungle teaches us to navigate shallow currents, deep rivers, thick marshes, and rolling hills as they come along. We learn to read the compass in our palms too.
We need to be aware, however, that our highest goal is that mountaintop we want to plant our flag on. We must step back to take stock.
And be acutely aware of the gap we need to close.
Reflecting on the Challenges We Encounter Daily Requires Work
There is never a client meeting, discussion, product training, or future-oriented ideation workshop that runs smoothly.
No, I do not mean technical difficulties such as projecting the PowerPoint slides from my laptop to the screen.
I refer to the following.
- Business processes that I have never encountered
- Solutions I proposed that have failed previously
- Questions that I cannot answer
These issues increase the level of difficulty in delivering the consulting engagement. I am limited by my professional experience and exposure. It is impossible to prepare for a question without having seen one in the first place.
And I have a long list of those in my journal.
Challenge # 1 — Cookie Cutter Software Training Curriculum
I assure you that you have one in your bag or laptop if you are a trainer (somewhat).
The training curriculum is our only safeguard in the ever-changing world of consulting. We get to say the same thing over and over, no matter how the client’s business landscape has shifted.
Press this button to get to the detailed view.
Go to your top right to find the date & time configuration you require.
Always head to the Hamburger Menu and search for consolidation to spit out monthly reports.
Routines are beautiful. We breathe easier, knowing what to expect.
However, consulting clients is demanding. They do not want to know what it is. They want to understand how this icon, feature, page, button, screen, zone, and menu helps them with their daily tasks.
These are lightbulb moments where I realized my inadequacy. Consultants are not product trainers. Yes, we do train our clients in various products from time to time.
But we are expected to show them how to use the product to their benefit. Deep thinking is required to close the gap.
Challenge # 2 — Listening to the God-Damn-It-Too-Expensive Objection for the 1,359th Time
Client A: Do you have a product lite version?
Prospect B: I like it. If only it is cheaper by 20%… Sigh…
Lead C: Can you conduct a free webinar for my team before we make a purchase decision?
Honestly, there is no difference between A and B and C. They are all telling the same thing in a different spin.
Dude, you are too expensive.
Yes, I get it. And I believe it has nothing to do with value. Our value proposition is subjective. Either our clients see it, or they do not. Good luck trying to convince an unconvinced.
We need time to deconstruct their objections and find practical ways to resolve them.
Spending Time to Consult Peers Running Their 1-Man Consulting Practice
I am a consultant in my day job and on the side. But I am not a know-it-all.
I seek help.
And I do my homework before knocking on doors. Mark Cuban says it best when asked about his choice of Shark Tank investments.
The entrepreneurs who disqualified themselves from getting an investment (from me) are those asking basic questions that can be reduced to a science. It tells me whether they have spent time speaking to others or researching the internet. Successful entrepreneurs are always searching for answers.
I agree.
I do not ask my peers how I can prepare a software training curriculum. That is downloadable from the internet.
I do not ask them how to price my consulting engagement and services.
Instead, I ask them the following.
- How can I restructure consulting workshops such that whatever I say is relevant to the client’s job?
- How can I offer discounts to my clients without having to bear the cost of discounts?
- How can I increase sales without increasing my consulting client base?
Deep, second-level, third-level thinking questions tell the person in front of you that you are worthy of their time. And I get brilliant guidepost pointers I can implement.
Take, for instance, the question of offering discounts without bearing the full cost of reduced earnings. My mentor said this to me.
“Go find a hardware vendor selling products complementing what you offer in your consulting services. Sign a Direct Distributor Agreement. You get to sell their products at Distributor Price. Transfer that discount to your consulting services.”
What a genius.
And I spent the next 2 months searching for that hardware vendor I can work with.
This bucket of unbilled 4 hours is worth at least $10,000 in discounts.
Parting Keynote
We want to be billable as 1-Man consultants. I am sure you do.
I recommend carving out pockets of time to reflect on challenges encountered throughout our work. Ray Dalio is right. History repeats over and over, forming predictable cycles.
You can expect the same questions said in different ways by various consulting clients.
Investing our effort to bootstrap their asks and thoughts helps us find practical solutions for their problems.
You will be happy when they are.
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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