Want to Overcome C-Level Hesitancy? Invest to Become a T-Shaped 1-Man Consultant.
You want to become a strategic thinker and an operational monster
It is inevitable for 1-Man consultants to run into C-Level executives.
The nature of our job determines so. Think about it. We are results-driven. So are C-level executives.
That said, we are different from them. For one, we are not employees in their charge. Next, we claim that we know better.
We may use case studies, success stories, and 1-time workshops to win the hearts of the operational crew and middle managers. C-Level executives? You must demonstrate strategic thinking.
No exceptions. None.
In short, you must evolve from a specialist with a niche to becoming a T-shaped 1-Man consultant.
What is with the Big T Anyway?
It is the equivalent of an out-of-the-world-super-high-performer in the corporate world.
The “I” in the “T” represents our industry knowledge. All 1-Man consultants come with extensive experience and exposure. We accumulate know-how through years of hard work.
The horizontal line in the “T” represents our ability to see the big picture. We must connect the dots.
Businesses operate as an ecosystem. Everyone affects someone else.
Take, for instance, a Chief Information Officer’s (C.I.O.) decision to subscribe to Salesforce to support the sales team. The C.I.O. cannot simply justify his purchase decision to the Chief Financial Officer (C.F.O.) with software attributes.
This is what I mean.
The C.I.O. avoids the following.
- Cloud-based software solution
- Unbeatable user experience
- Intuitive for user adoption
Instead, the C.I.O. pitches the following for budget approval.
- Reduced time for consulting client opportunity registration
- Investment payback period of 4 / 5 / 6 years
- A tool every sales professional requires
See the difference? And that is why 1-Man consultants must evolve to become a Big T.
The reason? Simple. Ecosystem and strategic thinking permeate the executive boardroom.
Investing in T-shaped skills… strengthens collaboration and communication for team members and between teams. You’ll open up silos and increase the agility of employees, which improves an org’s overall efficiency.
- Why T-Shaped Teams Are The Future Of Work
In short, T-shaped 1-Man consultants cut through silos and bridge corporate domains. We are the C-level executives’ right-hand man.
The Invisible C-Level Hesitancy — How to Overcome What You Don’t See
Even Warren Buffett invests cautiously. And he has $100+ billion of cash sitting in Berkshire Hathaway’s war chest.
C-level executives, like Warren, seek good returns on investment.
You can imagine that C-level executives assess a long list of considerations before saying yes to a 1-Man consultant charging exorbitant engagement fees. All must be convinced.
And here’s how.
1. Building Strong Immunity for Future Shocks
Other names include Plan B, the Big Pivot, or Business Continuity.
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.
The Pandemic Era is a shock awakening. Many businesses I consult scramble to keep their workforce, secure inventory supplies, and crack their heads to pass higher production costs to their customers.
Without losing them, of course.
They are caught with their pants down, as one of my clients mentioned that day.
If you sell workforce productivity techniques and labor efficiency best practices as a 1-Man consultant, consider incorporating the following into your deal pitch.
- How to realize 2% productivity year-on-year assuming a hybrid workforce is here to stay?
- How to increase output if The Great Resignation continues for the next 5 years?
- What can humans do that robots cannot, and vice versa?
These are topics that C-Level executives think about. Daily. You want to address these topics in the boardroom and demonstrate that you are working on the cutting edge of future business developments.
The wall of C-Level hesitancy will fall.
2. The Ecosystem Effect
Visualize a line of dominoes. When you push the first one, the rest falls.
Now, they do not fall all at once. These dominoes follow a sequence. The block nearest to the falling domino goes first, and the last in line collapse after all others.
It is the same for business.
I believe that the hallmark of a brilliant 1-Man consultant is the ability to simulate after effects. This is the question we must ask ourselves and present to our C-Level consulting clients.
- What happens when we do this?
- What will happen if we embark on this engagement today?
- What will inevitably happen if we choose not to do anything?
What-ifs, in my opinion, is a powerful mental roleplay. Many C-Level executives have their minds buried in their day job. They are too overwhelmed to look beyond the domains under their charge.
And they may make ill-informed short-term decisions.
Take, for instance, software implementation.
Everyone knows going digital is the right thing to do. No one denies it. Yet, not everyone does it.
Over the years, I have heard many reasons, or excuses, if you will, when I pitch digital transformation consulting services.
The C.I.O. says we have no human resource capacity.
The C.F.O. says we did not budget for it.
The C.O.O. says we are overloaded.
I work to peel the organizational onion, starting with the Chief Operating Officer. I am a very curious 1-Man consultant, so I ask questions about current choke points.
The C.O.O. might tell me their current daily order handling capacity is 100.
Then I proceed to ask the Chief Revenue Officer (C.R.O.) how many customer orders they receive, on average, daily. The answer is typically higher than operational handling capacity.
I would turn to the C.F.O. and ask the following question.
“What if spending $100,000 on a digital transformation initiative brings you an additional $250,000 revenue? Would that be a good deal?”
Do not go head-on when you encounter individual deal pitch objections.
Instead, focus on the ecosystem effect.
Your consulting clients will be impressed.
Parting Keynote
The T-shaped 1-Man consultant is in high demand.
Why so? Because they can communicate well in both strategic and operational channels.
Big picture thinking is critical to overcoming C-Level hesitancy. Remember. Consultants charge exorbitant fees. They must be convinced that we are worth every penny of their budget.
And when they do, we score a big deal for our consulting practice.
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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