Clever Counsel #7 - Be focused, but flexible
Lately I’ve been thinking about flexibility.
So many seasoned consultants have a laser focus on:
Their niche positioning and value prop
Their ideal customer
Their signature services
Their set rate structure
Their ways of generating business
We have these ideas about who we want to reach, how best to reach them, what we do and don’t do, and what we expect to be paid.
And look, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
In fact, I’m a big proponent of developing a memorable niche, a signature productized offering, an ideal customer persona, a process for consistently generating new leads, and a rate that correlates to your tremendous value.
I preach this stuff all the time.
But it’s possible to take these ideas too far. I see many consultants - especially the very senior ones - who have become quite rigid and inflexible in their beliefs about what works and what they're willing to do.
That rigidity can suffocate your business potential and personal growth.
Instead, why not create a firm, focused plan of attack - but leave some wiggle room for the unexpected?
For many years, I positioned my consultancy around employee communications strategy. Specifically the assessment and engagement of the hardest-to-reach. That was my “front door” positioning - publicly visible on my LinkedIn, my website, my prospecting emails, my speaking opps, etc. I had productized services and rates tied to that positioning.
To anyone viewing me from the outside, it appeared that I did one thing, in one way, for one price.
But behind the scenes, I took a much more flexible stance.
I accepted call requests from many different types of people (not just my ideal clients), including lots of folks who were junior to me or just getting going in their consulting practices
I presented myself for projects and contracts of all varieties, knowing that every conversation could lead me to a valuable new connection
I took meetings for projects priced well below my rate, knowing that restructuring the budget or renegotiating at 30-60 days is always an option
I said “yes” to clients and friends who needed a little bit of support, even if the work wasn’t senior-level or perfectly in my wheelhouse
I played with different types of promotion and outreach to see what got me the best response (pssst it’s actually a lot of fun to experiment, A/B test and challenge your own preconceptions)
I often presented a range of fee options based on what I felt the prospect could afford (instead of always sticking to my set-in-stone rate structure)
By far the most beneficial thing I've done is maintained an attitude that nothing is beneath me, everything is possible, and a great opportunity can arise from anywhere.
If you’ve been in the game some time -- stay focused about what you offer and firm about the value you bring. But leave a little room for flexibility, too.
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