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Are you dealing with the rollercoaster highs and lows associated with being a consultant? (aka gig, freelancer, solopreneur, etc.)

Feast and famine.  One week you’re hot, one week you’re not.  You’ve got more work than you know what to do with, the stars have aligned and everything is grits and gravy in the world.  So busy you haven’t had time to think about a future in which you aren’t busy.

Then it happens.  Projects finish up and projects fall through.  Before you know it you’ve got nothing.  A big fat zero.  No billable hours, no active clients, and then it sets in “I’m going to need to somehow find new clients”.

The highs and lows of consulting can be a challenging emotional rollercoaster, especially if you aren’t used to it and plan accordingly.

It’s for this reason all consultants must keep in mind where their next revenue stream is coming from.  Sales is an inevitable part of being a consultant, it will always be a factor, regardless of how long you’ve been consulting and or how great you are at your particular trade.

Want to obtain more clients?

Follow these steps and you’ll find your consulting practice and the general emotional state to be much more consistent and in line with your hopes:

1. Sell Yourself Consistently - This isn’t really an option, it’s a must.  Don’t like sales?  If you can’t do sales you’ll need to find someone who can on your behalf, or find a new job. Consistently selling yourself, even while on projects, is paramount to your long term success.

2. Referrals – Ask your connections for recommendations or openings to new relationships; when you finish a project ask that client for a referral to another.  Happy clients are happy to do so. 

3. Make Friends with the Middle Man – There are services (like my company), companies and online platforms (like Flexjobs) which act as a ‘middle man’ between the people who do the work and the companies which need the help.  Find a business which specializes in your work and build a relationship with them.  This will eventually help bring you additional work, often times outside your sphere of relationship influence.

4. Case Studies & Testimonials – Create marketing materials which can be used online or as hand outs covering the work you do, projects you’ve done and how you can help people solve their problems. 

5. Know Your Customer – The more you know what your customer(s) need the easier it will be for you to get more work from them.  Often, the first project with a client isn’t the biggest need they have.  They give you small projects to test your abilities to execute and solve their problems.  Execution is everything.  Once you do so, ask about other business challenges they’re experiencing and figure out a way to help them with it, even if it means you can’t do the work yourself but can refer them to someone who can.  You were still a part of the solution – your client will remember that for future needs.

6. Network – Get out of your house, office and comfort zone and get involved with the industry you service.  If you’re in the life sciences industry there are two dozen events every month in southern California to participate in.  Pick a couple and commit to going.  Networking takes time to build trust and rapport with potential clients however it can be incredibly lucrative in the long run.