Hi there,
As an independent consultant, you might imagine that when the sales pipeline is filling up, you’re in great shape.
But what if there’s too much business?
It sounds like a good problem, yes?
Business is often welcomed but it can easily become overwhelming if you don’t properly plan.
Today, I’d like to talk through a recent trend in the last several quarters, how I’ve had to be careful not to take on too much work, and how I hope to prioritize.
Let’s jump into it.
📅 Q4 + Q1 opportunities
As Q4 ramped up, I had been on more sales calls in a span of several months than I had been my entire time independent consulting.
A lot of which is continuing to play out into this year.
The opportunities came through from a few areas, including,
- Network referrals (read the takeaway on this post)
- My Salesforce Commerce Cloud Guide
- Website Migration posts I have written
The body of work requested spanned from tech SEO, auditing, migrating, partnering long term, etc.
It got to the point where I was on a sales call once, sometimes twice, a week. Some of it evolved into SEO proposals while others weren’t a good fit.
As mentioned in “A Personal Note on My Career Change…“,SEO is only 50% of my working day; something I highlight to my clients. Prospects were quite understanding so long as the engagement was tailored to them, which of course, they were.
✔️ Selecting client work
I don’t take on all the work that’s available.
It might prove to be lucrative but it can also become an impairment.
This is especially true because of my 50% SEO allotment.
I have 2 strong niches.
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud + e-commerce experience
- Website migrations
Within those, there are skillsets that are often coveted by brands – particularly communicating SEO priorities and building SEO advocacy in an organization (in complex ecosystems, brands thirst for both!).
Because of the specializations and my skillset, I obtain a higher billable rate and realize a higher income.
In a world full of SEOers and agencies, having a specialization sets you apart.
Specializations command higher rates.
I looked ahead to ensure there was work in the pipeline but also prioritized work that leaned into my strengths.
For example, at one point I had 3-4 promising prospects in parallel.
3 of which leaned into my SFCC experience, 1 was a migration on a totally different platform with an accelerated timeline.
I knew I could knock out the SFCC work based on my experience but because of the requirements, the migration project would be more intense than the other 3.
So I had to decline the migration project.
(Side note: it would have been cool bc it was a father & son team migrating their website; I’ve learned to appreciate family businesses a lot more in the last several years)
With the remaining 3, 1 had the strongest likelihood for retainer work; that’s the one I coveted – steady income comes in the form of ongoing retainers.
Thankfully, it worked out and I’ve been working with them since the start of the year.
The other 2 were audits and aligned with my strengths.
I liked these last 2 because the timelines spanned approximately 2-3 months and weren’t as intensive.
Between the 2, I had 1 favorite as it had the potential for longer term work but, in the end, it came down to who made a deposit for the SEO work first…
Both projects were one-off and I could space out over a period of time; giving me breathing room to complete efficiently.
This is how I look at client work…
I juggle between timelines, rates, and the value it offers my skillset.
🥅 Steady income is the goal
As mentioned, my goal is steady income.
Contracting work was great but it wasn’t the most steady, nor the most lucrative.
Currently, project-based work in my sales pipeline is lucrative but once it’s over, I risk the loss of steady income.
So when I engage with a prospective client, I try to position myself in a spot where retainer work is a strong likelihood.
Laying it all out in this priority matrix has helped a ton – I’ve found that clearly communicating priorities but also helping brands build a roadmap gives you an opportunity to include yourself in that roadmap.
Above all else…
Perform great work 🙂
It sounds silly to say but it’s worth stating the obvious.
If you provide value to your clients, whether they’re one-time projects, or otherwise, you increase the chances of them wanting to work with you.
One of my current retainer clients came from an old agency that liked the outcome of my one-time project and wanted to partner again.
From SEO discovery, to implementation, and reporting, the work has to be tailored to their needs and goals, and prioritized accordingly.
I’ve known SEOers who check boxes, don’t strategically prioritize, or can’t properly communicate issues (read my rant on ineffective SEO ticket structure); completely avoiding business’s KPI’s.
By neglecting a tailored strategy for a brand, you’re not going to improve areas they care about.
That said, valuable work requires a large effort but if it leads to steady income, it’s totally worth it.
Summary
Over the last year, I feel like I have grown as a consultant.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have brands want to work with me.
Independent consulting isn’t without hurdles but I enjoy it, especially as it’s a lot of problem solving.
It keeps me on my toes and I’m growing something that is my own – which I love a ton.
I hope this newsletter sheds a bit of light on independent consultancy and what you may have to mull over in terms of sales.
Take care!
