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Why Technology Is Hurting Your Consulting Business

This article is more than 5 years old.

Consultants who want to attract high-paying clients are led to believe a myth. The big myth is that the key to their success in landing more clients is the latest technology tool.

Afterall, “If it’s working for someone else it should work for me too.” Sorry consultants, that is a common miscalculation. It just doesn’t add up.

“The problem with this logic is that consulting isn’t the same,” says consulting business development expert Michael Zipursky. Selling to businesses and organizations requires a different approach than selling to consumers. The fancy funnel that is working so well for the shaving subscription, real estate investor, or Muay Thai gym likely isn’t going to be right for the consultant wanting to reach a senior level decision maker.”

I called Zipursky to get his advice on the dilemma. He is the CEO of Consulting Success and a coach to consultants. He has advised organizations like Financial Times, Dow Jones, RBC, Omron, Sumitomo and helped Panasonic launch new products into global markets, but more importantly, he’s helped over 300 consultants from around the world in over 50 industries add six and seven figures to their annual revenues.

As a buddy of mine is fond of saying, “The consultant who dies with the biggest list does not win.” Technology like fancy funnels can be bright shiny objects that are distracting you. Spending too much time with technology is robbing you of the time to do what you should be focusing on. So, what does work?

“Well rather than getting lost in the thousands of new apps, tools and technologies that come out each year (just take a look at the 300 new products released on Product Hunt each month!), start by getting clear on who your ideal client actually is,” says Zipursky.

There is an old business development adage that if an arrow misses the target, it is never the target’s fault. Without business development clarity you’ll be shooting arrows at a bunch of moving targets from a mile away. Instead of ready, aim fire, it is a whole bunch of ready, fire, fire, fire, fire. A better approach is to take aim at your ideal client.

To identify your ideal client, Zipursky says to forget technology and consider the fundamental questions first:

  • Who is the decision maker?
  • Do they have the ability to invest?
  • Do they have a painful problem?
  • Are they willing and wanting to take action?

“Each of those four criteria need to be present. If not, you’re wasting your time,” adds Zipursky.

You also need to consider the following criteria to identify your ideal client:

  • Industry
  • Geography
  • Job title
  • # of employees
  • Your relationship with them

“This will allow you to identify the low hanging fruit and prioritize your outreach,” says Zipursky. “It also allows you to develop messaging that speaks to their #1 problem or challenge and helps you to have a message that gets their attention and interest, that truly resonates with them so they want to speak with you.”

The next step in the process is to begin connecting with your ideal clients. Focus on relationships and adding value. Zipursky offers these additional tips.

Don’t worry about quantity to start. Focus on quality. “If you jump to learning the best tool or tech right now, you’ll be consumed by learning about the tool,” says Zipursky. “Instead, you should be focused on learning what resonates with your ideal client, refining your messaging and marketing and having conversations with them.”

Don’t get lost in vanity metrics. “It doesn’t matter how many people liked your content, clicked a link, watched your video, or came to your site if they are the wrong people to start with,” says Zipursky.

Don’t ignore the follow up. “One of the biggest gaps consultants have in their marketing is follow up,” says Zipursky. “If you’re not managing your pipeline of opportunities and actively following up with ideal clients consistently you’ll leave plenty of opportunities on the table.”

At the end of the day, technology can help consultants. It can also hurt them. Zipursky advises that, “If you spend too much time chasing the latest shiny technology on the market, you’ll have little time to do what matters most in consulting, having meaningful conversations with ideal clients.”