How To Scale Your Consulting Business
Once your consulting business has experienced its first successes, it’s easy to worry you’ve peaked. After landing your first few clients and completing projects, you may want to start growing your business. The great part about consulting is that it scales with you, and you have control over the work you take on. Consider some of the options below:
Add-on Work from Clients
The work you put in to land your first client is unmatched. You’ve worked hard to get the clients you have now and there’s opportunity to grow from them. Studies on client acquisition show that acquiring new customers is costly and time-consuming. To avoid the costs and the hassle of finding new clients to grow your consulting business, stick with the clients you have now. Add-on work is the best opportunity your business has to grow.
While working with your current clients, be on the lookout for and keep track of any potential opportunities. While keeping track of these opportunities, find solutions or an approach for when the project nears to a close. Once your client knows the quality work you deliver, show them the opportunities you found and get them on board. Even if the client chooses not to move forward, stay in touch with them in case the opportunity once again presents itself and they’re ready to make the move. Planting the idea in their head can yield results down the line.
Opportunity in References
Even though a current client may choose to not continue any add-on work with your consulting services, the opportunity for growth is still there. Your current clients are witnesses to the quality of your work and can vouch for your excellence. New clients will look to them for references and will want to call inquiring about the details of the job as well as your specific performance. If the quality of your work exceeds expectations, a reference from one of your current clients can help you acquire more clients or projects. These references and reviews of your performance have the power to grow your consulting business.
Before listing these clients as references to your business, be sure to get their permission first. Give them the heads-up that you’ll be listing their names and mention that they might recieve calls for reference. Even when you have their permission, don’t overuse them. This could be difficult if your business is new and have limited clients, but overtime you will gain new clients and new references.
Changeup your marketing
As your business grows, it’s a good idea to switch up the way you market yourself. You can do this by always evaluating your skills and finding the ways you can broaden your services. This evaluation of yourself and business should be conducted throughout every new project with each client. If you find a new skill or service you have adopted, use it to your advantage. In doing this, you both expand your offerings and widen the scope of clients you can take on.
In achieving your first successes, you have taken the first and hardest steps in the consulting sphere. Growing your business requires some thought. Utilizing your network of clients and updating your marketing strategies are critical to ensuring that you do not stagnate. With these tools, growth and rewards are right around the corner.
