The best productivity hack: Say No.
Here are 10 things consultants should say No to, starting today:
👉 1. Low-Paying Clients: Say no to clients who don’t value your time or expertise.
👉 2. Chasing Unqualified Leads: Not everyone is ready to buy now. Focus on nurturing those with future potential instead of chasing everyone. Discover what qualifies as a lead—link in comments.
👉 3. Scope Creep: Refuse to take on additional work that wasn’t agreed upon in the initial contract.
👉 4. Non-Core Services: When clients request you to do work outside of your core expertise, decline or bring in an associate.
👉 5. Clients Who Don’t Respect Boundaries: Refuse to work with clients who consistently demand after-hours communication or don’t show up to meetings.
👉 6. Unprofitable Projects: Discovery projects (Audits, Assessments, etc.) can have lower margins, but your gross margins should increase as the relationship deepens. If not, you’re either not selling value or targeting the wrong client.
👉 7. Doing Everything Yourself: Delegate tasks that others can do, freeing you up for high-impact activities (planning, marketing, sales, client delivery).
👉 8. Bad Payment Terms: Say no to payment terms that don’t protect your cash flow, such as excessively delayed payments.
👉 9. Chasing Partnerships: Don’t chase building partnerships too early. Most of them will take time to bring clients in the door. Instead, learn to prospect and sell to bring in clients directly.
👉 10. Neglecting Personal Time: Say no to work that encroaches on time for rest, family, and self-care. You won’t be productive if you’re not fit mentally, emotionaly or physically.
✍ What would you add to the list?
Ready to add $100k-$500k revenue to your consulting business in 12 months or less without burning out? Schedule a call and let me show you how.
Image credit: Dalle-3
