“I’ve got authority and I’ve got leads. But I’m not landing $50k consulting projects at the same pace as $15-20k projects. Could you shed some light on what I can do to land more $50k consulting projects consistently?”
This question came up in one of my recent Q&As. It’s a loaded question. Here are the key parts of my response:
You say you’ve got authority. My question is: who sees you as an authority? And are your leads qualified?
Firstly, to land $50k projects consistently, you’ve got to consistently be in front of buyers that are looking to add at least $500k in value. They also must be able and willing to invest in receiving such value. Are you consistently in front of the right buyers?
What can you communicate in your messaging and conversations to demonstrate you will deliver at least $500k in value? Most business outcomes can be brought down to affect revenue or profitability. However, you don’t necessarily need to quantify the outcomes if you aren’t able to, but you must be able to define the outcomes clearly so your clients perceive high value.
Examples:
“We help you go from a Class-3 supplier to Class-1 supplier so you’re eligible to serve the industry’s top 10 buyers”
“Our DEI training programs are specifically designed to significantly improve employee retention. What would a 5-10% increase in employee retention do for you?”
Secondly, buyers must believe YOU are the most qualified person or firm to solve their specific problem. In other words, how qualified are you to solve their problem? What success have you had doing this for organizations or teams such as theirs? Can you back up your claims with results and solid social proof?
This is why specialists typically earn higher fees than generalists. When someone needs heart surgery, they’ll go to the best cardiac surgeon they can find. When buyers have a costly problem to solve, they’re not going to approach a jack of all trades but the best specialist around.
I’ll end with this:
Most of the time, landing $50k projects is a function of the size and scale of your target client and your successful track record of delivering measurable value for specific types of problems your target clients are going through.
If you’re not landing $50k projects consistently, consider who you serve and how much value you deliver to them.
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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: Bozena Simeth
