I drove to the same university six times in six months. Till I realized they were never going to hire me.
They had a real problem. IP they wanted to commercialise. Serious people in the room. Strong referral. Budget existed for consulting.
Every meeting felt like progress. They asked for a proposal. I sent one. They asked for a small deliverable. I put it together.
Then nothing.
A few months later, another call. Fresh energy, same conversation. I’d thought – this time it’s real.
Still nothing.
What I eventually understood: a serious organisation is not the same as a serious consulting buyer.
They had interest. They had resources. What they didn’t have was internal urgency to make a decision. Nobody in that room was going to get fired if the problem stayed unsolved.
That’s the thing budget doesn’t tell you.
A real buyer has a deadline they’re accountable to. The cost of inaction is visible to them. They are not quietly debating whether to solve it internally first.
I was hopeful for six months because everything looked right on the surface.
The one thing I never tested was whether anyone had a real reason to move. Basic discovery mistake – but lesson learned.
Have you ever had one of these? An account that looked right in every way except the decision.
What’s the earliest red flag you’ve learned to watch for – the one that tells you this isn’t going anywhere?
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