Melisa [00:00:02]:
Welcome to the Grow your independent consulting business podcast. I'm Melisa Liberman, a fellow IC and business coach.

Melisa [00:00:11]:
On this podcast, I teach you to become a consistently booked independent consultant without becoming a pushy salesperson or working 24/7.

Melisa [00:00:21]:
If I can do it, you can, too.

Melisa [00:00:23]:
Listen on to find out how.

Melisa [00:00:28]:
Welcome to episode 178 of the Grow.

Melisa [00:00:32]:
Your independent consulting business podcast. This is Melisa Liberman, and we're here.

Melisa [00:00:36]:
Today to talk about how to qualify your consulting clients. I'm going to say that again, how to qualify your consulting clients. This is not about how do your consulting clients qualify you. This is about how you qualify them.

Melisa [00:00:53]:
To earn a spot on your client roster. And this is something that most consultants that I talk to oftentimes overlook.

Melisa [00:01:02]:
And I want to make sure that.

Melisa [00:01:03]:
You are able to incorporate this into your consulting sales process because it's an integral part of you being successful as.

Melisa [00:01:12]:
A consultant and also having longevity.

Melisa [00:01:15]:
So that is what we're here to talk through today. I'll share with you the agenda here in a moment, but before we do.

Melisa [00:01:22]:
That, I thought I'd give you a quick update.

Melisa [00:01:24]:
Just on a personal level especially, I.

Melisa [00:01:26]:
Get a lot of questions about my.

Melisa [00:01:28]:
Kids and their swimming career, so I'll just share with you.

Melisa [00:01:31]:
I think last we updated, my oldest.

Melisa [00:01:33]:
He had gone to his state meet, which is the very culmination of the summer swim season and for club sports, and finished in the top 15 in a couple of his events. And the two younger ones swam this last couple weekends. And it was so fun. They both qualified together on a relay, on two relays, actually. So that was really fun to see them swim together.

Melisa [00:01:59]:
I think the coach purposefully put them.

Melisa [00:02:01]:
On opposite ends of the pool because the last time they were in a relay together, I saw them down on the deck, like punching each other before the race started, which is not helpful. I mean, in a, in a brotherly way, we'll just put it that way. But this time they swam, like the first and second legs or something like that. So they were not on the same side of the pool deck, which was fun. But anyway, the middle one, actually, he finished 10th in the state for his hundred breaststrokes, which was really fun. Our team seems to be really good at breaststroke because our coach swam breaststroke in college. It's really fun to see that and also to kind of pair that up with the Olympics and to see all those amazing swimmers and how much work they put into swimming for their whole lives and winning so many gold medals, so. And other medals.

Melisa [00:02:49]:
Anyway, that is the quick update we now have the month of August off from a swimming perspective, so it frees up so much time and the kids are finally able to sleep in right before school starts up again, which is a great break for them and for me, honestly.

Melisa [00:03:06]:
So that is what's happening over here.

Melisa [00:03:08]:
At Melisa Liberman coaching. So much of my business is really wrapped around my family right now. And I'm just so grateful to have the flexibility that this independent consulting and coaching lends to all of us who have decided to go down this path. So, so grateful as I'm sure you are as well.

Melisa [00:03:29]:
Okay, so with that, let's now dive.

Melisa [00:03:31]:
Into today's topic, which is qualifying your consulting clients again. So often we don't think about our.

Melisa [00:03:39]:
Side of the equation. We think about the clients and what.

Melisa [00:03:41]:
Are they doing to qualify us and how can we turn a conversation into a potential opportunity. And we think about all those things on their side of the equation, but we often overlook on our side of the equation. And I want to emphasize for you today how important that is to have a qualifying process in your overall sales.

Melisa [00:04:03]:
Process so that you end up making.

Melisa [00:04:05]:
The most out of your time and have the most amount of fulfillment that you can and ultimately create a process and a business that's sustainable where you don't start getting burned out and wanting to look at, maybe even going back to corporate. So that's why we're here today. Let's talk about the agenda. So first we're going to talk about.

Melisa [00:04:25]:
What does it mean to qualify your consulting clients?

Melisa [00:04:29]:
What does that actually look like in practice. Then we'll dive into when to qualify your consulting clients, when to leverage this type of process as you're going through your consulting sales steps. And then we'll share with you a.

Melisa [00:04:45]:
Specific tool that you can use to.

Melisa [00:04:47]:
Qualify your consulting clients, how to implement that in your business, and then we'll.

Melisa [00:04:51]:
Wrap up with how to put this episode into action. Okay, so with that, before we dive.

Melisa [00:04:56]:
In, I want to encourage you to go download the book. It's at melissabook.com. it's called grow your consulting business, the.

Melisa [00:05:05]:
14 step roadmap to make your independent consulting goals a reality.

Melisa [00:05:09]:
You can download the first three chapters of the book, and at a high level they talk about steps ten, which is how to sell without being salesy. And this qualification process is part of that. And then if you want to buy the full book, you can do that and find that at Amazon and you can go find all of those resources@melissabook.com. dot the one thing that I will recommend to you that goes with it is a toolkit. So you'll see that ability to download the toolkit in the show notes. And in that toolkit on chapter ten, it talks about how to build out your sales process. So that's going to be something that's really important as you are an independent consultant and continuing to grow your practice and refine what you're doing, continuously optimizing and dialing in your sales process is one of the things that you want to be really focusing in on. And that's what this qualification topic really folds into today.

Melisa [00:06:07]:
So be sure to go download those first three chapters of the book@melissabook.com. and you'll also find the resource for.

Melisa [00:06:15]:
How to buy the book if you.

Melisa [00:06:16]:
Want the full soft copy as well. All right, so that's what we have here today for the companion resource.

Melisa [00:06:22]:
Let's take a simple step here foundationally.

Melisa [00:06:25]:
And talk about what does it mean to qualify your consulting client? What am I talking about here? Because again, we often think about what does it take for the client to choose us as a consultant and what do we need to show them, what do we need to walk them through, what kind of information do we need to understand and to gather from them? That's it's always so focused on the client. And today I really want to reemphasize for you that you're an equal part of this process. You and your business are an equal part of the sales process.

Melisa [00:06:55]:
If you're not getting the information that.

Melisa [00:06:57]:
You need out of the sales process or you're seeing red flags, that's something that's really important for you and your business. Rather than thinking about the process is all about, quote unquote, convincing them or proving to them or demonstrating to them.

Melisa [00:07:12]:
Why they should engage you.

Melisa [00:07:14]:
And that's what leads us to often miss this question of what is the decision making process that you've got that will enable you to decide if the.

Melisa [00:07:25]:
Client earns a spot on your roster or not.

Melisa [00:07:28]:
So what is your decision making criteria to give the client one of the spots on your roster? How does a client earn a spot on your roster?

Melisa [00:07:37]:
That's what I'm talking about when we're.

Melisa [00:07:39]:
Talking about quality qualifying a consulting client for you and your business. So now that we are on the.

Melisa [00:07:45]:
Same page about what it means to.

Melisa [00:07:46]:
Qualify a consulting client, let's talk about when to qualify the consulting client. And you might have been expecting me to give you some kind of decision tree or that type of thing, and I'm going to make it very simple for you, the answer of when you should qualify a consulting client is every time, every time, we often can get.

Melisa [00:08:07]:
Fall into this trap.

Melisa [00:08:08]:
But think about this. If it applies to you, where you might be in a place where you're in between clients or you're worried about.

Melisa [00:08:16]:
Your pipeline, it's empty.

Melisa [00:08:18]:
And all of a sudden a client.

Melisa [00:08:19]:
Comes along, a potential client comes along.

Melisa [00:08:21]:
And so you go about figuring out.

Melisa [00:08:23]:
How do I land this client and land this opportunity and turn it into a client?

Melisa [00:08:28]:
Or you might be behind on your.

Melisa [00:08:29]:
Revenue goals to throw away this idea.

Melisa [00:08:32]:
Of has the client earned a spot on my roster or not?

Melisa [00:08:35]:
Based on what they've been telling me.

Melisa [00:08:37]:
Through the sales process that I'm facilitating. So for you, when to qualify a consulting client is every single time as a standard part of your consulting sales process. Because at the end of the day.

Melisa [00:08:51]:
There is an opportunity cost for every.

Melisa [00:08:54]:
Single client that you bring on board.

Melisa [00:08:56]:
There's an opportunity cost in the sense.

Melisa [00:08:58]:
Of that capacity that you're allocating to that client.

Melisa [00:09:02]:
Whether it's a portion of your capacity.

Melisa [00:09:05]:
Or all of your capacity that could have been sold to another client, it.

Melisa [00:09:10]:
Could have been sold to another client.

Melisa [00:09:12]:
Who better fits the type of work.

Melisa [00:09:14]:
That you want to be doing, the nature of work you want to be doing, the type of client personality you.

Melisa [00:09:19]:
Want to be working with. And so really thinking about this as a standard part of your sales process and what you're ahead qualification criterion is, is going to be really important, again for you to hit your revenue goals. Because if you sell, you've got a bird in a hand, for example, and.

Melisa [00:09:38]:
You talk yourself into agreeing to work with this client at a lower rate.

Melisa [00:09:42]:
Than you typically would charge or at a lower fee structure than you would normally charge, or you give up more.

Melisa [00:09:49]:
Hours than you would normally want to.

Melisa [00:09:51]:
Be working, or you're working on the.

Melisa [00:09:54]:
Type of work that isn't fulfilling for you.

Melisa [00:09:56]:
There is a cost to all of that because you've given up capacity that you could be selling to someone else who's better suited for the type of work that you want to be doing, for the type of compensation and fee structure that you want to be working with.

Melisa [00:10:12]:
And so some of this requires a.

Melisa [00:10:14]:
Lot of confidence on your part that when a potential client doesn't meet your requirements, that you're recommending other options to them and not moving forward. And I'll give you some ideas about how to manage when a client doesn't.

Melisa [00:10:27]:
Meet your criteria here in a moment. It doesn't mean that you have to.

Melisa [00:10:30]:
Fully turn them away, although that is one of the options.

Melisa [00:10:34]:
Okay. But before we get to that, let's.

Melisa [00:10:36]:
Talk about the tool, the tool that you can leverage for qualifying your consulting clients. And it's a simple scorecard that you want to create.

Melisa [00:10:46]:
I love creating this and encouraging clients.

Melisa [00:10:48]:
To create this ahead of time. So you're not deciding in the moment whether or not a potential client fits.

Melisa [00:10:55]:
Your criteria, because, of course, you could talk yourself into probably almost anything, especially.

Melisa [00:11:00]:
If you're feeling more desperate than usual.

Melisa [00:11:03]:
Or your pipeline is drier than usual.

Melisa [00:11:06]:
Or you've a gap in between clients.

Melisa [00:11:07]:
Of course, you'll be able to justify.

Melisa [00:11:09]:
Or talk yourself into taking on a client that has some red flags attached to it. You're a smart person.

Melisa [00:11:17]:
I know for sure you can convince.

Melisa [00:11:18]:
Yourself, and the goal is to help.

Melisa [00:11:20]:
Create a more neutral process for yourself.

Melisa [00:11:23]:
To qualify so that you have those.

Melisa [00:11:26]:
Inputs and can leverage them to make.

Melisa [00:11:28]:
A decision for yourself.

Melisa [00:11:30]:
So the scorecard.

Melisa [00:11:31]:
If you think about creating a scorecard.

Melisa [00:11:34]:
What might the criteria be for you.

Melisa [00:11:36]:
To leverage as you're thinking about what is the ideal client for you?

Melisa [00:11:41]:
The criteria could be something to the.

Melisa [00:11:42]:
Effect of the nature of work. Is it something that is more hands on and tactical versus more strategic and advisory? And what type of work are you wanting to land?

Melisa [00:11:54]:
So if you're wanting to move from.

Melisa [00:11:56]:
Tactical type work, for example, more in the weeds type work, and you're wanting to move into more advisory type work.

Melisa [00:12:04]:
Then you want to have that as a criteria.

Melisa [00:12:07]:
So if you were rating and creating a scorecard, let's say on a scale of one to five, it would be advisory.

Melisa [00:12:14]:
Strategic type work would be a five.

Melisa [00:12:17]:
And a one would be more hands on in the weeds type work and create some detail around that.

Melisa [00:12:24]:
What does it look like? What does a one look like? What does a two look like? What does a three look like, four or five look like?

Melisa [00:12:29]:
So that, again, you've got that set up in advance and in a way that's more neutral.

Melisa [00:12:35]:
You're not thinking about a given client or not.

Melisa [00:12:37]:
And it's easier for you to set up something that it doesn't have an outcome attached to it that you're trying to achieve, let's say. So that's what we want to be doing when we create this scorecard, is.

Melisa [00:12:51]:
Create it in a way that you're.

Melisa [00:12:52]:
Just thinking about it as a process or a mechanism in your business and not creating this in the moment when you're trying to apply it to a given client and justify that client in one way or the other. So another criteria example that you might consider is, is this a reputation builder or nothing?

Melisa [00:13:12]:
So for you, for example, you might.

Melisa [00:13:14]:
Be looking to build your reputation as a go to resource in financial services, for example, a financial service, startups, fintechs, something like that. So does this potential client help you to build your reputation that you're wanting.

Melisa [00:13:30]:
To build so that you're more sought.

Melisa [00:13:32]:
After and known for what you do? That could be another criteria.

Melisa [00:13:36]:
Another criteria for your scorecard might be.

Melisa [00:13:39]:
Relationship builder like this gets my foot in the door. The reputation builder is more about what.

Melisa [00:13:44]:
Types of brands or logos you're working with.

Melisa [00:13:47]:
Relationship builders might be this gets my foot in the door, or this has been a long term client that I really want to maintain a relationship with.

Melisa [00:13:56]:
Even though maybe the nature of work.

Melisa [00:13:58]:
Is lower, the relationship builder score is higher and it might tip the scale for you. And deciding whether or not this is.

Melisa [00:14:05]:
A good client to move forward with.

Melisa [00:14:08]:
Likability is another criterion that you might consider. Likability that is purely subjective and you.

Melisa [00:14:17]:
Get to decide you left corporate. One of the reasons you probably left corporate is to have more control over who you work with and who you don't work with.

Melisa [00:14:25]:
You're not in a corporate role anymore.

Melisa [00:14:28]:
Where you have to get along with.

Melisa [00:14:29]:
Everyone who's on the team, which in some cases you might have hired and in other cases you might not have hired a.

Melisa [00:14:36]:
So you get to decide what your.

Melisa [00:14:38]:
Likability criterion is and what the score is when you're applying it to a given situation.

Melisa [00:14:45]:
And then finally, another criterion that you might consider is financial. How does this potential client, when you're thinking about building your scorecard, how would.

Melisa [00:14:54]:
A potential client rated five on a scale of one to five?

Melisa [00:15:00]:
It might be that it's more value.

Melisa [00:15:01]:
Based pricing where you're not attached to a certain number of hours per week or per month, and it's at the.

Melisa [00:15:10]:
Highest end of your range as a.

Melisa [00:15:12]:
Five and one might be where it's hourly based billing, kind of at your standard rate and somewhere, and then everything in between.

Melisa [00:15:19]:
So you're really building out the scorecard.

Melisa [00:15:21]:
Another type of criterion that you might consider for a scorecard is how does it fit in schedule wise for you? Is it a client who is in a certain part of the world and so that the time zone isn't as beneficial?

Melisa [00:15:34]:
Or is it a type of client.

Melisa [00:15:35]:
Who is only a couple of hours away from you and it ends up.

Melisa [00:15:40]:
Meaning that you're working later into the.

Melisa [00:15:41]:
Evening because of their time zone or are they really flexible about when you work and it doesn't really matter, look at what schedule inputs are and then.

Melisa [00:15:51]:
Build your scorecard and rating system around.

Melisa [00:15:53]:
That for yourself and your own requirements.

Melisa [00:15:56]:
So those are some examples of what.

Melisa [00:15:58]:
The criterion could be when you're thinking about building yourself a qualification scorecard for your consulting clients to rate them as you're going through the sales process.

Melisa [00:16:09]:
Again, every single time you're going through.

Melisa [00:16:11]:
The sales process and then you build out your scoring methodology and your decision making methodology so that again, you've built.

Melisa [00:16:20]:
This up ahead of time.

Melisa [00:16:21]:
When logic prevails, when we build these types of tools for ourselves in our business without it being in the moment of a given scenario, it can be.

Melisa [00:16:32]:
So much easier for logic to prevail in those cases.

Melisa [00:16:35]:
Versus like I've been explaining as we go through this episode, when you're doing this in the moments, oftentimes that's when emotion is prevailing and you're talking yourself.

Melisa [00:16:45]:
Into doing something or overriding your instinct.

Melisa [00:16:48]:
Because you're worried about your cash flow as an example.

Melisa [00:16:52]:
And then you end up giving a.

Melisa [00:16:53]:
Really vital piece of your capacity, if not all of it, to a client.

Melisa [00:16:59]:
Who has raised red flags for you during the sales process.

Melisa [00:17:02]:
And then kick off the engagement and you might have a little bit of a honeymoon period. And then all of those red flags.

Melisa [00:17:10]:
Start to come into play and start to become reality. What you were concerned about becomes real and you kick yourself that you signed.

Melisa [00:17:18]:
Yourself up for some kind of six month engagement or nine month engagement, that you knew better.

Melisa [00:17:24]:
You knew better. How many times do we say that to ourselves? I knew better. I knew I shouldn't do this again.

Melisa [00:17:28]:
And this tool helps you to make a more logical, informed decision so that you can give the most precious resource.

Melisa [00:17:39]:
And asset you have in your business, which is your capacity to the clients.

Melisa [00:17:43]:
Who'Ve earned that spot. So now let's talk about what the.

Melisa [00:17:47]:
Mindset might look like around this type.

Melisa [00:17:49]:
Of qualifying process in your business. Because again, it can become really challenging.

Melisa [00:17:54]:
To go through a process when you don't have a current client, when you're in between clients, it can be really challenging to turn away business. It can be challenging to say, look.

Melisa [00:18:05]:
I've got this opportunity on my plate and even though it's not perfect or it doesn't meet my qualifying criteria, I've.

Melisa [00:18:12]:
Got to take it because of the cash flow. And so I want to give you.

Melisa [00:18:16]:
A few options here in a moment where you can either turn them away and still make revenue or you can limit the impact of taking on clients who don't clear that qualification bar.

Melisa [00:18:28]:
Again, this isn't about yes or no.

Melisa [00:18:30]:
Whether you qualify them in or out.

Melisa [00:18:32]:
There is some great areas.

Melisa [00:18:33]:
So I'm going to share with you here in a moment what that might look like and what to do with the qualifying scorecard. But before we do, I really want to take a moment to talk about your qualifying mindset. And I'll use an example to share with you.

Melisa [00:18:47]:
I was working with an independent consultant.

Melisa [00:18:49]:
And they were in between clients, so they didn't have any cash flow at the moment. They were concerned about the dryness of their pipeline and how long a sales cycle might take. And so they had, around that time, they had an inbound lead come into place where it was in the ballpark.

Melisa [00:19:07]:
Of the type of work that they did.

Melisa [00:19:09]:
They would be capable of doing the work. The client was shopping, I like to.

Melisa [00:19:14]:
Say shopping in the sense of they.

Melisa [00:19:16]:
Were evaluating multiple consultants, consulting firms to do the work that they were looking to achieve. And so at this point, the consultant.

Melisa [00:19:27]:
That I was working with was really feeling desperate and needing and kind of convincing.

Melisa [00:19:31]:
How can I talk this particular potential.

Melisa [00:19:35]:
Client into working with me, into choosing me?

Melisa [00:19:37]:
I need the money. I don't have cash flow at the moment and I don't have a healthy pipeline that I don't know how long.

Melisa [00:19:44]:
It might take for another client to come along. That's what they were telling me.

Melisa [00:19:47]:
Right.

Melisa [00:19:48]:
And so as we were working through.

Melisa [00:19:50]:
It, we realized in this mindset, feeling desperate and needy and convincing, the likelihood.

Melisa [00:19:57]:
Of landing that role, that engagement was.

Melisa [00:20:00]:
Lower in any way.

Melisa [00:20:01]:
Right. When you're coming across as desperate or.

Melisa [00:20:03]:
Needy or convincing, and the client is out there shopping, trying to figure out.

Melisa [00:20:07]:
What is the best solution for them.

Melisa [00:20:09]:
The likelihood of them choosing you is.

Melisa [00:20:12]:
Much lower when you're coming across that way.

Melisa [00:20:15]:
So what we did is we worked.

Melisa [00:20:18]:
Together to figure out, okay, what is the qualification criteria put together the scorecard.

Melisa [00:20:23]:
I was just describing to you. And then on top of that, really rebuilt her mindset into a much more.

Melisa [00:20:30]:
High quality mindset as it relates to.

Melisa [00:20:32]:
Qualifying and selling this consulting work and helping her to get into a mindset of being more selective, feeling more selective.

Melisa [00:20:41]:
Feeling more like a peer to her.

Melisa [00:20:43]:
Potential client than another vendor that they.

Melisa [00:20:46]:
Were trying to pick and choose between.

Melisa [00:20:48]:
To feel as if she was in demand, even if she didn't have a.

Melisa [00:20:54]:
Lot of proof points to show for.

Melisa [00:20:56]:
That at the moment in the form of her pipeline, to feel as if.

Melisa [00:21:00]:
She think of herself and feel in.

Melisa [00:21:03]:
Demand set her up to be so much more equal to the potential client.

Melisa [00:21:09]:
That she was talking to in her.

Melisa [00:21:10]:
Mind and in the way that she was positioning herself in the types of.

Melisa [00:21:15]:
Questions she was asking in her sales.

Melisa [00:21:18]:
Process and ultimately thinking about this process and the conversations she was having with her potential clients as this is a conversation for us to both decide if we want to work together.

Melisa [00:21:33]:
The potential client was deciding if she would be the best solution for them, and she was deciding if they would earn a spot on her roster, even.

Melisa [00:21:43]:
Though her roster at that moment was.

Melisa [00:21:45]:
Empty, didn't have a client on it.

Melisa [00:21:47]:
When she got into that mindset and walked the client through a discovery process and walked the potential client through a.

Melisa [00:21:56]:
Process to understand how her approach would look and what the pricing would look.

Melisa [00:22:00]:
Like and what the elements of the proposal were, she came across so much more confidently. She came across so much more in demand. She came across so much more as the type of consultant that they would trust to do to deliver the type of results that they were looking for. So you can see here that not only does this qualifying process help you to make sure that you're leveraging that.

Melisa [00:22:26]:
Important asset in your business, your capacity.

Melisa [00:22:28]:
To its highest potential, but also so.

Melisa [00:22:31]:
That you're coming across in a much.

Melisa [00:22:33]:
More confident way as. As you're selling your consulting services. I'll give you another example, and I haven't dated in a long time. My podcast producer and I were just talking about this episode before we were talking about anniversaries right before we started recording this episode. And he said that I think today is his 15th anniversary. I've been married for over 20 years. So, you know, I don't know a lot about dating, so I'm not going to pretend I do. But what I will say is, think about it.

Melisa [00:23:00]:
When you were dating, and I could remember back to this when I was in my twenties, when I was dating, and likely when you last time you were dating, if someone was really desperate or needy, even that would come across.

Melisa [00:23:13]:
In the way that they were carrying.

Melisa [00:23:14]:
Themselves and the way that they were.

Melisa [00:23:17]:
Portraying themselves in the way that they.

Melisa [00:23:19]:
Were talking to you, and that's not that attractive.

Melisa [00:23:23]:
So if we use that dating analogy here in the sense of you're going through a dating process to decide if this client is a good fit for.

Melisa [00:23:31]:
You, and they're deciding if you're a.

Melisa [00:23:33]:
Good fit for them, if we use this dating analogy again, you coming across.

Melisa [00:23:38]:
As needy and that you can make anything work and that whatever the client tells you is not a problem, you'll figure it out.

Melisa [00:23:46]:
Of course, you're going to come across.

Melisa [00:23:47]:
In a much different way than if.

Melisa [00:23:50]:
You have your own standards and your own bar that you need them to clear in order for them to earn.

Melisa [00:23:55]:
A spot on your roster, similarly to.

Melisa [00:23:58]:
How they're trying to figure out if.

Melisa [00:23:59]:
You'Re the right consultant for them to trust.

Melisa [00:24:02]:
So think of it that way in.

Melisa [00:24:03]:
A dating analogy, no matter how long it's been since you've dated.

Melisa [00:24:07]:
All right, so now that we've talked.

Melisa [00:24:08]:
About this concept of a scorecard and the mindset when you're implementing the scorecard now, let's move on to wrapping up this episode with something really important, which is, what do you do with the scorecard results? I want to make sure this doesn't come across very black and white, as.

Melisa [00:24:24]:
I'm describing it, or binary as I'm.

Melisa [00:24:26]:
Describing it to you.

Melisa [00:24:27]:
It isn't about qualifying in the sense.

Melisa [00:24:29]:
Of they're in or they're out. What we're doing is we're making it.

Melisa [00:24:33]:
More of a mechanism for you to rate and be honest with yourself about how well this client fits into the.

Melisa [00:24:40]:
Criteria of what an ideal client, an ideal engagement is for you.

Melisa [00:24:45]:
And based on the results of that and your scorecard that you implement in.

Melisa [00:24:49]:
The course of your sales process, one.

Melisa [00:24:52]:
Of three things will be the outcome.

Melisa [00:24:54]:
You might decide based on that scorecard.

Melisa [00:24:57]:
That the potential client and the engagement.

Melisa [00:25:00]:
That you're discussing with them clears your bar. Using the scorecard as that neutral input, we'll say. So then, of course, you would likely.

Melisa [00:25:10]:
Proceed with that potential client and talking.

Melisa [00:25:12]:
More about moving on to a proposal. It might be that based on the.

Melisa [00:25:16]:
Results of your scorecard, that potential client.

Melisa [00:25:19]:
Or that potential engagement at that client.

Melisa [00:25:22]:
And I'm being very specific there, because it might be that a potential client.

Melisa [00:25:26]:
Clears the bar but the engagement you're discussing with them doesn't, or vice versa. It might be that the engagement clears.

Melisa [00:25:32]:
The bar, but the potential client does it.

Melisa [00:25:34]:
And so even just from the pure likability score. So when it is at the place where for whatever reason, they haven't cleared your bar, you have some options and it's simply comes down to you recommending alternative options. You might refer them to another consultant, just straightforward.

Melisa [00:25:54]:
You might make just a simple recommendation to them.

Melisa [00:25:57]:
You know what?

Melisa [00:25:57]:
This is not the best fit for the type of work that I do, but here's what I would recommend to.

Melisa [00:26:02]:
You in order to achieve the type of result that you're looking for.

Melisa [00:26:06]:
Or thirdly, you might even refer it to other consultants for some type of a referral arrangement that you've got with them. Or you might bring in a sub to do the bulk of the work.

Melisa [00:26:14]:
And then it does clear the bar because you are able to take off.

Melisa [00:26:19]:
Your plate the things that don't clear.

Melisa [00:26:21]:
Your bar and whatever remains. Like, let's say it is a client.

Melisa [00:26:24]:
That you would love to work with. It's just the nature of the work isn't there.

Melisa [00:26:28]:
Then you can bring in a sub.

Melisa [00:26:29]:
Potentially to do a lot of the.

Melisa [00:26:30]:
Heavy lifting and you are able to.

Melisa [00:26:33]:
Work with the client in the capacity that you want to be working with them so you can recommend alternative options.

Melisa [00:26:39]:
It's not a decision of yes, I'm going to move forward with them and.

Melisa [00:26:42]:
They qualify or they don't.

Melisa [00:26:44]:
And then thirdly, it might be that.

Melisa [00:26:47]:
You'Ve got this gray area where they.

Melisa [00:26:49]:
Might not clear your bar exactly, but.

Melisa [00:26:51]:
You truly do have cash flow concerns.

Melisa [00:26:55]:
And in that case, even though they haven't cleared your bar and you've decided.

Melisa [00:26:59]:
For other reasons, such as cash flow.

Melisa [00:27:01]:
Reasons that you do want to bring them on, then I would highly recommend that you've got the ability to you set yourself up to recommend something or offer something that's shorter, that shorter test type engagement with them.

Melisa [00:27:19]:
So you might have cash flow concerns.

Melisa [00:27:21]:
They're the only potential client in your pipeline at the moment. You don't feel confident yet in your ability to create demand and so you're.

Melisa [00:27:29]:
Going to override the scorecard results.

Melisa [00:27:31]:
For example, in this third scenario, when you do that, I would highly recommend you do that for a short period of time because you've got an opportunity.

Melisa [00:27:41]:
Cost of giving up your capacity to a non ideal client.

Melisa [00:27:45]:
And the longer that goes on, the.

Melisa [00:27:48]:
Less focused you will likely be on.

Melisa [00:27:50]:
Lead generation on finding an ideal client and more focused on generating the income and the client delivery that's more comfortable for you.

Melisa [00:28:01]:
So think about what might you offer if that potential client doesn't clear your bar?

Melisa [00:28:06]:
What might you offer that's a shorter test type engagement, so you can create a shorter cash flow infusion, but at.

Melisa [00:28:14]:
The same time not set yourself up.

Melisa [00:28:16]:
In a long term relationship with them. So those are some of the ways.

Melisa [00:28:19]:
You can move forward with this scorecard results.

Melisa [00:28:22]:
It doesn't have to be that yes, you'll accept the client or no, you won't. You've got options when the clients don't clear that qualification bar for yourself.

Melisa [00:28:32]:
Okay, so now let's wrap up today's.

Melisa [00:28:34]:
Episode and think about putting this into action for you and your business. And it's really as simple as take.

Melisa [00:28:41]:
This episode and the tools that I.

Melisa [00:28:42]:
Shared with you and write out your scorecard.

Melisa [00:28:45]:
Figure out what it is, figure out.

Melisa [00:28:47]:
What the elements of the scorecard are.

Melisa [00:28:49]:
What the rating system would look like.

Melisa [00:28:52]:
And what the decision making criteria would be based on the score that a given client, when they achieve a certain total score.

Melisa [00:29:00]:
So, you know, okay, these would definitely be out if they scored, let's say.

Melisa [00:29:04]:
Five or less in all across all.

Melisa [00:29:06]:
Of your criteria as a total score. And if they scored above 20, they're definitely in.

Melisa [00:29:11]:
And then what are you going to do about that gray area and really.

Melisa [00:29:14]:
Figuring it out again?

Melisa [00:29:15]:
You're not going to be able to design every scenario. That's not what we're doing here.

Melisa [00:29:18]:
We're just creating a framework for you.

Melisa [00:29:20]:
To be able to set yourself up to approach this with more confidence, with more selectivity, and not get yourself into.

Melisa [00:29:28]:
The place where you're talking yourself into.

Melisa [00:29:30]:
Accepting these clients who are red flags for yourself.

Melisa [00:29:34]:
And especially not accepting these red flag type clients for long periods of time where they're eating up your capacity and.

Melisa [00:29:42]:
Your ability to sell work that's more lucrative, that's more fulfilling, and ultimately moves.

Melisa [00:29:48]:
Your business in the direction that you want to move into.

Melisa [00:29:51]:
So I recommend that you put this.

Melisa [00:29:54]:
Episode into action for yourself.

Melisa [00:29:55]:
It doesn't have to be complicated.

Melisa [00:29:57]:
You can sit down for half an.

Melisa [00:29:58]:
Hour, map this all out for yourself.

Melisa [00:30:00]:
And start using it and iterating it and optimizing it for yourself as you.

Melisa [00:30:04]:
Move forward in improving your consulting business sales process. And finally, I would recommend reaching out.

Melisa [00:30:12]:
To see if coaching together would be.

Melisa [00:30:14]:
A good fit for so many of us. We're so good at what we do, but it can be really challenging when we start thinking about doing it for.

Melisa [00:30:23]:
Ourselves, how to run a consulting business successfully when we're the ones who were selling.

Melisa [00:30:29]:
You're selling yourself in so many ways, selling your own services. And so having a third party perspective.

Melisa [00:30:37]:
Who'S an expert at doing this and.

Melisa [00:30:39]:
Who does this all day long can be really valuable to help you accelerate your goals. So if this is something you would like to explore, I recommend reaching out. Applying for a consultation. You can grab a spot on my calendar at consult melissa.com. we'll have a conversation and talk about you and your business and what your.

Melisa [00:31:01]:
Goals are and uncover what is preventing.

Melisa [00:31:03]:
You from achieving those goals and decide together if coaching together would be a good fit.

Melisa [00:31:08]:
So you can go find that time.

Melisa [00:31:10]:
On my calendar at consult melissa.com. we'll put the link in the show notes as well. I'll see you again next week.

Melisa [00:31:17]:
Take care.

Melisa [00:31:20]:
Thanks for joining me this week on the grow your independent consulting business podcasts. If you liked today's episode, I have three quick next steps for you. First, click subscribe on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to make sure you don't miss future episodes. Next, leave me a review in your podcast app so other independent consultants can find and benefit, too. And finally, to put the ideas from today's episode into action, head over to melissaleberman.com for the show notes and more resources to help you grow your consulting practice from your first few projects into a full fledged business.

Melisa [00:31:59]:
See you next week.