I'm sharing my mentor's advice on finding consulting clients

When I was thinking about becoming an independent consultant, I knew I wanted to set myself up for success. So I engaged a mentor several months ahead of when I thought I might be ready to make the leap. I didn’t want someone who was trying to hire me (i.e. employers) or someone who was trying to place me (i.e. recruiters). I wanted a neutral, objective person who had experience in independent consulting in Change Management specifically, who I could pay for their time and advice and prove that I was committed to this path and this future. I knew that if I wanted others to respect and pay me for my expertise, I needed to respect and pay my mentor!

Our sessions were fairly high-level and it was really the belief she gave to me that this was doable as a career path that I got from our mentoring. But there was one thing that stuck with me. I asked her: “When your clients think about engaging you, what service or skillset do they think they need?” And she just said: “That I can help.” 

And it’s true - your consulting clients see you as a trusted advisor. They are looking for support and ideas and advice and strategies, regardless if that is specifically Change Management. So many of my consulting clients have called on me to help them with their complex business problems, whether it fell into the realm of Change Management or not.

The beautiful thing is that as an independent consultant, you aren’t constrained by role title or job description. You aren’t relegated to one area of expertise or skillset. You have the opportunity to use whatever skills and experiences are in your background that can help solve the problem. 

For example, you’ll usually be engaged super early on in the transformation, so you’ll often have the access, influence and availability to contribute to the design of the solution if that’s your jam. These are things that may be out of reach as an internal Change Manager who’s brought in later down the line just to support delivery or implementation. Being engaged earlier can be so valuable because you’ll bring the people perspective as well as the strategic perspective. You can encourage the people designing and building to collaborate and get input and feedback from real world users through development. And this often leads to a better solution or a better design, which makes change delivery and implementation so much easier. 

As a consultant, you’ll often have this huge background of transferable skills and subject matter expertise beyond a single role. For me, clients have drawn on my coaching skill set, my communications skill set, my marketing skill set, my customer experience skill set, my leadership capability skill set, my training skill set, my media skill set, my customer relationship management skill set, and my workshop facilitation skill set, just to name a few, in addition to my Change Management skill set.

But the truth is I actually have a lot more skill sets including project management, process mapping, compliance, etc. Just because you have a skill set, doesn’t mean you must use it. Because the other beautiful thing about independent consulting is that you get to choose the work you do, the projects you work on, and the skills you utilise in helping your clients.  

That’s why a big part of my Instant Change Consultant Retreat is working out what your zone of genius is, what lights you up, what work you want to be most known for, and what clients you actually want to attract. I also share how to influence clients to hire the skill sets you might have but might not want to use, and how to charge appropriately for value-adds that are outside your usual realm of work.

Ultimately, your clients are choosing you.

Your brand. 

Your expertise. 

Your experience. 

Your problem-solving. 

You are their beacon in a sea of challenges and their trusted advisor in the depths of transformation. They’re looking for help and you’re there to provide it. It’s as simple as that.

If you’d like to learn my secrets to becoming a Change Consultant in record speed with work you love and clients that make your heart sing, come to my exclusive live in-person Instant Change Consultant Retreat on 1-2 November in Sydney. This two-day immersive experience will teach you how to start or grow your own consulting practice, so you can choose your own clients, choose your own schedule, and choose your own rates. Final registrations for the retreat close Tuesday 21 October so join now to secure your spot before the deadline.

CLICK HERE to join my retreat before the final registration deadline

Lata xx

P.S. If you haven't yet watched my free limited-time Change Advisor Bootcamp where I share my expert tips to get a seat at the table, build strong relationships, and lead complex change to success as a trusted change advisor, watch it ASAP: click here to watch my free bootcamp