gUIdE To BUILdINg A FULL CoNSULTINg pIpELINE

Written by Michael Zipursky

Consulting Success

As a consultant, having a steady stream of new potential clients entering your pipeline is essential for business growth and stability. However, many consultants struggle to consistently fill their pipeline with qualified leads.

In this step-by-step guide, we will walk through a four-step process we’ve taught our clients that has led to more high-quality leads in their business on a consistent basis.

This will help you build and maintain a full pipeline so you always have new business opportunities on the horizon.

Step 1: Clearly define your ideal client

The foundation of strong pipeline development is being crystal clear about who your ideal client really is. This means moving beyond just identifying a target industry or niche and really understanding the details of who you best serve.

Ideal client clarity entails building an in-depth profile of key characteristics like:

Industry, company size, location
Seniority level, job titles, role responsibilities
Their biggest challenges, pains, and problems
The outcomes and results they want to achieve
What motivates them to hire a consultant
Any objections they may have to working with a consultant

Invest time upfront to detail your ideal client profile. Refine this profile continually as you gain more experience. This level of clarity ensures your marketing resonates and you avoid wasted efforts on prospects that aren't a fit.

Step 2: Get clarity on your market position

Before diving into lead generation strategies, achieving a deep understanding of your market position is crucial. Positioning your consultancy in a manner that resonates with your target audience’s specific needs and challenges sets the foundation for attracting more qualified leads.

It’s about identifying and emphasising what makes your consultancy distinct in a crowded marketplace. Consider the example of Dr Emma Reynolds, who leveraged her expertise to become “The Millennial Workforce Expert”, thus targeting a niche market with precision.

By articulating your unique value and focusing on what sets you apart, you not only attract more attention but also ensure that the interest you generate is from prospects eager to engage with your specialised services.

This step is about honing in on your consultancy’s unique strengths and presenting them in a way that invalidates competing offers, reduces price resistance, and establishes your firm as the go-to authority for specific challenges or sectors.

Step 3: Implement a lead generation strategy

With your ideal client defined, the next step is executing marketing and sales tactics designed to actively generate new leads on an ongoing basis.

An effective lead generation and pipeline development strategy for consultants includes:

Crafting a magnetic messaging statement that quickly communicates who you help, their key challenges, your unique value, and why clients should hire you. This core message should be incorporated throughout your marketing.
Running a network reactivation campaign by reaching out to your existing contacts, reminding them of your services, and asking for introductions or referrals to potential new clients. Leverage tools like LinkedIn to connect with past colleagues, employers, clients, friends, etc.
Performing direct personalised outreach to ideal prospects through email and LinkedIn messages. Be sure to do your research. Avoid general messages and automation. If you want to land a high value client, make your outreach high value.
Consistently producing thought leadership content - articles, blogs, podcasts, webinars, whitepapers - that demonstrates expertise and provides value. Promote this content on platforms your ideal clients frequent.
Optimising your website for lead generation with targeted pages, conversion-focused content, calls-to-action, lead magnets like guides/checklists that capture contact info.

Executing a combination of these tactics on an ongoing basis will set you on the way to a steady flow of new potential opportunities entering your pipeline.

Step 4: Track leads in a CRM pipeline

As leads begin coming in, you need an organised system to manage your relationships and new opportunities. If you’re serious about growing and scaling your consultancy to the next level, a CRM tool like HubSpot is essential.

Set up a sales pipeline in your CRM with these 6 stages:

Lead - new contact identified
Conversation - first exploratory call/meeting completed
Proposal - services/pricing proposal sent
Win - deal closed, contract signed
Loss - prospect declined
Nurture - lead still interested but not ready to move forward yet

Input every lead into your pipeline and track their progression through these stages. Review pipeline data and metrics on a consistent weekly basis. This enables you to spot weaknesses, see where prospects are falling out, and focus your efforts appropriately.

Step 5: Continuously improve your pipeline process

The final step is using pipeline analytics to drive continuous optimisation. Make sure to assess what's working well versus areas of poor performance.

If your biggest issue is lack of new leads entering the pipeline, double down on lead generation activities.

If you have ample leads but struggle to close deals, improve your sales skills. You should be regularly refining both strategy and tactics to achieve consistent pipeline growth.

Here are a examples of how to analyse pipeline data and adjust accordingly:

Many proposals sent but low win rate = revisit your proposal process and look to improve your value positioning
Few calls lead to a proposal = rework your pre-sales and sales process and how you approach conversations
Few leads overall = devote more time to thought leadership and targeted outreach

Conclusion

With this five-step approach, consultants can systematically build a repeatable pipeline development process to ensure they always have a steady stream of new business opportunities.

The keys are ideal client clarity, excellent lead generation, organised tracking through a CRM, and continuous data-driven optimisation. By mastering these core components, you will be able to consistently fill your pipeline and achieve sustainable growth.

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Meet Michael Zipursky, the co-founder and CEO of Consulting Success® where they specialise in helping entrepreneurial consultants grow profitable, scalable and strategic consulting businesses. After advising organisations like Financial Times, Dow Jones, RBC, and helping Panasonic launch new products into global markets, he started Consulting Success and has since helped over 1,000 consultants from around the world in over 75 industries add 6 and 7 figures to their annual revenues. In addition to their coaching and training programmes, over 45,000 consultants read his weekly consulting newsletter and over 50,000 download the Consulting Success Podcast each month. He's also the author of several books on consulting.