The Two Words That Will Transform Your Consulting Business

In Part 1, we talked about two words that I used to build a consulting business: Wait list.

Now I want to reveal the OTHER two words that are crucial to getting results as a consultant or agency.

One of the biggest traps that consultants and coaches fall into…

Why they don’t make the money that they want to make…

Is because of two simple words: OVER DELIVER.

(More specifically, getting into bad habits when it comes to over-delivering).

What do I mean by this?

Let me explain…

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The Hidden Danger in Over Delivering

Most consultants want to over-deliver for their clients, so that they can get the best results possible.

They think it makes the clients happy, leading to better results, more referrals, and more income.

And they translate this into spending more TIME with their client.

But as a consultant, TIME is your most precious resource.

And because time is a limited resource, the more time you’re spending on any given project, that’s time that you can’t spend on something else.

So the real way to get better results for both you and your clients?

And the REAL two words that I built my consulting practice on?

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Set Boundaries

Now, I know this probably sounds counterintuitive, but stick with me.

When I first started consulting, I made all the mistakes in the book.

Clients walked all over me.

And very early on I realized that I absolutely needed to set boundaries within the consultant-client relationship.

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Here’s what setting boundaries looks like:

When someone became a client, they got access to exactly 60 minutes of my time per week.

There was no emailing back and forth in-between calls, and no requests to “take a quick look and review this.”

Instead, I requested that the client send me their agenda for the call, what they wanted to cover, at least 48 hours before…

So that I could have time to prepare and we wouldn’t waste any time on preliminaries.

And while this may seem pretty rigid and draconian on the surface, in reality, it makes every minute precious.

Clients very quickly became great at prioritizing the MOST important thing that they wanted to get out of our time together.

And our calls became much more productive as a result.

As a parent, I know that when I set boundaries for my kids they actually feel more comfortable, they feel safer knowing what’s expected of them.

And they’re able to grow and achieve more as a result.

This doesn’t change when we get older.

Being able to know:

• where the boundaries are
• what the expectations are
• and having a framework to work within

Is what will give your consulting relationships the focus and value that will get you and your clients results.

So many entrepreneurs have a hard time prioritizing what’s really important.

And when everything is an urgent priority, then NOTHING is a priority.

But when you can set boundaries with your clients, THAT is what will give you the right framework to be able to overdeliver…

Because they’ll be totally focused and getting the RIGHT things done.

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So Now I’m Curious…

If you’re a coach or a consultant…do YOU have a wait list?

What kind of boundaries do you set with your clients?

I’d love to know, so just leave a comment below!

Ryan 🙂

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