Just as someone living in the dark might want to locate a candle before scheduling an appointment with the electrician, understandably, a new consultant might be eager to have any cashflow before investing in building bigger, predictable cashflow. New consultants often want to have clients before they want to build their pipeline.
Where to start investing in your pipeline depends on your need for immediate cash, and your willingness to invest. In a perfect world, you have money and time to dedicate to building the right kind of business. This allows you to rent the boat and go deep sea fishing for the big ocean fish, rather than using a pole and line at the dock. The ROI for consultants willing to invest is going to be bigger.
There is a continuum in client acquisition activity that runs from sales to marketing. If your efforts are focused on sales, you are working one prospect at a time, in a very labor-intensive way. If you need a client immediately, a one on one conversation is the most likely way to engage with that client. On the other hand, if you have some breathing room, and you are able to invest in a marketing program like public speaking or writing a newsletter, you can reach more people with the same effort, and are likely to attract prospects to you when they are ready to buy. And, when they come to you, they are likely to have already made the decision that they want to work with you.
Sales keeps your business alive, but marketing makes it worth having!
