Surprise Consulting Clients
The Miracle of the Chayotes.
That’s what I call this confusing surprise I had 26 years ago.
I was living in Oakland, California in the first house I ever bought.
That’s where I started my first vegetable garden. (The one that would eventually lead to the life and mini-farm I have today).
I was truly a novice. I had tried to grow some tomato plants at my last apartment, but only got a few sad tomatoes. But I was determined to make it work!
Now, this was before the Internet was filled with gardening tips, so I all I had were two books on organic gardening.
I wanted to grow chayotes, which are a type of gourd that tastes kind of like a cross between a cucumber and zucchini. It had a seed in its center and crisp flesh like an apple.
But none of my books had any information about how to grow them.
I asked a woman at my local gardening store. She wasn’t sure but thought they would sprout if you put in a glass of water filled halfway.
Without any better advice, that’s what I tried. And then I waited.
After a week, nothing had happened.
I waited another week, everyday picking the chayote up and looking for any sign of a sprout. Almost trying to will it to happen.
Still nothing.
Frustrated, I tossed the soggy chayote under a huge plum tree in the corner of my yard.
The tree had not been pruned or otherwise cared for, so it never bore fruit. I didn’t know how to care for it, so I just assumed it was barren and continued its neglect.
5 months later…
I was in my backyard tending my garden when I almost tripped on something.
I looked down and saw a fresh chayote with prickly green skin. Next to it was another chayote.
Looking around, I saw about a dozen others on the ground in front of the plum tree.
Then I looked up.
Covering the plum tree were dozens and dozens of chayotes.
I was so bewildered that for a moment I thought the barren plum tree was now growing chayotes.
Hence, the Miracle of the Chayotes!
It took more careful examination to see that the chayotes were growing on a vine that had scaled the plum tree. (I didn’t know they were a vining plant.)
Still, I was as delighted as I was shocked.
I now had an abundance of chayotes after what I thought was my failure to grow one of the foods I most wanted.
And, yes, it can be that way with getting consulting clients.
When you are in network and market, you are pursuing clients. You are also doing exceptional work for them. You are cultivating a wonderful experience for them.
Which means you are also scattering seeds.
Maybe not as targeted as when you are doing business development. But important seeds just the same.
You are building a reputation and creating visibility and interest in who you are and what results you can help clients achieve.
You are having conversations with people who may need you in the future or may tell other people about you.
Not all of those seeds will sprout. Not all of the sprouts will turn into plants and bear fruit.
But it is how I have gotten surprise consulting clients. Ones who were paying attention to me and my work without my knowledge.
Ones who were looking for an opportunity to work with me. Or my name came up when they had a particular issue they needed help with.
It wasn’t purely by chance that I got those clients because it was based on good things I had done in my market and with other clients.
But, of course, I don’t want to rely solely on this approach because I have less of a chance to influence it and am less likely to get the results I want.
In the same way, I don’t just scattered seeds in my garden and hope I get the vegetables I most want and enough of them.
And, let’s be honest, it would have been better if I had known how to plant a chayote.
I would not have experienced what felt like a miracle, but the results would have been something I could count on.
And over 26 years, I now know a lot about growing all sorts of veggies and fruits because I deliberately kept acquiring more knowledge and skills.
So while I allow for and enjoy surprise consulting clients, I rely on my knowledge and skills for getting them to keep my pipeline full and flowing.
And I love to share what I know with consultants like you.
If you want to know the essentials for harvesting more clients…join me for my FREE live masterclass: Top 5 Things You Must Do to Get Consulting Clients.
It's March 30th at 9 am PDT (12 pm EDT and 5 pm GMT).
It will be live on LinkedIn.
Register today!
Link to register: https://lnkd.in/gmwYjkjF
Cheering you and your seeds on!
Deb
P.S. When you register, you'll get a free tool to develop your value proposition, which will enable you to articulate the value you can offer clients.
If you register by Thursday, March 23rd by midnight…you’ll also get your FREE copy of my workbook: Know Your Zones: The Consultant’s Guide to Describing What You Can Do.
Use this workbook to help you develop an irresistible description of what you can do to help clients get the results they want and, by doing so, win more clients faster.
P.S.S. I also love sharing gardening tips and continually learning more!
✅ Award winning Business Coach ✅ Entrepreneurship Mindset Strategist ✅ Business Growth Optimization Expert
1yScattering seeds is EVERYTHING! We focus too much on the linear steps and miss the 10x possibilities.