Gold-Mining Or Dumpster Diving? Which One Does Your Consulting Firm's Client Acquisition Resemble?

We’ve all heard people jokingly say that in the good old days of the gold rush, the people who made the most money were the people who sold supplies to the gold diggers.

And while the suppliers got richer, a rather large number of gold diggers got killed by illness, starvation or the harsh weather.

That may have been true then, but based on my readings, today's gold diggers, the actual mine owners are not exactly on the verge of starvation. And the consultants who help them to run their mines successfully are pretty wealthy too.

By contrast, dumpster diving has always been a rather miserable way of earning a living. It's the constant and never-ending struggle of going from dumpster to dumpster hoping to find something useful, like a piece of stale or even mouldy bread or a pair of half-worn-out shoes.

They are not first class, but still better than starving or freezing to death.

And when we look at the business development approaches of consulting firms, we can find that some firms' business development is like gold mining while other firms' business development is like dumpster diving.

Actually, many experts teach business owners to send out several RFPs to hire a consultant who then can be tasked with the hiring of a consultant to do some work for the client company.

Yes, the process is THAT retarded.

There is a whole industry teaching business owners how to set consultants at each other's throats and may the last one standing win.

And after winning, the poor bastard realises that the project is grossly over-scoped, under-priced and on a "forced-march" timeline.

Our consulting hero also realises that the client has an army of lawyers on speed dial and is ready, willing and able to sue the shit out of him if he makes the tiniest error during the work.

But now there is no return.

The pin's been pulled, the fat is sizzling, the die is cast, the gun is loaded, the fuse is burning, the jig is up, the gauntlet is down, the fate is sealed, the stamp is licked, the goose is cooked and the cat is out of the bag.

So, it's time for action.

As the saying goes, the difference between salad and compost is nothing but timing.

And in a fiendishly oddball way, this is the difference between business development and business development in boutique consulting firms.

What do most consultants have in common?

Their passionate res...

And this is what we discuss in this fascinatingly fantabulous episode of Commando Consulting, expertly entitled, Gold-Mining Or Dumpster Diving? Which One Does Your Consulting Firm's Client Acquisition Resemble?

Enjoy!