As an independent Salesforce consultant, clients are your lifeblood.
Notice the “s” in “clients”. While one client at a time may be sufficient for your lifestyle, usually a project only lasts for so long. And then you’ll need to find another client. And then another.
If you’re a soloist, you probably don’t need more than a handful of clients per year to achieve a healthy revenue. But it does mean you need to multitask.
The approach is, while you’re working with one client, you’re also getting leads and lining up future projects. This is called having a sales pipeline, and a healthy pipeline is critical for a one-person shop.
My business coach suggested this rule of thumb:
- 80% of your time, you’re working for your current clients
- 20% of your time, you’re working on your business (which includes pipeline management)
If you tip the scales towards your current clients, you might find yourself scrambling when the current project comes to the end. If you have a healthy pipeline, this stress can be avoided.
The takeaway
Be sure you have a healthy sales pipeline by dedicating a portion of your time to looking for new clients and projects.