TLDR: The way consultants engage clients was built for a world that no longer exists. For many prospective clients, speed isn't just how you work, it's the offer itself.
News: Later this week we’ll be launching some new ways to help Comms People members get found by clients faster. More to come on that soon!
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We’ve all heard that a good comms person moves at the speed of culture, but not many of us are living by this rule in the way that matters. Speed in this market doesn’t just mean pace. It means agility, adaptation, and knowing the right time to scrap a plan and start in a different direction.
For consultants, there’s another factor to consider. Because we have the unique requirement for speed not just from how we do the work, but for how quickly we can get the work started.
More often than not, clients hire us to solve an immediate problem. But honestly I think our existing models of engagement were built for a different era. The process currently includes scheduling calls, creating & waiting for proposals, reviewing multiple bids, negotiating pricing. By the time the process finishes, the client has either solved the problem themselves, fumbled the issue, or given up on the search due to other priorities distracting them away from the process.
The System of Slow
Imagine you’re a startup who has a fundraising announcement in 4 weeks. Their VC has passed them 3 consultants to vet. Now, it’s likely 1. this client didn’t realize they needed a comms person to even do this announcement properly, 2. this client doesn’t know what good comms looks like, and 3. the selling systems we currently use to win that client are too slow for how our world now operates.
→ The Main Culprit: The proposal: Don’t get me wrong, a well-crafted proposal is a beautiful thing, but it’s also turning into a bit of a relic in our industry. AI has given us they keys to innovate this bad boy – so it’s best time we do. Think about it this way: when a founder is in the middle of a crisis, a 12-page PDF with a detailed scope will only cause more questions than ah-ha moments (hot take: I also believe this is why ghosting happens). Not to mention, it gives away your frameworks for solving that problem. So what’s stopping a prospective client from taking your proposal and running it through Claude to then execute on it themselves?
→ The Sneaky Demon: The gut check: We’ve all had this happen to us: “Can I pick your brain on something?” When a potential client has an urgent question, we answer it because we think that showing we know the answer will bring in paid work. But really we’ve just given the work away and squashed an opportunity to not look like a transactional partner.
Here’s how to break the system of slow
Position your services around problem-solving. Yes, we know you can do it all, but many companies don’t need it all (or don’t know that they do). Solve for the immediate problem, build trust during that process, and show them you can run the rest once you’re in.
Focus your thought leadership on one specific thing you can do REALLY well. This is something you can prove over and over again and have the receipts. Maybe it’s fundraising announcements, media training, or crisis management. Every time you solve that problem you write about how you did it and share the impact. This signals to future clients YOU are the go-to solution to their problems.
Rethink the customized proposal. In fact, ditch it altogether. Have a one-pager that describes your problem-focused offering and can be given to anyone as a response to an inquiry about your services. Include pricing, timelines, and deliverables to make it as fast as possible. Do not include the details of your process.
No more free advice. We must put value on our time and our knowledge – particularly in a world where taste and judgment are considered our most prized professional possessions. Next time someone asks you for a 15 minute gut-check to solve a problem, get feedback, or provide an intro, send them a rate for it. That will create boundaries and set expectations that you are high-value.
Treat speed as a deliverable. The way most consultants operate was designed for a different era with longer runways, more budget patience, and fewer options. That era is gone. Templated discovery processes, modular pricing, and a clear onboarding path will be your biggest advantage for quick email responses of ‘I can solve that problem and here’s proof’.
The truth is that consultants are the fastest option businesses have. We are at a HUGE advantage in this market. We've already solved versions of their problem, we don't have a learning curve or an onboarding timeframe, and we can walk in on a Monday and have something real to show by Thursday.
So maybe we flip the script on how we think about ghosting, pitching, and the entire new-client process. What if the bottleneck isn't them, it's us. By removing the romanticism around what we do and focus on what our clients need, we’re able to solve their problems faster, build stronger relationships, and alter mindsets around how we fit into this speedy new world.
