Consultants: Stop Treating Chronic Problems Like Crises

When your workload has got in the way and work is drying up you suddenly get a rocket up your ar*e!

You jump into action…

Massive action might get some results in the moment, but it's the wrong tool for solving long-term business development problems.

Consultants often treat chronic challenges - like building a steady pipeline - as though they're crises. They wait until their calendar is empty, then throw themselves into frantic business development.

But here's the hard truth: that approach rarely works. And when it does, it's exhausting.

I've been there, scrambling to rebuild my pipeline after ignoring it for too long. It's exhausting, unsustainable, and avoidable.

3 Steps to Build a Consistent Pipeline

In order to escape the feast-or-famine cycle, you need to approach business development in a way that ensures consistent results.

#1 Understand Why Business Development Is a Chronic Problem

The first thing you need is clarity: Business development isn't something you can solve overnight.

Unlike a client fire that requires immediate action, building a consulting pipeline is a long-term game.

Why does this matter? Because if you only focus on business development when you need clients, it's already too late.

Keith Cunningham (the brains behind Rich Dad Poor Dad) emphasises identifying what you're dealing with:

1. A crisis: apply solution in time segments of hours

2. A chronic problem: apply solution in timeframes of weeks

Examples:

- Your only project is ending next week with nothing lined up: CRISIS - massive action mode. Contact 50, 100, 250 people from your network

- You don't have a wait list of clients: CHRONIC - consistent daily action so it never becomes a crisis

I teach my clients to block off 20% of their time every week for business development, no matter how busy they are. Treat this time like a non-negotiable client meeting.

#2 Save Crisis-Mode Action for Actual Emergencies

Know when to go into emergency mode and when to stick to your plan.

Crisis-mode action works in true emergencies, but if you rely on it for pipeline-building, you'll burn out.

Identify the last time you scrambled to find a client. Was it a true emergency, or because you neglected consistent business development?

Save high-intensity action for real emergencies - stick to your business development schedule the rest of the time.

And if it IS an emergency - treat it like one. Silence your inner gremlin about what you 'should do.' Recognize the seriousness and JFDI.

#3 Build Habits That Sustain Business Development

The third thing you need is a sustainable system. Successful consultants don't rely on bursts of effort - they build habits that keep their pipeline healthy.

Why does this work? Because habits compound over time. Spending just 30 minutes a day on nurturing leads or creating content delivers far better results than one day of frantic activity.

Daily Actions That Work:

These take 30-45 minutes total. Done consistently, they fill your pipeline without overwhelming your schedule.

The Bottom Line

Building a consulting pipeline isn't a crisis - it's a chronic challenge that demands sustained effort.

Stop treating it like an emergency and start treating it like the foundation of your business. Because that's exactly what it is.