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How to Make Next Year Absolutely Stellar for Your Consulting Firm

We’re headed into a new year. Other than signing up for Gobs o’ Chocolate.com’s weekly delivery service, is there anything you can do to make the coming year far more successful than the one you’re wrapping up? Yes, my friend, there is.

The best predictor of your consulting firms’ business results next year is, of course, this year’s results.

Without making major changes, your firm will clock in at about the same level—perhaps a 10-15% gain if you’ve been instituting better rainmaking, delivery and operations practices.

You want to wrap up next year on the right side of the results bell curve.

But marginally improving over this year isn’t where you want to rest, is it? Why not shoot for better—much better?

Where you should pin your ambitions is to the right. More specifically, Way Right.

Out there at the far end of the curve, where the likelihood seems low but the rewards excite you more than receiving a surprise, holiday Tesla from your significant other. (Hint, hint to a certain person.)

Way Right is a future that is possible but appears, from today’s vantage point, to be only 5% likely. It’s your aspirational long shot.

The Way Right Plan

  1. What is Your Way Right?

Write down what Way Right means for your consulting firm (or for you as an individual consultant, or for you as a person). What does it look like? What’s different than today?

Capture as much detail as possible and don’t let “shoulds” cloud your vision.

Way Right for you could be driven by revenue, or profit, or vacation time or impact on the community or anything else that’s important to you.

  1. What Will it Take?

Many steps, tasks, collaborations and wins separate your now from your Way Right. What are they?

List everything, but don’t let the list overwhelm you. At this point you’re just writing, not (over) committing yourself.

  1. What’s Your Success Enabler?

Usually your list will harbor a single activity that, more than anything else, enables your move to the Way Right.

What is that activity for you? Hiring staff? Abandoning an old service line? Changing your Fishing Line? Hiring an agency? Writing a book?

Commit to your Success Enabler. This activity should be non-negotiable for you in the year ahead.

  1. What Are Your Support Priorities?

In addition to your Success Enabler, what are the two-to-four other priorities from the list you built in #2, above, that will have the greatest impact on your results?

  1. Build Your Way Right Plan.

Construct an action plan around your Success Enabler and Support Priorities.

Rather than trudging through every detail, focus on the initial steps of the plan. Who will be doing what, when, and what resources will they (or you) need in order to succeed?

Will you end up Way Right next year? Maybe. Maybe you’ll even exceed it. Or, maybe you’ll fall a little short, but in all likelihood you’ll exceed this year. By a lot.

The Way Right plan shifts your entire probability curve in a positive direction, and that means you’re in for a terrific new year. Heck, maybe that Tesla will even show up in your driveway.

Let’s share big aspirations. What’s one of your Way Right goals or priorities for the coming year?


 

4 Comments
  1. Debbie
    December 13, 2017 at 3:31 pm Reply

    Developing a fishing line. I’ve spoken with 15 or so people in my network. Making more calls to see if I can identify a theme.

    • David A. Fields
      December 13, 2017 at 9:45 pm Reply

      Debbie, you’re on the right track. Kudos to you for putting in the work to develop impact in the marketplace. That will definitely set you up for a Way Right year!

      Thanks for sharing your goals for the coming year.

  2. Alison Heller-Ono
    December 14, 2017 at 12:38 am Reply

    While I have a good website I’ve rebuilt over the last 3 years, I learned it isn’t based on “best practices” so I am not capturing the visitor or SEO. I’ve decided to hire a reputable marketing firm (solopreneur/team to support the small business model) to revamp my website including a CMS software to better track my leads and visitors so I can convert to sales. I’m going to then continue to use a small marketing firm to do routine (3x/month) marketing to my list and to grow it.
    I had a great year this year and met my sales goals… exceeding last year by about $70K. I’m applying things I’ve learned from you and other mentors. I’m gearing up for more online service delivery ultimately. I am hoping/expecting to get way right in 2018 by another $100K…

    • David A. Fields
      December 14, 2017 at 11:07 am Reply

      Wow, Alison, congratulations on exceeding last year by $70k. That sounds like a great win for you. Adding another $100k to the bottom line is a terrific, Way Right goal. and it sounds like you’ve figured out the Success Enabler that will get you there.

      Thanks for sharing your accomplishments and aspirations. Keep us up to date as you progress!

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