David A. Fields Consulting Group There’s a method for eliciting additional projects at your consulting firm’s current clients seemingly out of thin air. It’s called Triangulation.
Your current clients are, as you know, typically the most fertile source of new consulting engagements.
For example, once you successfully work your consulting magic at the AI content creation giant Mixtup Lettres, you’ll have established Know, Like and Trust, and you have a head start on Value with your decision-maker.
And since “Number of projects per client” is one of the three factors in your consulting firm’s Revenue Truth, your ability to win follow-on and pull-through engagements from current clients like Mixtup is important.
Follow-on projects tend to be obvious.
For example, Mixtup wants the next phase of your work, or they want a repeat of your consulting project with a new target (e.g., their social media group or their LatMa division).
Other types of projects at your current clients can be harder to spot; however, the opportunities are there for your consulting firm to pounce on if you unearth them and play your cards right.
Invest time into candid, relationship-building, one-on-one discussions with individuals throughout your clients’ organizations.
(If you’re not sure how to meet other decision-makers inside your current clients, check out this article from two weeks ago: 7 Ways to Find the Easiest Buyers for Your Consulting Services.)
Spending time to connect deeply with your clients reveals their drivers and, crucially, items on their to-do lists that linger just below the “Do Now” level of urgency.
Like so:
- You’re chatting with Rey in Mixtup Operations and he mentions optimizing letter distribution, but it’s not his top priority.
- A week later, during a catch-up call with Ellyn from Marketing, she raises letter distribution as something she wants to get to at some point.
- Then you’re wrapping up a project meeting with with Carla the CEO and she says, “You know what, one of these days we should work with you to improve our letter distribution process.”
Boom, you’re ready to Triangulate!
You divulge to Carla that others in the organization share her wish to optimize letter distribution.
That information—the revelation that her colleagues are interested in the same initiative that she mentioned, sends strong Inclusion and Social Proof signals.
Inclusion and Social Proof are powerful accelerants for Want, and your letter distribution project shoots to the top of her priority list. Voila, a new project at a current client!
Triangulating Wants can be addictive. It sometimes feels like you’re generating large, value-creating projects at your clients out of wisps of possibility. That’s how you build a booming consulting firm.
Have you ever surfaced a consulting engagement through Triangulation?
Text and images are © 2025 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
Hi David, your suggested approach is definitely feasible in larger companies. At my client’s company, I have strong relationships with other department heads who are interested in hiring me for their projects. However, I face two main hurdles: (a) my primary client expects me to dedicate 100% of my time to their projects, following an hour-based mindset, even though I could handle additional projects for other division leaders; and (b) my contract is only with the initial client, although I can invoice others since my company is an approved vendor. While your idea works, consultants must navigate administrative challenges and the mindset around maximum hours to expand clientele within the same company without needing multiple contracts. I’d appreciate any practical suggestions you have for overcoming these hurdles. Thanks.
Congrats on having strong relationships across your client organization, VR. That’s an excellent start. You’re right that occasionally the Triangulation approach can hit administrative snags. More often, though, it hits political snags. Your current client doesn’t want her “secret weapon” to be shared with others in the organization.
Your particular challenge is a product of your initial contract structure. If you allow yourself to be contracted on an hourly basis you’ve severely limited your options. Either renegotiate your contract to outcomes rather than hours (perhaps for the start of 2025?) and/or diminish your dependence on this client while you build similar relationships in new clients with whom you have a more appropriate contract structure. These steps may not be easy; however, you’re going to have to go through the pain of breaking off your current shackles if you want the freedom to explore a larger practice.
Thank you for sharing your experience, VR, which is invaluable.
Thank you, David. As always, your suggestions are very helpful, and I’ll work on putting them into action. I appreciate your time and guidance.
Thanks David. Since starting my solo practice, I’ve been targeting small to medium company CEOs, and ending up with most prospects on the small end of that range. Your article gave me the insight that to get into bigger companies i could use your triangulation to better understand a prospect’s total ecosystem of wants and needs. It’s so obvious, now that I’ve written it down. Thanks for giving me two minutes today to think about something a new way.
Excellent that you have a path forward into larger clients, Ken! By the way, there’s nothing wrong with smaller clients unless your consulting firm is over $20M. Under that level, you can build a thriving practice focused strictly on small(ish) businesses.
I appreciate the feedback and hearing about your experience, Ken
David, Nice use of the science of persuasion and decision making to expand business. I really like the way you’ve focused on client needs as the vehicle.
Client needs (and wants, which are even more important) are what consulting is about. It doesn’t much matter that a consultant wants to advise on interstellar space travel if the client’s problems are all down here on earth!
Thanks for jumping into the discussion, David!