Getting Caught In The Billing Dopamine Trap
I’ve recently been reflecting on the lessons I learned from while starting out as an independent consultant where I was working a lot but I didn’t focus enough on business development.
As a result, the following year, I had a lower income, it was tough on my self-confidence, and I had to take some work I didn’t want to take at a price I didn’t prefer just to keep things going.
How did this happen? I had a great client and I did what I was taught to do from my previous ten years of working for consulting firms — always be billing. The client had lots of work to complete and they had a lack of resources. When the client had additional work outside of the project, I offered my services. I was working lots, billing lots and earning lots. I was doing what I loved and they were paying me for it. It felt great. It was intoxicating.
I realize now I got caught in the dopamine trap. Getting small hits of dopamine throughout the day. And a big shot when I billed my hours. And an even bigger shot when I got paid. Who would want to take a few hours to search out a new client, there was work to do. Who would want to take time to write an article detailing the benefits of the work they did, there were hours to bill. Why develop your referral network, there were invoices to send out.
What made things worse when the project ended was that we were coming out of a recession so work was not as plentiful and available as prior years. My assumption of, “do great work and the clients will find you”, or “my existing and past clients will spread the word of my great work” was proven to be wrong. It’s a passive approach to business development because my clients are not a my sales force. You can’t control what they say, who they say it to and most importantly they have their own problems to deal with.
I also needed a strategy to develop a strong, collaborative referral network. That may include my clients, other consultants, software companies and placement firms. But there is a purpose to the referral network and it is active, not passive. Lastly, I realized that if I left my success up to the market I would never live up to my full potential. I had to do the little things to differentiate myself from all the other consultants and economic conditions that I was competing with.
Oddly enough, focusing on these steps allowed me to recognize that the size of the market is much larger and deeper than when I am chasing opportunities because I’m forced to for survival. By the way, now the dopamine hits occur during non-billing activities like business development, collaborating with referrals, education and helping others achieve their potential. It’s about having a game plan and also about giving back and collaborating with others. I get my biggest thrill by helping others improve and sharing the knowledge that I have acquired over the years. This knowledge comes from education, experience and tons of information that others have shared with me.
The navigation of my journey was made much more clear from the help and advice of more experienced consultants and clients. That advice eliminated years of trial and error based learning and allowed me to feel like I was not walking the path alone. This is why one of my biggest joys is to help others.
