Are hidden leaks in your business development process costing you revenue?
In this episode, Melisa Liberman introduces a powerful concept every independent consultant needs to understand: leaks — the breakdown points in your business development or delivery process where opportunity, efficiency, or value is unintentionally lost.
In today’s market, these seemingly small inefficiencies can have a major impact on your pipeline, client flow, and ability to build predictable, fulfilling revenue. Whether you’re struggling with inconsistent leads, stalled sales conversations, or slow project ramp-ups, this episode gives you a framework to diagnose and resolve the root issues so you can build a consulting business that runs smoothly, grows consistently, and aligns with your vision.
What You’ll Learn In This Episode:
Melisa walks through the 6-Step Consultant Leak Framework, a practical process for identifying and addressing the specific bottlenecks that are slowing down your consulting business:
- Identify the Leak. Pinpoint where breakdowns are happening in your process — from lead generation to project delivery — and recognize that every business, no matter how successful, has leaks.
- Diagnose the Root Cause. Assess whether the leak is caused by a missing or broken process, skill gap, or limiting mindset that’s preventing you from making consistent progress.
- Prioritize the Most Impactful Leak. Not all problems are created equal. Focus on the 1–2 leaks that, if addressed, would create the greatest lift for your revenue, time, or client flow.
- Create a Hypothesis and Guiding Question. Develop a working theory about how to fix the leak, and use a guiding question to focus your problem-solving and avoid perfectionism or overwhelm.
- Plan and Test a Solution. Implement your hypothesis with a specific set of actions or experiments. Don’t wait for a perfect answer — take intentional steps and iterate from there.
- Evaluate and Adjust. Measure the results of your leak mitigation plan. What worked? What needs refinement? Use these insights to continuously strengthen your business infrastructure.
Melisa also shares two real-life examples from clients who successfully used this framework to address issues like staying stuck in the “friend zone” and deprioritizing lead generation — ultimately adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to their pipeline and improving their lead conversion rates.
If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start creating more consistency, growth, and freedom in your consulting business, this episode is a must-listen. Learn how to identify and fix the most critical leaks in your consulting business so you can move forward with clarity, focus, and confidence.
🔗 Companion Resource: Subscribe to Melisa’s newsletter, The Independent – Weekly Newsletter
FOR MORE RESOURCES SPECIFIC TO THE INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT —
- Coaching for Consultants: Click here to schedule your Coaching Exploratory Call.
- Book: Grow Your Consulting Business: The 14-Step Roadmap to Make Your Independent Consulting Goals a Reality
- YouTube Podcast Channel
- Website
- Related Podcast Episode: Episode 193 – Being In Control of Your Consulting Business Results
- The Consultant’s Business Health Assessment
