Moving Clients Forward
Breaking Through Resistance to Change
Hello fellow independent consultants,
Recently, I had a great conversation with Tzyh Ng, an independent consultant who has worked with organizations like MoveOn and Inequality Media. Tzyh lives on Oahu, and as I shared recently, I was living on Kauai for the first half of this year. Tzyh and I bonded over our love of Hawaii and being many time zones removed from our clients, but we also talked about a complicated topic.
Our discussion circled around a challenge many of us face: how do we push our clients forward when they keep hiring us to do the same things over and over?
The Pattern We Get Stuck In
People knock on your door for the things you've always done before because they know you can do it.
This was one of the first things Tzyh said to me, and she got it exactly right. We end up in a comfortable but limiting pattern for both consultants and clients.
We become known for specific skills or deliverables, and clients return for those exact services. The work is reliable, but it can trap us in a cycle that prevents growth and limits our impact.
This pattern can be frustrating for us professionally, but Tzyh and I really focused on how it can actually diminish the value we provide to clients who might benefit from fresh approaches.
The Outside-Inside Position
As consultants, we occupy what Tzyh described as an "outside-inside" position. We have enough proximity to understand our clients' challenges intimately, yet enough distance to see possibilities they might miss.
This unique vantage point creates an opportunity — Tzyh would say a responsibility — to introduce new ideas that move our clients forward.
The question becomes: How do we leverage this position effectively when clients expect us to stay in our lane?
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Finding Space for Innovation
The practical reality is that most independent consultants are already stretched thin. Finding time to research new approaches, much less convince clients to try them, can feel impossible.
In our conversation, Tzyh shared how she started asking a fundraising team about AI tools that could enhance their work. The idea found "fertile ground" because someone on the team had been thinking along similar lines but lacked the bandwidth to explore it.
This points to a key insight: clients often want to innovate but lack the mental space or capacity to lead the charge.
Practical Approaches to Moving Clients Forward
1. Function as an "External Battery Bank"
Tzyh described her approach as serving as an "external battery bank" for her clients. When teams are depleted from day-to-day demands, we can provide the additional energy needed to explore new territory. This is especially the case when what's urgent (that which consumes our clients' resources) isn't always the same as what's important. We can help address important projects that may get swamped in the sea of rapid-response needs.
This framing positions innovation not as disruption but as supplemental support for what clients already want to accomplish.
2. Start Small and Demonstrate Value
Rather than proposing sweeping changes, look for contained opportunities to introduce new approaches within existing work streams.
When Tzyh introduced AI tools to a fundraising team, she started with specific applications that fit within their current operations. Success in these small experiments builds trust for larger innovations.
Just an excuse for me to share one of my photos of the Na Pali Coast
3. Cultivate Deeper Client Relationships
In our conversation, we discussed how monthly retainer relationships create more space for strategic influence than discrete project-based work.
These ongoing relationships allow you to understand the client's broader context and gradually introduce new ideas as natural extensions of your work together.
4. Try Before You Theorize
One insight from my own journey is not to let anything stay on paper. To determine if a new approach has merit, you need to try it in some small form rather than just theorizing. Get out and live with it and see how it feels.
This applies to both our own professional development and to innovations we might introduce to clients.
The Balancing Act
Moving clients forward requires a delicate balance. Push too hard, and you risk damaging the trust that makes your work possible. Move too cautiously, and you miss opportunities to create meaningful change.
The most successful approach seems to be finding those moments where client needs and new possibilities naturally intersect—where you can say, "I notice you're struggling with X; I've been exploring Y that might help."
This positions innovation not as disruption but as responsive support.
A Question for Our Community
How have you successfully introduced new approaches to clients who initially hired you for something else? What strategies have worked—or backfired—in your experience?
I'd love to hear your stories and insights. Leave a comment on Substack or email me (sam@chorusai.co).
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