Business development can become exhausting when the founder is the only person carrying it.

In this episode, Michelle shares a story from Chris Spurvey’s early days building Plato Consulting, when he felt responsible for keeping every consultant billable, every project moving, and every plate spinning.

That pressure led to what Chris calls the “bird in hand” mentality, listen to the episode to hear the moment this changed for Chris and how you can open the door to growth with this different perspective.

Most consulting founders carry too much of the business development burden. In this episode, learn how The Ladder Framework helps create a culture where everyone contributes to growth.

If you'd like to talk about how Niche Consulting Growth can help you end the feast or famine cycle, Schedule a conversation .

AI is changing what clients expect from consultants.

It is making basic consulting work easier to copy, easier to compare, and easier to question.

In this episode, Michelle Sera breaks down what the AI era means for consultants and boutique consulting firms — not from a fear-based perspective, but from a practical one.

The real risk is not simply that clients are using AI.

The bigger issue is that AI-powered consultants are becoming faster, sharper, and more responsive.

But AI is not the whole answer.

In this episode, Michelle covers:

• Why AI is raising client expectations for consultants
• How generic consulting work becomes easier to commoditize
• Why operating models are becoming more vulnerable
• The difference between information and human judgment
• Why consultants need to stay in the “energy of the doctor”
• How bad AI experiences can damage trust and reputation
• Why AI should strengthen authority, not weaken it
• What it means to become an AI-era-ready consulting company

Take the free AI-Era-Ready Consulting Company Assessment to see where your firm is already strong, where you may be exposed, and what parts of your positioning, process, and client experience may need to adapt.

It takes about 3 minutes, and no email address is required.

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Want a better understanding on how to become AI-powered?

Schedule a conversation with Niche Consulting Growth.

In this episode, Michelle breaks down why great consultants do not lead with selling. Using the analogy of a doctor, she explains that the best client conversations are not about pitching your services right away. They are about uncovering the real problem beneath the surface-level symptoms a prospect first describes.

Michelle introduces the rhythm of diagnostic conversations through two types of questions: jabs and the right hook.

She emphasizes that this process should feel natural, not forced, beginning with objective questions, then listening closely, and watching for clues that tell you when it is appropriate to go deeper.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why consultants should stop selling and start ________.
• How to uncover the deeper gap beneath surface-level symptoms
• What logic-based “jab” questions sound like
• What “right hook” questions are meant to uncover
• Why business decisions are THIS first, logical second
• How to transition naturally from factual questions into deeper territory
• Why rushing certain questions too early can backfire
• How using a prospect’s own words builds trust and connection

Key takeaway:

A strong diagnostic conversation is not a sales trick. It is a genuine conversation built on presence, smart questions, active listening, and the ability to help a prospect feel seen, understood, and clear about the true cost of their problem.

Next step

If you want help building a consulting business that becomes easier to buy from, more trusted in the market, and less dependent on random opportunities, schedule a conversation.

Subscribe

Follow the Niche Consulting Growth Podcast for short episodes on positioning, trust, demand-building, and the strategic work that helps consultants become the obvious choice.

In this episode, Michelle breaks down the difference between the push model and the pull model of business development, and explains what it takes to build an opportunity engine that attracts ideal clients more consistently. Instead of relying on word of mouth, cold outreach, or chasing prospects who are not ready, this episode shows how consultants can build trust, speak directly to the right pain points, and create a more strategic path to steady growth.

Michelle walks through the four core parts of an opportunity engine and covers the difference between prospects who need help now and those who are still gathering information, along with why a CRM-based system matters if you want to build long-term growth instead of more busywork.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why many consultants stay stuck in feast or famine
• The difference between push-based and pull-based business development
• How to create a hook that makes ideal clients lean in
• Why pain points are often less clear than consultants think
• How to think about fast lane vs. slow lane prospects
• Why a spreadsheet is not the same as a true opportunity system
• What it means to position yourself as an authority in your market

Next step

If you want help building a consulting business that becomes easier to buy from, more trusted in the market, and less dependent on random opportunities, schedule a conversation.

Join the waitlist for BoutiqueOS.

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Follow the Niche Consulting Growth Podcast for short episodes on positioning, trust, demand-building, and the strategic work that helps consultants become the obvious choice.

Why do so many consultants have a strong conversation, a clear opportunity, and still lose the work?

In this first episode of the Niche Consulting Growth Podcast, Michelle Sera breaks down one of the most important ideas in the NCG framework: the wedge.

You’ll hear why prospects hesitate after a good diagnostic conversation, the four risks sitting underneath that hesitation, and how a well-designed wedge makes it easier for clients to say yes without forcing you into oversized, unclear projects too early.

This episode is especially useful if you’re tired of watching promising opportunities stall out, or if you’ve ever landed a project only to realize the scope was fuzzy, the problem wasn’t fully defined, or trust had not been built deeply enough yet.

In this episode:

• What the wedge actually is, and what it is not
• Why client hesitation is a major driver of feast-or-famine consulting
• The 4 risks behind hesitation: cost, problem, scope, and relationship risk
• How the wedge reduces risk and builds trust quickly
• The 3 phases of a wedge engagement
• A simple pricing recommendation for structuring your wedge

Key takeaways:

A wedge is a structured, chargeable, assessment-oriented initial project designed to bridge the gap between early trust and a client’s confidence to move forward.

Rather than asking a prospect to make a massive leap into a large engagement, the wedge gives them a smaller, lower-risk way to experience your thinking, your process, and your value.

When designed well, it helps overcome four common forms of hesitation

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Welcome to the Niche Consulting Growth Podcast
• 00:18 – What the wedge is and why it matters
• 02:54 – Risk 1: cost risk
• 03:19 – Risk 2: problem risk
• 04:24 – Risk 3: scope risk
• 05:31 – Risk 4: relationship risk
• 06:36 – The 3 phases of executing the wedge
• 07:41 – How to think about wedge pricing
• 08:28 – Final recap: why the wedge helps move consultants out of feast or famine
• 09:12 – Beta mention: a faster way to create your wedge

Mentioned in this episode

• The wedge
• Diagnostic conversations
• Feast-or-famine consulting
• Niche Consulting Growth
• Chris Spurvey

Next step

If you want help building a consulting business that becomes easier to buy from, more trusted in the market, and less dependent on random opportunities, schedule a conversation.

Subscribe

Follow the Niche Consulting Growth Podcast for short episodes on positioning, trust, demand-building, and the strategic work that helps consultants become the obvious choice.