Why Most HR Consultants Make Business Way Harder Than It Needs To Be

Most HR consultants aren’t struggling to build the business of their dreams because they’re bad at HR…

They’re struggling because they’re building their business on random tactics instead of a simple, reliable system.

In this episode, I break down why your consultancy might feel chaotic — one month busy, the next dead — and the core shift that makes growth calmer, clearer, and far more predictable.

You’ll hear how I used to run my business on “hope + hustle,” why it kept me stuck in feast-and-famine, and the mindset change that helped me finally take control of my pipeline.

We’ll talk about:

• The hidden cost of “doing a bit of everything”
• Why posts, networking, and referrals aren’t enough
• What consistent consultants do differently
• The 3 facts that actually drive growth
• How to move from chasing clients to choosing them

If you’re tired of guessing, overthinking, and refreshing LinkedIn hoping for enquiries… this one’s for you.

And if you want to go deeper, join me on 2 December for my free event: One Funnel, Endless Leads, where I’ll show you the simple structure behind getting clients on repeat — without relying on luck, referrals, or posting every day.

Here's the link to register: https://theinfluentialconsultant.co.uk/free-event-for-hr-experts/ 

Timestamps:

00:00 — Why HR consultants struggle to get clients consistently
00:20 — The real reason LinkedIn + networking aren’t enough for HR consultants
00:47 — Common HR marketing mistakes causing feast-and-famine pipeline
01:12 — Why HR consultants feel stuck despite working hard
01:45 — My story: relying on LinkedIn, networking, and referrals failed
02:27 — The “Random Tactics = Random Results” problem in HR consulting
02:57 — The turning point: shifting from hope + hustle to a repeatable system
03:19 — Why every HR consultant needs a simple client acquisition system
03:39 — Examples of ineffective HR marketing tactics (policies, generic LinkedIn tips)
04:50 — Why your HR sales pipeline keeps resetting every 30 days
05:11 — What successful HR consultants do differently to win clients
05:53 — The 4 factors that grow an HR consultancy
06:38 — Stop chasing likes — focus on what drives HR sales + profit
07:10 — How to choose the right clients instead of chasing them
07:43 — The simple system behind predictable HR leads + sales

Want my help getting more leads and clients for your HR consultancy?

1️⃣ Start with the book — The Complete Guide to Building a £70K HR Consultancy

Discover the Client Control method so you attract better clients, win more valuable projects, and charge what you’re worth.

👉 https://theinfluentialconsultant.co.uk/the-book/

2️⃣ Work with me

Join the Fastlane Formula to plug the Client Control method and the 3 Phase Funnel into your business and build a predictable pipeline of premium clients — so you never face feast-or-famine again.

👉 https://theinfluentialconsultant.co.uk/fastlaneformula100/

Transcript

0:00 Hello there, and welcome back to another episode of Marketing Made Easy for You with me, Nick Poninski. Today, I want to talk about something that keeps a lot of HR consultants stuck.
0:08 Effectively, we're why your business feels harder than it needs to be, and how to make things dramatically simpler and more predictable.
0:20 So if you're posting on LinkedIn, doing a bit of networking, delivering great work, yet still not getting consistent leads and clients, it's not your ability, it's not because HR is crowded, and it's not bad luck.
0:33 It's because most consultants are running their business on random tactics instead of a simple strategy.
0:39 And when the inputs are random, the results are random. So let's dig into this because once you understand it, everything is going to change.
0:47 Now most HR consultants are doing what they've been told to do, or what they see everyone else do, right? They post on LinkedIn, go networking, ask for referrals, keep busy, and yes, those things can help.
1:00 But here's the uncomfortable truth. A lot of HR consultants don't but not actually moving forward. So they end up with flat-out one month, quiet the next, winning a project, then straight away back to zero.
1:12 It's exhausting, it's emotional, it's unpredictable, and worst of all, it feels like it's their fault. Like, they're missing something, like, everyone else is getting it, except them.
1:23 I don't know if this sounds familiar to you. If it does, I want to reassure you that it's not that you are doing anything wrong.
1:32 It's just the fact that you're operating without a simple system, and I know this because I've been there, right? When I started, When I out, when I went first self-employed, I thought business was just do lots of stuff and something will stick.
1:45 So I did it all, right? I did everything. All this stuff. I, I posted on LinkedIn without a plan. I even tried going on Instagram for a little while.
1:55 I went to, uh, a few networking events here and there. I tweaked my website constantly. Uhm, and then, yeah. I delivered one-off projects with the hope that more would come.
2:07 You know, that I would eventually hit that point where the referrals just came. I was the effective poster child for activity equals progress.
2:19 It wasn't progress, right? It was chaos disguised as effort. And every time I want a client, I think, yes, here we go.
2:27 Then the progress. The project finished, and I was back at zero. No pipeline, no predictability, no control. Just that constant stuttering.
2:34 A stomach-tightening feeling of, where's the next client coming from? I was miserable. It was miserable. And eventually, I had a realization.
2:42 I had a that changed everything. Random tactics lead to random results. And you can't build a business on random results.
2:50 That's when I stopped trying to do more and started trying to do the right things consistently. And I started asking a better question.
2:57 How do you do I bring clients into my world reliably? Every month. Not how do I post more, how do I get lucky, who can read and refer me, but how do I build a business I can trust?
3:10 And that question was this turning point because the answer wasn't. Go networking more or be online every more, uh, be online every day.
3:19 The answer was build a system that gets leads. That gets conversations, that gets clients. And once I started thinking that way, everything became calmer, clearer, and easier.
3:30 And that's what I want to help you to see today. Now, if you're a HR consultant, randomness. Saying yes to any brief.
3:39 So policies and investigation, uhm, some sort of, uh, uh, employment law update, whatever it is, work is work, right? Then you'll be posting those generic HR tips on LinkedIn that overhead.
3:52 Perhaps you're in an engagement pod together, but your ideal buyer, they ignore them. Then you'll update your website. Update every few weeks because you're hoping that a new strap line equals new clients.
4:04 You go networking, collect those cards, but don't have a struggle. Those conversations into clients. You rely on referrals. And when people say let's keep in touch, the you.
4:16 Hope that they turn magically somehow into paid work. And then you send those proposals for one-off bits of work and start from scratch.
4:24 Start from zero again next month. And what happens? Your pipeline resets all the time. Every 30 days, whatever it is.
4:31 And you keep charging it. You're charging day rates because you don't have a steady demand. Some months you're flat out, other months you're twiddling your thumbs.
4:38 When clients land, confidence goes up. When things go quiet, confidence crashes. You never feel in control because you're never sure if or when the next client will arrive.
4:50 And that rollercoaster isn't because you're doing the wrong stuff. It's because you're doing the right things. In the wrong order, with no structure underneath.
5:00 As I said, random inputs, random outcomes. Now, the HR consultants who groan calmly aren't, they aren't louder, they aren't luckier or better connected.
5:11 They just have a better process of learning. They know how new people find them, how interest turns into a conversation, how conversations become clients.
5:21 They've been around the block, right? They have this simple, predictable, repeatable system. They don't think about going, networking to every individual.
5:29 They don't think about posting more on LinkedIn to be consistent. They don't think about having a bigger audience. They don't worry about being a salesman.
5:39 They just focus on those few levers that they know matter. And when you know what levers to use, those are there for, that will drive the change for you, you stop flapping around and you start growing with confidence.
5:53 And for a HR consultancy, growth comes down to just three things. Leads, new relevant people, and people entering your world each week.
6:03 Conversations, books, conversations with those people, where you are understanding them. Understanding their world and making presentations to them. And then, finally, clients.
6:14 Retainers and projects at the right fee. Now, if something doesn't increase one of those numbers, it's optional. It's not urgent.
6:22 It's not important. It's optional. So, when you say, stop obsessing over likes, impressions, and start focusing on leads, conversations, and clients, like we were talking about the other week, when we were talking about laps, those four numbers that you need to focus on, when you've figured all that 
6:38 out, your business becomes quiet, calm, predictable. and profitable. No more running around, no more panic posting, no more, I hope this works.
6:47 Just a small set of actions. That move you forward every month. And that's the shift. When you understand what drives leads, what drives clients, what drives sales, that's when things will change for you.
7:01 So here's what I want you to hear. Growing your, consultancy. It isn't about doing more. It's about doing the right things consistently inside a simple system.
7:10 And once you have a reliable way for the right thing to get strangers to raise their hand and want to talk to you.
7:16 You stop chasing work and you start choosing work. That's the difference between a stressful job you've built for yourself and a business you can trust.
7:25 And when that system is in place, everything stabilizes. Pricing, confidence, opportunity, income. You're not at the mercy of luck anymore.
7:33 You are in control. Now, there is a simple way to build this, and it doesn't require being loud online. It doesn't require being, ah, poor.
7:43 It doesn't require a huge network. It doesn't require any fancy marketing. All you need to get more leads, more clients.
7:51 More sales, more profits. It's just that straightforward process. Of bringing strangers into your world. And making it easy for them to talk to you.
7:59 And now I'm going to walk you through this approach, step by step, at my free event on the 2nd of December.
8:04 It's called One Funnel, Endless Leads. And I'll walk you And if you've been relying on referrals, networking, posting and praying and hope, this event will show you a calmer, more controlled, way more way to build your consultancy, something you can measure, something you can improve and something you
8:20 can rely on. So if this resonates with you and you're feeling thinking, yep, this makes sense. Random tactics aren't working.
8:27 I don't have that consistent client base, those consistent. leads, those consistent sales. I want something more reliable, then register for the event.
8:38 2nd of December. It's free, and it might genuinely change how you think about your business forever. In fact, it will genuinely change how you think about your business.
8:47 Honestly, The link is in the show notes. Grab your seat. I would love to see you there. So, thanks for listening.
8:52 I'll see along. I hope it's been useful for you. And, as ever, get marketing. Because without marketing, there's no sales.
8:59 And without sales, there's no marketing. There's no business. So get marketing.