She Had Nine Board Positions and Still Couldn't Fill Her Pipeline

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From the outside, Anna looked like someone who had figured it out. Thirty years as a senior strategic finance executive. Nine board positions, including serving as chair of the Civic Center board and audit chair on several others. Advisory work for Goldman Sachs. A track record working with hospital CEOs on board dynamics. Well-connected in her market.

But she wasn’t where she expected to be. She couldn’t build a pipeline. She was well-connected in her city but couldn’t figure out which connections were the ones that could turn into clients. She had traction on her website but couldn’t turn a click into a contract — or even a contact. She knew how to have conversations. She couldn't seem to turn those conversations into clients.

When I asked her to tell me what she does, she confidently said: “I bring clarity from complexity through a finance lens.”

That’s where I could see the problem. Not in her credentials, not in her network, not in her effort. In that one sentence. It told me exactly why her pipeline wasn’t filling, why website visitors weren’t reaching out, and why conversations weren’t converting. Her positioning statement described her approach — not a problem anyone was trying to solve.

It’s not that her positioning statement was wrong per se. It was concise and clever. But it doesn’t mean anything to a prospect who’s under pressure to hit a number or fix a broken process. Nobody wakes up in the morning looking to hire someone who brings ‘clarity from complexity.’ They wake up with a specific problem — and they’re looking for someone who solves it.

Here’s what I’ve learned after 35 years in the trenches: Your prospects don’t hire your experience or credentials. They hire their solution. Until your positioning describes the problem you solve and how you solve it — even the most impressive résumé won’t fill your pipeline.

The Positioning Problem (And Why It Keeps Getting Worse)

When most consultants struggle to explain what they do, their first instinct is to fix the explanation. They rewrite the LinkedIn headline. They try a new elevator pitch. They hire a copywriter or have ChatGPT come up with something.

None of it works for long, because the problem isn't the words — it's the foundation underneath the words.

Here's what I mean. Effective positioning answers three questions, in this order:

Who specifically do I serve?
What specific problem do I solve for them?
Why am I the best option for that person, with that problem?

Many consultants don't answer any of these questions; they talk about their process or expertise. Some try to answer questions two and three before they've really answered question one. And without a specific, clear ideal client, the answers to two and three stay vague — because they have to stay vague.

They can't answer questions two and three if who they serve is "any company that needs help with strategy."

So they keep rewriting. They keep tweaking. The words keep changing, but the results stay the same.

The Fear That's Keeping You Broad

I'll tell you what I hear most often when I push consultants to narrow their focus.

"If I narrow my niche, I'll turn away revenue I can't afford to lose right now."

I understand why this feels true. When the pipeline is inconsistent, turning away any potential client feels reckless. Why close a door when you don't know where your next client is coming from?

Here's what the data actually shows: the consultants who stay broad don't get more clients. They get fewer. When I analyzed 57 marketing effectiveness of 57 consultants, the consultants who had detailed ideal client profiles — only 10% of low performers had them, versus 61% of high performers, a 6x difference — weren't just getting more leads. They were getting the right leads. Specific positioning doesn't shrink your market. It makes your marketing actually work.

The consultants who narrow their focus — who pick a specific type of client and a specific problem — can do something broad consultants can't: they can speak directly to the one person who most needs what they offer. Their messaging lands. Their outreach converts. Their referrals are more targeted.

Think about it this way. If you needed open heart surgery, who would you go to — a cardiac surgeon or a general practitioner? The GP might be a brilliant doctor. But you’d choose the specialist without hesitation, because the stakes are too high to go with someone who does a little of everything. Your ideal clients think the same way. When they have a serious problem, they want the person who solves exactly that problem — not the consultant who works with anyone who needs help.

The fear of narrowing is real. The cost of staying broad is higher.

What Positioning Actually Is (And Isn't)

Positioning is not your bio. It's not your elevator pitch. It's not a tagline or a headline or a three-word description of your services.

Positioning is getting crystal clear on who you help, the specific problem you solve for them, the outcome they get from working with you, and your differentiator — what makes you uniquely able to solve that problem. When all four are clear, your marketing has something real to stand on. When any one of them is vague, the whole thing wobbles.

It's the difference between "I work with organizations on leadership development" and "I help mid-size food manufacturing companies reduce leadership turnover in the first year of a manager's tenure." Only one of them makes a specific buyer think, "That's me."

When your positioning is clear, everything downstream gets easier:

You start getting people send direct messages because they saw your LinkedIn profile.
Your outreach messages have a specific person in mind — and that message resonates with them.
Your discovery calls start with "I saw your profile and immediately thought of you" instead of "I'm reaching out to everyone in your industry."
Referrals become more targeted, because people know exactly who to send to you.

When your positioning is vague, none of that works. You end up spending more time on marketing for less return — which is exactly what you're already experiencing.

The One Decision That Changes Everything

I'm not going to ask you to blow up your business and start over. That's not what this is about.

But I am going to ask you to consider one question:

Who is your dream client -- the specific type of client you'd most like to work with — the client who has the problem you're best at solving, values what you bring, and is willing to pay what you're worth?

Not three types. Not "it depends." One type.

If that question makes you uncomfortable, you're in good company. Every consultant I've ever worked with has had to sit with that discomfort before they could move past it. The ones who do — who make the choice and commit to it long enough to test it — almost always find that they didn't lose the revenue they were afraid of losing. They started attracting better clients, faster.

I know this works because I lived it for 35 years. My niche was as narrow as it gets: housewares manufacturers who couldn't make a go/no-go decision on a new product because they didn't know if there was product-market fit. That's it. Not 'consumer goods companies.' Not 'anyone who needs market research.' Housewares manufacturers, that specific problem. And because I was that specific, the right clients knew immediately I was their person.

Where We're Going in This Series

This is Issue 1 of 4. Over the next three issues, we're going to build on this foundation:

Issue 2: The three components of positioning that actually work — and why most consultants skip the most important one.
Issue 3: The seven positioning mistakes I see most often, and how to fix them.
Issue 4: A step-by-step process for testing your positioning with real prospects before you've fully committed to it.

By the end of this series, you'll have a clear framework for building positioning that makes your ideal clients feel seen — and makes it easier for you to get in front of them.

Ready to Get Straight-Talk Feedback on Your Positioning Right Now?

If reading this made you realize your positioning might be part of what's holding you back — or if you're just not sure what you'd say if I asked you the one question I asked Anna — let's talk.

I offer a complimentary 30-minute Niche Clarity call where I give you direct, honest feedback on your niche and positioning. No fluff, no sales pitch — just a 35-year veteran telling you what's working, what isn't, and what to focus on next. Book your spot here: https://calendly.com/ajr-2/niche-clarity

P.S. If someone you know is a self-employed consultant who's been stuck trying to explain what they do — forward this to them. They'll know immediately if it's for them.

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