The calls of desperation

Hello,

I'm Gav, and I help fractional executives build content systems that protect their pipelines while they deliver for clients.

I was born with a strong intuition. It may come from searching people's faces as a kid, trying to read what was happening beneath the surface. A superpower, some say, a curse, say others.

One Monday morning in my little London flat, I woke up knowing something was off. Couldn't place it, but the feeling sat heavy as I did my usual routine, hiked to the overground, navigated the tube, and walked into the office to start week four of a six-month contract.

I hadn't even dumped my bag when the MD beckoned me over to his office. 'Gav, got to cancel the contract, I'm afraid. Just lost our largest customer. Something about downsizing. Really sorry, fella.'

He wasn't in good space, so I smiled, said all was good, and offered to cancel immediately to help his cash flow.

Never burn bridges.

I left that building numb. I don't know if it was due to what just happened or what I was about to face.

My second contract had ended two weeks earlier, and now this one. I went from a whole week of work to nothing.

And even more scary, with nothing in the pipeline. I was kicking myself.

I had emergency funds, but the uncertainty hit differently when I'm used to solving other people's problems, and suddenly I can't solve my own.

What followed were months and months of calls of desperation.

'Sorry, Gav, nothing on the horizon.' 'Hiring freeze, will keep you in mind though.'

(and my favourite) 'You should have called me last week.' (the rage)

I went month after month of sitting in front of my laptop from 5:30 am, that ball of anxiety in my stomach growing, sending requests to agencies, feeling like I was starting my career again. I was at the mercy of businesses and recruitment agencies. I wasn't in control.

It stings more as a fractional executive. You know you can transform their operations, fix their cash flow, and build their systems. But there you sit, coffee in hand, earning nothing.

One Tuesday, desperate enough to try anything, I rang an old friend. (By the way, I know that you know how it feels phoning someone out of the blue for work. It can feel rubbish!)

His first words, though? 'Yeah, we've been looking for someone with your skillset for a while now.'

I got mad.
Not at him, obviously, but at myself.

'You should have called me earlier,' he said.

Even madder.

I resisted the urge to say, 'Well, you could have called me.'

If I'd made that call months earlier, I wouldn't be sitting in a pool of stress and anxiety. The work... was there. But I'd been invisible when it mattered. (that's why he didn't call)

I started three days later. A two-day-a-week fractional PMO role. It was a complete lifesaver.

Back then, I didn't have a system in place. We didn't use newsletters for this kind of work yet. But I learned something crucial.

I learnt that you always need to stay visible.

I started keeping in contact. Once a month, a quick call just to say hello and to see how things were going. It was never a hard sell. It was me staying alive in their world.

Ever since then, I've never gone more than a month without work.

Not because I'm special. Because I understood the fundamental truth about fractional work that most miss.

Your network wants to help you. Business leaders have work, budgets, and they have problems that you can solve.

But memory fades fast when you disappear for months, buried in client delivery.

The friend with the PMO role wasn't hiding work from me. He genuinely thought I was unavailable. In his mind, I was 'that guy who does projects, ' but he couldn't remember exactly what kind, or when I might be free again. In fact, I bet he wasn't even thinking that. Completely out of sight, out of mind.

That's the fractional executive's curse. The better you get at delivery, the more invisible you become to your next opportunity.

Ten years later, I understand what I was doing instinctively. I was maintaining 'mental availability' with decision-makers.

Monthly calls kept me present when budget conversations happened. Quick check-ins meant that when problems arose, I was already in their consideration set.

But calls don't scale. And when you're billing 40 hours a week across multiple contracts, you don't have time for systematic relationship maintenance.

I would have to call after work, and sometimes, even though I knew these people, the call was unwelcome. Timing again.

That's why the fractional executives who never scramble for work have moved beyond phone calls to systematic visibility. A fortnightly newsletter that reaches the 200-300 executives who can hire you. Content that demonstrates your thinking, showcases your approach, and proves your expertise. Delivered whether you're billing full-time or between contracts.

Automated sequences that warm new connections, so networking contacts don't forget your speciality before they need your services. Strategic positioning that builds continuously, so you're visible when budget decisions happen, regardless of your current availability.

The system I didn't have ten years ago. The one that eliminates calls of desperation.

If you've lived this nightmare, if you know the 5:30 am anxiety and the pit-in-stomach feeling of starting from scratch, you're not alone.

The fractional executives who never experience pipeline gaps don't make more calls or attend more networking events. They build systems that maintain visibility and trust automatically.

Want to see precisely how this systematic approach works? Get the complete 5-day Email Executive Briefing on Pipeline Protection. It shows you how to stay remembered, trusted, and hired without the desperate phone calls.

newsletter.tb5publishing.com

Because the worst business development happens when you need it most.

P.S. That friend who had the PMO work waiting? He's referred four fractional executives to me over the years. The relationship that saved me became one that helps others avoid the same nightmare.