This is insightful, thanks. Do you have any tips for getting in touch with people in companies who can actually buy from me? I find that I have far less work than I would like just letting clients come to me. Appreciate it.
I believe that the decision process - generally speaking - is not "let's think how to solve this problem":
1) let's see if anyone already invented a solution and is willing to sell it to us
then if above doesn't produce results:
2) let's hire someone to solve this problem
It is directly "let's hire someone to solve this problem" or directly "let's see if a recruiter can find someone to hire that can solve the problem".