Being a consultant or business coach can be a very rewarding career as you get paid to help people improve and scale their businesses. As a 3rd party, sometimes it can be easier to grow your client’s business than your own. With the high competition in the consulting industry, rising above, and taking your business to the next level takes a variety of effective strategies. Here are nine strategies that you can implement today to start driving new business.
Define your proprietary method
To be a successful consultant or coach it is important to differentiate yourself from your competition. There are a lot of ways you can do this but one of the most effective is to create your own proprietary method. By packaging and branding your consulting process you help your target audience position and separate you from the competition. Defining and distinguishing your method in your messaging is critical to growing your business. Remember to sell the benefits of your services not features.
Get more specific on your target market
In addition to defining your method you need to know exactly who your target customer is. By defining and refining your audience on a multitude of levels you will be able to create messaging that speaks to them directly. Doing this will help to qualify your prospects, create more inbound leads and close more sales.
Become an authority
Becoming an authority in your niche will create more trust among your audience and increase your exposure. Creating valuable content that educates, qualifies and sells your services is key. Ensure that you are using SEO strategies to help your content and website rank higher and drive more visitors.
Tap your network
As an experienced consultant you probably have a wider network than you imagine. There are a variety of ways you can use this network to grow your business. You can start with asking your previous clients for referrals. Once you’ve exhausted your referrals you can look to create strategic partnerships with those in your network who offer complimentary services. Look for companies who offer services that your clients also need and show them your track record and how you can help their clients.
Create a more diverse value ladder
Looking to fill up your funnel? Try creating a more diverse value ladder where you can offer a product or service to a wider variety of people. Creating a free 30 min consultation or a low-cost webinar can be a great entry point to upsell clients on higher priced services. Also look to raise your prices and create higher end services to target elite clientele. That way you can generate more revenue with less work.
Use social media
Social Media is a great way to grow your brand and generate more clients. The best platform to grow your consulting business is LinkedIn. Not only can you grow your network but you can also generate clients with your target audience. We specialize in using LinkedIn to generate qualified sales appointments for consultants & coaches.
In addition to LinkedIn, using Facebook, Instagram & YouTube to grow your audience and create content is a really effective way to grow your brand. Start with one of these networks and get proficient, then expand your presence to the others. Finally, answering questions on Quora, Facebook groups and relevant forums will make you a valuable resource to your community.
Speak
SpeakSpeaking at local events can raise your profile and increase your authority and awareness. Find local meetups, chamber of commerce events and other professional networking events to find a captive audience of prospects you can speak to. A lot of organizations are willing to let local experts educate their audience so don’t hesitate to reach out.
Continue the conversation
Nurturing leads are one of the most important parts of the sales process and continuing the conversation is a good way to do it. Two effective ways of continuing the conversation with your prospects are email and chatbots. Both allow for you to create a conversational tone with your audience where you can educate and move them along your funnel. As email inboxes become more flooded, Chatbots are a great medium to integrate into your outreach efforts as they have much higher open rates.
Run Ads
All the methods stated above are completely free. But financially investing in your business can go a long way. Paid ads can be a great way to reach clients who are looking for your services. Google Ads are great because those clicking on them have a specific intent to take action. Facebook ads are also a great way to generate qualified traffic but depending on your niche they may not have the same conversion rate as Google. LinkedIn offers paid ads and can be more cost effective as there is less competition and they market to an audience that is primed for B2B services. Each network can be a great tool for your business, just ensure that you implement the right strategy.