How can you leverage your experiences to create a consulting business that stands out?

Leveraging personal experiences in consulting involves turning unique insights into value for clients. Your past challenges and triumphs equip you with a nuanced understanding that's irreplaceable. For instance, if you've navigated a company through a crisis, you're well-positioned to advise on crisis management. Your distinctive approach, derived from real-world encounters, will set your consultancy apart. Moreover, testimonials from past roles can serve as social proof of your expertise. Through blending lived experiences with ongoing learning, you can offer services that resonate with potential clients, ensuring your consultancy doesn’t just survive, but thrives.

Start with identifying your target client segment, in the lens of industry, function and geography. Develop offerings that are differentiating and can drive business outcomes such as cost savings, staff productivity, operational resilience and business agility. Communicate the value prop consistently with proof points !

Knowing how you serve and how you help your niche has to be the foundation of your consulting business. Looking at your own experience, history, and interests with help you to understand who you are best suited to serve. Like attracts like and your ideal clients are going to be similar to you. By looking at how your knowledge and expertise have benefitted you will give you a good idea of what your niche is going to be.

Most new consultants and solopreneurs rush too quickly to define a niche. It's because it's the perceived wisdom that it's the only way that works. The better approach is to let your niche emerge by spending time testing and learning from your community, and listening for signal in response to your content. Obviously, you'll have an area of expertise and interest which will push you in a general direction, but if you decide definitively on a certain path too early, then you'll quickly get frustrated. It's better to approach the process with a growth mindset and trust that your niche will "find" you.

While generalists cater to many, specialists are sought by those specifically needing their expertise. By defining your niche, you position yourself as the go-to expert in that domain. It is difficult to niche after an illustrious career, but think about what gives you and your niche a win-win deal. Your niche is where your passion, expertise, and market demand intersect. Discover it, dominate it, and watch as your consultancy transforms into an industry beacon.

"What do my ideal clients want help to achieve?" is a great question to ask, or "What problem can I help them overcome? is another. It's important that your niche feels that you are talking to them specifically. don't be afraid to be very specific. Having a successful consulting business is not about reaching large numbers of people, it's about getting the attention of the few that you can really serve.

Your value proposition is your brand's promise, the very essence of what you bring to the table. It's not just about being different; it's about being better. Shift the focus from what you offer to how it benefits the client. A unique methodology is excellent, but showcasing its impact—like reducing costs or boosting productivity—is where the magic lies.

Craft your value proposition by first doing an exercise, answering these four questions: 1. What does your customer rely on you for? (if you don't know, or you think you know, ask them.) 2. What value do you bring to your customer? (Again, ask them. Their answers will probably be different from yours.) 3. What problem(s) do you solve for your customer? 4. What is missing from the industry conversation that only you can bring to the table? Your answers to these four questions is the essence of your value proposition.

Many people think that their value proposition is their own "why". Unless people share your why, you will be your only target customer. The key to a successful value proposition is tying your "why" to your target market's "why." The simplest way to conceive of a target market's why is to name the problem, or job to be done (JTBD), and how your "why" is the best way to do that job.

One of the key thing is to gain industry certifications in every field you want to use as a scope of your service offering because this may leverage your value, from theory to practice. Anyhow, your client will value you more if you are project manager certified than only being a 10 years of experience buddy!

You are your brand. People are ultimately going to choose you over another because they feel a greater rapport with you. Think about it, you are the one thing that cannot be competed with because you are totally unique. The more you embrace your personality and let it shine through your brand the more you will attract the 'right' clients to work with.

Weave your personal and professional journey into your brand story. It's not just about the milestones but the hurdles, learnings, and reinventions. Your story can foster trust and relatability.

As an individual Thought Leader, your story is what makes you distinctive. Clearly, things like purpose, values and vision are important but they're also easily replicated. Your audience will follow you if you've got the experience, authority and expertise that give you a unique perspective on your industry (and your customers' problems). My example is that I was a BBC journalist for 17 years before starting a Thought Leadership agency. Many people can replicate the agency story, but my long career in journalism, and a transition to B2B content is what makes me stand out.

I think a critical aspect of this is to be true to yourself. Don't try to be, talk, act, or appear like someone else. Now more than ever, I believe we all crave authenticity, transparency, and honesty from leaders who are not afraid to expose and discuss their mistakes, miscalculations, failures, etc. and not just tout their career accomplishments, resume, awards, financial success, etc. Social media has made it all about creating a persona and an image that is often not a reality. Short answer - keep it real.

Telling your brand story is like opening a window into the heart of your consulting business, showing your audience what drives you, what you believe in, and what unique experiences you bring to the table. It's about crafting a narrative that resonates with people, making them trust and engage with your brand. When you share your story, you're not just narrating events, but you're connecting on a deeper level, aligning your values with those of your potential clients. This emotional connection, fostered through a well-articulated story, can set you apart in a competitive market. By weaving your experiences into a compelling narrative, you create a distinct identity that can enhance your market presence and client loyalty.

The magic of productizing your expertise. The traditional consulting approach, while valuable, can be time-intensive and harder to scale. Productizing? That's where the future lies. Why? Because productizing your offerings does three powerful things: Simplifies the Sale Scales Your Impact Enhances Consistency: It might start with just a small productized workshop or a digital course based on your expertise. Over time, as you refine and expand, you'll see the transformation in your business model and your impact.

Designing your service model is where the rubber hits the road; your "why" meets your target market's "why," aka job-to-be-done, aka JTBD. As the name implies, employ a strengths-based approach to ensure your business meets the customer need at every step of their journey with you.

Designing a service model aligns your consulting business's value delivery with your expertise. Whether operating solo or leading a larger firm, your service model should mirror this. It's about building effective frameworks for consulting sessions, guiding client interactions, and addressing their needs. Offering specialized services based on your expertise helps clients overcome challenges. Understanding engagement types, pricing, and deliverables, shaped by your experiences, is crucial, distinguishing your practice in a competitive market

Many consultants are moving away from the billable hour (Time and Materials) to fixed fee models based on the value of the deliverable. For example, I may sign a retainer with a client to provide 20 hours a month of marketing support at a fixed rate. The client can leverage me whenever they want and not have to worry about fee fluctuations. Some months they may be a bit light on the ask, and some months they go over the 20 hours allotted. I don't charge for overages, and I don't refund under utilization of my services. This also helps me with time tracking. As in, I don't really have to do it to a granular level like time and material based billing would work. This greatly reduces my unbillable admin time.

Try not to let yourself get overwhelmed with where you "should" have a presence. Practice an "essentialist" mindset by choosing 2-3 platforms where you'll maintain a consistent and active presence. Do them well for one year before you branch out. Remember, this is a long-term game. I recommend: a) a micro-site or landing page, b) one social media platform where you know your customer hangs out (consider TikTok, Substack, or Threads if you don't already have a big following), and c) an email newsletter.

Online platforms may or may not be a part of your marketing strategy. If you are just starting out, being a new node in the infinite array of internet options may not be your best bet. If you are creating a consulting business, chances are that you have some specific, valuable skills that have helped people in your network already. Find those people. Stay connected. Most often, opportunities don't emerge from "strong" connections, but rather come from "weak" connections, or people who you are acquainted with, know on a first name basis, but do not regularly interact with. Keep showing up to networking opportunities and pay attention to requests for help that your LinkedIn network is searching for.

Building an online presence serves as a mirror to your business's identity. A website can act as a welcoming entrance to your consultancy online, displaying your services and expertise to prospective clients. Social media, on the other hand, provides a platform for dialogue, enabling engagement with your audience, sharing insights, and molding your brand's personality. Familiarizing oneself with the market and competition can influence how you project yourself online, ensuring your digital persona is distinct and resonates with your target audience. When crafted and aligned well, these digital assets collaborate to narrate your experience and the unique value you offer, laying a strong foundation for a standout consulting business.

Sharing what you know in simple blogs or videos can also help others and show your expertise. It's good to be active on social media and meet other professionals in industry events to make valuable connections. Teaming up with other businesses and keeping in touch with past clients can open doors to new opportunities. Encouraging happy clients to refer others and leave good reviews can also help a lot. Offering free workshops can draw more people to you. It's important to keep learning and growing. If possible, online advertising can help spread the word about your services to more people.

Reputation is not as important as character. Character is about you are, over time, as a result of your actions. Some even say that character is crafted by what you do when no one is watching. Be a person of character. Dedicate yourself to your craft. Do the things that you say you will do. Deliver value in all of your relationships, personal and professional. People who know what you are capable of will go to bat for you.

Add value first. Reputation is built by thousands of microsteps. In the past, I've partnered with organizations that deliver webinars and seminars to my target audience to offer a free session on a topic of interest. More often than not, following the session, a couple of attendees reached out to me looking for more advice. It becomes a balancing act to offer enough value to create credibility but not give away so much that the prospect can execute without you. Be consistent. Choose your channels and post regularly. Depending on the field, it may take months or years to build credibility. Attend events and be present. Ask a lot of open-ended questions and listen. You will gain a lot of insights as to how you can add value.

My service model is not taught at any university, but it has brought me more success and fulfillment than anything else. Everything I do in my business and in my life is around gratitude and generosity. These core values have impacted my life and the lives of all of those I serve. Building my business around those two values helped me shape the way I interact and work with my clients and the way I lead my team. Also, before creating my own business having informational interviews helped me understand the do's and don'ts, best practices, tips for growth and land mines to avoid. Most of the advice I acted on, but some I rejected because either it didn't apply to my type of business, or it wasn't aligned with my values and brand.

The most important aspect of a consulting business is the expertise you bring to the table. You can have great relationships. You can have a future vision. You can have a logical service model. But if your expertise is a "smoke and mirrors" show, it will eventually catch up to you. Work to ensure you're selling what you can do - not only what people are willing to pay for.

The quickest way to stand out as a Thought Leader in your consultancy industry is to define a handful of topics in which you have contrarian opinions that go against the status quo. We all have those views but most of us keep them quiet or tell a few close colleagues. Thought Leadership is about amplifying those opinions to a wider audience. 50% of your audience may agree, and 50% will disagree but provoking a strong reaction means that your engagement will grow and you and your business will look more distinctive. It's definitely more of a risk, but the upside is also greater. Bland or boring content will get you nowhere