Case Study: Discover The 4 Steps Process I Used To Grow A Struggling Tech Consulting Firm By 100% In 6 months.

Sometimes the simplest actions have the biggest impact.

In this case study, I'll explain how any consulting firm can replicate this rapid growth and success I was able to achieve for a tech firm using four simple steps.

Important To Note: When you read about the actions I created for my client, you may think "we're already doing this!" I challenge you to consider if you are really executing them strategically, deliberately, and intentionally to see results.

After all, results don't lie, and sometimes one slight misstep can lead you down the wrong path.

So keep an open mind as you read this case study and follow along with the journey I took in growing a once-struggling tech consulting company 100% in 6 months.

STEP #1: BUILD TRUST BY HUMANIZING THE BRAND.

Today's buyers are more empowered than ever with access to information at the tip of their fingers. This easy access to information has provided buyers with the ability to make more informed purchase decisions. 

According to a shocking study done by Ipsos, only 22% of brands are trusted by consumers. In addition, LinkedIn found that posts from employees get 10 times more engagement than posting from the company page alone.

This means organizations CANNOT approach their ideal customers with company-centric messaging anymore. It needs to be more personal.

Based on my client's market and the results from competitor insights we pulled from LinkedIn, we wanted their target market to see their leadership team as a highly-valued and trusted resource in their space.

That meant, creating LinkedIn profiles that not only humanized the brand but positioned them as industry leaders. There are several areas to focus on with your profile, but in the interest of time, let's start with these 2 major areas:

Your Headline/Tagline

It took a few weeks and a few iterations to come up with a perfectly aligned headline for each member of the leadership team.

We had to spend time on this because that tagline appears in google and LinkedIn search appearances as well as on everyone's content that they engaged with.

To make it easy for searchers to pick you out from the pack, we recommend writing a profile headline that’s instantly recognizable. Aim for a headline that sums up your specialty in a succinct way and supports the professional brand you’re cultivating.

The About Section (formerly called summary)

If the headline is your greeting, then the summary is your media-enhanced elevator pitch.

We then focused on the team's "about" section. This is not the place to pitch yourself. This is the place where you actually explain how you can help them.

STEP #2: BECOME A RESOURCE THAT SOLVES A PROBLEM.

According to an Accenture study, 94% of B2B buyers conduct online research during the buying process. With access to information such as industry trends, white papers, and datasheets, buyers seek insights beyond what they already know.

Buyers want to know they can trust you to solve their specific business challenges and that you have their company at the forefront of their decision.

We assigned 3 people within the organization to act as employee ambassadors. It took about 30 days to develop a comprehensive content strategy that spoke to the needs of their target market.

Each piece of content took them through the constantly shifting stages of the buyer's journey (awareness, consideration, and decision making).

The high-quality, value-added content was as part of the overall strategy to beckon and intrigue an audience to give up their time, attention, and eventually their business.

Using the 30-day content plan I laid out, their team consistently shared content on LinkedIn and Twitter, the platforms where their buyers spent time.

There were particular pieces of content designed to live longer than the typical 24 hour period of LinkedIn which resulted in higher views and shares. Every piece was created to establish trust and build thought leadership without coming across as sales-y.

In addition, we used video, podcasts and webinars to stay top-of-mind and to establish.

STEP #3: BUILD CREDIBILITY AND RELEVANCY

Do you know how you gravitate toward items from Amazon that have more reviews than 2-3 reviews? It works the same way on LinkedIn too. 

Knowing this, my role was to help them build as much social proof ONLINE as quickly as possible. They had built a network offline but we had to translate the work into building a powerful online personal brand.

If you want to do this for your team, my advice is to have at least 2 current recommendations on your profile at all times. Your target market will feel more inclined to trust you and will be pre-sold on working with you before the call.

STEP #4. DEVELOP A SOCIAL SELLING STRATEGY

We have a proven framework that keeps our clients top of mind as trusted advisors on LinkedIn. Not a lot of service-based companies are tapping into the hidden opportunities on LinkedIn, like competitor insights, but we can walk your team through the strategy behind it. 

View and expand this slide deck to get more details.

When your team implements this strategy, it will establish them as industry experts worthy of engagement and give them a sense of belonging as a proud and loyal brand ambassador. This will give your company a competitive edge to get seen as a business and employer of choice.

This was the final step we took to grow a struggling tech consulting firm by 100% in 6 months.

LESSONS AND TAKEAWAYS

The growth was fast, and the lessons I learned during the process was invaluable.

It enabled me to move forward with a proven framework in place, and with this framework, I've been able to help clients gain a competitive edge in the marketplace, achieve record growth and turn underperforming strategies into profitable well-oiled machines.

Our LinkedIn advice and strategies have been used to re-engage lost customers, gain Fortune 500 contracts, develop strategic partnerships, and close deals worth $300 million for leaders, start-ups, mid-sized businesses, and business accelerators. 

This framework can work for anyone in any industry and it only takes 45 minutes a day on LinkedIn.

Now if you don't have time to plan this out or you don't have the expertise to do it, reach out to us and we'd be happy to have a conversation.

We can help you find, connect, and start conversations with those in your target market while building up your authority. To get started apply for our Free LinkedIn Strategy Session.

We run these sessions to learn more about your business, target market, goals, and challenges to establish whether or not there’s a good fit to work with one another