Are you looking to make a career change and take advantage of your skills? Becoming a consultant is one of the best ways to showcase your “genius” and earn a substantial income. Consultants come from a wide range of industries and possess a variety of abilities, whether it's social media marketing, relationships, or real estate. They provide advice and experience to individuals, companies, and organizations to help them improve their lives, performance, management structure, and more. Consulting services can range from strategic consulting and financial advice to relationship consulting and more. Although being a consultant is hard work, it's a rewarding profession that offers plenty of networking opportunities and immense earning potential.
It's worth noting that consulting can be done completely online, so you can have the opportunity to work remotely and get clients anywhere in the world. Doing so could help you maximize your earning potential. The benefits of becoming a consultant go far beyond earning potential. Many aspiring consultants are attracted to the freedom, location, independence, and satisfaction of owning their own company. Do you want to start making money as a consultant? There are a few things you'll want to consider before starting a consulting business.
Once you've found your “genius”, all you need to do is hone your experience, promote yourself effectively, and deliver great results to your customers. Here's a more detailed breakdown of the steps you can take to start your own consultancy from scratch. Your unique selling proposition (USP) is what sets you apart from other professionals in your market. While you can promote yourself as a consulting firm, what makes you the preferred consultant for your potential clients? Think about the unique skills you have, your communication style, and your level of experience. Then, define your USP based on your value statement, the benefits your service provides and the results it will generate for your customers.
Your value proposition is the only thing you offer your customers - answer the question of why someone would want to work with you. For example, if you're a financial advisor, your value proposition could be that you have five years of experience advising a business-level company on making informed financial decisions. Next, you can promote yourself as a consultant capable of working with companies (something that many advisors may not be able to do). Beyond your main sales pitch, what are the other benefits that customers can expect from working with you? You can write a long list of benefits which you can highlight in future marketing materials and in your sales calls. Keep in mind that these benefits tend to be qualitative rather than quantitative (which we'll discuss in the “Results” section). What results do you intend to generate for your customers? Each type of customer has a specific objective when working with you.
Once you've focused on your niche, it's your job to figure out what those goals are and help your customers achieve them. Once again, you should ask your target market what results they're looking for and what benefits they're looking for when working with a consultant like you. Then, you can adjust your offering and USP to appeal to that single market. This step takes the definition of your USP one step further as it helps you determine your ideal target market. Many people make the mistake of starting too broadly which increases competition and makes it difficult to stand out in a crowded market. By being more specific, you can reduce competition and respond to the needs of your ideal customers.
The more you understand your audience, the easier it will be to sell your services. This step consists of responding to the who, what and where of the target market you hope to reach. Who do you want to work with? What type of people or companies are most likely to want your services? What are their needs, objectives and desires? What services make the most sense for them? What services will make you stand out in your niche? What will generate the best results for them? Are you going to serve a specific geographical area? Are you targeting locally, nationally or even globally? Are you going to have a physical office or are you going to offer services online? Answer these questions to better define your USP and establish a marketing strategy to reach potential customers in your target market. How you promote yourself as a consultant will depend on where your target customers are located and the platforms they use to find advisors like yourself. This will vary from industry to industry. The best way to know where to market is by asking potential customers how they find consultants.
You're likely to discover a variety of platforms and methods that can be used for lead generation. Instagram can be an effective marketing tool for consultants working in travel consulting, fashion consulting or marketing consulting niches. Taking the time to consistently publish good content that appeals to target audiences is one way to attract potential customers en masse. Facebook can also be used for lead generation by publishing content that engages audiences while highlighting experience. LinkedIn is great for B2B lead generation. If you are looking for clients who need business advice or guidance then LinkedIn is an excellent platform for connecting with them.
By taking these steps into consideration when starting up as a consultant, there is no limit on how much money one can make.
