Luk’s Bi-Weekly 'Think Piece' For Consultants

 Edition #1 - June 10, 2020 

Dear reader, 

Looks like you may have missed my brand new 'The Authority' newsletter, so I wanted to send it to you again in case it got lost in your busy inbox. Have a great Sunday! 

'The Authority' helps consultants grow their pipeline by sharing intriguing educational stories.

It’s my ultimate aspiration to create a bubble of calmness with this bi-weekly ‘think piece’, a place of stillness in the face of everyday stress. A chance to reflect on what really matters in your consulting work.

The Big Question

Questions I get from consultants. And my answers.

Question #1: What is the single biggest habit change consultants need to accomplish? 

I got that question last week during a webinar. The answer is actually quite easy: Start sharing!

Share your unique stories and experiences in an authentic and passionate way and you will organically create a strong and loyal follower/client base! Here's what I have been sharing all those years:

• What did I learn in the project trenches about the biggest client pains that others could learn from? 
• Which experiences did I acquire that could be valuable for others? 
• What were the unique client stories (with successes and struggles) that could inspire others to pursue better outcomes?

When I talk about this, I always immediately get the following comment: Aren’t you afraid that, by sharing all your ‘secrets’, your clients won’t need you anymore? The answer is a big NO, I am not afraid at all! I wrote a Linkedin article about this question, here's the link. 

The question for the next edition: How can I use Linkedin in the most effective & efficient way as a consultant? 

Would you like to send a question for one of the following newsletter editions? Send it to me here. 

The Preventable Pain

Improvement suggestions for the typical consultant pains.

“But Luk, I just don’t have the TIME to market and develop my business the way you are doing it.”

This is the single biggest challenge I hear from my clients. I hope I can make it clear to you: if you don’t take the time to market your consulting business, you won’t have a business to market.

Google is our new boss. The first ‘meeting’ today is online. 

In a world where buyers of consultancy services expect an ‘easy to find’, Amazon-like 5-star rated expert profile, how are you going to climb to the top of those search results? 

If you don’t invest a substantial amount of time in positioning yourself as a visible authority NOW, then in 3-5 years (or much faster), nobody will come across your expertise on the internet. 

Based on my own experience and my numerous interviews & discussions with consultants over the past decade, I’ve written a blog with the 6 most common reasons why consultants don’t believe they have time to develop their business. Read my blog here. 

The Disturbing Truth

Unsettling revelations from experts I admire. And from myself.

Every Monday morning, I am sharing a consulting-related quote on Linkedin to start the new week.

These quotes reflect years of my passionate thinking about the consulting profession and span one year of writing. I've mixed my own quotes with carefully selected quotes from experts I admire and you may never have heard of.

Here are the quotes from the past 2 weeks. Let the inspiration be with you (if you let it). 

Topic: Narrow focus as a consultant

"Your narrow positioning is an exercise in irrelevance. The more irrelevant you become to non-ideal prospects by turning your positioning away from them, the more relevant you become to your chosen target clients. But that requires courage and discipline. (David C. Baker, in his book 'The Business Of Expertise', see my summary here)

Topic: Irreplaceability as an authority

Consultants are a replaceable functional solution to a client problem.

Authorities are an irreplaceable vital solution to a client problem.

The Irresistible Content

I write a lot. Here's the update from the past 2 weeks.

My brand new initiative: Top 10 articles of the month for consultants.

New blog: The hard evidence that visible authorities get more clients.

Linkedin post: 8 Fatal mistakes that kill your authority as a consultant

Linkedin post: Most consultants have poor and foggy Linkedin profiles 

Linkedin post: The Visible Authority Quadrant: description of the quadrants

Linkedin post: The Visible Authority Quadrant: the impact on consultants

Linkedin article: Why you should share all your expertise as a consultant

The Inspiring Reading

I read a lot. Here's what I am reading right now.

I am reading between 30-50 books per year. I just finished reading:

'Known' by Mark Schaefer. 

Mark is one of my favourite authors when it comes to understanding content, online marketing & social media and this book is a must-read for every consultant. 

Mark is a very popular but at the same time down-to-earth author & consultant who uses close to 100 case studies (a little US-centric though) to explain the success criteria of the visible authorities in this book. 

It's a realistic, inspirational master piece and I personally learned a lot from Mark in the past years (I've read 3 other great books from him). 

The Inconvenient Number

Visible Authorities have a better pipeline. The evidence.

The Secret Backstage

A sneak peek behind the curtains of my business. Luk's lab.

Leveraging Linkedin as a consultant is extremely important! 

But most consultants have:

- Poor and foggy Linkedin profiles (dramatically diluting their professional reputation)

- Ineffective social media usage (no TLC-strategy at all: from Traffic to Leads to Clients)

If you want to be serious about growing your consulting business and starting to attract your ideal clients in a more consistent and predictable way, you will have to get comfortable with Linkedin, the T-L-C-way.

See this picture. With a (highly automated) smart approach, 60% (blue color) of my website traffic comes from Linkedin. Amazing result! 

The Inevitable Learning

The programs I am teaching. To become a better consultant.

My Mastermind Retreat: due to Corona, all 2020 Mastermind Retreats are on hold. I got several questions from candidates to join. Please get on the waiting list and I will keep you informed as soon as I can go ahead again. Here's the link to the program content. Below the button to the waiting list. Thanks for your patience!

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