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

Edition #10 - October 28, 2020 

Dear reader, 

Here's the latest Edition of 'The Authority', helping consultants grow their revenue 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 #10: I received this question from a reader (thanks!):

'Could you give us a few ‘secrets’ how you are able to produce such a large volume of content?'

Consistency is one of the key elements of getting measurable results from your content. Your content machine should be well-oiled and diligently maintained. I see fellow consultants post a LinkedIn article every few months and then fail to get any meaningful traction and leads. That’s because one-off pieces that are published outside of a larger strategy will never deliver the type of returns that a robust content machine can.

That’s where a content machine comes in, so let’s dive into it. 

I have set up a process that allows me to generate a large volume of content and distribute it with a high level of efficiency. This question prompted me to write a blog post, so do check out my detailed response here.

Here's a quick recap.

Step 1: Identify your content inspiration sources. As a consultant, you have plenty. These are my content sources:

• The market research I commissioned before launching my services to identify the typical pains and gains of my prospects (and I keep researching on an ongoing basis)
• My communication with the consultants via my newsletter (readers send me questions about their problems/challenges)
• My daily interaction with clients (calls, emails,...)

Step 2: Create a content hub that will centralize all your content efforts

Step 3: Set up a system for promoting your content – the machine.

Read the full article with all the details

Related content:

• For Consultants, Marketing Is Unbelievably Easy
  
  
• Why Marketing In Consulting Is All About Building Visibility And Trust

An interesting question for the next edition: I received this question from a reader (thanks!):

'I’ve always been focusing a lot on expanding and building my relationships and network to grow my consulting business. I’ve read a few articles from you challenging such an approach. Why?'

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

The Disturbing Truth

Unsettling revelations from experts I admire. And from myself.

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

These advices 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 19-10-2020: Your subject matter expertise

Educate your buyers/clients, share best practice with them, tell them what to look out for, give them valuable tips on how to achieve success, demonstrate how you’ve helped others in their shoes. Share your expertise. Share. And share again. (Luk Smeyers)

Topic 26-10-2020: Specialize now!

I am convinced that commoditization of consultancy is already happening and will put us all at risk if we remain afraid of specializing (thus, afraid of saying ‘No’ to ill-suited opportunities). You either specialize and stand out in the very crowded consulting market or you’d better start looking for a regular job. (Luk Smeyers)

The Irresistible Content

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

Top 10 articles of October 2020: Eager to grow your consulting business?

TVA blog: Why Marketing In Consulting Is All About Building Visibility And Trust

TVA blog: My 1-Day-Per-Week Content Machine That Consultants Can Replicate

LinkedIn post: Do you structurally organize receiving client recommendations as a consultant?

My interview with Vladimir Blagojevic: Do you already know how I've created my 'content machine'?

My updated list of book recommendations: If You Could Read Only A Few Books In 2020, Read These

The Authority, previous edition: Edition #9

 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:

‘The Power of No’ by James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher

This is the second book by James Altucher that I recommend. In one of my earlier newsletters, I also brought to your attention his Reinvent Yourself masterpiece. I do love this author.

This book conveys my long-held belief that we should actively train ourselves to say ‘No’. It’s not always easy – in fact, as consultants it always feels like we’re going to disappoint our clients if we say those dreaded two letters. 

However, as Altucher brilliantly explains in this book, learning to say ‘No’ at the right time (or, rather, to the wrong things) will give you back your power and save you time and trouble. It will give you a better understanding of yourself and those around you.

The 3 main things I learned from this book:

1. Saying No empowered me to stay in my lane all the time. Altucher provides simple techniques to learn to say No, both in personal and professional lives.

2. Saying No is not easy at all. In a world full of opportunity, we need to overcome our deep-rooted need to respond to everything. To become visible as an authority, we need to be ruthless in discerning what is important and what is just noise.

I’ve seen so many consultants fear saying ‘No’ to ill-suited opportunities in order to please a client (and earn an income), compromising their market credibility and ultimately seriously compromising their future consulting growth.

3. Getting better by saying No. It seems like a huge contradiction for many consultants: how are you supposed to grow by saying no and doing less? The Jack of All Trades has no chance to survive. You either specialize and stand out in the very crowded consulting market or you’d better start looking for a regular job.

If you are struggling with protecting yourself from saying Yes to everything, Altuchers book is a great starting point.

I also recommend listening to James Altucher’s podcast, where he regularly interviews people in business and entertainment.

The Inconvenient Number

Visible Authorities have a better pipeline. The evidence.

• After consuming compelling thought leadership, 7 in 10 B2B buyers will consume more from that same source.
• Furthermore, 76% admit to being influenced by compelling thought leadership when making purchasing decisions and...
• 83% are influenced in the choice of a potential business partner.

This speaks of the simple truth: regularly producing high-quality content builds up trust and earns you the reputation on the market as THE expert in the field. It takes time and dedication. Nothing happens overnight. Yet, committing to this journey on the long run will inevitably deliver powerful results.

The Secret Backstage

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

Your website (or profile page in consultancy firms) is not a good starting point to improve your visibility! And that’s what most consultants firmly believe though.  

When I start working with a new consultant client, the discussion often turns quickly to the website or the profile page of the consultant. It’s always quite a bit of a struggle explaining that a website is the wrong starting point for our collaboration. 

As soon as I ask the consultant how much traffic they generate to their website and how much organic traffic they generate from Google, the discussion turns often pretty silent. Traffic in most cases, is (way) too low. End of debate. 

Here’s the framework I am using to start improving the visibility of my clients, starting with 

1. The Foundations: laser sharp, crystal clear positioning (and narrow), a problem solution offering (instead of a generic claim to fame: ‘I am good at xyz’) and a structured, content-driven approach to visibility.
2. T-L-C: evolving from Traffic to Leads to Clients, the expert-driven way (which is not the sales-driven way). And fully data-driven! 
3. Systems & Processes: we start translating all the foundations and the TLC  step-by-step into website, content distribution, sales process and scaling. 

So, website at the very end and not as a starting point. All those who had already started with website, came to the conclusion - after having studied the above framework - they had to do a complete make-over of the website. A huge waste of time/money, of course. 

The Inevitable Learning

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

My brand new 30-Day Program: In the 30-Days Group Program, you will learn the behind-the-scenes strategies and powerful tactics that I've used to launch and grow my own consulting business. And they can work for you too. It'll be a virtual GROUP PROGRAM, starting monthly, 4x online 2-hour training sessions, life-long access to the recordings, and exclusive Q&A access to myself for 4 weeks. First group starts in November. Here's the link to the info page. 

My Accelerator Program: I have A LIMITED NUMBER OF SLOTS in 2020 for senior consultants eager to attract their ideal customers and grow their consulting business consistently. The Accelerator Program starts with a full audit of your market positioning and covers the necessary long-term improvements and quick wins. The number of participants for this 1-2-1 virtual training is limited. Access on a first-come-first-served basis. Here's the link to the info page with the program content. You can book a call on this info page to discuss your participation. 

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

Not yet subscribed to 'The Authority'? Subscribe here.

Previous 'The Authority' edition: Edition #9