Here I am with another Summer 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 #4: I received this question from a reader (thanks!): "What would be the ideal status as a visible authority I could strive for? I mean the kind of 'success measures' of visible authority." (Cool question!)
Becoming visible is something most consultants really battle with. The truth is that visibility is the only thing that will make you stand out in a crowded and very competitive consulting world. As I always say: your competitor is only 1 click away!
I've been thinking quite a bit about this question during the past weeks. I wrote down several 'ideal circumstances' I've experienced as a go-to expert in my markets. Here's my list of 'alternative indicators' of consulting performance.
Enjoying a reliable (almost predictable), steady flow of new clients (I never had to worry)
Receiving exclusive expert invitations to RFP’s (instead of begging/applying), I got invited many times to help prepare the RFP...the ultimate go-to expert recognition
Receiving invitations to speak and teach around the world, achieving incredible market visibility and boosting your go-to reputation in your industry
Achieving (almost) magnetic retention of existing clients who are more than happy to provide outstanding references
Succeeding with close to zero marketing costs (organic growth because of the visibility in the market)
Prequalifying your new clients organically through your content (it took a while, but ultimately new prospects knew what they could expect from me)
Daring to ask better/higher rates (without getting into persuasion, discussion or negotiation)
Doing ‘upstream work’ most of the time (strategic guidance, teaching and diagnostic-like advice. It will keep you away from low rate implementation 'freelance-type' of work.
Having the ability to protect 10-15% of your time to re-invest in deepening your expertise, improving your visibility and growing your business
I hope you can learn from these 'success measures'. I see many 'indicators' in consulting, but these hardly ever appear on lists, which I always find very strange.
An interesting question for the next edition: I received this question from a reader (thanks!): Do I need to be on all the social media platforms as a consultant? How to go about social media as a consultant?
Would you like to send a question for one of the following newsletter editions?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 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 13-07-2020: Building trust with content or thought leadership
I don’t think you can gain a competitive advantage without thought leadership. The reason why thought leadership is a prerequisite is because trust is a prerequisite, and thought leadership is a way to build trust. (Joe Chernov)
Topic 20-07-2020: Building trust with content or thought leadership
Educate your buyers/clients, share best practices with them, tell them what to look out for, give them valuable tips on how to achieve success, and demonstrate how you’ve helped others in their shoes. Share your expertise. Share. And share again. (Luk Smeyers)
The Irresistible Content
I write a lot. Here's the update from the past 2 weeks.
For those who know me, I am passionate about mental fitness, mental models, meditation, focused working, essentialism, productivity, and automation.
I came across Jim's brand new (April 2020) book a few weeks ago. I got triggered by the subtitle of the book: 'Upgrade your brain, learn anything faster, and unlock your exceptional life'. Got me curious. And skeptical.
But Jim Kik has surprised me, and I must admit, I learned a lot, despite my abundant reading of similar books. Jim is an unusual but also a very nice guy. If you'd read this book, it'll change you. It changed me.
The book starts with the incredible story of the young Jim, who, due to an accident as a child, had brain troubles and got bullied in school. His teacher called him 'the boy with the broken brain'. Jim was 3 years behind in school. Amazing.
Today, Jim is a global superstar when it comes to brain training, and he takes you on an inspiring trip in his book. I am sure you will enjoy, it's easy reading with great advice. He's called one of the world's best Memory Trainers, and he teaches at the famous Mindvalley program from Vishen Lakhiani. Here's a great YouTube video of Jim, teaching at Mindvalley in 2018 (5M views!).
Here's what I learned (without going into too much detail): anyone can unleash his/her superbrain using Jim's model of combining the right 1) Mindset, 2) Motivation, and 3) Method. Reminding me of the model every day, helps me a lot.
Visible Authorities have a better pipeline. The evidence.
I am seeing and hearing all the time: COVID-19 has slowed down (there are a few exceptions) consulting opportunities. But what I am also seeing is that most consultants/consultancies are accelerating their digital transformation. Dramatically.
According to HubSpot data, overall website traffic increased globally by 16% from Q1 to Q2, and marketing email open rates were 18% above pre-COVID-19 levels by the beginning of Q3. So, a lot more digital activity.
What I learned in the past weeks: 85% of consumers now conduct online research before making a purchase decision, meaning consultants' time is well spent these days building the necessary online toolbox. Your buyers act like consumers! They research!
More than 50% of the consultants I've been talking to in the past months, are improving their online visibility. They understand both the threat and the opportunity. So, you'd better gain ground, before losing connection with your 1 click away competitor!
The Secret Backstage
A sneak peek behind the curtains of my business. Luk's lab.
That's what I am doing with my social media too. Although I am sharing everything on Facebook and Twitter also (zero effort, it's fully automated), I am putting all my eggs in the Linkedin basket.
In about 5 months' time, I was able to increase my followership with another 1.000 to an all-time record. And Linkedin (I already reported that in 'The Authority' #1) is almost half of the traffic to my website. It's an incredible B2B social platform, and I love it. And I am passionate about monitoring all the data behind the scenes.
I am receiving many questions about the use of social media, I will give my view in 'The Big Question' in this newsletter soon. Watch out!
Here's a datasheet from the interactions last week from an integrated social media dashboard in my Hubspot platform. As you can see, I've put all my eggs (and the interactions 😉) in the Linkedin basket (that's where my clients are).
The Inevitable Learning
The programs I am teaching. To become a better consultant.
My brand new 30-Day Program: in the next 'The Authority' I will announce my brand new training program for consultants struggling to get new clients and eager to grow their consulting pipeline. It'll be a virtual GROUP PROGRAM, starting monthly (4x online 2-hour training sessions with Q&A access to myself during 4 weeks). If you are interested in participating, you can join the waiting list already. Watch out for the announcement and all the details!
My Accelerator Program: I still have A FEW NEW SLOTS in 2020 for consultants who are eager to consistently attract their ideal customers and grow their consulting business. 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. I got several questions from candidates to join (hurry up!). 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!
