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

Edition #6 - September 2, 2020 

Dear reader, 

After a short summer break, I am back with the first September 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 #6: I received this question from a reader (thanks!):

'What mistakes do you see consultants making?'

The 8 main mistakes I see consultants make all the time.

1. No focus, no specialisation, no narrow niche, saying yes to everything to protect income/revenue (the generalist consultant, the jack of all trades, at risk to disappear) (see my blog post)
2. Offering-focused positioning (if at all) instead of outcome-positioning (evolve from ‘this is what I/we do’ to ‘this is the transformation, outcome or impact I/we will achieve’)
3. Poor quality thought leadership content with inconsistent sharing/distribution. Poor visibility and trust building as a result (see my blog post)
4. Poor and foggy social media profile (dramatically diluting your pitch) (see also this Linkedin post)
5. Ineffective social media usage (no TLC-strategy at all: from traffic to leads to clients via social media)
6. Too much belief in references and relationships (important though, but an unreliable, uncertain and risky long term strategy) and simultaneously poor approach to gather problem-resolution (or output-driven) social proof (case studies, client testimonials,...) (see also this Linkedin post)
7. Accepting lower rates to get contracts (the vicious fear of missing out, the ultimate erosion of authority)
8. No (good) use of (inbound) marketing systems (no systematic new client generation) (see my blog post)

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

'How can I best explain (or 'promote') my consulting focus and/or expertise to my prospects or market?'

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 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 24-08-2020: Narrow focus

Without a clear expertise message, consultants can never get the right connection with their target clients, and it also leads to poor relevance and visibility on Google. In order to better connect with your clients (both off- and online), you have to niche down and demonstrate that you’re an expert in a single, narrow area. (Luk Smeyers)

Topic 03-08-2020: Narrow focus

Many consultants struggle to translate their expertise into an easy-to-understand, credible message. But, how the heck can you ever create credible messages if you are piggy-backing on all sorts of expertise domains? When a consultant covers multiple domains, it’s almost impossible to establish him/herself as an authority in any of them. (Luk Smeyers)

The Irresistible Content

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

My new blog: I never had to sell, persuade or negotiate to grow my consulting business

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

Linkedin post: Your Consultant Profile Is Your Ultimate Pitch

LinkedIn post: Consultants, unlock the teacher in you

Content Summary: My Quarter 2 content summarized in 1 blog!

The Authority, previous edition: Edition #5

 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:

'Reinvent Yourself' from James Altucher

You probably don't know James Altucher? Time to get to know him as you can learn a lot from him. I am a big fan of James since a few years and I've learned a lot from him. Have a look at his unusual website, you might want to subscribe to his excellent newsletter. 

James is an entrepreneur, angel investor, chess master, best selling author. He started 20 companies, 17 of which have failed (with amazing lessons learned). 

If you’ve ever been stuck as a consultant, James could maybe help you. Why? Because he has been there himself (being stuck). And he can explain how he freed himself.

Here's James' Ultimate Cheat Sheet to improve yourself but these are my 3 key lessons learned from this awesome book:

1. Helping others: James confirms what I always advice consultants to do: reframing your head from ‘selling’ to ‘helping’. It gives you a better mental guiding principle. From working with consultants, I learned that this helping-mindset also makes it easier for most consultants to embrace the sales aspect in consulting. 

2. Redefine yourself consciously: 'Our old roads' are no longer viable in today's fast-paced, ever-changing world. There's simply no linear, fixed and pre-established route to success (whatever success means to you). James pushes us to blaze our own path everyday again (see picture below) in a very conscious way. 

3. We need a mentor: Someone has to show you how to move and breathe, says James. But don’t worry about finding a mentor, says James. Ultimately, if you have a passion for reinvention, everything is 'a mentor'. The car that gets repaired in a garage becomes a metaphor for your solving client problems as a consultant, if you connect the dots. And everything you look at, can connect the dots.

The Inconvenient Number

Visible Authorities have a better pipeline. The evidence.

• They invited the thought leader vendor (which was not in their original consideration set) to bid on a project
• They awarded business to the thought leader vendor
• They decided to increase the amount of business they did with the thought leader
• They purchased a new product or service from the organisation/vendor that they had not previously considered buying 

The Secret Backstage

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

An exciting story happened to me...

For those who know me, you know that I've always been and still am (more than ever before) on a constant search for productivity systems, tools and approaches to gain time to grow my consulting business (aka 'building my visible authority'). 

In a previous newsletter, I have explained how I have automated the sharing of my (repurposed) content via social media. Have a look at it, it includes a screenshot (in 'The Secret Backstage' section) of my automated content distribution in July 2020 on my awesome Hubspot platform. 

To my big surprise, I got an email from the Hubspot team recognising my automation efforts on their platform. Wow! All the hard work seems to get attention from experts in Boston! Big thanks to Eugenia Pirotsky from Hubspot. Below the  screenshot from her mail to me. 

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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 October. 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. Below the button to the waiting list. Thanks for your patience!

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Previous 'The Authority' edition: Edition #5