When you’re just starting out, consulting can be a difficult business. And the difficulty doesn’t stop once you’ve established yourself. As a solo or small-shop consultant, you constantly need to market yourself to bring in new client leads. That’s why one of the most common questions I’m asked by consultants is, “How do I sell myself as a consultant?”
There are lots of different strategies for bringing attention to your consulting business. You should be networking in your industry, seeking referrals from those you know, speaking at conferences, and active on social media. All of these are important.
In my experience, though, there is one strategy that far too many consultants never try… a strategy that will help amplify all of your other efforts, boost your market presence, and help turn you into a well-known expert in your field. That strategy is creating authoritative information products in your niche. When people ask, “how do I sell myself as a consultant?” I always reply that they should create the “must have” e-book, webinar, or online course in your field.
Create an Info-Product that Attracts Clients
If you want to sell more services, you need to make sure that clients seek you out because of your expertise and authority in your niche. Writing an e-book or creating a webinar or class can help you show your expertise and allow your potential clients to find you online and through referrals.
If you’re asking – how do I sell myself as a consultant – I’d say you should add information products into your marketing mix. My advice is to start with an e-book covering an important topic in your industry… one that potential clients are always asking about. Be sure that the topic is narrow enough that even once the client reads the book and solves the problem, they’ll still need help with other things.
Writing a great e-book in your niche shows clients that you are an expert, and it also helps clients find you when they need your services. You can list your e-book on Amazon as well as on your website, and you can send free copies to others in your industry who offer complementary services and may be willing to refer new clients to you. (For more information, check out our article How to Write a Bestselling E-Book.)
Other Information Products Can Work as Well
As noted above, when advising consultants, I generally recommend starting with an e-book, because e-books seem to carry some additional gravitas as relatives of actual bound books. There was a time when getting a publisher to publish your book was a huge mark of accomplishment for a consultant, and the fact that you had a book in print carried a lot of weight with potential clients.
Even though you can publish your own e-book (via PDF or the Kindle Store) quickly and easily, e-books still carry some additional luster, so I recommend you start by spending a month writing and publishing an e-book if you want to use information products to help sell consulting work.
But as you answer the question “how do I sell myself as a consultant?” you can also create webinars and online courses that show your expertise and that get others talking about your work. I’ve had many clients over the years start off by taking one of my online classes or webinars, and then become long term consulting clients. For more on this, read How to Find Clients Online Using Webinars.
Make Sure Info Product is Worthy of Your Consulting Work
It’s important to note that if you’re going to use info products to help sell yourself as a consultant, those info products need to be good… they need to be worthy of your consulting work. People will judge your skill level as a consultant by your skill level as an author or course creator. So don’t skimp when you’re creating these products.
Of course, creating these products doesn’t need to take forever. Remember, this started because you asked – how do I sell myself as a consultant – you don’t want to spend years writing your e-book or creating your webinars. You want to create them, get them out there into the world, and then get back to signing up new consulting clients.
So, How Do I Sell Myself as a Consultant?
Ultimately, the best answer to the question “how do I sell myself as a consultant?” is to follow a varied approach. Start by networking, speaking, asking for referrals, and building an online presence. As you do, look at creating passive income products like e-books, webinars, and online classes. These items will help set you up as an expert in your field and will help potential clients find you more easily online.
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