How To Sell Consulting Services (Getting Started)

Do you know how to sell consulting services?

In this article, I will offer my personal experiences, insights, and practical tips to guide you as you take your first steps into the world of consulting.

Straight off the bat, here are a few key takeaways:

• Collect and showcase client testimonials using SurveyMonkey.
• Use Canva to create consistent branding across platforms.
• Schedule free consultations using Calendly or Acuity Scheduling.
• Send newsletters and updates with Mailchimp or ConvertKit.
• Improve your website’s SEO using Moz or SEMRush.
• Find speaking opportunities through SpeakerHub.
• Self-publish an eBook using Canva and Amazon KDP.
• Schedule regular social media posts with Hootsuite or Buffer.
• Join online communities through Slack and Discord.
• Run online ads with Google Ads or Facebook Ad Manager.
• Host webinars using Zoom or GoToWebinar.
• Use a CRM system like HubSpot for following up with leads.

Table of Contents

How To Sell Consulting Services (Key Components)
1 – Identifying Your Niche
2 – Value Proposition
3 – Building Relationships
Sell Consulting Services (15 Strategies)
1 – Content Creation
2 – Professional Interaction & Connectivity
3 – Encouraging Client Advocacy
4 – Fostering A Strong Personal Brand
5 – Offering Free Initial Consultations
6 – Utilizing Social Media
7 – Direct Marketing
8 – SEO Optimization
9 – Speaking Engagements
10 – Publishing A Book
11 – Collaboration With Other Consultants
12 – Online Advertising
13 – Hosting Workshops Or Webinars
14 – Offering A Variety Of Service Packages
15 – Following Up
Selling Consulting Services (Getting Started)
1 – Define Your Services
2 – Set Competitive Rates
3 – Build Your Online Presence

Let’s consider the key components of selling your consulting services.

How To Sell Consulting Services (Key Components)

Selling consulting services isn’t just about crafting an irresistible pitch.

It involves leveraging key components that form the backbone of your business model. Here are three steps to work through…

1 – Identify Your Niche

It’s common for new consultants to begin as generalists. You feel you can offer advice on a wide range of topics, so why not maximize the options you present to potential clients,

When you do this you will soon realize that to distinguish yourself in the saturated consulting market, you need to specialize.

Identifying a niche not only makes it easier to target potential clients, but also helps you develop more profound, specialized knowledge, giving you an edge over competitors.

My advice to you is to find your unique niche where your expertise can shine.

2 – Value Proposition

A consultant without a clear value proposition is like a ship without a rudder.

If people don’t clearly understand how you can help them and why you are the best choice to guide them through a specific situation or solve a problem, then it’s unlikely they will hire you.

“Most consultants place their value proposition at the wrong end of the equation; they focus on their ability to do rather than on the client’s ability to improve.” (Alan Weiss)

Identify your USP (Unique Selling Point) and make it central to your consulting brand.

While it’s tempting to generalize in an attempt to attract a broader market, you’re only widening your competition.

Those looking for consulting services want professionals with niche expertise.

Stay focused on appealing to a small group of people with very specific problems.

For instance, rather than selling marketing consulting services to B2C brands, you could exclusively target only CBD companies.

You can demonstrate an understanding of the unique challenges faced by CBD companies marketing their products.

3 – Build Relationships

Selling consulting services is more about relationships than transactions.

Andrew Sobel’s podcast talks about mastering the art of consulting sales and client relationships:

“Consulting is a two-way transaction. While people know this, not many take it to heart. A consultant goes beyond merely telling their clients what to do; rather, they listen and build trust in one another.”

Relationship building should be a core component of your consulting business. This means going the extra mile and showing your commitment to the clients through your actions.

Sell Consulting Services (15 Strategies)

When it comes to maximizing your consulting services’ reach and appeal, a comprehensive strategy that goes beyond exhibiting your professional qualifications is paramount.

Here are fifteen strategies that have shaped my trajectory toward success:

1 – Content Creation

One of the first steps I took on my journey was the creation of this blog, a dedicated website designed to showcase my professional experience and demonstrate my skills.

By publishing long-form blog content, I could express ideas and concepts using my own stories, in whatever format I wanted to, without restriction.

Action Tip: Identify your areas of expertise and create a content plan around them. Start a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel and regularly post engaging and informative content.

2 – Professional Interaction & Connectivity

Networking should never be underestimated as a business development tool. The potential to find your next client is abundant.

While LinkedIn is commonly seen as the go-to platform for networking, I find Twitter equally as useful.

If you can find the right influencers and engage in the right Twitter communities, the platform is immensely useful for generating leads.

Action Tip: Attend industry events and make it a point to engage in discussions. Also, increase your visibility on Twitter by replying to niche-relevant tweets and engaging with influencers in your industry.

3 – Encourage Client Advocacy

Advocacy from satisfied clients is an incredibly powerful tool for winning new business.

When appropriate, encourage your clients to share their positive experiences with others.

From a simple tweet to a recorded video testimonial, there is no shortage of ways to get clients to sing your praises.

While some consultants may be hesitant to ask for testimonials, you can use various strategies to obtain this invaluable social proof from your clients.

Action Tip: Request testimonials from satisfied clients and share them on your website and social media accounts. A few positive words from a previous client can boost your credibility.

4 – Foster A Strong Personal Brand

The effectiveness of a well-constructed, consistent personal brand should not be overlooked. It’s your chance to control the narrative around who you are and what you can offer.

Take the time to think about how you want to position yourself and your unique expertise. Your personal brand can’t be replicated. It’s the one thing that makes us all you unique and as a consultant, it’s one of the best tools for differentiation.

Action Tip: Spend time developing your personal brand. Make sure your website, logo, social media, and other public-facing elements align with your unique value proposition.

5 – Offer Free Initial Consultations

This no-strings-attached approach allows potential clients to sample your expertise firsthand and gauge the value you could bring to their organization.

An initial consultation (without charge) will enable you to build rapport with prospective clients and demonstrate your expertise. You may even consider completing work pro-bono for a client in order to build up your roster of case studies. This is especially true when you are just getting started and you have very little client work history.

Action Tip: Offer a free initial consultation to potential clients. This strategy gives them a risk-free opportunity to experience your services first-hand.

6 – Utilize Social Media

Leveraging the reach of social media platforms has helped many consultants engage with a far broader audience.

Twitter is an effective platform to connect with a lot of potential clients quickly, especially decision makers at companies.

You can use the organic reach of Twitter to promote your blog articles, videos, podcasts, or share insights from research you have conducted.

Twitter users in particular respond well to compelling research delivered in short ‘twitter streams’, which can in turn be shared thousands of time.

Action Tip: Make use of social media platforms that align with your target audience. Regularly post insightful content, engage in discussions, and connect with industry leaders.

7 – Direct Marketing

Direct marketing efforts, particularly through email campaigns and targeted newsletters, have been essential tools in maintaining an active connection with existing clients.

Rarely will a potential client sign up to work with you based on just one exposure to your content. You need a means to follow up, to continue to deliver content, provide value and build trust. Email newsletters are the perfect tool to do this and for many consultants, is the marketing tool that delivers the most clients.

You can use platforms like ConvertKit or Systeme to quickly set up compelling campaigns that are jam-packed with value.

Action Tip: Build an email list and send regular newsletters with updates about your services, industry news, and helpful tips. This keeps your audience engaged and your brand at the forefront of their minds.

8 – SEO Optimization

By researching and utilizing relevant keywords in blog articles, Google search traffic has become one of the best sources of new clients for my business.

Alongside posting high-value blog content on your domain, it’s worth reaching out to website owners that have domains with strong authority.

You can pitch guest posts in an attempt to gain backlinks.

These backlinks will have a positive impact on your domain’s authority and enable you to rank for more competitive keywords further down the line.

It’s not a quick process, but long term it can become a stable and free source of new clients.

Action Tip: Optimize your website and blog posts with relevant keywords to improve your search engine rankings. Consider using an SEO tool or consultant to help you with keyword research.

9 – Speaking Engagements

Securing speaking engagements on webinars and podcasts has offered me a platform to demonstrate my expertise in a direct and interactive way.

Whether you have a small or large number of listeners, you are creating an opportunity to establish rapport with these individuals.

There’s something very powerful for connection when people listen to a speaker’s voice live. Even a simple interview on a podcast can turn into a steady stream of client interest if you reach the right audience.

Action Tip: Seek opportunities to speak at industry events or online. Public speaking positions you as an authority in your field and gives you exposure to potential clients.

10 – Publish A Book

You can write and publish a book to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry. It doesn’t need to be long, a short but practical book can take you far.

Many consultants use eBooks or short PDF reports as lead magnets. In my career, releasing several reports like the Blog Profits Blueprint have helped me to grow my email newsletter significantly.

If you are trying to build up an email list and need a hook to get people to sign up for your newsletter, consider what a free ebook could do.

The eBook should aim to solve or address a problem faced by a specific market. It’s all about providing your potential clients with as much value as you can. You should pack the eBook with useful tips and insights from front to back.

Action Tip: Consider writing a book or an eBook in your area of expertise. This not only establishes your authority but also provides another avenue for potential clients to find you.

11 – Collaborate With Other Consultants

Working in collaboration with other consultants in related fields opens up doors to new opportunities and helps to hold you accountable.

When you commit to a new project with another consultant, whether that’s a research project to create content, a marketing campaign to launch an offer, or to speak at their event, it creates a commitment.

This accountability is powerful, as is the potential to reach new people who could become your client.

Action Tip: Build partnerships with other consultants in related fields. This opens up opportunities for referrals and allows you to offer a broader range of services.

12 – Online Advertising

By investing in online advertising on the Google Ads and Meta/Facebook platforms, I’ve been able to reach people who were looking for solutions that I provide.

If you are unsure of how to get started, consider taking a Facebook ads crash course and investing a few dollars a day in a campaign. Or, if you need to hire someone and have a budget ready, get in touch as I can refer you to the same consultants who manage my ad campaigns.

Action Tip: Experiment with online advertising. Start small, measure the effectiveness of your campaigns, and adjust accordingly.

13 – Host Workshops Or Webinars

Conducting educational workshops or webinars on topics related to my field of expertise has proven to be an excellent method of engaging with potential clients.

While it takes more work to prepare a workshop presentation, once you have one it’s a powerful tool for bringing in customers. In many cases by just watching my workshop people were convinced to buy my services.

If you have answers to specific problems faced by prospective clients, encourage them to sign up for a webinar or workshop hosted by you. You can then provide these people with value and demonstrate your competence.

Action Tip: Host webinars or workshops on topics within your area of expertise. This allows you to provide value to a large audience and demonstrate your expertise at the same time.

14 – Offer A Variety Of Service Packages

Over the years I’ve offered an array of packages and services tailored to different budget levels and business needs.

While remaining focused on solving specific problems, you can create a range of packages to meet the needs of prospective clients.

If you’re not sure what packages will sell, focus on finding your one converting offer first. Once you have that, you can speak to your current clients and learn what additional problems they have and how you can help solve them with additional offers.

Action Tip: Offer different levels of service packages to cater to various client needs and budgets. This flexibility can make your services more attractive to a wider range of potential clients.

15 – Follow Up

Regularly following up with potential clients and maintaining a consistent line of communication has proven crucial in securing sign-ups.

You should always aim to provide value in your follow-ups.

Sharing a few tips or insights can help further establish you as a potential source of value for the prospective client.

I sometimes like to follow up with leads with a screen recording video.

You can embed these videos into an email, which your prospective client will watch and listen to. This is a powerful tool for increasing connection and delivering advice.

You also receive notice when your video is viewed, which helps you to track engagement.

Action Tip: Establish a systematic follow-up process for potential clients. This could be a simple email sequence or a more personalized approach. The aim is to keep the conversation going without being overly aggressive.

Selling Consulting Services (Getting Started)

To summarize, how do you get started selling consulting services? Here are my top tips based on personal experiences:

1 – Define Your Services

Be crystal clear about what you offer.

Explain what problems you help solve, make the expected outcomes tangible and measurable, clarify timeframes and what actions they will be expected to take.

Also explain how you will interact. This make sure there is no confusion about how and when you will offer your support.

2 – Set Competitive Rates

Deciding on price is one of the most challenging parts of starting a consulting business.

I studied competitors, surveyed potential clients, and considered the value of the changes I could help bring to my clients before deciding on a pricing structure.

Price is very much impacted by who you are selling to. People who don’t have much money can’t afford to pay much for consulting. Targeting a market that is already successful — and you are going to help them become more successful — means you can charge premium prices.

Remember, you’re selling value, not just time.

3 – Build Your Online Presence

A professional online presence is non-negotiable.

I hired a professional to create a compelling website showcasing my services, achievements, and client testimonials.

I also established a social media presence, which has been instrumental in reaching and engaging my target audience.

Selling consulting services can be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. I hope by using some of the tips I have shared in this article, you can position yourself for success.

Yaro

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