Consultant" is the basic ideal description for several young careerists. Who doesn’t want to be considered an expert and paid large amounts of cash to offer advice and help solve problems.
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How does one become a consultant?
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you would like to ditch the company system and become a successful consultant.
Even if nobody knows who you're
Even if you've got no special skills or experience
Without being pushy, slimy, or salesy
Our proven, 10-step method has allowed over 3,000 Consulting.com students to quit their jobs and become completely self-employed. Out of that group, over 400 are earning six figures and 24 have crossed over into seven figures.
If you've got any interest in ditching the 9-5 grind and creating a career on your own terms, this is often the guide for you.
The definition of consulting ultimately boils right down to problem solving. If you'll help a selected sort of people solve a selected sort of problem, you'll make tons of cash as a consultant.
*Follow these steps below to find out the easy way to become a consultant.
*1. Embrace The Entrepreneurial Mindset
The first step to being successful as a consultant is embracing the entrepreneurial mindset.
Only around 14% of individuals will risk starting a business, and out of these , half will fail within 5 years.
In other words, to be a successful consultant, you've got to be more persistent and better at solving problems than 93% of the planet .
Success is unlikely.
Nobody goes to bail you out.
You figure it out otherwise you lose.
If that excites you, you’ve embraced the entrepreneurial mindset. If that scares you, the question becomes, "What are you getting to do about it?"
Some people get a high from the danger . Others hate it but power through it. Both can succeed as entrepreneurs.
*2. Identify Your Optimal Niche
Once you’ve embraced the proper mindset, subsequent step is to seek out the niche specialization that matches you best.
The goal of a consultant isn't to unravel random problems for random people but rather, to unravel a selected sort of problem for a selected group of individuals.
There are thousands of individuals offering online marketing. Many do okay. Many are barely scraping by. By specializing on the accounting niche, Andrew was ready to earn six then seven figures within a couple of years.
That’s the facility of niche expertise. If you'll solve a selected problem for a selected group of individuals , you'll earn significantly quite you'll as a generalist.
*How does one find your niche?
*It’s a three-part equation:
Industries you already know
The market’s needs and desires
Skills you've got or can learn
Let’s check out all .
*A. Industries You Already Know
As a consultant, our goal is to seek out the foremost pressing problems during a niche then solve them, and while it’s certainly possible to tug this off during a fresh industry, you're far more likely to achieve an industry you already know and understand.
Take a flash and list out niches and industries you have already got some familiarity with, whether through direct work experience, research, association, etc.
*B. The Market’s Needs & Desires
The entire purpose folks that specialize in industries we all know is to properly identify what the market wants. Don’t make the error of making a business selling something nobody wants.
If you would like to form good money as a consultant, the sole thing that matters is finding what the market wants then giving it to them.
If you recognize the industry, you've got an honest start line , but you’ll want to dive deeper. Peruse leading publications and influencers in your niche. Read popular blog posts. Scan comments. Read the bestselling books.
What are the themes? What are people talking about? What are people asking for?
*C. Skills you've got Or Can Learn
Finally, you'll got to actually be ready to deliver something useful . It’s not enough to understand the large problems during a niche if you can’t solve them.
List out your existing skills and areas of experience . Also list any skills that you simply feel capable of learning on a comparatively short timeline, also as skills or services that you simply know you'll outsource.
The intersection of those three piece will offer you your niche.
*3. Identify a standard Problem you'll Solve
Now that you’ve identified your niche, it’s time to spot the matter that you simply will solve as a consultant.
*To identify a number of the key problems in your niche, ask the subsequent questions:
*What do people in your niche want the most?
*What is keeping them from getting that?
What problems are keeping them up at night?
*What issues are causing the foremost anger or frustration?
*What solutions are people currently investing the foremost money into?
*Just like our niche must check three boxes, the matter you specialise in should check three boxes as well:
Affects an outsized number of individuals
People are willing to pay an honest amount to unravel the matter
You can offer an equal or better solution to what's commonly used
Once you've got your niche and key problem, it’s time to craft you consulting value proposition.
*4. Create Your Consulting Value Proposition
Who are you? What are you all about? What’s your pitch? What does one do?
How does one answer these questions? Many new consultants don’t have an honest answer. they're going to give very vague answers like, "Well, I uh... help people with their businesses."
To become a consultant, you'll got to effectively communicate the worth you provide. How you pitch your "offer" is incredibly important, and you'll answer of these questions effectively with a Consulting Value Proposition.
*Your Consulting Value Proposition should succinctly include everything we’ve already discussed:
*Niche
*Problem Solved
*Solution Method
Pulling from our previous example, Andrew Argue helps accountants to grow their business by training them in online lead generation.
This statement is that the core of your business. It’s the lens through which you'll communicate your value face to face and online.
*5. Build Your Online Hub
Now that you simply have established who you're and what you're offering, it’s time to create your online hub.
Your online business hub should typically start with an internet site . Social media profiles and pages are often a part of your hub, but it’s important that your primary online location business location is totally under your control, which isn't the case with social pages.
If you've got no web design skills and you aren’t tight on cash, simply put together a 2-3 page website using ClickFunnels. This method is fast, convenient, and positions you well for subsequent stage in our journey (lead generation).
If you're tight on cash, you'll opt instead to make your own website using tools like Wordpress or Squarespace. this may require to find out some light web design skills, but it won’t be that difficult, and you'll save an honest deal of cash .
In addition to your website, create social profiles on whatever platforms your niche frequents.
Whatever you are doing , don’t waste time or money here:
Don’t pay someone $5,000 to create you an internet site .
Don’t spend any time or money whatsoever on creating a logo.
Don’t spend hours agonizing over social profile details.
Get these things found out as quickly and painlessly as possible.
You don’t need the world-class branding of a Fortune 500 consulting company . one among the most important mistakes we see new entrepreneurs make is wasting plenty of time and money on this sort of stuff - stuff that ultimately has little influence on whether your business succeeds or not.
You can nitpick these things the maximum amount as you would like AFTER you're consistently bringing in clients and revenue.
6. Create A Repeatable System For Attracting Leads
If you'll consistently usher in leads and shut sales, you'll achieve business. Period. this is often probably the only most vital parts of starting a consulting business, and it’s what we spend the foremost time covering in our training.
As a consultant, your goal is to seek out out where your potential customers are then create a repeatable system for attracting them to your business.
7. Optimize Your Method For Closing Sales
Attract and shut . As we just mentioned, our preferred method for closing sales is that the 1-to-1 sales call, but which will not be the optimal method in every niche.
Just like there are alternative methods for attracting leads, there are numerous methods you'll use to shut sales.
*Options included:
Online orders
Inbound sales team
Outbound sales team
Referral network
Affiliate sales
Etc...
Perfecting your interpersonal 1-to-1 sales skills is usually incredibly beneficial, and to the present day, it remains one among the foremost effective methods we’ve seen, which is why we recommend it.
But that said, it’s your consulting practice. Find what works for you.
8. Improve Your Delivery Method
While bringing in paying clients is that the most difficult challenge most consultants face, the gig isn’t over once you've got the cash.
To become an independent consultant, you furthermore may got to be ready to deliver the products and solve your client’s problems. How you set about doing will determine your profit margins, earnings, referral clients, and overall brand standing.
The most important thing to specialise in early is successfully solving your problem. that's your #1 objective. You don’t got to be ready to personally solve it. If you'll outsource the answer to somebody else , that's perfectly fine, provided the client gets their problem solved within the end.
From there, your goal is to attenuate your costs. you would like to spend as little time and as little money as possible while still solving the matter.
If you're doing things entirely yourself, can outsourcing allow you to scale to higher earnings while freeing up your time?
If you're currently outsourcing, are you able to economize by training an employee to try to to handle an equivalent responsibilities?
Can you find software that automates parts of your workflow?
Can you turn parts of your workflow into a universal, step-by-step process that your clients can do for themselves?
Improving your delivery method is how certain consultants are ready to make six and even seven figures with an equivalent limited hours we all share.
9. Build Your Brand
When first learning the way to be a consultant, branding shouldn’t be the main target . You don’t need a brand to unravel problems and collect payment.
That said, by building your brand, you'll increase demand for your expertise, allowing you to command higher fees for your advice and services.
There are numerous ways to create your brand. you'll build an audience via social media:
You can submit your accomplishments to publications and organizations that recognize consultants and entrepreneurs:
Building your brand is ongoing pursuit and can benefit you within the end of the day .
10. Evolve Your Offer
If you gather 100 consultants during a room and ask them to explain their "offer" you'll hear a wildly diverse assortment of answers.
There are many sorts of consulting careers and consulting offers out there, and a few are more lucrative than others. Here are the five methods we wish to mention.
It’s rare for brand spanking new consultants to be ready to earn money simply from offering advice. you would like a diary for that.
You don’t need a diary to truly solve people’s problems. If you'll provide a "done for you" service that solves a drag , you'll start landing clients even with no experience and no diary . The client pays you money then you're taking care of everything.
Using james’s example, he would essentially be running all marketing for his accountant clients. they might pay him a monthly fee and he would bring them new clients on an ongoing basis.
Once you’ve run enough successful "done for you" campaigns, you'll start evolving your offer to offer more responsibility to the client. You provide the strategy and do a part of the work, then the client does the remainder .
Using james’s example, he would offer the strategy and setup the initial campaigns then the client would do the continued monitoring and split testing with the assistance of a once-per-month review and consultation from Andrews.
*1-on-1 Coaching
When clients are willing to pay you solely to show them, you've got moved from being more of a service provider to more of a consultant.
Using james’s example, he would be meet with the client 1-to-1 and tell them exactly what to try to setup and run their marketing then the client would handle the particular execution themselves.
*Group Coaching
If you're ready to generate a high enough demand for your advice, people are going to be willing to buy you advice even during a non-exclusive setting. you'll still offer 1-to-1 coaching at a particularly high price point, but offer a cheaper group coaching plan for the bulk of clients.
Using James' example, he would have weekly group coaching calls with 10 accountants where he answers their questions and provides group training.
Online business ideas
How to start an online bookkeeping business for beginner
The most scalable option is that the option that needs none of some time . If you'll productive your expertise into a web educational program , you'll scale your income indefinitely without having to extend your workload.
Using james's example, he would turn his accountant training into a web program and sell the program to students round the clock.
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