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title: My bi-weekly 'think piece' for consultants
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reader, did you know business development in consulting has changed forever? Read it in 'The Readers' Question' in my newsletter.

| View in browser Luk’s Bi-Weekly 'Think Piece' For Consultants       Edition #41 - January 12, 2022        Dear reader,  Happy New Year!   Here's the first 2022 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.   Did you already download my newest ebook with the best social media posts from 2021? If not, here's the download link again. Enjoy the reading!  The Big Question Questions I get from consultants. And my answers. I’ve been finetuning my positioning the past months. My new positioning is: ‘Authority-Led Business Development In Consulting.’ I immediately received a few questions to explain this finetuning: “Luk, what exactly is Authority-Led bizdev in consulting”? Thanks a lot for the questions! Let me explain.   Let me be very candid with you: without visible authority in your consulting market, you will sit on the second (or third?) row to win new business! And without strong authority, you will most likely need to compete on price if you get the chance to pitch. And competing on price is not a great place to be in consulting.   There’s a tremendous business opportunity in almost every market. Consulting is still growing in most expertise domains and industries. However, if you’d like to earn a piece of that growing cake (with a fast-growing number of new consultancies), I cannot stress enough: the way you develop business in consulting has changed forever.   Four reasons why consulting business development has changed forever   1. Pre-buying research: buyers do their homework before getting in touch. Recent studies state that 70-80% of the decision-making process happens during this homework phase! They have access to a plethora of information that empowers them to manage most of the pre-buying research on their own. 2. Purchasing with a click: buyers of professional services have been ‘trained’ by B2C for ‘purchasing with a click’ & those expectations have blended into the consulting buying mindset. Buyers are inclined towards easy-to-find, 5-star Amazon-like-reviewed consulting resources. All your ‘trust stuff’ should be easy to find/navigate. 3. Social media impact: we're in the social era where your buyers discover & evaluate professional services and consultants through their social network: analyst reviews, social media, peer-based word of mouth, content platforms, etc. 4. Covid tax: consulting is a trust-based business. A recent study by Source Global Research concluded that 87% of professional service buyers feel that trust has become a more important part of their purchasing decisions due to COVID. Buyers need to trust you before getting in touch after ‘the homework’.   So, if your potential buyer starts doing the homework and you are nowhere on the radar with ‘your trust stuff’, off- or online, you will be in deep trouble. And nobody is coming to rescue you. It’s as blunt as it can be.    Without a visible body of work demonstrating your expertise (which requires focus and specialization), you’ll struggle to win in a crowded, highly competitive consulting market with risk-avoiding buyers. These impatient buyers can find anything in seconds.   Solo consultant, a boutique consultancy, or a big consultancy firm? There’s no difference!   The Authority-Led Quadrant   The best way to understand ‘Authority-Led’? Study my quadrant, see the visual below. In the quadrant, I am explaining the 4 ‘spaces’ you will need to integrate in your Authority-Led business development approach (in this order!):   1. Positioning, the genesis of your success as a consultant ● Narrow focus, deep expertise (with an outrageous pattern recognition grit) ● Specific target audience with specific, prototypical pains ● Client-specific value proposition with a distinct problem-resolution process 2. Visibility, getting on the radar screen of the buyer ● Develop a trust-building body of work to demonstrate your expertise ● Develop a signature voice: consistently sharing your bold point of view about the value proposition and pain points ● Grow your external eminence to get more visibility: write, speak, podcast, teach Improve your social media presence with valuable content 3. Social Proof, your trust engine ● Consistently develop transformational case studies ● Transformational recommendations ‚by design‘ 4. Network & Relationships, the reward of your authority ● Having a strong network is the outcome of doing quadrants 1, 2, and 3 extremely well. It’s not the starting point of business development (an evil consulting myth)! ● Reduce your network dependency (it’s a side-effect of strong authority and visibility) ● Make sure you ‘systematize’ the network, get them in your all-mighty email system (fast call-to-arms) ● Never-ever stop nurturing: see my recent article about my nurturing obsession   Your authority-led business development goal for 2022: widen the green circle, reduce the red square (toxic) dependency!   The ultimate dream scenario (been there, I am privileged): prospects contact you! The Authority-Led Business Development Quadrant   Conclusion   Authority-led business development in consulting means mastering the skill of succinctly explaining your transformative expertise that will allow your prospects to move from their pain-ridden state to their “Promised Land” status.   You will need to create a bold vision about the transformational potential of switching to a new, different approach. And that vision (your expertise-based signature voice) should be contagious. You translate your expertise into the confidence you give to your audience about the positive potential of a specific transformation.   That’s when a buyer will turn to you after ‘the homework’. That’s how you will develop a natural flow of easy to qualify opportunities, because prospects know what they can get from you through your body of work. Happy authority-led 2022. 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 share consulting-related advice on Linkedin to start the new week. Here are the quotes from the past two weeks. Let the inspiration be with you (if you let it).    Topic 3-1-2022   Ordinary consultants are trying to make money. Authorities are trying to make a difference.   Topic 10-1-2022   Ordinary consultants get asked why they should get hired as consultants. Authorities get invited.     The Irresistible Content I write a lot. Here's the update from the past 2 weeks.   🅾️ Webinar resources: All resources for the free webinars I hosted in 2021 🅾️ TVA blog: Building an Email List Is Your Ultimate Trust Weapon as a Consultant Authority-led business development in consulting is about building visibility and growing the trust in your expertise in your market(s).   To help me with that, the email list of my target audience has been my secret trust weapon for almost a decade (and still is today).   When I started The Visible Authority in early 2020, I was able to accumulate almost 1,000 subscribers within the first 16 months. This is a highly targeted audience that I regularly engage and share my learnings with. I barely get any unsubscribes and my newsletter – The Authority – has a steady open rate of 40-50%! To give you some context: 20.13% is the industry average. 🅾️ Other content from the past weeks:   TVA blog: Why You Should Reverse-Engineer Your Consulting Service Offering LinkedIn post: Time to Get Rid Of Your Downstream Positioning as a Consultant. LinkedIn post: We live in a world full of restlessness and indecision. LinkedIn post: New year’s resolutions? Train these 8 skills! LinkedIn post: Ready to read some utterly useless consulting nonsense? Linkedin post: Do you have a bold vision about the transformational potential? LinkedIn post: Why should we hire you as a consultant? The Authority, previous edition: Edition #40    The Inspiring ‘Others’ I read/listen a lot. Here's what I am reading right now. ‘Value-ology’ by Simon Kelly, Paul Johnston, and Stacey Danheiser Value-ology: Aligning sales and marketing to shape and deliver profitable customer value propositions is a book that every consultant must keep on their desk.   “It has never been easier to produce great marketing content and sales collateral. And yet, 90% of the content that marketing produces is NEVER used by sales. Why not? Because it’s not relevant to the audience or the prospect doesn’t even know the content exists. Furthermore 58% of deals end up in “no decision” because Sales has not presented value effectively.” THIS! In one of my articles, I talk at length about the fact that most consulting USPs are made of useless, self-centered bragging and that this needs to change! Instead, I argue, consultants should embrace UVPs – unique value propositions.   Furthermore, you can’t think of marketing, sales, and consulting functions as somehow separate and you, as a consultant, detached from the sales and marketing functions.   Being a consultant – a.k.a., an expert – is not just about offering your expertise when you are paid for it by a client. It’s also about using your deep knowledge to attract the right audience in the first place. It’s about showcasing your value. Even if you work for a medium or large consultancy with dedicated sales and/or marketing teams, you are the driver of how your expertise is communicated to the target audience. After all, your consulting positioning has the single biggest impact on your prospects' buying decisions.   I strongly recommend reading this book to better understand how to capture customer intelligence and insights to translate them into value that you consistently put out for your target audience.   The Inconvenient Number Evidence-based learning for consultants.   Email is your secret weapon   Alright, maybe the ROI of email compared to all other marketing tools is not really a secret. I am, nevertheless, mystified by so many consultants’ reluctance to use it. “I don’t want to spam my contacts” or “I don’t want to appear desperate” – I’ve heard objections along these lines over and over again.   As I explain in detail in one of my latest posts, your target audience signing up to hear from you is a fantastic sign of trust. As a consultant, you should be growing that trust by using email marketing to continuously deliver value – sharing your expertise in a way that addresses your audience’s pain points.   78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.   Email is one of the oldest digital marketing tools but it doesn’t waver. It stands the test of time. It delivers significantly stronger results than social media or paid advertising. So start building that email list and putting it to good use!   Source: Hubspot   The Secret Backstage A sneak peek behind the curtains of my business. Luk's lab.   Have you read my answer to ‘The Big Question’ (see top of this newsletter): buyer behavior has changed forever. You need visible authority to get spotted by your potential buyers!   Here’s what I have done in the past 22 months, since the start of TheVisibleAuthority.com in March 2021 (yes, in lockdown) to build my visibility and reputation. ● I am using the formula 50-30-20 to plan my week: - 50% of my time = client-facing time per week - 30% of my time = marketing: 4 hours writing/week and 4 hours bizdev/week - 20% of my time = is my free Thursday (my 4-days work week)   ● A few outcomes of the 4 hours per week of content development: - >250 pages of available content - 2 ebooks >50 pages - 3 to 4 content-rich social media posts/week (and a summary in my ebook) - >30 blog articles, average reading time approx. 4,3 minutes - 41 content-rich newsletters (like this one) - 3 course write-ups - 100’s of email responses to client and prospect questions - Fully booked (50% client-facing time) since >1 year - 1,000 subscribers to my email list - Strong pipeline of new prospects, always giving me the opportunity to say no (don’t need to get in FOMO stress) - 300% growth of Google Organic traffic, the past 12 months   Readers always tell me: you must be writing day and night, right? Nope, it’s only 4 hours/week and everybody can do that to bolster the authority-led business development.     The Inevitable Learning The programs I am teaching. To become a better consultant.   🅾️ You still have time to join: FREE WEBINAR \| Today (January 12) at 2:00 PM CET  My Learnings from 2021 On January 12, I will take you through all my learnings from 2021 in an exclusive, 90-minute webinar. I will look back but also forward, explaining what's going on in the consulting space. See you in the webinar and have a great 2022 start! Here is what you will learn: ● My biggest learnings from 2021 in the world of consulting ● Top 5 challenges consultants had to overcome in 2021 ● The key lessons to take away for 2022 ● Predictions for consulting trends in 2022   You can find out more and register here.   🅾️ My private training program, NEW slots for 2022 I have opened new slots for 2022 for senior consultants eager to attract ideal customers and grow a consulting business consistently. This individual training program starts with a full audit of your market positioning and covers the necessary advice for long-term improvements and quick wins. If you are interested, hurry up because access is on a first-come-first-served basis and my pricing will increase in 2022. 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.        Not yet subscribed to 'The Authority'? Subscribe here. Previous 'The Authority' edition: Edition #40 Wanna send The Authority to friends or colleagues? It lives here TheVisibleAuthority.com, Bondgenotenlaan 169, 3000, Leuven, Belgium Unsubscribe Manage preferences |
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