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

Edition #51 - June 1, 2022 

Dear reader, 

After the celebration of my golden 50th edition two weeks ago, here's edition 51 in a slightly new format. 

In the new editions, starting from today, I will reduce the overall reading volume and concentrate more on the reader questions and case studies from the consulting trenches. I always get great feedback on these questions and cases, and I will focus a little more on them. 

Anyway, my ultimate aspiration remains to create a bubble of calmness with my 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.

On the move to edition 100 in 2024!

Enjoy reading, 

Luk

The Big Question Or Case Study

Reader Questions and client case studies from the consulting frontline.

Client case study: finetuning a mid-sized consultancy’s market positioning

From January till mid-May 2022, I worked with a medium-sized tech consulting firm (50 FTE, just under €10M revenue) to help them finetune their market positioning and expertise narrative. I am disclosing here the playbook that we have used with 6 sprints.

We’ve now finalized Sprints 1-3. Sprints 4, 5, and 6 will be executed later to ensure the adoption of the initial changes. I hope to give you a solid understanding of such a market positioning review.

The main reasons for the project

● Service overkill: the number of services gradually increased – each successfully delivered project became the basis of yet another new service - a pretty common challenge;

● Tech language: too much tech feature-driven language instead of value proposition language (as I always say: “You are not in the business of selling tech features but in the business of solving client problems”);

● Hitting the project wall: too much lower-value, smaller project work, not enough high-value strategic consulting despite existing upstream/strategic expertise;

● Business development challenges: too slow revenue growth, not enough organic new client development, not enough top-of-mind for the expertise, smaller projects don’t drive enough total revenue.

You can read the entire case study here.

Would you like to send a question for one of the following newsletter editions? Please send it to me here. 

The Irresistible Content

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

TVA blog: The Biggest Consulting Misconception Is Holding You Back From Limitless Growth

Think about some common “secrets” in your work as a consultant or expert. I am sure you can think of a few off the top of your head.

But let me tell you, I am 100% sure none of them are secrets. Consultants who successfully use such secrets aren’t successful because they know them. Their success comes from implementing them well.

TVA blog: Business Development In Consulting Is Rooted In Educating Your Audience

TVA blog: Getting Over 'The Project Wall' To Grow A Consultancy Firm

LinkedIn post: Consulting firms should stop saying ‘Here’s what we do’.

LinkedIn post: Openly sharing your expertise is gold!

LinkedIn post: Experts can explain the hidden cost of inaction to clients.

LinkedIn post: Consultancies, stop using incomprehensible language.

LinkedIn post: Clients in consulting pay for expertise.

LinkedIn post: Key voices are absent in most consulting firms.

The Authority, previous edition: Edition #50

The Inconvenient Number

Evidence-based learning for consultants.

My Inevitable Services

The services you can book. Better consultancy firms, better consultants.

🅾️ Update: The Solo Consultants Learning Weekend With Luk, Brussels 24-25-26 June 2022

Finally, I will restart my live training programs, and I am looking forward to it.

My next Solo Consultants Learning Weekend will take place in Brussels from Friday afternoon, June 24, until Sunday late afternoon (5 pm), June 26, 2022.

During that weekend, I will take participants through all my experiences, both as a consultant and as a guide and trainer for other consultants and consulting firms.

The main objective of the weekend? You will start a new era in your professional life the Monday after, and your consulting approach will never be the same again. Promised! 

Are you interested in joining? Apply for participation via the detailed information page for a shot at the early bird pricing until the end of May. 

Not able to join in June? Interested in joining next time (most likely a summer boot camp)? Get on the announcement list, and I will keep you posted.

PS Why an application process? Well, I'd like to avoid competitors joining together.

🅾️ My service for small and medium-sized consulting firms: The Consulting Positioning Assessment

Do you really understand the perception of your consulting firm through the lens of your ideal client? 

Your consulting firm's positioning is your strategy! As Michael Porter said: “Strategy is about making choices, it’s about deliberately choosing to be different”. 

Owners, leaders, or partners of consulting firms should avoid figuring out their consultancy positioning strengths and weaknesses by trial and error. It takes way too much time.

My assessment takes you through a rigorous process of diagnosing, researching, assessing, and comparing the touchpoints that connect your consultancy with your ideal audience for the years to come.

Interested? Here's a detailed info page. 

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Previous 'The Authority' edition: Edition #50

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