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

Edition #59 - September 21, 2022

Dear reader,

Here is the 59th edition of my newsletter. I've been doing a lot of workshops these days. I have started compiling my learnings and will be sharing them with you in the upcoming issues and blog posts. In the meantime, I was able to get quite a few of my thoughts on paper in between workshop sessions that I'll be sharing with you today.

I hope you can find a moment to disengage from your emails and calls, and read my newest experiences and short stories.

As always, I hope I can 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.

Enjoy reading,

Luk

Client Discussions

Client questions and case studies from the consulting frontline.

Positioning in consulting is an exercise in irrelevance

On special request of several of my readers...this special about POSITIONING IN CONSULTING. Here you go...

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working with consultancies on how to leverage their expertise to add value to their clients.

However, the one thing that an overwhelming amount of this work has been coming down to is positioning. It is such an important foundational element that nothing else matters until a consultancy gets this part right.

Marketing and business development strategies will not produce consistent results. The consultancy will play catch-up, trying to win clients by lowering fees and sending dozens of follow-up emails.

I share quite a bit about the importance of positioning through my LinkedIn posts. Since I tend to focus on one reason at a time, I thought I’d bring a few of the main posts together to help you, my reader, understand and internalize the significance of correctly positioning your consultancy.

Read the 7 business reasons positioning matters and why now is the perfect time to revisit your consultancy's positioning.

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.

The latest blog article: Shaping Your Consultancy’s Thought Leadership To Accelerate Growth

thought leadership for accelerated growth in consulting

“My team has been putting in a lot of effort into creating premium content that showcases our consultancy’s expertise. But not much is happening.”

This is a copy-paste from one of the email chains with a prospective client early on in our communication.

This subject comes up often. In fact, the lack of ROI is one of the most common frustrations and objections that I encounter with consultancies.

There are several reasons why your firm’s thought leadership content is not driving its business development.

One big reason is the lack of a clear goal or strategy that consulting firms use when crafting every piece of content.

My other content from the past 2 weeks

TVA blog: Consulting Leaders, Stop Outsourcing Your Thought Leadership Responsibility to Marketing!

LinkedIn post: Consulting firms excel at telling horrible abracadabra language.

LinkedIn post: Poorly positioned consulting firms have no choice but to compete on pricing.

LinkedIn post: Do you really understand your consulting clients?

LinkedIn post: Expertise is THE most crucial differentiator in consulting.

LinkedIn post: I’ve always been obsessed with providing value in my consulting work.

The Authority, previous edition: Edition #58

The Inconvenient Number

Evidence-based learning for consultants.

Remain relevant to be visible

According to the latest study by Hinge Marketing, a strong correlation exists between how relevant a firm is and how visible it is.

This makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The more in-demand your area of expertise and skills are, the more likely decision-makers are to seek your firm out. They are more likely to come across your content, engage with your thought leadership, and send an inquiry.

And it seems that many firms have been taking their visibility for granted.

The perception of a highly visible firm fell from 23.1% in 2020 to 14.6% in 2022.

For these firms that dropped in visibility – that's bad news. Don't count on your legacy reputation to drive your business long-term. You need to remain relevant, which means continuously finetuning to meet your audience's changing needs. For smaller firms – this is great news. It's an opportunity to become the front-runner and increase your visibility share.

Source: Hinge Marketing

Here's How I Can Help

Better consultancy firms, better consultants.

🅾️ Assessing the Consulting Firm's Market Positioning

Many consulting firms make the same mistake – rushing to pitch their services without putting enough effort into their positioning.

It always seems so counter-intuitive to me. It makes growing a consulting business so much harder, such a poor positioning.

Without a strong market positioning, you do not have a proper framework to organize your priorities, client work, and business development. Moreover, your target market has no clear idea of what you do, how you do it, and why what you do is of value.

I can help you assess the consulting firm's strengths and the areas for improvement. So take a piece of paper and a pen and return to the drawing board. Get the foundation right, and the rest will follow.

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.

If you don't assess your positioning every 2 to 3 years, you might have missed a few things on the market.

Interested? Here's a detailed info page.

🅾️ In-company business development workshops for consultancies

Are you seeking help to build and grow the foundations for a solid business development footprint in consulting?

I can help with short virtual interventions, 2-hour virtual workshops, half-day or full-day classes (virtual or live in West Europe), or 2-day boot camps in a retreat format.

Everything is possible.

Interested? Here is further information.

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Previous 'The Authority' edition: Edition #58

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