6 Ways You Can Improve Your Consultancy Business

Consultancy is competitive. A successful string of jobs doesn’t mean that you can sit back and expect everything to take care of itself. Your network requires attention. Never become complacent when it comes to lining up future work.

There are, however, expanding opportunities within the industry. Consultancy, in the UK, has grown at a rate exceeding the baseline economy for the last three years — now sitting at a valuation of over £9 billion. Businesses saddled with the unpredictability of an ever-changing technological landscape and political uncertainties are turning to consultants to adapt and change.

This article will help you take advantage of changes in the market, maximise the value of your network and allow you to expand, improve and develop your consultancy business.

1. Improve Your Network Relationships

Your business hinges on your network. A lot of people are able to secure contracts if given the opportunity to speak with stakeholders. Most people, however, never get that far. The key to even getting those opportunities is having the right connections. But, it actually goes further than that. People need to think of you when opportunities arise. In order to get opportunities for work, you need to stay front of mind across a range of contacts.

The most effective way to maintain professional relationships is to generate a genuine personal relationship. The core people in your network that helped you get started, provide valuable network connections and have helped you get work time and again — those people should actually be your friends. Meet them regularly, donate to their charity runs, remember their birthdays, be there when they need help.

You should extend this attitude to as many people as possible. Time will be the limiting factor here. But, the more people you can meet for face-to-face chats, the more work you will get. You can simply ask people to meet up for coffee or lunch. But, keep passive tabs on people and industries with Google Alerts. Use corporate shake-ups, new product launches or personal achievements to frame the reason you were thinking of the person and want to ‘catch-up’.

You should never look to ‘sell’ to people under these circumstances. You can talk business, but keep the focus on them. For a lot of your long-term contacts, don’t be afraid to spend a good portion of your lunch just talking about the kids or their weekend social activities.

2. Learn How to Give The Right Advice For Free

When meeting with anyone, particularly someone new, you need to impress them. That does not mean bragging about your accomplishments, it means telling them something insightful about their business. You need to do research before you meet anyone, even people you have known for a long time. Always have a list of two or three relevant things to say and wait for opportunities to weave them into the conversation.

When engaged in ‘professional’ conversations, you always want to keep the focus on ‘them’. If you can get someone talking about their business, that gives you an opportunity to start consulting. If you can provide value upfront, people will come back for more. Next time, you can charge them.

There is, however, an art to this. You don’t want to give everything away, or start giving advice when it is inappropriate to do so. Wait for natural moments when your advice will have the most impact. There is also a serious distinction between telling someone something and telling them how to do it. You have to save something for after you sign a contract.

3. Get Good At Social Media (Expand Your Communication)

Face-to-face meetings are the ideal way to stay in contact, but social media gives you a bigger platform. LinkedIn, particularly, is a gateway to keeping in constant communication with your entire network simultaneously. Look to add contacts every week and make sure to connect to anyone with whom you want to remain in professional contact.

Then, communicate with those people — create blogs, write posts and leave comments. Whenever engaging, always make sure to create something of actual value, not simple self-promotion. That kind of thought leadership will demonstrate your skills, rather than your ability to brag. Use the research you undertake for face-to-face meetings to form the basis of blogs.

4. Diversify Your Skill Set and Engage With Businesses of Every Size

The internal structure of the large consultancy houses pushes a belief that consultants naturally subdivide along areas of specialisation — ‘strategic’, ‘business’ and ‘technical’ consulting, all focusing on ever more granular levels of a business. This is a bad way to look at your independent consultancy practice.

Although the major global consulting companies currently corner nearly four-fifths of the market, there is a growing divide between what these firms can offer and what businesses expect. Businesses of all types and sizes want multi-disciplinary consultants that can provide customised solutions and operate without bloated support teams. The ability to deliver on these needs is why niche firms and independent contractors are the fastest growing segment within the consulting industry. This expanding opportunity has been called the rise of ‘Third Category’ consulting.

Investigate training programs, use learning platforms like Skillshare and always look to learn on the job. The more you can expand your skill set, the greater appeal you will have and the higher fees you will be able to command. For example, if you have always focused on technical applications, read about the strategic implications of digital transformation and learn how to train staff to better use new technology. Learn about marketing, procurement and compliance laws.

In order to gain as many opportunities as possible, you need to appeal across sectors and to businesses of every size. Small businesses can make decisions quickly and have lean structures that are easy to understand. Enterprise customers can afford the highest fees but have so many decision makers that signing a contract can be a time-consuming process. SMEs deliver a middle-ground option. Focusing on any one area to the detriment of others will cause you to miss opportunities. Having a wide range of skills will allow you to work in different industries and tackle the range of challenges you will confront in businesses of different sizes. A multi-disciplinary skill set will allow you to provide greater value to clients and appeal to a wider audience.

5. Stop Taking Long-Term Projects (Look At More Types of Projects)

Long-term projects are appealing because they seemingly guarantee you income. But, they come with an opportunity cost — they remove you from the market. The key to generating a steady stream of work is working for a lot of people. 84% of consultants state that follow-up projects and direct recommendations are their main source of new work. You can still network while engaged in a long-term project, but you lose the ability to establish working relationships with more people within your network.

Under certain circumstances, long-term projects are fine. But, if struggling to find opportunities, avoid jumping on the first big project you stumble across, it might hurt you in the long run. Consultants achieve real stability by having many sources of income. The more people you work for, the less dependent you are on any one client. That offers you flexibility, reduced risk and variety.

You should also look to diversify your business. In addition to creating new skills, look to get different types of jobs. If you always work as a project manager, see if you can get a speaking gig, or maybe look to do some one-to-one business coaching. Consultants do a lot of different things, tapping into the full spectrum of the profession will allow you to appeal to a wider client base and work more often. It comes with the added bonus of variety. Working lots of projects will allow you to pick up more skills and improve your appeal to the market.

6. Join an Associate Programme and Hire Admin Support

Don’t freak out! Joining an associate programme doesn’t mean giving up the freedom of your independent consultancy business. On the smaller end of the scale, many of these are just groups of independent consultants looking to help each other out. This is not to say that all of them are like this, you need to investigate the fineprint. There are plenty of associate programmes that look to control the workflows and client relationships of everyone who works there. But, if you can avoid that, these types of partnerships can bring a number of benefits.

First, you often get access to support services such as an executive assistant (EA). The ability to delegate some of your admin will allow you to focus on networking and active clients. But, you don’t always need one full-time and associate programmes often allow you flexible access to professional and accredited staff.

The main benefit of associate programmes, however, is access to other consultants. Getting direct feedback from other people in the industry can be really helpful if you are struggling to get clients. People may also be willing to share connections and help you grow your network. You will also gain access to training events, improving your networking skills, and adding professional skills that will improve your all-round appeal. Always look out for networking opportunities, the ability to grow your skill set and expand your customer base. This is critical to every aspect of you consultancy business.

Access “Your No Nonsense Guide to Becoming an Independent Consultant” Here.

Originally published at blog.positivemomentumpartners.com.