Consulting Growth

If you've ever wondered how to become a keynote speaker, it may come as no surprise that it's not a linear journey. To speak on a certain topic in your field and establish yourself as an expert takes quite a bit of effort and self-reflection, as well. From managing bands and touring around the world, to becoming an international keynote speaker, my guest today shares a bit about his journey.

James Taylor has been an international keynote speaker for the past 20 years, speaking on creativity for entrepreneurs, business owners, educators, designers, writers, and so many more. Starting with marketing events, he realized the power of speaking and its ability to build trust. He's sharing how to build authority as a speaker, and how to get started.

In this episode, we'll be discussing:

1. The first steps to take in becoming a speaker
2. Three things you should always have for your speaking business
3. How to find your "thing"

At the start, you need to decide what type of speaking business you want to do. Ask yourself: what does speaking need to do for you and your overall business? Find the types of audiences you'd like to speak to, and where you can find them. Continuously research other speakers and their methods, where they've spoken, and how you can create your own process through this.

When establishing yourself as a speaker, there are three essential things you should have: a high-quality reel, a stand-out pitch, and great photography. While James admits to having none of these at the beginning of his speaking career, accumulating these assets with each event you speak at will build the portfolio you need to establish yourself as an expert speaker.

So how do you find your "thing"? How do you find the one topic, or even, phrase, people are most interested in hearing you say? When you find what you really want to speak on, whatever your topic is, start to think about how you can go two levels deeper. on your topic. Start getting curious, and really wonder what you’d be happy to spend the next 10 years researching and speaking on.

Mentioned in this episode:

Steal the Show by Michael Port

The Consulting Bible by Alan Weiss

Spread Your Message. See the World. How to Become a Global Keynote Speaker by Fredrik Haren

Moleskine

Espeakers

Ontraport

International Speakers Summit

speakersu.com

As an independent consultant, it's important to have a strong network and professional community you can lean on and work with when needed. There are so many benefits to building a community in your network beyond the possibility of landing more projects.

My guest today is Will Bachman, co-founder of Umbrex. Umbrex is an online community of independent management consultants. As a former consultant at McKinsey, Will shares his experience working with a team versus working independently and creating his own, and how you can improve as an independent consultant with a strong community.

In this episode, we'll be talking about:

1. Why a professional community is necessary
2. How to maintain communication in your network
3. What to expect as an independent consultant

What's the need for a community? For starters, it doesn't hurt to have a few people to lean on when you need help, or to collaborate on projects with. You have the opportunity to learn about the tools and techniques your community members are using, and how you can benefit from them.

There's no set number of how many people you should include in your community. In fact, according to Will, starting small is best. Having five or 10 people that share some kind of interest is enough to get started, especially if they’re in the same city. Share what's going on in your field, learn from your peers, and grow the community with time.

You can maintain communication with your group in a variety of ways, but the method that's probably most used is email. The best part? You don't have to put that much effort into it. An hour a month for a monthly email may be just perfect, as long as you're reaching out to your network, sharing information, scheduling events, and keeping the community in tact.

If you're considering the independent route, there are three aspects of independent consulting to be mindful of (hint: you'll be running the ship solo). There’s delivering the work itself, and that entails actually doing the project. Then there’s generating the work, getting project leads, and converting leads into confirmed assignments. Finally, you'll be building the infrastructure for your firm throughout each process. Are you ready for it?

Mentioned in this episode:

Umbrex

Veritux

The Irresistible Consultants Guide to Winning Clients by David A. Fields

Calendly

Docusign

Expensify

Rev.com

PandaDoc

Some consulting firms have the "juice," others...maybe don’t. The way you sell and the way you market yourself has a big influence on whether or not your potential clients think you have the "juice." Your client relationship building skills may need to be spruced up a bit.

My guest today is John Doherty, founder of Credo. Credo is a marketplace for clients to hire pre-vetted marketing professionals for a variety of consulting and agency needs. John shares with us specific tips like how to build trust, how to implement a sales process that works, and how to steadily elevate the level of strategy and expertise that you bring to these conversations.

In this episode, we'll be talking about:

1. Why you should know your budget from the beginning
2. How to bring in leads
3. Building trust effectively

A lot of professionals will not figure out what their budget is. If you don’t have an idea what your budget is, it’s going to be hard to pitch a project that will be signed off on. You’re either going to present a wildly low estimate, and they’re not going to believe you can get it done for what you're quoting. It could also go the other way: you’re going to come in wildly above budget, and your client is going to come back frustrated.

On Credo's marketplace, John shares how the pros are bringing in leads, but there's a kicker: there's no one tried and true way. The channel John sees work best is referrals. If you can drill down and specialize in one thing, you become that go-to person for that specific need. Referrals work really well, especially when you're just starting out. Keep in mind, though, referrals are hard to scale and they’re hard to make consistent.

Part of your client relationship building skills is to build trust in the sales process. John thinks of trust-building as a hierarchy. The first item being a niche-focused service; that’s social proof. Following that, you have logos: a visual representation of the types of clients you've served. Testimonials are the third item on the hierarchy, followed by case studies. Clients can see these verifiable results and make the choice if you've got the "juice."

Mentioned in this episode:Get CredoDripMillion Dollar ConsultingSEMRushAhrefsThe Five Minute Journaljohnfdoherty.com

Some tools work better than others. Figuring out the best one for your business can be a series of trial and error. Rather than let CRM failures happen, you could find the one that's the best fit for your business.

Jon Lee, CEO of Copper, is my guest today, and he's explaining why CRM failures happen, how they can be avoided, and how you can leverage CRM to grow your business. And no; no tedious, tiring data entry is required here!

In this episode, we'll discuss:

1. How to avoid CRM failures
2. The impact of AI
3. What attributes make a great customer
4. The best way to attract customers

A Forrester study reported that 47% of CRM implementations fail because of lack of adoption. The system is not organized, or structured in a way that turns new users away because the navigation is confusing. This can be avoided by creating a CRM that flows in a way users are already familiar with. Jon shares how Copper is laid out very similarly to Google, so nothing feels unnatural to a new user.
While CRM is not 100% automated, AI and machine learning can greatly impact how it helps customers. AI has the ability to look at historical patterns, extract those patterns, and continue to refine and develop that capability of understanding to then be able to provide that recommendation back to the customer.

Speaking of the customer, what attributes make up for a great customer? You can determine these attributes based on their journey with your product or service. How you acquire the customer and provide a customized experience based on their history of engagement with your product/service also foreshadows how they'll interact with your product in the future.

So, what is the best way to attract these great customers? By simply helping them, they will return the favor (the favor being purchasing your product/service). Show them how you can help them, the value your product/service can add to their life, and be sure to give them an amazing experience along the way.

Mentioned:
Jon Lee
Copper
HBR - Why CRM Projects Fail
Gong
What Every Body is Saying by Joe Navarro

Automation has become a business buzzword for many in recent years, but what should be the term in focus is an automatic business. My guest today is Brad Martineau of Sixth Division, and he's sharing how optimizing and managing an automatic business can deliver impactful experiences to your customers.

If you want this business model to work for you, your vision of how it will operate should be clearly laid out. Brad walks us through the steps of creating the ideal automatic business, and what strategies you can implement to do the same.

In this episode, we'll be talking about:

1. Designing an ideal experience for customers
2. Custom built services leading to custom outcome
3. Using automation where appropriate
4. The small business spine

The very first step in making an automatic business, according to Brad, is to design an ideal experience. You hear about the buyer's journey and funnel marketing, but formulating an experience creates a journey in itself that will give customers a sense of trust from your business. Applying technology to this process ensures that an experience is achieved every single time without relying on humans.
Customizing these experiences for your audience will lead to custom outcomes. By crafting the service for them, you bring additional value to your work and provide a more personal service. This gives them an outcome that they want based on your ability to connect.

It's important to note that automation may not be applicable to all aspects of your business, so use it where it's appropriate. You don't have to hide what's automated and what isn't, but be cautious of where you're applying it and how it will affect customers.

Brad's "small business spine" lays out the foundation of how he finds clarity and value in the work he does. Focusing on money, time, and what you see for the business will allow you to understand your role in each of these components and what approach you will take when one of these things starts to change or fluctuate.

Mentioned in this episode:
Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins
Profit First by Mike Machalowicz
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! by Greg Crabtree
Dotcom Secrets and Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson
Basecamp
Sixth Division