How To Start a Consulting Business

Summary of Start A Consulting Business From Scratch (Full Plan)

• Consulting Model Framework:

  • Emphasizes structuring consulting to avoid feeling like a job, attract ideal clients, and leverage time effectively.
  • Advocates a three p squared model: Start with one front-end package, introduce recurring revenue, then add back-end offers and more front-end packages gradually.
  • Encourages avoiding the "jack of all trades" approach, focusing on systematizing processes around one package to streamline services.

  • Breaking the Feast and Famine Cycle

    • Challenges Faced: Highlights the feast and famine cycle experienced by consultants due to project completion or clients moving on, leading to inconsistent workloads.
    • Addressing the Cycle: Emphasizes the need for a strategic model to break this cycle, allowing for consistent client attraction and workload.
    • Key Components: Emphasizes the importance of automated lead generation and efficient work management within this model.

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• Package Design for Lead Generation
  • Singular Package Approach: Advocates for starting with one package to streamline client acquisition and avoid overwhelming complexity.
  • Automation Emphasis: Highlights how having a single package streamlines the lead generation process, making it manageable while focusing on client onboarding and off-boarding.

• Identifying Ideal Clients:

  • Recommends a formula: "I help [ideal client] take action so they can achieve [desired result]."
  • Stresses the importance of emphasizing the result rather than the process when marketing services.  Emphasizes understanding the end benefits clients seek rather than intricate details of services offered.
  • Encourages crafting the consulting business based on what the ideal client desires to achieve.

     

• Designing Irresistible Offers:

  • Highlights the need to understand the specific results clients desire in order to craft compelling offers.
  • Encourages defining tangible and intangible outcomes to deliver value effectively.
  • Initial Offer Development: Recommends creating upsell offers, add-ons, and additional packages after perfecting the initial one.
  • Results Delivery: Stresses delivering specific results rather than promising guaranteed outcomes to potential clients.

• Process Systematization:

  • Outlines a four-phase process: Input, Construct, Adjust, and Output, to streamline client engagement.
  • Emphasizes setting clear expectations, collecting necessary information upfront, and focusing on delivering value during the Construct phase. 
  • Client-Centric Approach: Shifts the focus from promising specific outcomes to delivering tangible deliverables that satisfy client needs.
  • Mitigating Uncertainty: Avoids setting unrealistic client expectations by focusing on what can be feasibly delivered.

• Pricing Strategy:

  • Recommends determining rates based on industry standards, considering time, expertise, and value delivered.
  • Advocates for a pricing structure that maximizes revenue per client rather than focusing solely on acquiring more clients.
    • Flat Fee Model: Advocates for a bundled service approach with a fixed fee, preventing scope creep and enhancing clarity for clients.
    • Retainer Model: Discusses the retainer model for providing ongoing consultation services, emphasizing its purpose and scope.
  • Time and Value-based Pricing
    • Time Estimation: Advises calculating the total time spent on a project, including administrative tasks, to determine pricing.
    • Value-Based Adjustment: Suggests multiplying the total time by a factor to ensure a profitable hourly rate for consultants.

• Client Acquisition & Growth:

  • Advocates offering add-on services to existing clients to increase revenue rather than pursuing new clients.
  • Suggests focusing on one front-end package for easier marketing and automation of client acquisition, possibly using ads, content, and lead magnets.

  • Avoiding Overcommitment

    • Focused Offerings: Encourages consultants to delineate specific services rather than attempting to cover all areas.
    • Scaling Limitations: Warns against taking on diverse projects that hinder scalability and standardization of processes.
  • Marketing Strategies for Consistent Lead Generation
    • Content Marketing Approach: Advocates for content-driven strategies, leveraging video content and lead magnets to attract potential clients.
    • Community Engagement: Advises participation in client-centric communities to avoid promotional content and foster genuine connections for business growth.

This comprehensive plan emphasizes structuring services around one core package, understanding client needs, delivering value systematically, pricing strategies to maximize revenue, and a focus on maximizing client satisfaction and retention for sustainable business growth.

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