Advicetap Blog

Today’s guest post was written by Susan Varty of Wordtree Consulting. Susan has been in the game for years and specializes in web copywriting, user guides, social media strategies, training manuals and last-minute proposal preparation.

When designing my company logo back in 2006, I wasn’t sure what direction to go so, naturally, I used “Consulting”.

Why? I didn’t want to narrow my focus or shut out potential clients at that time. I just wanted to help people with their written communication.

Eventually, I started learning about having a specialty and a niche market to streamline my client base and reach my business goals. I thought about re-branding again. No, it was still relevant. I kept it.

Then the headlines started appearing in the papers:

“Thousands wasted on consultants”

and other stories about “their ludicrous expenses”. Consulting was beginning to be a dirty word.

Three years in, I keep thinking about changing my company name now and then. However, I’ve realized that it suits what I do just perfectly. When I expand my business next year, I hope to keep the brand. However, I recognize that it needs a review now and then to make sure my brand is a true reflection of what I do.

Some confusion still exists with the dirty word. Now and then, if I don’t get my elevator pitch just right, I get that question “What do you do again?” But then I have an excuse to listen again and really discover what they might need.

Lately, there are several ways that I’ve noticed that consultants position themselves to avoid being “dirty” and get themselves hired.

1. Avoid “sticker shock” by describing the value you bring to the table up front and spelling out exactly how you are paid (maybe not how much at first).

2. Show off your “street cred”. What did you do for a business to help them get things done? Name brands and numbers are classic ways to improve credibility. Also, consider changing your job title so that it is appropriate for your audience. For example, at a design conference I’m a copywriter, but at an IT event I’m a Technical Writer. These titles have made me very approachable. Sometimes people get scared off at the thought of talking to the CEO – especially project leads who might give you the most work. This may not be the approach for you, but I still consider myself a Communications Consultant in both roles.

3. Exude confidence to reach decision-makers. They need you – it’s obvious. Focus on the bottom-line and the experiences you have in your portfolio that they can’t get anywhere else.

4. Offer a contract that starts with a very small step. This small engagement will usually lead to larger projects. It’s strange – the small step approach has been very effective with large corporate clients. A friend reminded me that they operate in small “budget-focused” groups and have a reputation at stake. Smaller companies are more flexible and willing to do more risk-taking.

5. Force your customers to think like their clients, not just their world of day-to-day tasks.

6. Create a detailed project plan - check off what has been completed and they will get a sense that the project is moving forward – not just fees going up and up. I like to hope that “consultant” will not continue to be a dirty word.

Sometimes an outside opinion and a kick in the right direction can make a lot of shiny, new coin.