Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 97: A Simple Digital Strategy to Boost Your Visibility in the Consulting Space [Consulting Simplified Series - Part 4]

Transcript

Episode 97: A Simple Digital Strategy to Boost Your Visibility in the Consulting Space [Consulting Simplified Series - Part 4] · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: There's a misconception that we don't exist, that somehow our ability to excel at the highest level of our industry is limited, that overcoming barriers as a woman of color would be insurmountable.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: But what would happen if we decided to venture out on our own, despite everything we're up against?
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you Welcome to the Black Girls Consult To Podcast.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, a healthcare consultant, consulting coach and a doctor, high performance fanatic, wife and proud girl mom.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: I help transform female professionals into thriving solo consultants and, just like you, I'm wearing all the hats and doing all the things.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: So this podcast is to empower the busy female professionals to move past fear to start and grow a successful consulting business.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Despite the obstacles you may encounter, we'll dive deep into consulting practice, business strategy, mindset and more.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: So grab your cup of coffee or tea, if that's your thing, and let's get started.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Hello there, welcome to episode four of Consulting Simplified, and today we are going to talk about your digital strategy, and the reason why we're talking about this is because oftentimes, this is an overlooked way for you to be able to easily stand out in your market and capture the business that you need, and this is going to be something that is applicable whether or not you are a business to consumer consultant or if you're in the business to business space.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: There are ways that you can utilize these tools and adjust them based upon the audience that you're trying to serve and the individuals that you're trying to reach.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: I always want to remind you that the main difference, when you are thinking about marketing your services and simplifying your approach to draw in more leads and to attract more business, between the B2C and B2B space is the fact that when you're dealing with B2B marketing efforts, you're dealing with a number of individuals, and for me, I do believe that the approach is still going to be a human to human connection or human to human approach.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: The key difference is that you have to consider, in the B2B space, each individual stakeholder and then what their needs may be and their perceived value.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: And so, for every member of that buying team whether it's the executive champion or if it's a champion in terms of your businesses, as being a stakeholder on the team or the decision maker, each of those individuals is going to have their own personal perceived value.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: You're going to have their own desire to or not to work with you and your business.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: So you have to take all those things into account, and you have to really think about how they all are interconnected and play with one another.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: But overall, your messaging on your end and how you develop that in a very simple way is going to be the same, and so in this episode, we're going to talk about digital strategy, because I do believe in so many cases, especially as sole consultants, as entrepreneurial consultants, we don't take advantage of this, and, in reality, if you're trying to build and grow a consulting business in 2022 and beyond, you have to utilize the digital space to your advantage.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: If not, you are going to be severely limiting your growth in your industry.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: I mean, think about it.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Even some of the biggest players in the consulting space, whether that is Bain and Company or McKenzie or PWC, are all active on multiple channels.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: If you log on to Instagram right now, they have Instagram pages.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: If you log on to LinkedIn, they are present there and they're sending emails.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: They're doing a lot to communicate with their buyers, and these are big, major corporations that work with large B2B businesses, and so you have to remember that, in order for you to compete, you have to have something that makes you stand out, but then also, you have to be seen right, so you have to be visible.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: In order for us to easily do that, when we may be a one woman team or a small team of just a few people, is that we have to utilize something that can amplify our voice and do that in an effective way so that we can reach those that we want to work with.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: But many of us, as entrepreneurial consultants, are reluctant to show up in the digital space or we neglect building out this aspect of our business because it seems very complicated and overwhelming.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: So we throw up a website that is very sterile, that doesn't have a lot of information there for our potential clients to dive into and learn more about us and our company and our wins and the benefit of working with us, and therefore they become attracted and drawn to others where they can easily access the information.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: And when you're thinking about this aspect of marketing in a digital fashion, part of the benefit of being able to do effective marketing in this way is the fact that you're making it easily accessible to those who have interest, and this also allows you to draw in more clients that are aligned to work with you because they're coming to you in a meeting or on a call, with already knowing and understanding what you have to offer and what you've done in the past, and so this is why this can be very helpful.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: A thriving consulting business is built on a solid business foundation and a consulting code that leads you toward your ideal business and your ideal lifestyle, and the great thing about this code is that it works for any type of consulting practice, whether you help clients with professional development, business management, grant writing, it or something entirely different.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: This consulting code is not rocket science and is not beyond your reach, and when you crack the code, it can jump start the growth of your solo consulting practice and is what you need to know to get started and lend your first clients, and nothing more.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: This is a step by step process I wish I had so many years ago, and that's why I wanted to share this with you and how you can do this too.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: So if you're interested in starting your consulting business and creating a desirable offer to generate leads for your offer and to make sales, then the consulting code is your solution.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Visit wwwexcelatconsultingcom for more information.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Now, if I have sold you into the fact that you need to utilize digital marketing in some capacity, then the next thing that I want to share is that it doesn't have to be hard.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: This can actually be something that makes your life and your business much easier, because right now, if you are relying on referrals, then at some point in time, if you are growing big enough, if you're growing fast enough, then you're going to run out of referrals, right.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: So you either have to have a strategic referral process in place so that you can capitalize on more business as you continue to work with people.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: But either way, I think it's very helpful for you to diversify the way that you're drawing in business so that you don't feel like you have all of your eggs in one basket.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Just in case something does happen.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: You want to be able to easily shift gears and keep your business afloat.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Oftentimes, when we succumb to some of the challenges with things such as the economy or maybe just the seasonality of business, then part of the reason we are going through those particular instances and difficulties and challenges is because we don't have a diversified approach.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: So this is going to help you do this.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Okay, the first thing that I want you to do is start with what's familiar.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: This is not the time when you're trying to get started, to go out and try and take a number of courses and to read tons of books, trying to dive into a strategy that you're not familiar with.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: We can say that for a later date.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: Right now, we're talking about simplifying your business.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: We want to start with what is familiar, so for most people, this may be as simple as your email list, because we all use email every day.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: This is one component that you can build into your marketing strategy that you're already familiar with how to execute.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: I know that we get hung up on trying to have the perfect copy and the perfect messaging when we're sending information out, but just remember that when we're starting, it's about having a conversation, it's about connecting, it's about reaching out and trying to build relationships.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: I want you to think about it as simply as that, as you're getting started, just to get you moving, and if you're already active on email, or maybe you're already on a social media channel like LinkedIn, or maybe you have a YouTube channel, you've already gotten started in this area, and what I want you to do is think about how you can build upon that before you jump to another platform or another tool that you're going to try and use.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: I want you to master one first.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: So this is how you become better and better in one area without adding on the stress of trying to learn a lot of new things.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: So the first thing is I want you to start with what's familiar.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Now, second is going to be helpful for you when you're thinking about keeping a simple approach for you to build your library.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: So this goes back to our previous episode three, where we're talking about how to build out your resources when it comes to developing content.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: If you have worked on these essays or this cornerstone content that shares those five key areas that we mentioned previously of your business, your mission, the things that you have problems with, those things that you see as being a solution, etc.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Etc.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: If you worked on those topics, then you are going to pull from that and develop content, whether it's in an email format or a social media format, or if you are trying to improve on those documents or some aspects of those documents, so that you're making them into articles to go on your website.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Whatever you have chosen to use as your platform, you want to work on getting those things created and building a library of content that you can easily pull from and utilize on a consistent basis.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: So, whether this is developing a key document or a piece of collateral that goes on your website so that, when potential clients come to find out more about you, they can download that as a freebie or informational resource so they can dive deeper, or if this is something that you're going to utilize for scheduled posts that you're going to make on a weekly basis, whatever the cadence may be and whatever form you want to work with because, remember, you're starting with what you're already familiar with then this is going to make it helpful for you and easier for you, because you don't have to think about it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: You don't have to create it in the moment.
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: It's already created, and then, once you have these core pieces, or you build out this evergreen library, the next part of this that is going to make it easier for you is to automate it, and so this is the benefit of many of these channels, whether it is posting on a social media platform, something like LinkedIn, where you can use a tool like Buffer or Planoly or some of the others, to schedule out your posts so that it is going to be something that is occurring on a weekly basis, over the month, without you touching it, or you're setting emails to go out on a weekly basis to your audience, and you can do that through MailChimp or through ConvertKit or Flowdesk, whichever one you choose to use.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: There are many others.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: In whatever way that you decided to publish content, maybe you're going to update your website with more articles or your blog, and you're going to keep that content regularly updated, every week or every other week.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Once you have those things created, you can automate it so that those things are automatically published once you've developed the library, and then you can set a cadence where this repeats.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: Remember, you are not trying to be an influencer when you are using the digital space.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: You are being your own digital marketer, and this is going to be, once again, very helpful for you to gain more visibility and put yourself out there in a way that can compete with some of these larger businesses.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: Remember, what you are oftentimes selling is a higher touch approach, more intimacy, more depth that you can dive into, because you're working with fewer clients and you're able to work on a different level and really build more unique and lasting connection with those that you serve.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: So there are so many benefits of working with you, but people will not know that if you don't share the message, and so part of really navigating a simplified digital strategy is so that you can gain the visibility that you need and connect and spread your message to more people without it being a burden and something that's very time consuming in your business, and so oftentimes we spend a lot of time trying to figure out how we're gonna feel our pipeline, how we're going to find other individuals that we're gonna nurture and who we're going to try and work with after we may off-board a client.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: The reason why we don't have those things lined up is because we haven't built an audience big enough, and so you want, when I say audience, those individuals that you are interested in working with you.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: One of the ways that we can do that is by having a simplified digital strategy and, once again, if you start with what's familiar, do not try and take on something that's new and you build an initial library that you can automate, this is going to make your process much simpler, but I really do want to encourage you that you take advantage of this opportunity that we have now easily accessible to us, because people are on their devices, they're online.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: They're still in email.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: That's not dead all of the time, and those are various touchpoints throughout their day, throughout the buyer's journey, where you can connect and then begin to position yourself in your services more effectively, so that you're making it easier for them to reach out to you and to have the desire to work with you, because, over time, they're seeing the impact of your work and your expertise and you are making offers to help.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: All right, I hope that this helps you think about how you can utilize and incorporate a digital strategy without it being difficult and without it being complex.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Keep it simple, start with what's familiar, build a simple, evergreen library and automate it.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Once you're able to do that, you will be able to focus on other things and not worry so much about how you're going to keep up with your competition, because you're going to already be there and hopefully be there first in a more intimate way.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Okay, we are almost there.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Next is episode five.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: Any questions?
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Make sure that you reach out to me.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: I love to always get your feedback, hear more and help you through this podcast series, and until next time, I'll talk to you soon.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Console 2 podcast.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's episode.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Be sure to leave your review on Apple Podcast, Subscribe and share it with a friend.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: We're on a mission to increase the success and longevity of women in consulting, and you can help us do that Also.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you, so let's connect at Dr Angelina Davis on Instagram or LinkedIn, and don't forget to visit excelatconsultingcom for more information to support your consulting journey.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Until next time, take care.