Latest / Black Girls Consult TOO! / Episode 103: Why Traditional Lead Generation Strategies May Not Be Working For You [REBROADCAST]

Transcript

Episode 103: Why Traditional Lead Generation Strategies May Not Be Working For You [REBROADCAST] · Black Girls Consult TOO!

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: So do you know what's rather easy to do?
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: It's rather easy to start a business.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: I mean, when you think about it, when we all get started, we're super excited.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I mean that adrenaline is flowing and we are on a rush Just thinking about all the possible ideas and all the things that can come of our efforts.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: We're just ready to get the ball rolling.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: But what becomes very, very hard?
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: What's really difficult is how do you keep that business going, how do you get it off the ground?
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: That's the part that people a lot of times can't figure out and that's the reason why a lot of dreams die early.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: But we don't want that to happen at all.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: So this episode we're going to talk about some things that you may want to consider and think about when you're using traditional strategies to get your consulting business off the ground, and some things that you can do differently to get it up and running a lot faster.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: All right, let's get started.
• 0:59
  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.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: But what would happen if we decided to venture out on our own, despite everything we're up against, I'll tell you Welcome to the Black Girls Consult 2 podcast.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, a healthcare consultant, consulting coach, high performance fanatic, wife and proud girl mom.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: I help transform female professionals into thriving solar consultants and, just like you, I'm wearing all the hats and doing all the things.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: So this podcast is to empower the busy female professionals to move past fear to start and grow a successful consulting business.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Despite the obstacles you may encounter, we'll dive deep into consulting practice, business strategy, mindset and more.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: So grab your cup of coffee or tea, if that's your thing, and let's get started.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Hello, hello, hello.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of the Black Girls Consult Two Podcast.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: If you have never joined here before, my name is Dr Angelina Davis and I will be your host for this episode, and I want to talk about how we keep your business going.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: How do we keep it going?
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: How do we keep it growing strong?
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: What do we need to possibly do different so that you don't fall into a hole or some of the traps that many people have fallen into beforeward?
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: They have not found a lot of success when it comes to building and growing a consulting business.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: So on this episode, we are diving into why some of the traditional I would say lead generation strategies may not be working for you, and I always like to say that whenever I'm having episodes like this, it doesn't mean that using these strategies are completely wrong.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: I don't believe there's a cookie cutter approach for really tackling business growth in consulting.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: I do think that it has to be very individualized and you have to have a personal touch.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: However, I do think that there are some limitations that we have to be mindful of and things that we have to consider when we're choosing what's right for us in the moment.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: So that's what this episode is all about and what we're going to dive into, because I think that there is a lot of misinformation out there and just some limited thinking that we need to get over so that we can really advance and really accelerate our growth to the level that we desire.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: So you know, when many of us are starting out myself included oftentimes what we do is we go straight to courses or we are checking out a lot of different books, and many of these books are written by some of the same experts, some of the same people that we see in the consulting world all the time.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: That, let's be honest, if you are a woman of color tuning into this episode, or a woman at all in consulting, they don't look like you, and so we hear a lot of wonderful names, and they are talented in their own right, but oftentimes some of the feedback or insight that they can give, while very valuable, may not necessarily be something that you can translate directly into your business model, for a number of different reasons, many of them which are societal.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: So, you know, we really do have to think out of the box sometimes when it comes to you getting our business up and running and really thinking about those strategies that are going to work most effectively for us in trying to generate more business.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: But oftentimes, when we start out, we don't know all of those things.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: We don't really know what we are up against, and so we go dive into a lot of books, we purchase a number of courses and take part in a lot of online courses that are also not led by people who can probably relate to your set of circumstances, but it's what we have available to us and what we rely on when we're getting started.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: I did too, like I said it before, but that information only got me so far.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: It really only got me so far because I ran into a number of roadblocks alone.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: The way that caused me more difficulty, or maybe some of the lessons that I learned, didn't really translate well into my situation, and so I realized that I really just needed some additional insight and help.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: I needed someone who understood my particular situation and someone who was able to give me a more personalized approach and really break things down in a new level so that I could navigate this whole consulting industry and system a lot better, a lot more effectively, and so I'm hoping that this podcast episode will be one of those tools that you can use to your advantage.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: You know, almost all the courses and books that you find out there are going to pretty much tell you the same thing.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: I don't care which one you pick up, I don't care who made it.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: They're going to run through, I feel, like the same bucket of advice or kind of list of ways for you to get started.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: Now, the first thing that many of them are going to say is that they're going to tell you you need to reach out to your network for referrals.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: That's going to be one of the easiest ways to get your business started and, off the ground, you want to reach into your network, find people that you know that can connect you to other people, and that is a great way to generate leads and it actually is and so I don't want to say that that is not an effective way to get started and get the ball rolling.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: We're going to talk about in a moment about some of the limitations associated with that, but it is a way to get started.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: However, I have heard someone say before and I can't remember who the person was, but I thought that it was a great statement and it stuck with me forever but they said that no one has ever built a multi-million dollar business off of referrals alone, and that's just a fact.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: That's true.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: You're going to have to move beyond referrals at some point in time, and we're going to talk about how you can do that.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: So that's the first thing they're going to tell you Reach out to your network for referrals.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: Now the second thing is that they're going to tell you that you need to learn how to craft the perfect proposals, because you're going to need to reply to numerous requests for proposals or RFPs in order to generate business.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: We're going to get into that in a moment as well.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: That is going to be the second bucket of advice.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: And then, lastly, one of the other common things that you're going to find is that they're going to try and convince you that cold calling cold calling, cold messaging, cold email, cold whatever situations where you don't know the person and you're reaching out to sell something that is going to be the most effective way for you to generate leads and to build your business.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: I mean, after all, it's NewDos.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Someone has to say yes, right.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: At some point in time, you would think, I think maybe you know, you know I'm telling the truth, you know, but there is a reason why each of these approaches may be falling short for you and not allowing you to generate the business that you need.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: And so that's what I want this whole conversation to be about Talking about some of the reasons why these things are falling short in ways that we can actually fix it.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, so let's start with some of the problems with these methods.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: First, the whole aspect of network referrals.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Referrals can actually be very, very helpful, and one of the reasons why referrals are helpful is because it's almost like someone vouching for you.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Right?
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: They are saying that I know this individual is trustworthy and that helps you to speed along the process of building that no-like and trust factor.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: So referrals can be extremely helpful in that way and they are beneficial.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: Now do not get me wrong.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: You need to have referrals as part of your process for lead generation.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: That should always be in place and there are ways that you can build upon and expand that referral process in your referral network.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: However, when you're starting out, your network for referrals may be limited, and I see this a lot, especially with women in consulting and, in particular, with women of color and consulting, and that's because of just the typical structure of many C-sweets that are present in larger organizations.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: There was a study that was published by McKinsey Company toward the end of last year and we're now in 2022.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: So this was at the end of 2021.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: And in that particular study, they talked a lot about how women just remain underrepresented across the corporate ladder.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: Actually, when you look at the breakdown of women in the C-suite, the number of women represented roughly about 24 or 25 percent, with 20 percent of those individuals being white women, but if you look at women of color, they only represent 4 percent, and so when you think about people that you know, we have oftentimes a very diverse friend circle and network.
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: However, when you are a woman of color in particular, but a woman in general, you do not have the same level of access typically to individuals that you may be close to in the C-suite, just because of that hiring dynamic that's there, and so that presents a limitation for you somewhat that you have to overcome.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: Now you definitely can do that, but when you're starting out this can be a challenge, and you have to also consider the fact that oftentimes your network may not necessarily be in the area that you are working in currently when it comes to building your consulting business, because maybe you've moved into an area that is different from where you worked previously, and although there are ways to navigate your network and kind of find contacts that may also be in the field or arena that you're practicing in currently, that takes time, it takes time to do that, and so sometimes you may not have as robust of a network that you can pull on, and that can be a limitation for some people, and we don't want that to be a limitation for you starting out, especially if you have hopes of building to six or seven figures and beyond one day Now.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: The second strategy that is often talked about is responding to requests for proposals.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: Now it sounds very easy to do right Put yourself out there, put together a wonderful response and a wonderful proposal and submit it, and you will win business.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: You just have to find the right one.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: There is some truth to that, but the one thing that people don't often share and talk about is the relationship building that goes into the RFP process, and what you'll find is that a number of RFPs are already one insulated before you even throw your name in a hat and when you're starting out is very difficult for you to jump right into consulting and win a very lucrative RFP.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: There are a number of issues with that.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: That's another episode we'll have to do very soon, but I want you to know that you don't have to rely on that process Now.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: I'm not saying don't submit RFPs.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: If that's what you desire to do, you can still do that, but just know that it may be a longer process than you anticipate and you're going to have to do some work and build some of those relationships so that you can really position yourself more effectively to win the contracts that you want to win.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: And, let's be honest.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: We talk about cold calling as an option.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: It definitely is, but if you're like me and you're listening to this podcast, you probably think that cold calling is uncomfortable.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: I definitely find it to be uncomfortable.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: I don't like to receive it.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: I don't like when people are coming and asking me for business right off without me knowing them.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: I had knowing anything about their business, assuming that I have that need in my business or in my life at that present moment, and so I just know for a fact that they are less effective.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Do they work?
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: Can they generate leads?
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: Yes, they can.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: However, is it going to typically generate a lot of high quality leads that are meant for your business?
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Is it going to build a pipeline that is filled with people eagerly waiting to work with you?
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: More than likely not.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: More than likely not, and for that reason, I'm not an advocate of it.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: I that is one method or strategy that I do not advocate.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: For the other two RFPs and in referrals, yes, yes, yes, but when it comes to cold-calling, I'm not saying that you should not do it.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: You have to do as best for your business, but I am not an advocate of it because I just think that there's so many better ways that you can spend your time Building and growing your business, and so that's what we are going to talk about those things that are going to help you build more swiftly and more effectively, and I don't want to think about those things that I find to be Less effective, and that is one of them.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: So you know that business growth and financial stability require one thing, and that's clients.
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: So that means getting more clients has to be top priority in your business If you want to survive without being in a constant feast and famine mode.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: That's just not sexy.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: So those others successful consultants you see on LinkedIn or Instagram making it look so easy it's like they have some secret sauce or luck for endless clients or referrals.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: But honestly, all thriving practices are built on solid processes, showing up authentically in your marketing and Positioning your expertise effectively.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: In other words, there is a consulting code that you can learn, plug into your business and then modify so it leads you toward your ideal business and your ideal lifestyle.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: So if you want to know more and have the secret to crack this code, just visit my description and download the free full proof checklist to grow your consulting business to six figures and beyond, because when you crack the code, you'll be able to generate leads and increase profits with more ease.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: So one of the things that I advocate for and that I like to push clients to do, is to create a system that doesn't rely on so many other people to control Whether or not you are successful in your business.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: Right, I want to take out all of these middlemen and women that are crowding that space because, in all honesty, in order for you to grow Effectively and really just achieve success and longevity in the long run, you have to have more control over being able to generate revenue, to be able to create and generate profit.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: So in order to do that, we really do have to create systems that don't rely so heavily on whether or not other individuals are willing to help us or willing to, you know, give us that approval or that.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Okay, we want to create a system where we can attract those highly qualified individuals and businesses that eagerly want to work with you so that you can really build a business that lasts over time, and they they're going to be attracted to you because they see the value in what you actually offer.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: I mean, that really is the key you need, what I like to call a high value Attraction strategy.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: This is a way for you to really create your own unique process and strategy for attracting highly aligned clients for the services that you offer, and so it takes a number of things to make this work right.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: You just can't say that you're going to build a pipeline, or create a pipeline or build a funnel that is going to draw these people in.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: You have to know exactly who you're trying to attract.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: You have to have something to offer that they're going to want and need, and you have to have a System in place that works, something that actually works to take them from the point of really being attracted to you to getting to know you To then signing on the diet align.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: You need to walk them through that entire process and that entire aspect of the buyer's journey, and in order for you to do that, one of the first things that you have to start off with is Having a clear and magnetic core offer.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: I talk about this often, but it is so important because that is it's like the candy that you dangle in front of a baby, right, or it's.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: It's really that thing that is the light that someone can see from afar that they just want they're trying to get to, because that is what's going to solve their problem.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: You have to have that.
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: That is key for the success of your consulting business in the long run, and so, you know, a lot of the work that I do with clients is centers around creating this core offer that stands out in the consulting space, right which is different from just creating an offer that you want to put out into the market for other purposes, because you are relying on your expertise in a given area to elevate the value of the offer that you provide, of the services that you provide, and so that has to be something that's very niche, very specific, very, very well crafted so that it can highlight and showcase your expertise, show it, showcase your strengths and the ability that you have to really be innovative and to drive change.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: By doing that, you are going to have something that others are going to see as being highly valuable, because you're not just giving them information that comes out of the internet, right.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: It's not going to be something that you can easily Google.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: What you're giving them is insight, direction, advice that's based upon not just the knowledge that you have, but also the interpretation of that knowledge based upon your lived experience, that then provides them a unique perspective that helps them to grow and elevate their practice.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: It's what I hope that I'm doing for you right now.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: That's what we have to sell.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: That's what we have to actually put out into the world, that is going to attract the clients that we want to serve, and that's going to do that in a magnetic way, so that you don't have to put in all this extra effort trying to dig and scrape for clients and convince them that they need what you have to offer.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: So that's the first step is that we have to have that magnetic offer in place.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: Now the next piece of this puzzle is going to sound a little bit cliche, but you do need a personal brand, an expert brand, and that is going to be key for you being able to resonate with other individuals, connect with them and then begin to humanize your very high level expertise that you have, because people are not going to be attracted to all of the jargon that we typically use, all the things that are most common in our industry.
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: Although they may understand it and even appreciate it, it's really not what's going to draw them in and make them feel like they have to really work with you as the individual.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: That's not what's resonating.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: What's resonating is your expert brand, is your personal brand, because that's the element that helps them to feel as if they are like you, that they can achieve things that are similar to what you have achieved, things that they can actually aspire to and see and play already.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: Those are some things that become unique selling points for you, and so really building that expert brand involves not just branding such as we think of with regards to websites and logos and pretty colors.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: That's important, I don't want to belittle that, but what I'm talking about are things such as your voice, the voice of your brand.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: What is the brand surrounding your offer or your business?
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: How are you showing up authentically in your space?
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: What type of expertise are you putting out into the world?
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: How are you communicating what you know?
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: All of those things are elements of building your expert brand that are essential for you to really communicate how well you are able to solve their problem, and that is a key element that you have to have in order to make this whole system work, because they have to get to know you, have to trust you, they have to want to work with you.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: The whole relationship in consulting between a consultant and the client that they're working with or that they're serving is a rather intimate one.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: It's typically someone that is giving them advice that is going to change the direction of their life or their business or their livelihood, and so that has to be from somebody that they truly trust.
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: With the weight of that and we have to understand that as the consultant in the process, we have to know that we have been given this unique opportunity to really be someone that can change the complete direction for someone's life we really do have that ability, that unique ability and what I would say a blessing, and so when we think about our role as an advisor, as a consultant, as more of a role of service, then it's gonna make it a lot easier to show up authentically in that personal brand, in the expert brand, and to be able to showcase your expertise in a way that is gonna resonate with others.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: So that is going to be that second element that you have to have.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: So now, once you have that magnetic co-offer in place, once you have really built up your expert or personal brand, then the next thing you need is a system right.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: You need a focused way of drawing in the ideal clients that you wanna work with in a way to move them through the whole buyer's journey so that you can get them to the table to sign on with you, and that's where you want to tap into what works best for you, your personality and your lifestyle.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: So this is where things get to be a little bit more creative, and what I like to help people do is to create a high value attraction strategy, and this is a way for you to create a system where you are attracting clients that are aligned with your service offer, and you're doing that through the very specific content that you are putting out with regards to your thought leadership, other social selling and things of that nature, so that you're able to attract those individuals that are looking for the services that you offer.
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: And this works very, very well in the business to consumer as well as the business to business space.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: The key is that you have to know your industry, you have to know your market very, very well, but when you're able to tap into their thought process in terms of what they're looking for, what their needs are currently in the moment and what they want and desire as an overall goal as well as a solution to their problem.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: It's gonna be much easier for you to create the type of content that is going to draw them in, that's gonna showcase your expertise and give them an opportunity to really experience that first hand and then become believers, and then the fact that you are the expert for them and become believers more swiftly.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: There are certain elements that you can do along the way that allows them to really find out more about you as a consultant, as a person, and then opportunities for you to create these connections so that you're able to better serve them and give them some level of experience of your expertise in action.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Now, when you're able to do that, then you will have an easier time closing that sale, because what they'll find is that they are able to generate some quick wins or they're able to just experience what it would be like to work with you and fall in love with that aspect.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: That will help you to sell services more swiftly than cold calling anybody any day.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: It just will.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: So I want you to think about this whole concept of creating a system and a structure for you to really generate the business that you want, because I want you to take the middleman or the middle person out of the process and create something that you have more control over, so that you can control your success and your longevity in this industry.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: That is always what I want and actually, if you need any help in doing that, that's actually what I do best, and I do have a program that serves this purpose is called Position to Excel, and it's a one-on-one, curriculum-based coaching program that walks you through the entire process of creating your magnetic offer, as well as building your expert brand and then positioning it to effectively sell in your industry.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: So if you're interested in that, then definitely visit excel at consultingcom slash work-with-me to find out more information Also, I'm gonna include that link in the description as well.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: But there are ways that you can really make this process more simple.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: You don't have to stress out about gaining the leads and the clients that you need to get off of this peace and famine mode and this rollercoaster ride.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: Right, but until next time, I want you to think about these things and figure out how you can simplify your client attraction strategy.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Until next time, take care.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Console II podcast.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's episode.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Be sure to leave your review on Apple podcast, subscribe and share it with a friend.
• 26:36
  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.
• 26:44
  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.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Until next time, take care.