Laura's Consulting Guide

My Philosophy 

The Consultant's Blueprint is a framework designed for independent consultants and smaller consulting businesses looking to establish, improve, and grow a consulting business. The framework consists of five interrelated pillars that address strategic and operational aspects of consulting. Its flexible format assists a consultant with the development of their ideas, strategic decision making, and the execution of their decisions. 

The framework begins by defining a consultant’s Focus and Ideal Client and ends with the Delivery of a service. With clarity as to a focus and their ideal client, a consultant can traverse different paths as they shape their consulting business-a business that fits their ideal client’s needs and wants as well as their personal and professional requirements. 

No two consultant’s businesses are the same. Every consultant’s ideas, decisions, and actions are unique to them; however, all consultants want to be successful and engage in similar activities. 

The Consultant's Blueprint is for...

A brand new consultant who needs assistance defining their Business Core: Focus, Ideal Client, and Service. 

A consultant who needs to spend time concentrating on creating clients by building trusted Relationships or assess their Engagement pricing approach. 

A small consulting business owner who is challenged with Delivering the agreed upon services or finds their consultants struggle with building ongoing client Relationships. 

THE CONSULTANT'S BLUEPRINT

The Five Pillars

Although the key concepts are interrelated and each concept stands on its own, the Consultant’s Blueprint Framework consists of five pillars. 

Pillar 1: Clarify Your Business Core (The Foundation for Success)

Pillar 2: Build Awareness (The Marketing of You)

Pillar 3: Develop Trusted Relationships (Become Known as the Expert)

Pillar 4: Obtain Engagement Commitment (Turn Interest In You into Clients)

Pillar 5: Deliver with Excellence (Client Satisfaction Transforms into Long-Term Trusted Relationships and Repeat Business)  

PILLAR 1: CLARIFY YOUR BUSINESS CORE (The Foundation for Success) 

Your business, like your body, needs a strong core to provide stability and support. This is core known as your Business Core. A strong Business Core consists of three interconnected components: Focus (What and Why), Ideal Client (Who), and Point of View (How).  

Your Focus (What and Why) is the foundation of your consulting business and the one thing for which you want to be known. It requires you to self-reflect evaluating who you are and what is important to you. Rather than reinventing yourself, you leverage your expertise, experiences, and strengths while assessing market demand. 

Your Ideal Client (Who) is the specific person with whom you want to work. As you identify who is your ideal client, you validate their interest in what you do and their willingness to hire you to solve their problems. 

Your Point of View (How) is your unique perspective on how you help clients solve their problems and achieve what they want to achieve. It is your distinct approach based on your experience, expertise, and beliefs and what differentiates you in a crowded field of other consultants. Your Point of View drives your Methodology which then helps you determine the service(s) you provide.

Just like you continually work on your body’s core, you continually refine your Focus, Ideal Client, and Point of View to ensure that your Business Core remains strong, relevant, and is aligned with market needs. 

The remaining pillars build upon your Business Core decisions.

PILLAR 2: BUILD AWARENESS (The Marketing of You) 

Building awareness of yourself, or the “Marketing of You,” is an ongoing process that requires clear spoken and written communication about what you do, who you help, and how you stand out. People, whether they are clients, influencers, or partners, want to see and hear the authentic you. They want assurances that not only do you understand their problems, but you also provide value. Building awareness of you begins the trust building process.

Two key elements drive this awareness: your message—what you say when someone asks what you do—and your marketing materials—the foundational materials and actions that assist with showing you are real and authentic. I refer to your marketing materials as your marketing toolbox.  

Your message should clearly articulate what you want to be known for, who your ideal client is, your point of view and the results and benefits you achieve. Whether it is in a 15-second statement or a longer story-driven presentation, it should grab your ideal client’s attention, be concise, compelling, and adaptable. Beyond your message, your marketing materials such as your professional presence, testimonials, case studies, and intellectual property assist you with connecting with your ideal client enabling you to build credibility and trust. 

PILLAR 3: DEVELOP TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS (Connect and Become Known as the Expert) 

Consulting is a relationship business. Relationships are complex, they take time to develop, and the exact approaches you employ depend on you and your ideal client.  While every consultant’s relationship strategy is unique to them, all successful relationship strategies follow five stages: connecting, getting known, nurturing, asking and an offer (Pillar 4), and staying in touch.  The best relationship strategies include active approaches which are approaches that require you to take the initiative to connect, get to know, and nurture a relationship with your ideal client.  

There are three active approaches —targeted outreach, referrals, and networking. Targeted or direct outreach approach requires you to identify a small group of people who fit your ideal client profile and craft personalized plans for each. deal clients. A referral approach requires the development of guidelines for giving, receiving, and requesting a referral from individuals and strategic partners.  A focused networking approach requires networking at a limited number of places where you can find your ideal client and your ideal client can find you. Social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook are tools that can be used to help with targeted outreach, referrals, and networking.  

Relationship success comes not from doing everything but from focusing on the right tactics that align with your strengths and the needs of your ideal client. By implementing a clear relationship strategy that you work on daily (or at least weekly) with persistence and consistency, you can develop strong professional networks and long-term client relationships AND do so while actively working with current clients.

PILLAR 4: OBTAIN ENGAGEMENT COMMITMENT (Turning Interest in You into Clients) 

Engagement or the asking and offer stage of relationship building begins when an ideal client trusts you enough to seek your assistance or you ask an ideal client if they would be interested in your assistance. It there is a mutual YES, you hold a discovery or exploratory meeting to obtain an understanding of the problem and determine whether you and the client are a good fit.  

During this meeting, you listen closely, ask key questions and gain a clear understanding expectations and what they want to achieve. With that insight, you leverage your expertise, experience, and Point of View to craft an approach. Once the approach is defined, you discuss the proposed solution during a consensus meeting and ensure agreement before submitting a compelling proposal that includes a fair price. A well-structured proposal that reflects the client’s expectations increases the likelihood of securing a signed contract. 

PILLAR 5: DELIVER WITH EXCELLENCE (Client Satisfaction into Trusted Relationships with Repeat Business) 

The final pillar of success is Deliver with Excellence. This is the execution of the contract and delivering on the agreed-upon results all while maintaining and building strong client relationships. The key to Deliver with Excellence is not only do you want to meet a client’s expectations, but you also want to exceed the client’s expectations. You ensure the client receives the promised value and that the effort and expense was well worth it. 

By mastering delivery, you build a reputation for reliability, excellence, and results which helps ensure long-term success and repeat business. Think of this pillar as Project Management for Consultants.

Conclusion

Establishing a consulting business is not easy. It is an adventure with its share of ups and downs. The Consultant's Blueprint is a framework designed to assist consultants on their consulting journey enabling them to not only be successful, but SOAR.