Black Girls Consult TOO!
The Black Girls Consult Too! podcast provides a business resource for women in consulting, especially women of color, to successfully navigate a hyper-masculine, highly competitive industry. It demystifies how to start and grow a thriving consulting business by simplifying the process and helping to avoid common pitfalls that can derail even the best ideas. Each episode is crafted to dive deep into consulting practice, business strategy, mindset, and more. For more information, visit www.excelatconsulting.com/podcast.
Black Girls Consult TOO!
Episode 124: Marketing Your Productized Consulting Service
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In this "Black Girls Consult Too!" episode, Dr. Angelina Davis delves into the transformative power of productizing consulting services. Discover how productizing your consulting business can free up your time, multiply your impact, and create scalable revenue streams. Whether you're an experienced consultant or just starting out, this episode provides insight into how a productized approach can benefit your business and the clients you serve. Subscribe now for more expert advice on thriving in the consulting industry!
YouTube Version: Why You Should Productize Your Consulting Services
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For more information on how to start, grow, or scale your consulting business, visit https://excelatconsulting.com/
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So you're wondering how to market your productized consulting service. Now, if you've been tuning into this podcast over the last couple of episodes, we've been talking a little bit about productizing your consulting services and what that looks like, why you want to do it, how you create a productized consulting service or offer, and now you're likely thinking how in the world do I market this effectively? So if you have been wondering how to market your services and sell them without an overwhelming capacity and for you to generate the sales that you know your services can command, then this episode is for you. They say the odds are stacked against us as women, especially women of color, trying to thrive in the consulting world. But rather than wait for a seat at the table that may never come, what if we build our own tables? What if we channeled our talents into guiding each other towards the success we deserve?
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Black Girls Consulting Podcast. I'm your host, dr Angelina Davis, and I've walked the path from healthcare consultant to a mentor for women like you, ambitious, unstoppable and ready to make waves in the consulting world. This podcast is your go-to spot for all things entrepreneurial consulting. For us as women, especially women of color. Think of it as your weekly coffee date with a friend who's here to dish out real talk on building a solid business, elevating your thought leadership and mastering that all-important mindset. And let's not forget, we're doing all of this while balancing day jobs, family life and running teams. Yes, we can do it all. So if you're ready to dive into how you can grow a thriving consultancy or get strategies and insights that actually fit your busy lifestyle, then you're in the right place. Grab your coffee, tea or, hey, even a glass of wine I won't judge and let's get started. So, before we dive into a lot of marketing tactics, what I want to share is the most important and critical element about this whole process, and that is your messaging.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the things that's vastly different with you being able to market your new product or service effectively is that you have to switch your mindset and your frame of reference so that you're no longer focused on selling yourself as a consultant, or maybe the personalization that you're able to provide to a client to solve their unique problems and needs, and you want to switch to thinking about how you can offer a solution to a broader audience of a number of people who may be struggling with the same problem or the same issues, so that you're able to leverage your expertise as well as leverage your intellectual property. Now, in order to do that, we have to be very focused on the messaging that we are creating and how we're talking about the offer that we're trying to sell. One of the reasons why this is important is because we don't have as much leeway as we would if we were leaning heavily into relationships that we built over a number of years or maybe referrals that we've been able to generate, that we have that proof and that comfort level with the person that we're trying to pitch or to sell to. When we're thinking about more of a prioritized offer, typically this is going to have to appeal to a number of individuals, meaning that we have to think about how we can create a message that will resonate more broadly. That will be something that a number of people who meet a certain criteria will be able to relate to, and because they're able to relate to it and they can see themselves achieving that goal or that solution, then they would be willing to move forward and take us up on the offer that we've created. Now, having more of a product as offer means that we have created it to serve a general purpose, and our messaging has to speak to that. We want to not only focus on what we're able to offer and what the service will allow them to accomplish, but we also want to focus on the audience that we're trying to attract. We need to make sure that we're talking to individuals that meet the criteria and the prerequisites for the offer that we want to sell, so that you're calling in those people that are truly aligned with the offer that you created.
Speaker 1:When it comes to creating a winning message around your consulting offer, you want to think about how you are able to generate a result for your potential client or your target audience. So lean heavily into talking about what that outcome would be, and you want to paint the picture and describe and explain how you can take your target audience from their beginning state to accomplishing their goal, and that path, that journey or that transition is where they're going to be able to see themselves and then figure out that this is likely something that's going to be helpful to them. So a lot of what you're communicating has to do with how you are able to facilitate that transformation, and through communicating that, what you want to tap into is either the pain or the aspiration that someone feels when it comes to achieving their goal. Now, this is true whether or not you're working in the business consumer or the business to business space. If you're in the business to business space, you want to focus more heavily on how your offer, as you have packaged it, will help the business generate the outcomes, whether it is in terms of cost savings or some other aspect of client acquisition or maybe business growth, whatever their need may be. You want to speak more directly to that outcome so that they can begin to see the potential for return on investment if they were to move forward with your service offer.
Speaker 1:A lot of our conversation, our messaging, has to be very, very client focused. Now, remember, when you're marketing a productized offer, you're not necessarily selling to one person, but I want you to still think of your messaging as speaking to one person. You want to communicate to that target audience that you have that is going to benefit the most from the service that you have put together. So you want to think about what are the qualifications that that individual or that business needs to have. You want to think about what they may be feeling and thinking in the moment. You want to consider where they want to go and things they've tried before. You want to focus in on how your offer is different from the other offers that they have encountered or may have tried or utilized in the past. One of the key benefits of being able to focus heavily on the client in your messaging is the fact that you can begin to educate them on many of the pitfalls that competitors may have presented. So if you know that they have tried other solutions that have failed, if you can speak to why that has failed and why your offer has the ability to help them achieve the result, why it's different, then that is going to help them look and evaluate your service more effectively. They're going to think about how you stand out from the competition because you're telling them, you're filling them in on where you are able to step in where others have not been able to close that gap. This messaging is centered around you being able to focus in on what the client needs and remaining client focused and centering all of your messaging around how your product, in its packaging, can be a solution that your client can utilize right away to help them bridge the gap, achieve their goal or at least start the journey. That is going to be key before you even get to any other tactics. It's going to be your messaging.
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. This consulting code is not rocket science and it's not beyond your reach, and when you crack the code, it can jumpstart the growth of your solo consulting practice and is what you need to know to get started and land your first clients, and nothing more. 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. 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. Visit wwwexcelatconsultingcom for more information.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the most effective ways of us communicating this message is through content marketing, one of the reasons why content marketing tends to work very well for expert-based businesses, and especially consultants and other strategies, is because typically, what we are selling and what we're presenting is a little bit more complex. It's very hard to just create a short, 60 second, 30 second soundbite. That's gonna be sufficient to create the level of demand and interest that someone needs to have in order to move forward with working with us, especially if this is a higher tiered or premium type of consulting package that you put together. So this means that we have to become very good at breaking complex concepts down into a simpler format. Many times this can be done in blog series. It can be done on LinkedIn through a number of LinkedIn posts, through podcasts and podcast episodes. It can be done in a written format, whether articles on Medium or on your website or blog or LinkedIn, or maybe even a book that you may publish, although it's a much longer format.
Speaker 1:The point is that you are going to need to be able to communicate your messaging, the messaging that you have already created and developed. You're going to be able to have to communicate that message effectively, and one way of doing that is through content marketing. When you are able to share your message through these various formats, it allows someone the time to sit with your ideas. You want them to not just see your productized offer as a offer in a box, right, we don't want it to come off as something that anyone can use and get a general result, because still, these are still individuals that want to have a level of exclusivity.
Speaker 1:Present our message in a way that our client begins to see how they can take a package or product that's offered and then tailor it to their specific need. Think about how you can use your content to communicate the benefit of being able to have the product that's offered, the speed at which they can get started, the resources that they're able to save in terms of research or maybe strategy development. Potentially, it is even the ability to implement something without having to dedicate so much manpower to working with a consultant on a one-on-one basis, at least at the beginning. There are a lot of ways that we can begin to sell our offer through our content that helps them see the added value of it being more of a product as opposed to a traditional service. The productized offer is a way for you to reach more people, and so our goal is to put out the information necessary to call in the right audience to explain the differences, to sell them on what the value is of using this option, and then also think about how you can overcome a number of objections, even through the content that you're creating. This is a wonderful way for you to begin to market your productized service, and do this in a slightly different way than you likely have been doing in the past, because now, once again, you're selling the benefit of it being a product, as opposed to just your services in general.
Speaker 1:Once you have your message mapped out and you've started to create your content for content marketing, I want you to start thinking about how you can spread this message, because now you can use the content that you're creating the blog posts, the articles, the LinkedIn posts. You can use all of that information to spread the message further. Now you can reach more people. You're not limited, as you were before, based upon your capacity to serve on a one-on-one basis. You've created something that will allow you to work with more clients, and so, therefore, you need to reach more people. You need more traffic. You need more people tapping into your website and trying to hop on a call or purchasing your services, so that means that we need to get the word out there.
Speaker 1:We're in a time and place where digital marketing is huge. It's a way for you to reduce your overall marketing budget, to save significantly in terms of financial resources, as well as manpower, to be able to advertise your product, service and your business overall. If you want to create brand awareness associated with your product, service and your business overall. You want to create brand awareness associated with your product as an offer, so people begin to know you and the offer that you have created is almost like household names, at least within your industry. You want to be known at that level for providing the solution.
Speaker 1:Now, there are a number of different ways that you can spread your message effectively, and I want us to be very creative and innovative when we're thinking about doing this. You don't just have to rely on posting on LinkedIn or social media. I want you to begin to think about other options that are available to you. So, just to mention a few, you have the ability to create micro-influencer collaboration, so this is where you find influencers in your space, and there are influencers even in the business-to-business world, so this is not something that's solely found among the consumer realm. I want you to think about those who may have platforms that influence the audience that you have with them and your offer with their email list. There are a lot of number of collaborations that you can create that can be very helpful for your business, and so I want you to think about your ability to utilize these micro influencers in a collaborative process so that you can spread the word about your new product or service, as well as your brand overall.
Speaker 1:Another thing that you can do is you can offer quick and actionable power sessions, so this is a way for someone to test drive your service, and maybe this is a 15 minute call that they get ahead to figure out exactly if this product as offer is best suited for them. It is a way for you to better establish whether or not that business or that client is a good fit If they would be positioned to achieve the outcome of the result that you are selling, or that your product as offer has been created to deliver. This can serve that purpose as well. It is almost like having a consultation call. It's that one-on-one touch point that allows someone to truly feel like the investment they're about to make is something that has been personalized for them, and although we know your offer has been created to serve a number of clients, they should still feel like this is a personal touch, and so using something like power sessions can be very helpful in you being able to accomplish that goal.
Speaker 1:Another option that you can use would be an interactive lead magnet. Maybe you want to develop a quiz that helps someone work through a number of questions to determine whether or not your productized service is a good fit. It can walk you through what it would take to generate the outcome that your service is going to offer. It can ask about much of their background. You can tap into the results that they've achieved from other things that they've tried in the past and how that relates to your service. You can also dive a lot deeper into their personality traits, maybe, or how they may interact with your tools. The key is that you want to create something that is going to draw them in, allow them to self-select, because if they are able to determine for themselves that this would be a good product to try, then that is a win-win on both sides. So having these interactive lead magnets, or maybe quizzes, things of that nature, can be very helpful in you being able to market your product as service, because it is going to help that person see themselves achieving that goal.
Speaker 1:And one beauty of having a productized consulting service is that it lends itself to ad spend, so you can actually utilize sales funnels and ads to generate the business that you need to sell that offer. That's the wonderful thing about it being a repeatable process and something that is more of a product. You can have it being sold on a day-by-day basis. It's something that can be what we call evergreen and create a certain amount of repeatable income. What this means is that you don't have to overextend yourself or overwhelm your capacity. You can create a sales funnel that is on evergreen, that's gonna constantly draw traffic in, draw the right clients in that will be interested in your productized offer, which is going to be priced more than likely less than it would be to work with you on a one-on-one basis. So, with that being the case, people get their initial taste of what it's like to be in your world, to utilize your services, to be around your genius. That is going to be a key selling point for you to land larger and larger contracts. So the ability to be able to utilize ads and create funnels and to automate these processes opens up an entire new world in terms of your revenue generation.
Speaker 1:These are all wonderful benefits of having this product that I offer and, over time, what you'll find is that, by being able to market this way, you'll generate more and more brand awareness, because now people are hearing about you more, they're learning about your consulting business, they're learning about your brand, they're learning about the results that people are achieving, and that's going to build the trust and the influence that you need to sell at a much higher level. So I want you to think about marketing of your consulting services differently from marketing your productized offer. I really do want you to think about what you put together as being a tangible product and utilize that to your benefit so that you're able to grow your business and expand your capacity and reach more people and make a greater impact, because, after all, that's what it's meant to do. So, just to recap, when you're thinking about marketing your productized consulting service, you want to start off with your messaging. Make sure your messaging is dialed in, that you're focused on the right audience and that you're saying the right things to show them that this new offer that you have packaged up and put together can carry them from point A to point B and help them to achieve their goal.
Speaker 1:The next thing that you want to do is utilize your content marketing. Create content, whether that's on LinkedIn or some other social media platform, if it's on a blog post or if it's on a podcast. Create content that shares your message. When you're able to share your message, you're going to build more awareness around your brand. You're going to help people understand why your product or offer is valuable and how it can help them solve a problem immediately, right away. And then, last but not least, you want to think about innovative ways for you to market in the digital space, because this is going to help you really be able to leverage a lot of your resources, and that can involve things such as interactive lead magnets. It can involve you offering power sessions and just being very creative as to how you're able to collaborate with others or find micro influencers. Do things that will help you reach more people and drive more traffic to your product. And eventually, when you get comfortable with all that, you can put that ad spin behind it and really shift gears into full speed ahead, and that is going to help you grow your consulting business and eventually scale, because now you're not limited by your manpower or your capacity. You have expanded beyond that, and being able to market your product or service effectively is going to be the key and the gateway to you reaching the goals that you want to reach financially, as well as making the impact on your industry that I know you want to make.
Speaker 1:Until next time, take care. Thank you for tuning in to the Black Girls Console 2 podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to leave your review on Apple Podcasts, subscribe and share it with a friend. We're on a mission to increase the success and longevity of women in consulting, and you can help us do just that. Also, 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 excel at consultingcom for more information to support your consulting journey. Until next time, keep breaking glass ceiling. All right, take care. I want to.
