Why Some Consultancies Thrive And Others Do Not

I speak to many business owners who want to get more clients.

That’s what I do - I help them to generate more leads !!

In many cases, I hear this:

Marketers always want me to niche down. They want me to cut out a whole bunch of the people I help and get super specific about what I do. And I just don’t want to do that. I like helping a broad array of people with a range of challenges and I just don’t feel comfortable cutting a bunch of people out and saying I do any one thing exclusively.

My response to them is simple -

How's that working for you?

More often than not it’s not great.

• Marketing yourself is a grind.

• It’s hard to generate leads,

• It’s hard to articulate what you do in terms that make sense to others.

• It’s hard to encapsulate the wide array of your services and the benefits to diverse groups

YOU feel clear about what you do - and you feel you can articulate it to people when you get them in front of you,

But generating leads with people who are qualified is hard

The truth is that businesses that REALLY thrive get SUPER specific about the type of value they create

They find out the 20% of people who get 80% of the results and they focus on finding more of them

They cut out a bunch of extras, bonuses, good things, and peripheral services to focus on the core.

The result of this is that everything flows more easily

• It’s easier to find a very specific group of people

• It’s easier to speak to them in ways they understand and by this, I mean in emotional terms according to their struggles and difficulties or goals

• It’s easier to talk about the results and benefits and outcomes that are specific to them

• It’s easier to outline your methodology and how you can move them from where they are now to where they want to be

In brief, it makes selling so much easier

• Not to mention, It’s easier to get results for these clients quicker and quicker

• It’s easier to charge higher prices for these results because your service becomes very bespoke in its solution

• And it’s easier to scale your business because you simply repeat this process again and again creating massive value for a very specific demographic

Getting clear on your niche and offer is just one thing I do with my clients as part of my 3-month LinkedIn and email strategy workshop.

We also work on:

• Targeting your ideal client, in very specific terms

• Crafting your offer message and outreach messages in ways that open up conversations

• Creating outbound campaigns across LinkedIn and email so we do not miss anyone

• Launching outbound cold message campaign across two channels in a systematic way

• Monitoring these campaigns for KPIs and adjusting them or optimal performance

• Automating and systemising this process to create a smooth process

• Training and installing a VA or team member to deliver your outbound campaigns for you

If you are interested in getting super-specific about your offer, improving your lead flow and filling up your pipeline with leads ready to buy from you, charging higher prices, and scaling your business, then comment below and we can set up a chat.

Why Some Consultancies Thrive And Others Do Not | Jen Bishop consulting and lead generation agency london

How To Consult AND Do Your Own Lead Generation

If you are an expert in your field - doing your own lead generation is a grind !!

Being 40% expert and 60% marketeer of your own services is well - a pain in the proverbial.

On one hand we DESIRE to deliver expert services

But on the other, face the NECESSITY of being tied to lead generation.

We have to constantly market, sell and fill up the pipeline with leads to keep the business going.

How do you spend 8 hrs a day consulting and helping clients and then also

• manage an overflowing inbox,

• create content,

• Follow up leads

• design and set up new campaigns

• learn new and innovative methods to stay relevant

It very quickly gets out of hand !!

I love lead generation - but most people do not.

They hate it, but it’s the most important thing they NEED to do.

It’s the lifeblood of business and the wind in our sails.

How can this process be streamlined without totally outsourcing to an agency which charges monthly fees?

The solution that I have found is to train and install a VA to do much of the prospecting, messaging, responding and data collecting for you the client.

The design strategy is what takes time

The rest of it is fairly repetitious, time-consuming, and manual.

OF COURSE, there are many automation tools that take much of the manual process out of lead generation

However, a human still needs to reply to messages, book qualified leads, and follow up with interested prospects.

There are no bots yet that can perfect all of these steps.

A VA can cost anywhere from $2.50 / hr and up and can be trained to handle repeated and predictable processes and follow scripts.

A more qualified VA can handle complex conversations on your behalf and book appointments.

This frees you up to focus on client delivery and being the CEO of your own company.

I have perfected a solution in which we not only DESIGN a LinkedIn and email outreach strategy for your company, but ALSO hire, train and install a VA to handle the manual elements of the campaign for you.

You only pay for the design phase and then the cost of the VA ongoing which is anywhere from $400 up.

I’m sure you can see this is more sustainable than $1000 +/ month for an agency.

If you are looking to find a sustainable solution for your own lead generation then my three month workshop might help you.

Together we work on:

• Nailing your value proposition and your offer message

• Profiling your ideal client and decision maker across LinkedIn and email

• Design and launch outbound multi channel campaigns across LinkedIn and email

• Automate and systemise this process with a few key tools

• Hire, train and install a VA to handle the manual research, prospecting, replies and appointment bookings required

This process works best for B2B consultants who have already a proven offer worth $5k, $10k or $100k and higher and have paying clients who get great results.

Typically you get clients via word of mouth or referral and have no predictable system in place to fill up your pipeline or get new leads.

OR you get clients via SEO, paid ads or content marketing but have no cold outreach methods in place that are working.

Often you have tried LinkedIn or cold email outreach and it has not worked or you have not been able to systemise or automate this process efficiently.

If this describes you then send me a message for more information and we can get on a short call and discover my 3 month process will be helpful for you.

I look forward to chatting to you.

How To Consult AND Do Your Own Lead Generation

Eat Complexity For Your Clients

I travelled to Portugal this week for a friend’s birthday.

Here is a summary of my research to understand what I need to prepare for travel:

1. www.visitportugal.com says that with a vaccine passport you do not need any Covid19 tests before entering Portugal from the UK
   

2. www.gov.uk says travellers from the UK with a vaccine passport MUST take a Covid19 test before entering Portugal.

Hmmm confused.

1. Specifically a rapid antigen test - however this cannot be from a free walk-in test centre. Preferably it’s a test done at home.

2. I have rapid antigen tests at home but how do I register them as proof for travel? It’s not clear what I must do.
   

3. I ask #1 friend who is currently abroad in Portugal and she tells me I need the NHS app on my phone to show evidence of my vaccines. I set this up. Success.
   

4. She also tells me I do NOT need a Covd19 test to enter Portugal.

Hmmmmm confused

1. I ask #2 friend who is currently travelling around Europe asked what they did and they suggested going to a pharmacy to get a rapid antigen test. However, I'm still not clear how this is better than doing a home test.
   

2. Go to my local pharmacy and explain I’m travelling abroad and need a Covid19 test to enter Portugal. Assistant tells me I need to go to the walk-in test centre and get a test there.

Hmmm - This doesn't sound right.

1. I then went to a walk-in clinic and took a PCR test. Results will be emailed to me in one day. The day I fly. Fine - at least I have evidence or the airline.
   

2. Get results of test quickly. I’m clear of any symptoms. Still confused about how to register these results on the NHS app.
   

3. #3 friend who has travelled recently tells me a test from a walk-in test centre is not valid and I need a paid test with a certification to take to the airport or I won't be able to board the plane. Ah now I get it.
   

4. Check with #4 friend who visited Portugal recently and he tells me he went to Boots Pharmacy the results came back next day. I don’t have 2 days left to fly. I need a same day test.
   

5. Check with #5 friend who tells me I need 3 tests in total. Day 2 test, Fit to fly test and return test. He directs me to the gov.uk instructions which is a 27 page PDF of EU fine print of approved Covid19 tests.
   

Hmmmm very confused now.

1. Check with #6 friend who tells me she went to travel doctor who gave her same day test and certificate to fly. This is helpful.
   

2. Find ‘Fit to Fly’ test at pharmacy and book same day test en route to airport.
   

3. Arrive at pharmacy and take test. They tell me the results will be returned by midnight. When I tell them I need same day test because I’m flying today they tell me I booked the wrong test. They help me get a refund, order me a rapid antigen test then give me a certification to take to the airport. They also help me order the Day 2 test and return Fit to Fly. They give me their clinic number to ring if I need support.
   

4. Arrive at airport who require printed evidence of my recent Covid19 test but do not check my vaccine passport.

5. Fly to Portugal.

I tell this whole long story because it’s clear to me what we do for our clients when we create a service or solution.

We 𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒.

• We take a mess of facts and data that exists in libraries and online.

• We sequence it, we prioritise it, we define it, we troubleshoot it.

• We remove jargon and confusing terms.

• We anticipate confusions and things that might trip them up and misdirect them.

• We remove any contradictions and supplement gaps in their knowledge and experience.

• We make it user friendly. We sequence it so it’s logical and coherent.

• We build the solution in steps, in bite size pieces.

• We get them to their desired solution in the shortest possible time and make all that work invisible.

• We help them bridge from their challenge to their desired solution and allow them to get on with their life.

If I could go back in time and advise myself on how to prepare to fly to Portugal I would say this:

"If you are flying soon, you need a fit-to-fly antigen test taken from any pharmacy or travel doctor, usually done same day, costing about £40. You need to take the signed evidence that you are clear of COVID19 to the airport."

My friends helped me a lot but I gained only pieces of information and had to work hard for two days to sequence it all and make coherent sense of all fragments of advice.

In business, we can massively help our clients by simply removing complexity, and helping them navigate to their desired destination with the least friction.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬?

Eat Complexity For Your Clients | Jen Bishop consulting best lead generation agency