Speaker 1: 0:42

Learning how to do business development is truly a skill, and learning how to do it right without being spammy, familiar and frustrated and all of that. So a lot of consultants deal with learn behavior from very few people. Is that actually a natural scenario? So they've actually taken the time to understand how to do that. The other thing I want to mention is it does exactly engage what you do for a living and deals and are waiting for somebody to respond. Their business, for example, is spending post on social media, on your blog, how they're hiring more staff to help with all the work. They might even be saying, wow, this is the best year. 

Speaker 1: 1:19

It's not actually a strategy. You're sitting over here wondering, oh gosh, I don't even know where my next client is going to come from, and it can trigger all these feelings of feeling it's adequate or like you're not proactive, and it can be so frustrating because you're thinking what are they doing that I'm not doing? I'm posting on social media all the time. I'm talking about my services all the time, and you may also recognize that you actually are qualified. You are probably at least, if not more qualified than that individual, and so what's the difference? What are they doing? That's so much better than you. So we're going to talk about this today because I really want to give you some key insight here, and there's a couple of things that are going on. The first thing is that they have a really clear outreach strategy. They actually understand how to engage prospects and when deals. For about 10% of people, this comes very naturally. But for the rest of us, learning how to engage prospects without being spammy, sleazy, salesy, pushy, etc. Is learned because it does not come naturally to most people, and so if this is not a skill set that comes naturally to you, this is an opportunity to up level that skill set. I also want to mention that if your strategy for getting business is posting and praying for business ie posting on social media or posting on your blog, hoping somebody sees it and then reaches out to you, that is just not a strategy. That's hope. Now, the second thing that your colleagues who are knocking it out of the park and expanding their businesses are likely doing is they know how to talk about themselves and their businesses in a way that is really appealing and compelling to their prospective clients, so that when they actually do outreach, when they do post on social media, when they do attend events, the prospective client sees, hears and engages with their messaging, how they talk about themselves, and really feels seen and heard. They're like, oh my gosh, they're exactly for me. 

Speaker 1: 3:30

So one of the things I want to discuss about messaging and one of the common challenges I see in messaging is that a lot of consultants will talk about the services they offer and not the problems they solve. And you may not have heard this before, but it's important to state that people only buy solutions to problems. They're not just looking for your services, you know, just because they're actually trying to solve a problem and in that moment they begin to search for a solution to that problem. And that is when, ideally, we want them to find you or to remember you from the consistent outreach you've been doing. If you can meet people at the problem stage and you can show them that you actually really understand the problem they're experiencing and you even have social proof that you've actually solved these types of problems before, boom, I mean, you are one step closer to making the sale. So this shift in messaging is very subtle, but it is extremely, extremely powerful. 

Speaker 1: 4:38

So let me give you an example. Let's say, for example, you're a graphic designer. I brought that up earlier. And let's say your messaging is all about being a graphic designer, like, oh, I can make logos, I can do websites, I can design brochures, whatever other services you might offer. Well, the truth is that there are a million graphic designers and you could find a graphic designer on Fiverr. You could find a graphic design intern and pay them five bucks to do a logo. Right, and the problem with leading with the job title like that and leading with the services you offer is that it makes you a commodity in the market, and as a commodity in the market, we get into the race to the bottom pricing. Okay. So instead of leading with the job title and leading with here all the you know menu of services I offer, we instead want to lead with the problems we solve. So take that same graphic designer and let's reframe it. They could say something like I help brands design websites that build brand love. Or, if they're a packaging designer, they could say something like I help design packaging that attracts the right buyers to purchase that product or that has things flying off the shelves. You know, there's different ways you can spin it. 

Speaker 1: 5:59

That type of messaging is going to get a completely different reaction from your ideal client, because now we're talking at a much higher level. We're talking about bigger problems. We're not just talking about a logo, we're not just talking about a brochure. We're actually talking about helping your brand, and this is a really critical shift for consultants, especially consultants who may be more familiar with freelancing, where there's a lot of quote, unquote, hired gun, lone wolf type of work. As a consultant, we really just want to position ourselves as a trusted advisor to the client, and one of the ways that we can do that is by showing them the problems we solve and advising them on how to solve those problems. 

Speaker 1: 6:48

It's a completely different conversation and it can help clients feel relief to know that there's someone in their corner who is actually thinking about this in a bigger way than just, you know, creating a logo and handing it over. It's someone who's actually thinking bigger about the brand, and that is the type of thinking and the type of messaging that is going to take you from fighting with the people on Fiverr, you know, to spend $20 creating a logo to selling a $10,000 packages, which is exactly what some of my design clients are able to do. There are a ton of examples of my clients who have actually turned their messaging into their strongest calling card and who are building multi six figure businesses as a result of solving bigger problems for their clients. So I hope this is really helpful for you. I'd love to hear what you think about this episode. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or on Instagram and give me a shout out. I'd love to hear what you're thinking, what aha moments you had and until next time, giddy up.