Reader

Have you ever been at a networking event and overheard an independent consultant trying to explain their business?

You listen as the consultant’s language makes the business sound larger and more sophisticated than it is. He repeatedly uses the pronoun “we,” even though he is a solo practitioner, leaving the VP wondering who else is working in the business.

As the explanation continues, you can almost see the questions on the VP’s face.

After a few minutes of a vague explanation that provides little clarity about who the consultant is or how he could help, the VP smiles, says, “That sounds very impressive,” and walks away.

The consultant stands there looking puzzled. He is certain he has the expertise to solve the VP’s problems. So, why did the VP end the conversation? What went wrong?

The consultant was so focused on presenting an impressive picture of his business that he missed the entire point of the interaction:

The VP standing in front of him was not trying to evaluate the consultant’s business. He was trying to understand and evaluate him.

An independent consulting business starts with you.

When clients hire an independent consultant, they are not buying a brand name, a polished logo, or a generic menu of services. They are buying the person standing in front of them—someone they can trust to help them achieve the results they want and need.

An independent consultant is the product.

Your experience, credentials, and areas of expertise matter. They establish that you know something worth knowing and have experience worth bringing to a client. They are the baseline, an entry point when connecting with someone.

What a client actually buys is how you apply that knowledge.

Clients experience how you think. They watch the questions you ask, notice what you pay attention to, and evaluate how you break down complex problems. They pay attention to whether you challenge comfortable assumptions or simply nod along. They experience how you communicate difficult information, whether you listen, how you work with other people, and whether you follow through on what you say you will do.

Two consultants can share similar backgrounds and provide similar services yet create completely different experiences for a client.

That difference is the value you provide to clients. Your judgment, perspective, and ability to separate what matters from the noise helps build trust and confidence in you.

Ultimately, clients are deciding whether they have trust and confidence in the product—you.

Clients hire experienced consultants because they expect more than execution. They expect judgment. They expect perspective. They expect someone who can look at a situation differently, identify what matters, and say what needs to be said.

That is why an independent consultant is the product of their consulting business.

Being the product means recognizing that your experience and expertise cannot be separated from how you apply them. Your judgment, point of view, values, behavior, way of working, ability to create value, and ability to earn trust all influence whether someone chooses to work with you.

Yet independent consultants sometimes make themselves harder to understand by trying to appear to be something they are not. They create business names no one understands. They use “we” when there is no we. They develop long lists of services to demonstrate everything they can do, and adopt language that sounds impressive but obscures the problems they actually solve.

What matters is much simpler: make it easy for the person considering you to understand how you can help and what it would be like to work with you.

The next time you prepare to explain what you do, step away and ask yourself a simple question: Am I making it easy for someone to understand who I am, the value I bring, and why they should trust me to help them?

Until next time,

Laura Burford

______________________

I’m also hosting an upcoming diagnostic workshop-WHAT'S HOLDING BACK YOUR CONSULTING BUSINESS?- for independent consultants who want to step back and take a closer look at their consulting business.

We’ll focus on identifying what may be getting in the way, where greater clarity is needed, and the one priority that deserves your attention next.

​Click here to learn more about the workshop.

Whenever You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help

​Business Core for Independent Consultants: If you’re wondering whether Business Core is the right next step for you, schedule a free 45-minute Business Core Strategy Session to explore whether it’s a fit.

​Resources to Support You: Practical guides and tools designed to give you clarity and help you move forward including:

• ​The Business Core Snapshot: A short assessment to help you look at your Focus, Ideal Client, and Service Offering and identify where your business foundation may need more clarity or alignment.
• ​The Independent Consultant’s Blueprint©: Your guide to confidence and building a successful business.
• ​The Consultant Assessment: An assessment of the five blueprint pillars to help you understand where you are today and what to focus on next.
• ​Seven Strategies to Stand Out as an Independent Consultant: Practical ways to become the "Go-To" expert you want to be.

​Self-Study Courses: Two self-study courses based on the Consulting Mastery program are available for a limited time.

• Creating Trusted Relationships: Become Known, Build Trust, and Create Opportunities
• Engage with Your Client: Move from Discovery to Proposal

​YouTube Channel: Educational videos and interviews based on the Consultant’s Blueprint©. Topics include defining your focus, attracting the right clients, building trusted relationships, and more.

​Weekly Newsletter: Forwarded this email? Subscribe to Consulting Insights for weekly advice, resources, and real-world stories to help you build and grow your consulting business.

If you liked this Consulting Insight, consider sharing it with others.

Have a question? Send me an email at Laura@lauraburford.com.

​​​