How can consulting help you develop your personal brand?

Consulting allows you to engage with various people and industries, which is great for growing your network and reputation. Through platforms like mentorsko.com, you can connect with mentees from different fields, enhancing your visibility and credibility. Being proactive, genuine, and supportive in these relationships helps not only in expanding your network but also in enriching your professional development and impact as a consultant.

The amazing thing about the working world is that I speak for a living, and others do graphics or edit videos for a living. I could spend hours upon hours trying to figure out how to get my brand message to be excellent and cohesive, or I can pay an expert in that area to do it with me or for me. In Personal Development, a lot of what we aim for is clarity, and there is no better way for me and others to have clarity than to not spend time doing things inefficiently when we can engage with consultants and experts in branding material development!

As the saying goes - "network is net worth"! The first and foremost positive outcome is that you end up increasing your network not just in count and numbers, but also in varied skillset of the people you network with. Make the most!

Your network is the bedrock of your business. But you can't grow your network unless you do two things: 1) Talk about your approach to business by showing how expert you are, telling interesting stories and demonstrating your values. 2) Listening to your network colleagues and showing this by commenting on their posts, asking questions and looking for ways to collaborate. As a consultant, you will have the benefit of working with dozens of clients in the business areas that you have worked in previously. So, demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of these areas will prove attractive to new LI members who will want to join your network.

A construção de uma marca pessoal forte é um processo contínuo. Uma consultoria pode fornecer orientação especializada ao longo desse caminho, ajudando você a se destacar em sua área de atuação e alcançar seus objetivos pessoais e profissionais. Um consultor pode ajudá-lo a identificar suas competências e pontos fortes únicos. Isso é essencial para definir o que torna sua marca pessoal única e como você pode se destacar no mercado.

Consulting can significantly contribute to building your personal brand by offering opportunities for visibility, expertise showcase, and networking. Here’s how consulting can help.. Client Testimonials: Positive feedback from satisfied clients Networking Opportunities: Consulting often involves working closely with diverse clients and professionals. Speaking Engagements: Public speaking at industry conferences, webinars, or workshops Build a Niche Focus: Specializing in a niche within your consulting domain Online Presence: Maintain a strong online presence By leveraging these aspects of consulting, you can strategically shape and enhance your personal brand, making it a powerful asset in your professional journey.

Comparing hard skills like project management to soft skills like communication in consulting is fascinating. Both are crucial, but they play different roles. It's the brain and heart of the job – you need both to succeed.

Enhance your skills and engage in meaningful conversations and assignments - podcasts, webinars, e/audio/printed books - there is no end to it! Make sure you do it all in the context of your niche.

Through consulting the subject matter experts one can identify opportunities to grow and learn new skills and knowledge. As learning is a continuous process, one can keep developing themselves through continued education in key areas for personal development and branding.

Consulting helps you to learn more about yourself. It stretches you and takes you way out of your comfort zone. In personal experience I wouldn’t be where I am today without my consultants. I wouldn’t have had to belief to go for it

The advisor provides a fresh, external perspective on your business. They evaluate your offering and specialization, addressing issues such as a large product portfolio and not prepared customer journey. Companies often struggle to maintain unprofitable products due to longevity or even emotional attachment. Thanks to the consultant's guidance, clients can improve their offer, focusing on truly profitable ventures and avoiding business dilution.

For many, portfolios are more important than resumes. They serve as a way to SHOW people that you can do as say, not just TELL people. It helps with credibility, which in turn opens up doors that weren't previously available. I've found this to be true with my creative practice with Wisdom Made Easy. I have a proven portfolio of hundreds of visuals, with millions of people reached and attractive clients including Sahil Bloom and Steven Bartlett. A quick tip to begin developing your portfolio, no matter your profession: set a monthly reminder in your calendar to reflect on what you have achieved that month. By doing this, you guarantee dedicated time to develop a meaningful body of evidence that you are who you say you are.

In consulting, a robust portfolio enriched with client reviews from platforms like mentorsko.com can significantly enhance your personal brand. These reviews serve as tangible evidence of your impact and expertise, showcasing your ability to deliver quality and creative solutions. Including such feedback not only attracts potential clients but also builds trust by demonstrating real-world success and satisfaction. This approach helps in painting a comprehensive picture of your professional achievements and style.

A great way of improving your interaction with your network members is to invite them to your website. Here, you can demonstrate your knowledge and experience in very specific ways that will be a great interest to your members. LinkedIn acts as an excellent platform to focus on your Top of Funnel and Middle of Funnel marketing activities - as you often need to promote yourself as a generalist with skills in many fields. However, your website is a great way to communicate Bottom of Funnel promotions and activities by providing very specific offerings that identified customers will relate to and respond to you more directly. You can also hold on-line events, promote your own weekly newsletter via email and even meet clients at certain venues.

With the help of consulting - you will end up having better clarity on your own niche, and furthermore - sub niches 👍🏻 A SWOT would generally come handy to help come up with the same and pin down what stands out.

In my experience creating products you are able to deliver untethered from employer schedules, is the raw material for growth. Branding is also not an end to itself, it’s a marketing tool.

Focusing on a niche in consulting not only positions you as an expert but also boosts your earning potential. In fact, statistics show that consultants who specialize in a niche can charge up to 40% more than those who don't. This specialization reduces competition and increases demand, making your services more valuable to your target audience.

Consulting helps significantly in recognising the niche area where you can serve the customers best. McKinsey provided strategic consulting advice to help Starbucks redefine its brand image and customer experience (otherwise Starbucks mediocre idea of selling coffee with tons of sugar, milk, cream, choclate and some sprinklers at a premium price would have never taken off), McKinsey included recommendations on store design, product offerings, and digital innovation that helped people associate social status with Starbucks. By aligning Starbucks' offerings with customers underlying motives, McKinsey's 7S model played a crucial role in enhancing the coffee giant's brand and reinforcing its unique identity in the competitive market.

Personalized consulting goes beyond the conventional. It involves meticulously aligning your leadership journey with a curated narrative that seamlessly integrates your distinct style, your signature color, and your leadership color. By infusing your brand with these personalized elements, you communicate competence and forge an authentic connection, amplifying your leadership presence with a touch of individuality. This bespoke approach ensures your brand stands out in a way that uniquely resonates with your audience.

My final tip about how consulting can help develop your network is called The Consultancy Mindset. Let me demonstrate this very easily. I'm a former radio and newspaper journalist. So, writing for a living in my own business was a natural move for me. There were hundreds of freelance journalists all competing for the same jobs - which meant that their hourly rates were very competitive. But then I saw what consultants were charging for pretty much the same work. So, I called myself a Public Relations Consultant - doing exactly the same work, but charging three times as much. It was the best move I ever made. So, whoever you are at the moment, reinvent yourself as a consultant: instead of IT Engineer - become an IT Consultant; etc, etc.!