I have been exploring more ways to make money through my expertise. There are plenty to choose from such as creating training courses, writing books, and other options as well. However, I recently tapped into another source of income that has many benefits: consulting others. You get to charge an hourly rate, and as you get more people, you will become more successful. However, many people who say they are consultants struggle to make a respectable revenue from their job. While some consultants make thousands of dollars every month, others are struggling to get 1 person to consult with every month. In order to make more money as a consultant, follow these 8 tips.
- Charge more for your consultations. This one seems like a no-brainer, but it is this kind of attitude towards this method that prevents people from getting better results. Think about it this way. Consultant A charges $50 per 1 hour consultation and gets 6 people every month for an hour each. Consultant B charges $100 per hour and gets 3 people every month for an hour each. Consultant A got more clients than Consultant B, but Consultant B was able to make the same amount of money as Consultant A by only spending three hours talking to clients instead of six. You have three extra hours to do things that will boost your credibility.
- Boost your credibility. There are many consultants that clients can choose. They are only going to choose the consultants who are the most credible or charge the lowest price. If you want to turn consulting into a full-time income or at least five figures every year while living a comfortable lifestyle where you are in control of most of your schedule, do not rely on lower prices. Lowering your prices will result in too many clients and divide your time into too many segments amongst each client (which results in less quality).
- Ask for the money up front. Many consultants make the mistake of asking for the money at the end of the consultation. That’s when some clients decide to call it quits and act as if they never heard of you before. This results in many consultants chasing their clients around for the money those consultants deserve. It’s like the teacher in elementary school chasing students around for homework. That doesn’t happen in as many middle schools or high schools, and it almost never happens in college. What encourages students to hand in their homework (even when late) is avoiding the F. However, your client does not have that reason to give you the money. That’s why you need to ask for the money up front instead of having battles with some of your clients so you can make your money. If you have good credibility, clients will be more willing to pay up front before the consultation.
- Only be a consultant for specific aspects of your niche that you are good at. If you know how to come up with an Instagram strategy, but you don’t know how to come up a GooglePlus strategy, then both do not belong. Only be a consultant for the specific aspects of your niche that you can do a good job at. This will encourage more returning clients.
- Make the consultation process smoother. If you get the money up front, it will be easier for you to create reports for your clients. The fear of sending a report that normally costs $100 won’t bother you anymore because you already got the money. In addition, you want to know about the person before you do the consultation. If you spend 10 minutes in the consultation catching up with the person and that person’s goals, then that person will feel as if he/she is wasting money at your consultations. What you need to do is provide a questionnaire for all of your paying clients that consists of 5-10 questions. This process will make you more prepared for the consultation and allow your clients to get their money’s worth. This process will entice people to pay you up front the first time and then become returning customers later on.
- Offer a discount for returning clients. You can tell your clients that if they do two of your consultations then they get the third one 50% off. If you price your consultation sessions correctly, you will be still be able to make more revenue with the 50% discount. In addition, some of your clients will have a 4th and 5th consultation with you just to take advantage of the 50% deal again (and to learn, of course). This discount will look attractive to potential clients, and you will be able to develop strong connections with the people you consult with three or more times.
- Give your clients an enticing but unexpected free prize. When a client is consulting with you, you have their undivided attention. Clients are not going to be surfing the web, reading through emails, or checking what time The Big Bang Theory is on tonight. They are only going to be paying attention to what you are saying to them. Since you have their attention (and an extra $100 or so), you can spend some of that money on your client. Tell your client that you are really proud of him/her for sticking with the consultation and showing up, and for that you will ship over a free copy of one of your books at no additional cost and you just need their address. You must be sure to promise that the address will never get shared. No one would like for their address to get posted online, especially Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg. Most clients will give you their address on those conditions and be happy to get the free product. Sending a free copy of your book gives you a distinct advantage because you are able to sign the book and leave a personal note. That personal note can further congratulate the person for showing up to your consultation and ask that person to leave an honest review for your book on Amazon. Now you client is more likely to become a returning client and your book gets another review with one transaction. The best part is that you will still have a good amount of money left over if you price your consultation sessions right.
- Tell your clients in advance that you will record the consultation. For all forms of consultation, you have the option to record an audio version of the consultation. All you need to do is have a smartphone and record an audio when the consultation starts. If you have a computer, the audio still works, but you also have the option of recording your computer’s screen. No matter how you record the consultation, this will mean your client won’t have to waste time taking notes and instead will be able to focus more of their attention on you (which in most cases results in a returning client, or at least a client who is going to leave a good testimonial).
Getting clients to go to your consultation sessions is important. However, you also want to make as much money as possible with your consultation sessions. Those are 8 ways that you can make more money as a consultant and reach 5 figures every year from consulting. If you are not there already, it is possible for you to get there by following these tactics in less than a year. A big part of your success as a consultant depends on your credibility. You may not want to have consultation sessions right now (I didn’t for a while), but it is still important for anything that you do to boost your credibility and become an expert in your niche.
What are your thoughts on the list? Do you have any additional tips on making more money as a consultant? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
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