We’ve been talking about consultants – why you should open up your wallet to get one on your team, and what to look for in a consultant. It’s time to take a look at some top consultants for freelancers – you know, the kind that really make the difference to your business.
I’m going to give you the nutshell versions of my three top picks for freelancers – they’re the consultants I’ve found to be of most use for my business, and they’ve been the ones that bring me the highest ROI.
Here’s what these guys do and why they’re useful for your business:
The Customer Experience Designer
A customer experience designer’s job is to 1) figure out your ideal customer (and it’s often not who you think it is) and a brand message, 2) craft a memorable experience for that customer to achieve full satisfaction and glowing referrals.
A customer experience designer is good if you’re having trouble attracting the kinds of customers you want or retaining them once you’ve gotten their eyes on your website. They can help you figure out what you’re doing that’s bringing in the wrong people, and how to shift to attract more of the people who will stick around and buy what you’re selling.
The Business Consultant
A business consultant’s job is to look over your whole business and see 1) what isn’t doing so well, 2) where you could be doing better, and 3) what you can do to improve your business to get more sales. Sometimes the little tweaks make a huge difference.
The business consultant is a good choice if you seem to be working yourself to death without getting the results you’d expect from that amount of effort. Usually they can find places to relieve your stress, make you more efficient, and help you get more money out of every working hour.
The Marketing Consultant
A marketing consultant’s job is to 1) figure out where you should market and promote, 2) how you should market your business and to whom, and 3) develop a marketing campaign for you to help reach new customers, existing clients and spread the word about your business.
Marketing consultants are good if you have a new product or service that you want to launch, or if you have a product or service that isn’t doing as well as you’d hope and you’d like to figure out better strategies for selling it. They’re also great for showing you how to market yourself, which may include things like rebranding or adjusting your current brand.
Not Seeing What You Need On this List?
That’s okay. There are consultants and experts for absolutely everything under the sun.
For example, if you’re still sketchy on bookkeeping and try to do your own taxes (there’s a ton of you out there), sit down with an accountant for a while to see how you can save more money and pay less in taxes.
If you have trouble knowing what your five-year plan is, sit down with someone who can help you discover your true desires, develop a milestone plan and get you progressing towards those goals. Business coaches and life coaches are often good for this.
If you want to differentiate your business and stand out, work with a branding consultant to get the perfect image that fits you like a glove.
Whichever area you decide to get help with, know this: you’re investing in yourself, and you’re making an active decision to stop futzing around and start making more money. It may not happen overnight, but it could very well happen within just a few months.
And once you get the ball rolling, once you start getting more sales, clients and income, you can hire a second expert for another area of your business to go even further. The sky’s the limit.
Your turn: Which area of your business are you neglecting right now? And what’s holding you back from finally deciding to fix it up better than ever?
If you decide you need a website or blog with the perfect look to attract new customers and killer copy that hooks them, draws them in and gets them saying yes, contact us at Men with Pens today. We can help.
Very smart post, I like this alot!! I think the biggest challenge is first interviewing a potential consultant so you know s/he walks the walk that’s talked. ie, happy customer testimonials, proven visibility in the niche in question, etc.etc.etc.
Will be sharing this with my network, thanks!
.-= Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..1 Astonishingly Easy Way To Appear Smarter Than Your Network =-.
The right consultant for the right area of your business can be crucial for your success.
How do you determine which consultant or consultants you need? A consultant for consultants?
.-= John Soares´s last blog ..Screw SEO =-.
Thanks to this series, I am in the process of hiring a consultant! I need it badly, but I’ve been putting it off and making excuses for so long. I feel vulnerable and nervous about it, but I’m pretty sure it will make a big difference.
I’d like to add to that by saying that if someone is thinking of becoming a consultant…rather than do the “traditional” consulting, why not find a way to really harness what you’re best at and offer it to people.
Like you said, there’s a consultant for everything.
Come to think of it, we’re all consultants (bloggers) anyway. I consider myself a work at home in your pajamas so you can live a great life consultant. Has a nice ring to it
.-= Nathan Hangen´s last blog ..Podcast: The Consumption Engine is Back =-.
I think that the first one will be what makes or breaks your business.
If you can acurately define your market and find out what makes the HUNGRY, then all you have to do is reach them and feed them.
This is the hardest part to get right… something that I know I’m still working on. The customer experience designer, if they do their job right, should create a flood of new business for you.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
.-= Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire´s last blog ..Make Your Sales Letters Memorable Like a Pop Song? =-.
James,
No surprise, I’m a big believer in the first one! …. and yes yes yes on other consultants as well.
You touched on a serious pain point briefly—it’s investing in your business, or if you’re a solopreneur, in your business “self.” With many freelancers and small business owners that I know, the idea of investing in themselves is torture. Even if it can help them make money. For long-term success… folks have just *got* to get over that feeling.
Regards,
Kelly
Does an accountant count as a consultant? Seriously.
.-= Mark Dykeman´s last blog ..Thoughtwrestling Interview – WhiteFeather =-.
thanks, i think that consultants could really help benefit a business. great post.
Good advice, although I have a problem with a third party figuring out my ideal customer and my brand message – helping me define them, perhaps, but not figuring it out “for” me. That’s akin to having you pick out an online bride for me – YOU may think she’s a good fit, but I’m the one stuck with her (and visa versa!). If you haven’t figured out who what your “product” is, who your ideal customer is, and what your message is, then you need to go back to the drawing board.
@Bob – Well, it seems that you may be basing your thoughts on a few myths. None of these professionals decide FOR you what you should be. Their job is to work WITH you – they take who you are, what you stand for and represent, and they help you present that properly to your audience. Otherwise, if they didn’t do that, you wouldn’t be able to maintain your brand in the least, and you’d show an incongruent message to your customers. Good consultants find out who you are first, and they work with that.
@Mark – Yes, an accountant counts as a consultant. I’ve paid a few accoutants to sit down and provide me with ways on how to better operate my business – with some serious ROIs!
@Kelly – You do your job very well indeed – having worked with you before (several times), I know firsthand that spending a little can bring a lot back.
@Joshua – Each consultant provides a flood – tributaries to a major river. That’s the way to go!
@Nathan – To prove your point further, I know a beer consultant. Who’d ‘a thunk!
@Kathleen – That’s awesome to hear, and I hope I’ve been able to provide you with some tips to make it a great relationship. Yes, it’s scary – you’re handing your baby over, after all, and you care about it a great deal – but I think it’s worth facing the fear and doing it anyways. Let me know how it goes!
@John – Good question. And I should have a brilliant answer for that, but I don’t. (I shall muse on it, though!)
@Barbara – I know that personally, it takes me a while before choosing the right person. I observe people from afar for a bit before deciding to get in touch, and when I do, I make no promises until I feel it’s the right fit. (Though usually, my magical powers of observation do me right almost every time…)
I hadn’t considered a customer experience consultant, smart idea and something I want to look into. I read someone blog about how the Men with Pens logo looks like it was directed by Michael Bay. I personally like the idea of having a Michael Bay Logo Consultant on hand.
Overall, it’s easy to find a consultant or coach on hand. It’s hard to figure out why you need them and how they fit you’re unique brand.
.-= susan´s last blog ..Snow Skiing in a Bikini with a Toddler =-.
Yes, your info has helped a lot, thank you! I will let you know how it goes.
I am going to work with Heather, who you recommended in the other thread. She seems like she really knows her stuff, and she has the right skills/experience to help me get where I want to go. I’m very nervous… but excited!!
I like the idea of a Customer Experience Designer.
I’ve been calling on outside help for different aspects of setting up my business. There’s a hell of a lot to learn about setting up an online biz. What I’m finding helpful is spacing things out, I try to tackle one area at a time. It gives me a chance to integrate all the new information I’m having to take in.
.-= Dave Rowley´s last blog ..6 Impossible Things: #4 A Penny-Farthing For Your Thoughts =-.
I agree an accountant is a consultant, as long as you take the advice given.
.-= Tammi Kibler´s last blog ..SEO Tactics: Blog Commenting and Nofollow tags =-.
Your blog is my main consultant, and you give great suggestions. I am currently putting together a brochure/portfolio/website and I check your archives regularly for ideas on how to pitch myself.
.-= TravelinOma´s last blog ..Ghosting =-.
Great post, James. You know, freelancing is one of those businesses where the cost of entry is usually so low (compared to traditional businesses) that we tend to develop a penny-pinching mindset right out of the gate. After we buy the necessary software and equipment, many of us don’t even consider getting help because it’s “too expensive.”
Yet we forget that we’re running a business. And a business requires continual investment if it’s to improve. Sure, there’s a lot we can do on our own. And hiring a great consultant, by itself, won’t solve all your problems. You also have to take action on the recommendations. But getting help in areas where you know you’re weak will often catapult your business to a whole new level.
As freelancers, we need to move away from that penny-pinching mentality and start budgeting EVERY YEAR for business-improvement materials and coaching/consulting.
A good business consultant can also act as a business coach by giving you a framework for identifying your highest R.E.A.L. (Resource/Effort/Attention/Leverage) priority at any given time.
And I find that the best marketing consultants often fit your description of “business consultant” because they don’t make marketing recommendations in a “vacuum”. I’ve found that 90% of marketing consulting clients need this kind of consultant.
.-= Gogo | Idea Age Business Consulting´s last blog ..Mar 23, contact Us =-.
@Gogo – The first thing my business consultant asked me (or one of the first) was, “What’s your goal for this year?” I gave it to her – and her reply was, “Alright, that’s realistic. Let’s figure out how to make that happen.” Win.
@Ed – It’s incredible how much resistence freelancers have in regards to spending money – even the successful ones. They look to the *really* successful people they admire and work hard to try to get to that point themselves… but they seem blind to the fact that almost every one of those hugely successful people worked with *other* people, almost from the start, and spend money to make even more of it. Hard to get that point across!
@Travelin – Aw, thanks!
@Tammi – Well, if you aren’t going to take the advice given, then save your money and stay small, is what I say!
@Dave – Remember, too, that you don’t *need* to learn everything there is to run an online biz. That’s another freelancer myth. I’m sure the CEO of Nike doesn’t know how to do every single tiny task involved in his company. Hire experts for each task, and have a gist of what they do, and away you go. S’called delegation
@Kathleen – Ahhh, very well done. I’m pretty sure you’ll be a happy person after working with her!
@Susan – We called Michael and he said, “You guys know what you’re doing. Go for it.” So we did. Turned out alright, eh?!
Not only has this post sold me on the need for a “The Customer Experience Designer”, but I love the fact that the comment section is becoming a full on directory of them for me to evaluate
.-= Matt Burgess´s last blog ..SEO for Beginners #1: What is SEO, and how does Search work? =-.
What a great resource this blog is. So glad to have stumbled onto it.
Hi James, All I have to say is, wow, Heather knows her stuff! I just had my pre-call call with her today and she already gave me TONS to think about. I realize that I have been very blind to my own mistakes. I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day, so I could have more time to work on everything we talked about! Thank you for the killer recommendation!