Own Your Solo Status: The Real Secret to Attracting High-Value Consulting Clients
You might think it will help you get clients, but it's far more likely to be holding you back from achieving your goals. If you're a solo consultant, could you show it?
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Running A Global Consultancy Group From A Tiny English Village
I used to know a solo consultant who lived in Bishop’s Cleeve, Gloucestershire (the village is exactly as you would imagine it to be).
He offered ‘venture marketing services’ to startup firms (i.e. marketing for payment + equity).
He called his company the [Last Name] Group, always used the first-person plural (we) when discussing his organisation, paid for a Skype number based in London and a London PO address, and listed a New York number and office address on the website.
His website featured stock images of a diverse team working together on problems, presented high success metrics, and gave the impression of a mid-sized boutique consultancy specialising in marketing to startups.
This comes from a place of ‘let’s pretend we’re big to get big’.
I used to think this was a relic of a bygone era. But browsing through the websites of plenty of subscribers this past week, I can see dozens of consultants doing almost anything to pretend they’re not solo consultants.
And it’s a very bad idea. Let’s explain why…
When Organisations Hire ‘Groups’, They Want Groups
The absurdity of my acquaintance’s approach becomes clear when you take a minute or two to think about it.
Obviously, his goal was to attract the kind of clients (and budgets) that wouldn’t typically hire a solo consultant (living outside of London). Everything was designed to mirror a London/NYC-based consultancy.
But I suspect he didn’t consider:
When organisations hire ‘groups’, they want groups. A big firm can field a team where each person focuses on a narrow domain. This might include a data analyst, a UX researcher, an industry specialist, and a project manager - so the client gets specialists, not generalists. They can also work on multiple streams of work simultaneously.
You will compete against bigger fish. If you present yourself as a big team, you will likely be competing against big teams for clients. It will look suspicious when you show up for every call alone, and other teams bring 2 to 4 people. Also, remember that big teams might have designers and other specialists on staff who can create incredible proposals. You’re at a considerable disadvantage.
When clients spend big money, they expect big teams. When organisations hire a team vs. a solo consultant, they expect that team to bring a range of staff to work with. They’re expecting junior staff to do legwork, project managers, and you have to have internal oversight processes. You can’t satisfy these needs alone.
They might suspect you of being a fraud. If they get suspicious, they might ask you directly how big your team is. Then you have to either admit that it’s just you, or tell a fib and undertake increasingly absurd acts to pretend that’s true. Either way, you’ll be found out eventually and lose your client's trust.
In short, the potential advantages of pretending to be a larger organisation are dwarfed by the disadvantages.
Also beware of using the logos of brands you haven’t worked for directly.
Make Being A Solo Consultant An Advantage
Organisations usually have a good idea of the support they need, whether a solo consultant or a larger consultancy. While pretending to be the latter, you’re likely losing opportunities from being the former.
If you’re a solo consultant, own it. Make sure you’re the best option for people looking for a solo consultant. The whole point of hiring you is that you’re not an expensive organisation bringing an army of junior staffers and specialists to a project.
You’re the person who has deep knowledge and expertise in your topic.
You’re the person they will be dealing with directly.
You’re the person who will be doing the work for them.
You’re the person who will get to know them deeply and understand their needs. You will be the person who brings stakeholders together and brings about lasting change, not just dropping off a handful of documents.
Understand how to tell your competitive story, use the right name, and develop the right services.
Do You Need To Be A Group? Or Can You Just Be You?
Browsing through the websites of plenty of subscribers, I can see my former acquaintance wasn’t alone.
Plenty of my subscribers are solo consultants masquerading as larger firms. I’d strongly recommend you stop. You don’t need to be a ‘group’, speak in the first person plural, or create fake-size signals.
Just be you. You might be surprised to discover that’s exactly what your prospective clients want.
Good luck!
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We’ve been rebranding away from Something Group to something more boutique and solo (actually team of two) this past couple of months. Agree with leaning in to what you actually are, and the real benefits of that.