13 replies
Hey guys,

For those doing consulting, what services are you offering and what are you charging?

What niches do you find the best to work with?

I want to offer consulting but am finding it hard deciding which services to offer.

With most "standard" businesses, the services would probably lean more towards "done for you" type work, but I don't want to be bogged down with implementation. I'm a one man band for now!

I also struggle with where to draw the line. I've become very good at email automation, creating funnels, creating content strategies and Facebook retargeting, but a lot of these crossover - e.g. email and fb retargeting can work hand in hand etc.

I can see myself offering too much and burning out!

How have you niched it down into manageable services? Preferably with recurring monthly services.

Any help would be great! Cheers.


Michelle
#consulting #ideas
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  • Profile picture of the author RazvanClau
    Hi,

    Your guess is just as good as mine (because all of your skills are viable niches) but why don't you just pick one and become an authority on the topic?

    I'd rather hire THE expert at email automation that can do the job better than anyone else than a jack of all trades that can also do email automation. Plus, this gives you a good chance for branding.

    If I'm looking for a specific service - again, email automation and I find a blog filled with articles on the topic, maybe a 25 page report detailing the seven biggest mistakes I need to avoid and even a sales letter promoting your services on this - would I then go to some generic dude who seems just average at this?

    Lead with one. Make the other upsells. Don't promote them directly. Once you get a client for email automation, after they are satisfied with what you do, ask them if they'd be interested in retargeting too.

    Makes sense?

    Best regards,
    Razvan
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Look up Alzay Calhoun / Coveted Consultant's YouTube channel. All the answers to your questions are there. You'll binge, so set some time aside.
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    • Profile picture of the author magnus1
      Thank you! I've been reading a LOT of your threads..

      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Look up Alzay Calhoun / Coveted Consultant's YouTube channel. All the answers to your questions are there. You'll binge, so set some time aside.
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    • Profile picture of the author DimitrovDaniel
      Thanks for the share my man!
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  • Profile picture of the author affmarketer101
    Niche: Funnel Creator.
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  • Profile picture of the author promisem
    I found my niche as a generalist for small business websites. I did all of the development, maintenance and marketing for them. That meant I had to know something about a variety of topics. But I made it clear to my clients that I was a generalist and not an expert in any one thing.

    Larger businesses can afford to hire a series of specialists. Many small businesses don't have the time or money to deal with a lot of high-priced experts.

    As far as pricing goes, I charged the lowest hourly rate I could tolerate in the beginning to land some customers. After I developed enough of them, I started raising my rates.

    It may not work for you or other people. But it definitely worked for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by magnus1 View Post

    How have you niched it down into manageable services? Preferably with recurring monthly services.

    Any help would be great! Cheers.

    Michelle,

    I think you're having problems deciding on your future path because you're thinking consultant first and niche second.

    IMO, you would be better served looking into the niches where you have experience, training, and something to offer first. That way, you take advantage of your abilities, education and knowledge.

    Remember, you always want to identify your audience first before you decide what you're going to sell them. What you offer should be based on what the audience desires, wants, dreams about, and asks for.

    Once you have defined your audience and their desires (or problems that need solving), then it will be readily apparent how you, as a consultant, can offer them your paid solutions.

    I hope this makes sense. The best in your new career.

    Steve
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    Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
    SteveBrowneDirect

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  • Profile picture of the author jbsmith
    Honestly - I would pick the ONE thing that you are BEST at and start with that one. In the beginning, you are going to need to build a reputation which starts with getting some initial clients and blowing them away with your work and their results. My guess is that you are not really good at every one of the areas you list above (not many are...) so be honest and pick the one you a) are best at right now and b) are willing to LIVE with for the next 12--18 months while you build your initial customer base and champions.

    At a point in the future you can expand and take more of an "agency" approach, but it all starts with build your first stream.

    J
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  • Profile picture of the author Jane Dizon
    If you are a Freelancer, it would be hard to catch that big fish. They like to work with reputed and established companies only.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Quick, who can charge higher rates?

    > A family practice doctor or a heart surgeon?

    > A family practice dentist or an orthodontist?

    > A generalist or a specialist?

    Okay, pretty obvious, so here's another one for you...and as a social media person, this should be right up your alley.

    Who will have an easier time establishing professional credibility?

    > Someone with SM accounts that cover wide ranging subject matter, from business tips to puppy pictures, political memes to how-tos in business?

    > Someone who has SM accounts, all of which relate to one topic, such as email automation?

    My advice would be to pick a niche AND a specialty. For example, you could be the email automation expert for the local retail niche. I could easily see both funnel creation and retargeting fitting under that umbrella.

    I can also understand not wanting to get into the DFY arena as a solo practitioner. Perhaps something a copywriter I know of does might be of interest. He regularly does consultations with clients, and then farms out any work he can't handle (or doesn't want to take on) to his personal network on a 70/30 split. He takes 30% of the fee for finding the work and managing the project, the partner doing the work gets 70%. This might be one way you can stick to the consulting part you want to do without turning away the DFY projects.

    DFY services, especially ongoing things like social media management, lend themselves very well to retainer deals.
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    • Profile picture of the author magnus1
      Awesome advice! Thank you.

      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      Quick, who can charge higher rates?

      > A family practice doctor or a heart surgeon?

      > A family practice dentist or an orthodontist?

      > A generalist or a specialist?

      Okay, pretty obvious, so here's another one for you...and as a social media person, this should be right up your alley.

      Who will have an easier time establishing professional credibility?

      > Someone with SM accounts that cover wide ranging subject matter, from business tips to puppy pictures, political memes to how-tos in business?

      > Someone who has SM accounts, all of which relate to one topic, such as email automation?

      My advice would be to pick a niche AND a specialty. For example, you could be the email automation expert for the local retail niche. I could easily see both funnel creation and retargeting fitting under that umbrella.

      I can also understand not wanting to get into the DFY arena as a solo practitioner. Perhaps something a copywriter I know of does might be of interest. He regularly does consultations with clients, and then farms out any work he can't handle (or doesn't want to take on) to his personal network on a 70/30 split. He takes 30% of the fee for finding the work and managing the project, the partner doing the work gets 70%. This might be one way you can stick to the consulting part you want to do without turning away the DFY projects.

      DFY services, especially ongoing things like social media management, lend themselves very well to retainer deals.
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  • Profile picture of the author lillianwyat
    This is very important for e commerce business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Smith09
    Hi Michelle,

    Question : niche to focus?
    Answer : These 3 categorize is the most people willing to spend the money:
    1. Health
    2. Relationship
    3. Wealth
    with this 3 categorize you can develop the sub niche
    1. health: weight loss, diet, etc
    2. wealth: investing, property (Real estate), etc
    3. Relationship: dating, marriage life, etc
    The last is the targeted market, example for weight loss niche: how to reduce weight loss after 1 week pregnancy.

    Question : What kind of service and what price point
    choose one that your passion in. like you can write a good content you can provide writing service for your customer
    price point: you can search in the google to find the competitor price point and put the price below the competitor to attract the customer first or if not you can provide a free service for 1 -5 people about your service and ask them to give the testimony for you
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