♦️ 6 beliefs that grow consulting firms to 7-Figures (but get them stuck there forever)
|
Boutique consulting firms are built on a handful of beliefs that drive early growth. These beliefs work. They bring in the first clients, build revenue, and get the firm to 7 figures. But at some point, the firm outgrows them. And the beliefs that drove growth become the reason it gets stuck. After working with 70+ boutique consulting firms, we keep seeing the same 6 go-to-market beliefs that hold firms back: Limiting belief #1: “The more services we offer, the more revenue we’ll capture.”Adding new services might work fine early on because it brings in revenue when the firm needs it the most. But every new service also complicates operations, dilutes messaging, and makes marketing harder. The firm starts operating multiple businesses in one. To break the revenue plateau, the firm has to decide on its core service. So it can become known for one thing, while keeping the delivery profitable. New belief: “We have to prioritize one core service and market only that one to grow faster.” Limiting belief #2: “We can keep growing through word of mouth.”Word of mouth does help firms that provide a great service. But you can’t control when or how often it happens. That’s why depending on it limits the firm’s potential. Every boutique firm needs a consistent way to acquire clients to scale. New belief: “We have to build a marketing system to get new clients without depending on word of mouth.” Limiting belief #3: “Our website doesn’t really matter. Clients come through relationships.”Almost all new consulting firms are built on relationships. The founders have a network in their industries. And by using them, they build a successful firm. But going to the next stage requires building relationships at scale. To do that, the firm’s marketing channels have to be able to influence buyers on their own. New belief: “The way we are perceived on our marketing channels is as important as our delivery.” Limiting belief #4: “Outbound to cold leads has been working. We can keep growing this way.”Outbound might work early on for some firms because it puts the firm in front of buyers fast. But consulting is a high-trust sale. Most buyers don’t hire a firm after a cold email. And at scale, irrelevant outreach irritates the buyers you’re trying to attract. 73% of B2B buyers actively avoid firms that send them unsolicited messages today. New belief: “We have to build influence on buyers first. Then focus our outreach to warm leads that already know us.” Limiting belief #5: “We should serve whoever we can get as clients.”Saying yes to everyone works when you’re building a client base from scratch. You get to understand different industries and their problems. But now it’s time to make a choice. Because to go to the next level, the firm will have to compete with larger firms and deal with more sophisticated buyers. And specialization is the only way to win those buyers against larger firms. New belief: “We have to specialize in a tight client profile to become the obvious choice for them.” Limiting belief #6: “We don’t need thought leadership. Our clients already know we’re good.”Existing clients and your network know your firm is good. But scaling requires reaching new buyers who have never heard of your firm. They can’t see your expertise until you show it. And thought leadership is the only way to prove your firm’s expertise before buyers work with you. New belief: “Our content is the only way to signal our expertise to buyers who have never worked with us.” — The moral of the story? Some consulting firms outgrow their beliefs. Yet they still try operating on them and struggle. Because what got you here won’t get you there. And sometimes all it takes to get unstuck is changing one belief. Some consulting firms are invisible to the buyers who need them mostIt usually comes down to three things: Prospects can't find you or hear from you consistently (distribution). They don't understand your expertise and value through your content (messaging). They can't tell what makes your firm different (positioning). We help consulting firms solve all three. Following our engagement, you end up with:
From there, we continue as your ongoing partner for thought leadership content or guide your team to execute the strategy. Want a pipeline that finally matches the quality of your work? Fill out this form. Let’s talk.
|
Frontera
Join 10,000+ B2B founders getting the strategies of iconic brands.
Back in 2008, I started going to the gym. I loved it. Lifting weights, discovering different exercises, the feeling after a good training… I loved it so much that in a few years I became very muscular. People thought I was using steroids. Because not many people went to the gym, knew training programs, or ate right. Now I see young guys who are the age I was in 2008. They are all muscular. They have their straps and belts for weightlifting. And they know what they are doing, much more than I...
There’s a quote attributed to John Maynard Keynes: “It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” I see how this plays out in the way consulting firms approach marketing. There are two types of firms: Directionally right and precisely wrong ones. What drives precisely wrong firms is their need for certainty. Uncertainty is scary. But business and marketing are uncertain domains by their nature. That’s why their executives cling to some beliefs and playbooks. And they over-optimize...
Something surprises me every time I talk to consulting firm executives. They all have proprietary frameworks refined over years of client work. Their clients are impressed by their expertise. But none of that comes through their content. So there is a disconnect between what prospects see and these firms’ real expertise. Why does this happen? Why can’t all these consulting firms full of deep expertise seem to convey it? From what I see, there are three main reasons: 1. Intellectual Property...