
Marketing consulting businesses seem to be everywhere these days and for good reason.
There are more opportunities and medias today than there’s ever been to grow a business and yet many businesses don’t know how to take advantage of them effectively in order to grow their company.
That’s exactly where a consulting business enters the situation.
As a marketing consultant you’re there to show a business owner or marketing team how to implement whatever form of marketing you specialize in in order to increase their sales and grow.
The reason the consulting industry has grown in recent decades is obviously because of the rise of the internet. With it’s growth it’s brought along a ridiculous amount of marketing methods.
Most refer to it as online, digital or internet marketing.
In fact, that’s exactly what I specialize in. In particular, the generation of new sales for local small businesses in my local lead gen biz by utilizing free traffic and man is it powerful.
Let’s be honest, that’s the whole point of of being a consultant is helping that business owner to reach that end goal of acquiring fresh and recurring customers or clients.
The goal of the article is pretty obvious, right? Let’s go through some specific steps you’ll need to take to first start your consulting business and also what you should do to sustain long-term success.
#1 Your Training

This is the first step in your consulting journey. If you don’t know marketing then what the hell are you doing here.
There are tons of different ways that you can be trained in marketing. Maybe you graduated with a degree in marketing. Maybe you went through an online training program. Maybe you worked in your uncle’s company and have extensive experience there.
There are so many to list and we just can’t get into all of them.
With the rise of the internet as well as online programs that teach you digital marketing in a matter of hours, there are now more ways than ever to be a trained marketing expert.
Bottom line, go get yourself some training! There’s too many ways out there nowadays.
If you’ve got a long history of marketing experience in either traditional or online marketing great advance to the next step. If not, go invest in yourself and take a marketing course on the internet to get your feet wet.
Just do your research and make sure it’s a good course to take. Take some time and do due diligence on some courses like our coaching program.
#2 Utilize Case Studies
This is one of the greatest weapons you can have in your arsenal when you’re trying to bring on more consulting clients.
Any company worth working with will ask you about your past work and probably want references or proof of results that you’ve generated for other companies like them.
Be sure to create and organize a portfolio of the results you’ve been able to generate.
If you haven’t gotten to the point of having an established portfolio then you’ll have to sell through education.
That means know your shit.
Know the industry that the prospect is working in and educate them on different steps they can take to grow in their industry.
#3 Find Your Specialty
This is especially true if you’re new in the marketing game.
When you’re first starting your business you just want some clients and to make some money ASAP.
I get it, I’ve been there.
But it’s extremely important to figure out what areas of marketing your good at and what you love doing.
There are so many forms of marketing that companies are wanting to make moves in.
TV (commercials) marketing, radio marketing, online or digital marketing, print marketing, brand building, etc.
There are so many out there it’s damn near impossible for anyone to be a top-notch expert in all of them, let alone a beginner.
Do your research and choose a couple that you see yourself being an expert it and attack those marketing methods.
Take me for example. I’ve got experience as a copy writer, online marketer, brand builder and sales.
I knew that my strong point was online marketing. That’s why I’ve devoted my attention to my local lead gen business and why I’ve had so much success with it.
Choose any that you have experience in as well as a desire to be an expert in.
#4 Launch Your Consulting Business
It’s time to begin your adventure as an entrepreneur. You’ve got everything lined up and you’re ready to open up for business.
Make sure you’ve got your business plan nailed down. How will you prospect for clients? How will you fulfill their needs efficiently?
Make sure you can answer questions like these.
I suggest staying focused on however you’re getting paid right now whether it be another business or if you have a 9 to 5.
At least until you get over the hurdles that come with starting any business.
#5 Prospecting for Clients
For most consulting business owners the first few clients are the hardest ones to get because you don’t have any proof to show them you know what you’re doing.
This is where you’re relying on selling through education.
If you do have experience in marketing even if it’s experience in a 9 to 5 job then you may be able to use that to back up what you’re saying.
But where are you going to find your clients?
Is it cold calling? On LinkedIn? Other social media outreach methods? Cold emails?
There are many other forms of prospecting but you need to figure out which works best for you depending on who you’re trying to work with.
For example, if you have a passion for fitness maybe you decide to target gym owners.
Where do gym owners spend most of their time networking? Is it Facebook? LinkedIn? Instagram?
Maybe they don’t use social media and you have to straight up cold call them to set up a time to talk about what you offer.
The most important thing is finding what works best for your situation.
#6 Attracting New Clients
This is where things get really fun in any business. After you get results for business owners and change their lives they’ll be much more willing to tell their friends and acquaintances what you could do for their business as well.
Most people call them referrals and they can explode your business.
You could even set up a referral program for your current clients. Something like this… if they refer another business owner and you do business together they receive $100.
It can be extremely powerful.
Another approach could be marketing your services on social media like running Facebook ads.
My favorite approach would be building a website and doing some search engine optimization (SEO).
Learning how to dominate Google rankings is so freaking powerful in today’s world because everyone uses Google any time they’re looking for services.
Imagine you run your consulting business out of Philadelphia, PA and a business owner is looking for a marketing consultant in the area.
They go on Google looking for a professional and you’re the first one that pops up. They contact you and you close the new deal.
The best part is it’s free to operate on Google and it’s free exposure for your business.
That’s why I love my lead gen biz so much because I utilize that free search traffic and send leads to small business owners in the areas that I work in.
It sets your business up for long-term success because it doesn’t require any maintenance and you’ll have people contacting you while you eat and sleep.
Bottom line… figure out how to attract clients to you and stop chasing them. It’ll light a freaking fire under your business.
#7 Build Your Brand

Building a prominent brand is the end goal for almost every single business out there.
When people hear the word “consulting” you want them to immediately associate it with your business and services.
It takes time to do it. You need to provide continuous top-notch services and build an extensive portfolio.
Also, build your online presence not only on Google but on social media platforms.
This isn’t a necessary step in developing a successful consulting business but it is a cherry on top kinda thing.
How I Built My 6 Figure Income in 2019
I have quite a bit of experience, a history of success and a multiple 6 figure income to back it up.
All accomplished in the online marketing world and yet I don’t run a highly successful consulting business. But why?
Honestly, because I choose not to. I’ve taken some of these principles and put them to work in local marketing. It’s called local lead generation.
Like I said before, I leverage free search traffic and send small business owners leads in return for compensation.
How do I do it exactly? The process is really freaking simple.
I build a website which is like a digital asset.
I rank it in local search results.
Collect any leads that come through and forward those leads to business owners that I’m working with.
Then they said me a check every month.
Meanwhile the website runs itself on auto-pilot which is what makes it an asset.
Passive income!
So instead of me going out there and looking for clients to work with and suggesting strategies and methods for them to employ, I simply deliver the results to them instead.
And I control the asset so they can never “fire” me. If I don’t want to work with that business anymore I can just find another business owner to send the leads to.
This is a great example of a site that I put up a couple years back. It’s responsible for $650 in my bank account every month since then.

And you don’t even have to have marketing experience to start building a business in local lead gen. When I started building my business I didn’t have any experience at all.
Our coaching program shows you everything you need to know to be successful.
It’s the exact same one I went through a few years back. Check it out here!