Get inspiration from an interview with Michael Zipursky to land ideal clients
Today I’m bringing you one big idea to clarify the value you bring to your clients. And I will give you 3 simple steps to start implementing this big idea in your coaching or consulting business right away.
This is my second article in a series for coaches and consultants. I’ll share insights from my research and experience in building a strong coaching and consulting business. You’ll learn from the mistakes of others and find solutions that will make a positive difference in building your own thriving coaching or consulting business.
I believe we can all learn from each other. As the most basic principle of entrepreneurship states: You can only sell what your client wants to buy.
In this article, I’m bringing you inspiration and ideas from an interview with Michael Zipursky, Co-founder at Consulting Success®.
I’m sharing these insights because I want you to succeed in building the coaching and consulting business of your dreams.
If this sounds good to you, please read on…
Enhance Competitiveness
A few weeks ago, I came across a poll on LinkedIn from Boston Consulting Group. They asked the reader to choose 1 out of 3 key strategic objectives.
The options to choose from to enhance competitiveness were:
- Improve value proposition
- Boost operational resilience
- Pursue sustainability goals
The poll got 10,437 votes in total.
Out of all votes, 41% chose Improve Value Proposition as the most important issue.
This poll made me curious. 🤔 I thought to myself:
“This must mean that there is a desire to learn more about how to craft powerful Value Propositions.”
In researching how to create strong Value Propositions I came across Michael Zipursky Co-founder at Consulting Success.
I reached out to Michael on LinkedIn. I asked if he would answer a few questions for this article. And I am thrilled that he agreed to participate.
In my interview with Michael Zipursky, I asked:
“What steps do you recommend new consultants take to discover how their service can provide true significant value to their ideal clients?”
Zipursky’s one big secret for consulting success is to have conversations! Lots of conversations!
Conversations are key to Consulting Success
The purpose of all these conversations is to validate your value proposition and your business ideas. When you do this for your own consulting business, you will be able to do it for your client’s business too. Zipursky put it like this:
“Create enough conversations to make adjustments and move forward. Don’t just bring your own biases and beliefs. Ultimately, it’s about what the market wants and what they are open to. The deeper you go in your questioning the more you will be able to identify and communicate that value back to your market.”
The main goal with these conversations is to make sure that you are really providing the solution that your ideal client desires. Not just making assumptions about what your client wants.
3 simple action steps
In order to discover your true core value as a consultant you can follow these 3 simple action steps as recommended by Mr. Zipursky:
1. Have conversations with your ideal clients.
Have conversations within your existing network. Tell them about your new business and the service you provide. Ask questions about how it relates to what they want. If you find that what they want is not exactly what you thought, ask more questions. The more questions you ask the more you are able to identify and understand their problems. You get to know what they really need and value.
2. Validate your business idea.
Investigate whether or not your hypothesis about what they or the market wants is in fact true. Adjust. Think about how to connect your offering, expertise, and service with what your client wants. Go back to your network. Ask more questions to make sure that you are providing the solution that they desire. Continue to test and validate your ideas as you make adjustments.
3. Create content that talks about what is most important to your clients.
Content is the best way to demonstrate value. Talk about what you are doing on social media. Use the feedback you get on your content to continue to make adjustments to your business idea. Use the content to show your perspective, understanding, and expertise. Continue to deliver value through your content, whatever format that is. Use the language and ideas that your ideal clients have given you. Reflect back to them what is on top of their mind. Ensure that what is most important to your clients is being communicated appropriately and accurately through all your marketing material.
The point is that the more conversations you have, the more feedback you get. The more feedback you get, the more adjustments you can make. The more adjustments you make, the more value you have to share on social media, in marketing materials, paid advertising, and communications with your prospects. The more you deliver what your clients want. And the more successful you will be.
If you follow these steps as an evolutionary process you will succeed in building a strong coaching or consulting business and land your ideal clients.
About Michael Zipursky: Michael Zipursky is Co-founder at Consulting Success® where they specialize in helping entrepreneurial consultants build profitable, scalable, and strategic consulting businesses. You can find him at https://www.consultingsuccess.com
About Sophie H Higgins, MA, MBA, MBC: I’m a freelance copywriter, professional speaker, business coach, and martial artist. I specialize in providing high-quality content and in helping people and businesses grow. Need a copywriting magician? 🧙♀️ 📖 ⚡As a copywriter and business coach, I can help you and your consulting business boost your client flow.