Building a Strong Online Presence for Consulting Leads

"Why Buy the Cow When You Can Get the Milk for Free?" is a horrible mindset... when it comes to building your business Too many worry that sharing too much insight upfront will eliminate clients’ need to hire them. But, in reality, holding back does more harm than good. Here’s why giving value freely brings clients to you. Building Trust, Not Dependence Clients pay for more than knowledge; they want unique insights and tailored guidance. Sharing valuable information builds trust, not dependence. By freely offering actionable insights, you establish yourself as a knowledgeable and generous expert—qualities clients remember. Action Step: Share part of your process, like a checklist or framework that solves a specific problem. This builds initial trust and allows you to filter in for your ideal client. 1) Information Isn’t Implementation Clients don’t just want information—they want your expertise in applying it to their unique challenges. They seek transformation. Offering valuable information lets clients experience your approach while highlighting their missing personalized support. -> Action Step: Host a webinar on a common issue, then share case studies that showcase your hands-on impact. 2) Free Value Creates Bridges to Paid Services When clients experience your expertise they are more likely to seek your deeper guidance. Giving valuable insights for free builds familiarity with your methods, making the transition to paid services natural. -> Action Step: End each piece of content with a call to action—invite clients to connect or share a success story. 3) “Free” Expands Your Reach and Credibility Freely sharing expertise increases your visibility. As your content circulates, it introduces you to new clients. This isn’t lost revenue—it’s marketing. -> Action Step: Encourage sharing in your posts to boost reach and credibility. 4) The More You Give, the Stronger Your Brand “Why buy the cow” suggests that giving devalues your work. The opposite is true in consulting: the more you share, the more clients see you as a go-to expert. People remember the problem-solvers. -> Action Step: Consistently publish content that answers questions and offers solutions. In Consulting, Giving is Selling By freely offering value, you aren’t “giving away the milk”—you’re showing potential clients why you’re the right partner. Clients aren’t buying your information; they’re investing in your ability to deliver tailored solutions and guide them through challenges. Generosity is your best brand-building tool.

How we think about websites for consulting firms: First the website Is NOT for awareness. Most firms aren’t good at organic search. While local search results can be useful if your service area is focused, firms increasingly are national (or global) in scope. Which means their organic search strategy would go after informational searches with very low volume, or commercial searches that have tremendous competition. And LLMs are about the drastically alter the search landscape. The future of Google is likely zero-click results, where they summarize the answers to questions for you. We believe the purpose of the website is for building and cementing trust. The people coming to your website already know who you are. They find out about you through your content on LinkedIn, or a podcast interview, or a conference you present at, or a book you wrote, or a referral. They go to your website to reassure themselves (or their team) that you're a Trusted Advisor. Things That Go on a Website: - Clearly staying what you do and for whom on the homepage. - Clearly stating the industries you serve. - Clearly stating what your solutions are, ideally mapped to real client issues. What do you mean by "data science?" What kinds of engagements could you help me with? - About us – both as a recruiting tool and as a way to signal your "why" to potential clients. People like to buy from people they like. - Partner bios and credentials. - Social proof - testimonials, logos, videos of happy clients. - Case studies. - A physical address. Not because they plan to visit. Because it signals you're not fly-by-night. - Lead magnets that are truly valuable. Rumors of email's demise are very premature. Things That Don’t Matter Much: - Dozens of long-form, informational blog posts. Not because they aren't useful. Just not necessarily where to start - the ROI relative to short form organic probably isn't there. - Neato-mosquito design. I say this as a former Creative Director and design nerd. Unless you're a design firm, it probably matters a lot less than you think. You want a level of professionalism, sure. But you don't need to win any design awards. Copywriting is your best design tool. - Generic contact us form. Potentially useful for press inquiries at some point. But have a stronger, more specific call to action - book an appointment, schedule a strategy call, etc.

Most lenders and execs I work with treat LinkedIn like a box they’re supposed to check. Post a few times. Hope something happens. Then complain when nothing does. Here's five simple fixes that take you from shouting into the void to generating results. 1. Engage with precision. Comments are free billboards. Place them where your future customers actually drive by. Making an insightful comment that gets bumped to the top on a popular post can get 10,000+ impressions and add a bunch of followers. 2. Watch your profile viewers. If someone walks into your office lobby, you’d say hello. LinkedIn literally tells you who’s peeking in. Send them a DM a couple of days later to connect. I've got over 50 coaching & business consulting clients. 100% of them came from LinkedIn. Good Content --> Likes --> Eventual Profile Viewer --> Send DM 2 days later --> Schedule Zoom --> Land Client. 3. Start conversations. Not spam blasts. Actual conversations. A quick DM when someone engages with your content is often all it takes to move URL to IRL. I tell clients all the time ... producing content valuable to others fills your LinkedIn pond with fish. But DM's are the lines that extract the fish from the water so you can EAT. 4. Post more often. It's like exercise for your physical health. If you jog 2x a week, it will yield results over time. If you jog 6x a week, it will produce the results you want much faster. No different with posting. I post 12-18x a week because that's the level that produces the most impressions for me. 5. Make the next step obvious. Most people post and pray. Instead, set your profile up like a funnel. If you want calls, make the path to “book a call” obvious. Every post, every click, every message compounds your brand gravity. That gravity is what makes LinkedIn the best growth engine I’ve seen in 20 years of business. To understand the power ... 2.5 years ago I quit a well-paying job I loved to start my own thing. And built a thriving consultancy on LinkedIn without spending one penny. Onward & Upward Consulting