How to build your brand to transition to Interim or Consulting roles
It’s the age of instant verification
The gig economy holds a lot of appeal for people who’ve built a successful executive career in the corporate world. Today, you can leverage your skills and experience to create a very flexible working life, that typically consists of a series of short-term engagements. No more grind to climb the greasy pole of corporate success! And often you can focus on doing the work you are really good at, and that you most enjoy doing.
The attractions of this lifestyle mean that the competition is intense, just as it is for plum corporate roles. Your ongoing success in the gig economy will rely on what people can find about you online. Even if you have people referring you for work, your information will be verified by what Google says about you. You need to embrace digital marketing strategies to ensure you’re in demand for the work that you want.
Marketing 101 for newcomers to the gig economy
If you want to thrive in the gig economy (and maybe that’s because you feel that corporate roles are no longer an option), please understand this: Now you are running a business. You are the product. To sell your product, you need buyers. The very first thing you must do is be sure that there is a MARKET for your services. Are there companies who will pay you to do your thing? Who are already paying people for that sort of work? It’s a slow and complex matter to launch a completely new product or service and that’s beyond the scope of what I do. But if you KNOW there’s a market that you can access, now all you need is DIFFERENTIATION.
What is it about you that is different and desirable? In marketing-speak, we call this a UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION. Without this point of difference, you’re selling a commodity. Commodities are usually bought on price and that’s rarely a pleasant place to be. To make interim or consulting roles a success for you, you need to be comfortable – or willing to get more comfortable – with marketing and selling. I can help you to define your USP as part of your Brand Story. Then we can work together to develop the marketing communication materials that you’re going to need.
You’ll need to address every element of the Say-Show-Seen™ model
Message + Materials (and probably Mindset)
Your Brand Story needs a strong sales focus, before it’s applied to:
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marketing strategy plan
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capability statement or skills brochure
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website
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case studies
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introduction (pitch)
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proposal document
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LinkedIn
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other marketing collateral
If you’re challenged by the requirement to market yourself, you’ll find tremendous value in mindset coaching.
If you’re new to running a business, you will need going support from legal and accounting professionals.
Here’s the process of working with me to attract interim or consulting roles
1
We’ll have an initial strategic planning session to look at the opportunities for interim or consulting roles and agree an overall strategy
3
We’ll apply your Brand Story to all the materials and brand touchpoints that have been identified
2
We’ll develop your Brand Story to identify your Unique Selling Proposition and your marketing messages
4
We’ll agree a plan to execute the strategy to get your messages and materials in front of the relevant decision-makers
