The tactics that I will share on this post are relevant for much more than carving a career as a Business Plan or Marketing Plan writer.
Applying your skill set to Business Plan Consulting can not only make you tons of cash — but will also help you diversify your income sources and protect your freelancing career.
Even if you’re just beginning your freelance business plan consulting journey, you still know a whole lot more than the average Jill or Jack.
While you may not consider yourself as the go-to expert business plan writer, you definitely are to potential small business owners or entrepreneurs who don’t know much about how to write a business plan.
The knowledge and skills you may have acquired in business school or through personal training are extremely important to businesses; and if you market yourself correctly you will reap the benefits.
But there is still need for you to find, pitch and close sales. Which isn’t always the easiest thing.
Like in any other career, you will need to develop specialized skills and processes to succeed at business plan consulting.
Here’s five tips to help reduce your learning curve drastically.
What's Covered in This Article
Tip #1: Look for Customers that “Get It”
When you’re first looking for business plan or marketing plan consulting clients, you might think that the best ones are existing businesses or start-ups without a plan. They don’t even have a business or marketing plan, so they definitely need your services, right? Wrong.
In reality, the greatest challenge with this group of potential clients is that you will need to put in extra effort just to convince them that a business plan or marketing plan is the first solution to their strategic business woes.
Anyone who can fog up a mirror knows that planning is an essential part of life and that it applies to businesses as well. If a business owner is already in business or is thinking of starting up and still doesn’t have a business plan, the owner probably has some objections you will have a hard time overcoming.
And quite honestly, will most likely be a royal pain.
Instead, find a business owner that “gets it.” One who already understands the power of business planning or market planning but probably just doesn’t have the skill or time to do it.
Maybe they have a plan but it’s not up to date. Maybe they’ve been pumping money into random marketing activities but haven’t done any planning on how to monitor the impact or formally figured out a marketing strategy.
Chances are these latter group of clients will be more than willing to listen to you; and increase the likelihood of the business succeeding.
Tip #2: Consistently Add Value
No matter how good you are at business plan consulting, there will come a point when your client will question whether they got what they paid for.
Your job as a business plan consultant extends further than just developing a business plan.
You need to take that business plan and show your client its effect on their business’ bottom line.
To a business owner, the money is more important that 25-30 page document.
That is why all planned business goals and objectives need to be specific, measurable, achievable and time-bound.
If it is an existing business for instance, request for historical financial data.
Then develop your business strategy magic and follow up with the client to track any changes after plan implementation.
You can ask the client whether the:
- Business loan was received
- Grant proposal was funded
- Investors join the business
- More services or products were sold, etc
Such simple analytics are enough to show your clients that the business plan or marketing plan you developed for them directly correlates to a given achievement.
It is therefore imperative that you develop the plan in consultation with the client so that they can own and understand the final document.
After all, it is their business and they are the ones going to implement the plan.
Tip #3: As you Start Off, Be Innovative
When starting off your careers as a business plan consultant or writer, you will likely not have a portfolio to show off your skills and expertise. Therefore, you should be innovative.
Start off with a plan for your own consulting business.
This is one way of showing potential clients that you’ve got some “juice” and they can trust you with their business. Even a standard one page plan with the basics such as: value proposition, target market, problem you’re solving, solution you’re providing, your business model, competitor analysis, and marketing activities will do.
You might also want to look into developing a fictitious business’ marketing plan or business plan; or offer to write-up one for family members or friends at a discount or free of charge.
It’s a great way to practice and get some verifiable testimonials.
You can also sign up on freelance sites such as Upwork and bid for work. The advantage of these sites is that there is an option for employers to post feedback for work completed and this is publicly visible online.
You can then give potential clients a link to your profile and tell them, “Look, there’s independent feedback from past clients.”
Tip #4: Define Your Worth and Stick to It
Once you are more established and have curved a niche for yourself, don’t get caught up in the “race to the bottom” syndrome so many freelancers fall prey to.
Essentially, what this means is that the only value proposition you have to offer to potential clients is a low rate.
The fact is, some freelancers can outbid you with ridiculously low rates because they can afford to take advantage of their low cost of living or lack of skill and/or experience.
Besides, in the online freelancing market, there is always going to be a contractor out there who is willing to put in twice your effort for half your rate.
So quit wasting your time competing with this group of contractors. Know your worth – i.e. what you bring to the table – and come up with a rate that reflects just that.
SEE ALSO: Freelancers: How Much are your Services Worth?
If client A finds your rates too steep, then move on to client B. Even trains have different classes to serve different customers.
This will propel you to figure out the last tip – number 5…
Tip #5: Select Clients with High-Value Businesses
A coin-operated massage chair owner might need your business plan consulting services just as much as a dental museum might; but it doesn’t take the sharpest knife in the kitchen to figure out which of the two businesses will be worth fighting tooth and nail for.
Depending on the dental issues, a single client to a dentist can be worth anywhere from $50 to $500 or more. If a customer buys a 10 minute massage session, they might drop $9.
High-value business owners can more easily afford your services and it is easier to justify your rates to them.
Some other examples of businesses you want to look at are:
- Law firms
- Technology companies
- Luxury travel firms
- Telecommunication companies
And don’t forget the value added services you can offer on top of your business plan writing services.
Services such as SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, market research, etc, can go a long way into expanding your income streams.
And while you may obviously not be a pro in these other services, partnering with or outsourcing to other like-minded contractors is one way to go about it.
Same Work, Extra Benefits
A career in writing or developing Business Plans might seem like a daunting business but implementing the basic principles above will take you a notch higher.
The basics of a business plan are standard. The only difference is the additional market research you do based on the client’s target market and service/product industry.
By developing a steady source of income from your business plan writing or business strategy consultancy, you will be better prepared to weather any storms that might hit you during the dry spells.
SEE ALSO: Four Tips To Keep Upwork Jobs Flowing For You
What else do you want to know about getting into business plan consulting? What has your experience been in this field? Do you want to hire a professional to write your business plan?
