Yet, times also appear ripe for the creation of a tsunami of new consultants and solopreneurs, all competing for lucrative client contracts. In a sea awash with apparent sameness, how will we – as established consultants – standout?

Creating demand for our services is our job as consultants. So, how prepared are we to leverage the Internet as a key marketing channel to establish our credibility and preeminence?

About Charles “Charley” Timmins
Charley assists consultants, professionals and executives to Find Great Work …assignments that are the “right fit” with the “right clientele”.

He understands the challenges of selling consulting services in today’s market and how traditional marketing techniques can fall short. He’s studied the personal marketing habits of successful consultants. He complements their conventional wisdom of the business development process with proven “out-of-the-box techniques” to realize more-effective outcomes. Charley’s “personal branding” methodology improves the ROI of “marketing in the now”.

An experienced coach and consultant with 35 years experience in a cross-section of businesses, his clients and business colleagues alike refer to Charley as the “go-to-guy” that “boomer consultants” seek out when their “Plan A” isn’t working.

………………………………………………………
Many seasoned business consultants make the comment: “My firm is on the Internet. We have a website. We spent a lot for it. It gives great detail about what we do.” Such a website may provide a digital presence, but it is hardly the well-conceived digital identity needed to position a business consultant as the “go-to” practice in their niche.

What makes us different is what makes our expertise sought after. So, what’s your brand? How can you begin to even think you can compete with those who promote a solid brand message? That’s where you need to know how to build the appropriate brand identity on blogs, social networking sites and websites. It is the branded content of the site that is important to a consultant, not its technology.

Your digital reputation is the only accepted currency on the web. You must leverage “who you are” to affect how you earn. Today, you are not considered for any engagement without the decision makers “Googling” you. It’s their job to find out as much about you as possible. Your references are “your references”…they are biased! Do you know what the Internet says about you, the consultant?

A branded on-line identity process will drive opportunities to you. For this to happen in this new environment, you first must identify your personal brand – your unique promise of value. Then, translate that distinctiveness into the digital realm. Your resulting credibility and visibility will create demand for your services.

Charles “Charley” Timmins, an experienced coach and consultant with 35 years experience in assisting consultants, professionals and executives to Find Great Work, will be speaking on Developing Your “Brand You” Digital Identity at the January 12, 2009, meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Consultants Network.

We’re in the “time between the times”

What are you doing differently to prepare your business for 2009 based on what’s happened in the U.S. and global economies in the past 60 days?

Business planning has always been important. This year, more than any in recent memory, will require even better planning, focus, and feedback mechanisms. This is true for consultants as well as their clients.

The Stewardship Group uses the One Page Business Plan as a powerful process that gets that mental and verbal business plan out of your head and onto paper. This talk will help reflect on what is important in your business and helps create a blueprint for success in the coming year.

There is power and magic in the written word. Especially when they are your words about your business. The process of writing initiates the transformation from idea to reality. It also starts the process of ranking and prioritizing ideas that leads to a well-constructed plan.

“The One Page Business Plan” has been endorsed by notable business authors Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerilla Marketing series and recently achieved best-seller status on Amazon.com.

Get your vision and business on track & begin creating your 2009 Business Plan.

About Skip Torresson

Skip Torresson is an experienced Management Consultant and Leadership Coach with more than thirty years experience in business. He held senior sales and leadership positions at IBM, Hitachi Data Systems, and Unisys before founding The Stewardship Group in 2002.

The Stewardship Group clients are CEOs and business owners with a “big idea” for the future of their organization. Skip takes this vision and communicates it to the team in ways that inspire people to action. The resulting focus, alignment, and accountability dramatically improve results, passion, and sustainability.