As a consultant, you are oftentimes working with clients on a very intimate level. You have to integrate into their world, whether it is in their personal life, business/company, financials, or anything in between, you’re brought into an inner circle to help clients overcome roadblocks they’re facing.
This means that not only do you need a solid understanding of how your clients function, but you also need to create a sense of trust and reliability that instills confidence in you and your services.
One of the best ways to do this right from the start is with a personal brand that is strategic and aligned with your ideal clients. As a brand and web designer, I have seen firsthand how much of a difference an effective brand can make in a business and how they make it easy to connect with clients.
So, if you’re looking to create a brand that not only feels authentic to you, but also builds trust in you as a person with a needed skill, check out how personal branding for consultants can help connect with your ideal clients.
Key Features of a Consulting Brand
Brand Messaging
Starting off the list we have brand messaging. Now, brand messaging plays a major role in how people perceive and interact with your brand overall, but it is also something that people tend to skip over when it comes to building and using their brand.
In order to speak to your ideal clients in a way that connects and draws them in, you have to be saying the right things. You want to make sure that the messaging you are putting out there addresses their issues, what problems they need solved, where they want to be, and how you can help bring them to that place.
Oftentimes, businesses fall into the trap of just talking about what they can do or what they have done with other people and while that is important, people don’t want to hear all about you.
Especially as a personal brand, you want your brand messaging to instantly build that trust and connection with your clients. You want them to read your website, email, social post etc, and feel like you see right through them to the exact thing they are struggling with.
Your brand messaging also helps position you as an expert and as someone who can be trusted in your industry. When you are working with someone one on one, it is crucial that they fully trust and believe in what you are saying.
Odds are your clients are going to interact with your brand first before they interact with you so your brand messaging has to start to build this foundation of trust for you. By the time they do talk with you, there should be no doubt that you understand them and know how to take them from where they are to where they want to be.
TIP: Your brand message will show up on your website, your resume and letters, email sign-offs, LinkedIn posts and bios etc.
Tone of Voice
Hand in hand with your brand messaging is your tone of voice. Your messaging is what you say and your tone of voice is how you say it. This can play a big role in attracting the right types of clients that you love working with and that will benefit from working with you.
If you think about it, everyone has their own personality and sometimes you’ll get along with certain types of people and sometimes you won’t. For example, if you are very introverted, you may find it extremely difficult to get along with someone who is very extroverted.
Your tone of voice is one of the best ways to give potential clients a sneak peak into what it is like working with you and what they can expect. Are you very calm and soft? Are you more extroverted and bold? Do you keep things more traditionally “professional” or do you bring your personality and your quirks into everything that you do?
All of these things can play a big role in your personal brand and in attracting the right clients right off the bat. We all know how frustrating it can be to constantly get on calls with people only for them to ghost or decide you are not the right fit for them.
Having your tone of voice (and brand messaging) consistent and authentic to you can help weed out these people before they even reach out to you. This means that more of your leads will be aligned with you and your vision as a brand and you will feel more connected with them.
Plus, as a personal brand, the last thing that you want to do is feel like you always have to put up a front or a persona when it comes to your business. You most likely got into consulting for the freedom and flexibility that it provides so you want to make sure you are taking advantage of that.
Clients should know what to expect when they talk to you and they should feel like every single touch point you have with them is consistent and authentic.
Brand Visuals
Finally, we have the brand visuals. This is what most people will think about when you talk about branding and while they are very important, they are one piece of your brand presence.
When it comes to your brand visuals, there are a few things you want to keep in mind. First, you want to think about the psychology behind the colors that you are choosing. Every color is going to evoke a different emotion and feeling and you want to use these to your advantage to further your goal as a brand. For example, choosing pastel colors as a consultant that works with toy companies to integrate tech makes sense. But choosing these colors as someone in fin-tech wouldn’t make sense and could turn away potential clients from taking you seriously.
You also want to make sure that things like your fonts match with the messaging and tone of voice you use in your brand. For example, if your brand messaging and tone of voice is more focused on building anything in tech,, you wouldn’t want to use a font like Times New Roman- it’s generic and ‘old school’
Instead, you want to think about how you want your ideal clients to experience your brand and the presence you want to have in this space.
There are even aspects to your logos that can help further your messaging and build confidence in your consulting services.. For example, having an established date in your logo can further show that you are someone who knows what they are talking about and can be trusted.
You can even have a tagline in one of your logos to help get your brand messaging out there before people even interact with the rest of your brand. All of these individual aspects work in harmony to build confidence between you and your clients and show that you are a trusted person and brand.
Final Thoughts on Personal Branding for Consultants
RESULTS THAT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
Download our case studies + client experiences to review the impact of our website design and brand strategy services have beyond the stunning deliverables you’ll find in our portfolio.
So, when it comes to personal branding for consultants, not only is it a way to help your business feel more professional, but it is also a way to help your own personality shine. As the face and human behind your business, you want to be able to show up as your authentic self each and every day and that all starts with your brand.
Whether you are just starting out in business, or going through a transformation period, creating a brand that feels connected to you and that connects with your clients is going to make showing up for your business that much easier.
If you are ready to take the next step in creating this for yourself, I would love to help collaborate with you to make that happen. You can learn more about my brand and web design services here or if you want to chat about you and your brand specifically, you can fill out my inquiry form here!
