Trust and value are integral consulting pillars.
I can’t think of a single consulting client I’ve landed without first laying a foundation of trust.
However, creating a trust-based relationship doesn’t necessarily mean having a longer sales cycle. In fact, if you get your messaging right, conveying value and building trust can happen even after a single call, email, or social media post.
If I had to share my top strategies for building trust and delivering value as a consultant, this is what they’d be:
1. Be confident in what you bring to the table
Your confidence plays a crucial role in getting your audience to believe in your greatness.
Hint: If you have to fake it ’til you make it — that’s okay, too.
But why is confidence a fundamental element in trust-building?
Plain and simple: It places you in a leadership position.
In other words, for people to understand the value you bring to the table, they need to view you as a leader.
That’s why it’s pivotal to use language that shows your target audience that you know your stuff. That you’ve mastered X and scaled Y. That they can’t get what you offer anywhere else — which is true. There’s only one YOU.
2. Use informal social proof
Official testimonials help establish a level of trust. But their formality doesn’t paint an authentic picture of what it’s like to have a client-consultant relationship.
Informal social proof, on the other hand, shows how you engage and communicate behind the scenes. This helps prospects envision what it’d actually be like to work with you.
To build a high level of trust, prospects need to make sure they align with your communication style. When they get a peak into your interactions, they get the most honest version of you.
A simple way to take advantage of this tip is to screenshot candid interactions between you and your clients. Find messages that discuss wins and results and express gratitude for your help. Then, blur the client’s name and image.
Share these in your social media Stories, newsfeeds, email content, and on your website. These are also fantastic trust elements to include on landing pages.
3. Tell them the exact solution to their problems
Our clients hire us to solve problems. But they want to know what kind of solution your approach would offer them — before they hire you.
This trust factor is key to helping them make an informed decision.
Being able to see the “why” in your specific consulting strategy demonstrates authority in your area of expertise and motivates them to seek relief.
And speaking of relief …
There’s a framework I like to call: Solution – Risk – Relief.
It works great for authority-based content, such as blog posts, white papers, and ebooks. And I recommend using it to show your potential consulting clients how you can solve their unique problems.
Here’s how it works:
1. Share the solution in one or two sentences.
2. Explain the risk of not using the solution in two to three sentences.
3. Provide “relief from the risk” in one or two sentences.
Dominion used this strategy perfectly in its blog post about asset protection planning:
Its solution: A robust, well-thought-out asset protection plan.
The risk: A devastating lawsuit.
The relief: Knowing how to safeguard wealth with specific instruments.
This three-part framework is one of the simplest, most effective ways you can share the value of your consulting services. You can also tweak it to use in other types of bottom-of-the-funnel content.
For instance:
- Turn each part into a Story post on Instagram
- Create a carousel and share it on LinkedIn
- Condense the messaging and use it an ads
4. Be clear about the results your prospects can achieve
They know the solution — but what about the hard results?
What can they expect, and does that line up with their business objectives?
An easy way to inspire a loss of trust is by being unclear about the endgame. So be specific.
For instance, “You’ll book 10 new enterprise-level clients in 30 days, guaranteed.” Or, “You’ll generate 25% more automated sales from your website each week.”
5. Show leads opportunities that are available according to their goals
Share valuable insights about the opportunities that are on the other side of working with you.
Will your client have access to unlimited mastermind classes? Do they get to join your consulting partner network? Will they get access to your sales tech stack?
What about those hard results you promised them — got proof? Help them see your value by showing wins from your previous consulting projects.
Jeremy Moser often uses this strategy on LinkedIn. He posts case studies, screenshots, data charts, and other assets to build a strong foundation of trust with his audience.
Here’s one of my favorites:
6. Encourage questions and answer them as soon as possible
To build successful client-consultant relationships, you need to know your target market’s top concerns.
This is also key to getting your messaging right — and knowing how to tailor your business strategy.
A simple way to do this is to ask your audience questions on social media. Post polls, surveys, and feedback forms and use engagement stickers in social media Stories.
You can also email the prospects on your list or interview past clients. If you have contact forms on your website, look through them to find common questions and concerns in the notes section.
Then, create social media and authority content that answers their questions and addresses their concerns. This helps your audience feel seen and heard on a deeper, more personal level.
In other words …
You’re not just another consultant making promises. You actually know what they’re struggling with and are committed to helping them find a solution. This lays the foundation for a strong relationship.
7. Use storytelling to connect your personal and professional story
Your humanity is important. People don’t just connect with you for your professional wins. They also connect with your story.
So, how did you get to where you are today? How did you get into the consulting market, and what led you to your area of expertise?
Were you a stay-at-home parent who learned tech and now helps online brands build strategic cybersecurity systems? Did you buy and sell multiple companies and now own a consulting firm? Were you a digital nomad and freelancer who now helps people build and scale remote businesses?
Tell your potential clients how you got from Point A to Point B.
8. Convey your unique competitive edge
No matter how successful another consultant is, they won’t offer what you do. What you bring to the table is valuable because it’s based on your own experiences and successes.
Conveying this plays a pivotal role in nudging prospects to a conversion.
So, why YOU? What special strategies set you apart? What do you offer that nobody else does?
For instance, my competitive edge is my “all-in method” and “contract negotiation module.” If my clients follow my program, they’ll run a fully remote content-writing business in one month.
When you have a differentiator, you give prospects a measuring stick.
This means they can compare your unique offer to another consultant’s. And that’s usually the difference maker for a potential customer.
For example, maybe your competitive edge is helping businesses create pristine operational systems. Or maybe your competitor’s differentiator is their ability to scale ad campaigns and achieve high ROAS.
Considering these differences, your target audience can quickly pinpoint whose expertise best aligns with their business objectives.
Below, you’ll find a simple template you can use to create your competitive edge messaging.
Feel free to tweak it and use it on your website, landing pages, and social media profiles.
Competitive edge messaging template:
“Here’s what you can expect from working with me that you won’t get anywhere else:
- Differentiator 1
- Differentiator 2
- Differentiator 3”
Wrap up
If you’ve developed valuable skill sets or certifications within your industry over the years, consider putting your skills to use in your free time by offering your consulting services to business owners as potentially lucrative side business ideas.
These strategies are some of my must-haves for building trust and delivering value as a consultant in 2024. Use them across your content marketing assets, in your sales campaigns, and when prepping sales call scripts.
I also recommend asking your clients and audience for continuous feedback. The deeper you know and understand their core needs and concerns, the better you can personalize your marketing and consulting approach.
That’s it for now.
Here’s to your success!
Author Bio:
Ryan Robinson
I’m a blogger, podcaster, and (recovering) side project addict who teaches 500,000 monthly readers how to start a blog and grow a profitable side business at ryrob.com.