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podcasting for consultants

Podcasting For Consultants: How Consultants Leverage Podcasting For Social Proof

By Don Davis
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As a consultant, one of my favorite things has been discovering podcasting and using it as a way to engage with people.

Using my podcast to reach out to industry leaders and connect with my target audience and clients has been extremely effective and rewarding.

Prior to becoming a consultant, I worked for Fortune 500 and 100 companies in executive positions. While working for these big organizations, you take the ability to know what is going on in the industry and easy access to key opinion leaders for granted.

When I started my consulting business, my first 2 questions were:

  1. “How do I stay in touch with the industry?”
  2. “How do I talk to people about the challenges they face without it feeling like a sales call?”

In the Momentum program by Consulting Success®, one of the home assignments is to go interview 3-5 people in your industry and ask them about their primary challenges. Using this information, you’re able to define your focus and truly understand your ideal client.

Being an overachiever, I immediately set up 10 phone calls with people near me in my industry. I asked them to tell me about their greatest successes and challenges. One of these calls, in particular, went extremely well, and the person on the phone at the end said, “I wish I had recorded this call.” They felt as if so many great things and lasting value came from the conversation that they wanted to save it.

These words struck a chord with me, so why not share them with the rest of the world? Why not create a podcast, where the stories of individuals in the life sciences could be shared with everyone?

My first podcast grew from a simple idea: talk to successful people in the life sciences industry.

And this experience of podcasting has been game-changing for my consulting business.

For the past two years, I’ve published at least one podcast per week.

In each of these conversations, I find it easy to stay connected with my industry. I also contribute to the brand awareness of each one of the companies we discuss.

I’m excited about every podcast because I will get to know individuals in the industry and learn their unique stories.

The podcast has won awards for my category and has succeeded in establishing a process for bringing in future business. I have also been invited to events and conferences because of the podcast.

All of this has allowed me to not only connect with people but also to create content for my ideal clients — and at some point, this podcast can also boost my client’s brand.

Every consultant can leverage podcasting as both a way to serve their community and to connect with their audience.

Advantages Of Podcasting For Consultants

Every consultant can leverage podcasting as both a way to serve their community and to connect with their audience.

The consulting profession as a whole should consider podcasting as a method of creating social proof for your ideal clients.

Hosting a podcast for your consulting business provides several advantages, such as:

1. Increased Exposure

Podcasts are an accessible and convenient way for consultants to reach potential clients and other professionals in the industry. It makes it possible for their knowledge to reach a wider audience than it would through traditional channels like conferences or printed publications.

2. Establish Credibility

Having a podcast can help consultants establish credibility and show potential clients that they have valuable insights to share. It also allows consultants to demonstrate their expertise in a more relatable way, as it demonstrates their knowledge in action.

3. More In-depth Conversations

Podcasts are less restrictive than written content, and consultants can provide more in-depth conversations about topics related to their field. This allows consultants to demonstrate the depth of their knowledge and how they approach different challenges.

4. Builds a Community

Having a podcast can help consultants build a community around their brand. They can provide unique insights and conversations, engage in discussion with listeners on topics related to their business and create an interactive platform where consultants and potential clients can connect.

Overall, having a podcast in your consulting business provides you with multiple advantages that help you stand out from competitors and build strong relationships with potential clients. It’s a great way for you to share your knowledge and insights in a more engaging medium, and establish yourself as an expert in the industry.

In this article, I’ll explain these topics in more detail:

  1. How to build social proof through podcasting
  2. How to use podcasting to build your network
  3. The broader advantages of starting a podcast
  4. How to get your consulting podcast started

1. Building Social Proof Through Podcasting

Podcasting is much more than a content tool. It’s a fantastic way to build social proof.

Use your podcast as an opportunity to showcase the work you do and demonstrate your expertise in the industry.

Give listeners valuable information about the solutions you offer by interviewing clients, experts, and thought leaders.

This will not only help people to learn about your business, but it will also make potential customers feel like they can trust you and your services.

What are the different types of social proof?

  1. Expert social proof: Your podcast can help you establish that you are an expert in your field.
  2. Celebrity social proof: Your podcast can create a platform for you to connect with “celebrities” or people that would be plainly out of reach for you without a podcast.
  3. User social proof: Your podcast would enable you to interview previous clients who can talk about their challenges and what it was like to work with you. They could also provide independent testimonials that could be added to podcast episodes.
  4. Wisdom of your friend’s social proof: Your podcast can also be a platform for you to bring on other good consultants to provide their ideas and input that would be relevant to your audience.

Let’s face it, sometimes writing out all of your ideas can be daunting. If you really understand a topic, it just might be easiest to turn on the computer and record a voice or video track of what you are thinking.

Additionally, the average American spends about 16.8 minutes reading per day (Watson). If you write a blog post, what is the chance that your content creation will even be read?

Podcasting is a great way to break up the mundane of writing and get your message out in an alternative, more engaging format.

There are added benefits of podcasting related to social proof. The transcripts of the podcasts can provide additional SEO (Search Engine Optimization) content, which will drive website traffic from Google searches to your site. When someone searches for topics relevant to your business, they may find you because there were relevant keywords that you discussed on your podcast.

Because of the delivery method, podcasts can be consumed in many more locations than print material. I walk in the mornings, and my main way to start my day is with my favorite audiobook or podcast. I have not figured out a good way to read a book or an article and walk!

Imagine a client with a problem that is covered on your podcast. You may just talk about the one key item that they need at that moment, and that may prompt them to reach out.

I’ve had people approach me in public and thank me for the podcast. They tell me “Because of your podcast, I learned about life sciences and all of the different things that are going on in the industry.”

Your podcast could be the way that people learn about your industry, and it will put you even more in the center of the activity.

Approaching your potential audience with different methods of social proof is a good way to ensure that you will reach them.

Questions For Consideration:

  1. Would there be an advantage in considering starting a podcast?
  2. Who do you envision is your audience and why would they listen? Is there a reason why listening might even be more relevant than reading?
  3. Are there key topics in a podcast that you could cover that will help your audience solve a problem or grow?

2. Leveraging Podcasting for Introductions

Another great way to leverage podcasting is for introductions.

I am not a good salesperson at all, and I hate it when people try to force me to buy something. In the same vein, I will not do this to my clients.

With the podcast, I have found a natural way to create introductions. The podcast is a fantastic platform for me to discuss with prospective clients and understand their biggest challenges.

When you interview industry experts or thought leaders, they’re often open to sharing the episode on their social media. I often get a flood of connection requests on LinkedIn after each episode from people who were connected to the individual that was on the show. When I started my consulting practice, I had ~1.5k LinkedIn connections, and as of the writing of this article (3 years later), I am approaching 9k LinkedIn connections. I’ve also become more selective about who I connect with because I often get invites outside of my industry. With LinkedIn’s restrictions at 30k connections, I could be nearing the limit in the next 4 years.

On my podcast, I’ve interviewed people in multibillion-dollar organizations, innovators, and well-known scientists. They have industry and organization brand recognition that I may not have. I have approached hundreds of these people about being on my show and have received enough “yes” answers to warrant continuing to ask them to come on the show. I am now at the point where many of their PR firms are also now reaching out to me to be on the show.

Additionally, book authors have a tremendous amount of information to share with the audience. If there are topics that, even in the periphery, an author can cover that are relevant to the audience, I invite them onto my show. On my show, we discuss leadership, company/executive boards, innovation, organizational scaling, customer experience, and the future of the industry.

For example, one of my first interviews was with Dorie Clark. We discussed the importance of standing out in your industry. It was a blast interviewing someone I have admired for a long time. I wouldn’t have had a platform to reach out to her for a live conversation without my podcast.

In my industry, I am primarily targeting B2B leaders, and I need that initial executive connection that will help me get my foot in the door with these clients. I am working my way through the list of LinkedIn-connected industry experts in my network who have not been on the show. I do not want anything from these individuals other than a greater connection and an interview on the show.

If it turns into future business, great, if not, that is okay too.

Questions For Consideration:

  • Could you use a podcast as a platform for gaining introductions you did not think were possible?
  • Are there “celebrities” that would be interesting for your audience?

With the podcast, I have found a natural way to create introductions. The podcast is a fantastic platform for me to discuss with prospective clients and understand their biggest challenges.

3. Broader Advantages

Near the end of my first year with my podcast, one of my previous guests reached out and asked if I could cover one of their in-person events for their organization. They were hosting an event, and they wanted someone to interview sponsors for the event on the red carpet. These interviews could then be used to promote both the sponsoring and the host organizations.

This opportunity never would have happened had it not been for podcasting. I have met many individuals that are key to my industry — and I have developed a deeper relationship with all of them by being able to ask them questions during an interview.

As a member of the media, I have also been able to get free entry to very expensive industry events. For the second year in a row, I will be attending Bio — a +$2300 per individual event — entirely for free because of a media pass. This will give me phenomenal access to the event hosts and attendees. It also will be the platform I will leverage to interview and build rapport with individuals in my industry.

Lastly, because of the podcast(s) and the continual flood of digital content creation that people see from me, they have been asking about having my company manage their digital presence. This demand inspired me to start a new company, D3 Digital Media Marketing, LLC which launched at the start of this year.

The company is in its infancy. But, the idea behind it is to build a company with brilliant people who can lead it without me so that I can keep doing the things that I love.

D3 Digital Media Marketing, LLC would not exist without my podcast being the platform that created all of the social media that people see.

4. Getting Started With Your Podcast

By sharing the stories above, I hope I’ve inspired you to start a podcast. And not only that, I hope you see your podcast as a way to build a better consulting business.

When you’re ready to get started, follow the steps below.

First, you’ll need to decide on your podcast topic.

Consider your goals for your organization. Your podcast should help you achieve those goals.

Think about what topics would be interesting and engaging for your podcast listeners. And consider the potential partnerships you can create to expand your reach.

Second, you’ll need to plan out how you want the podcast episodes to be structured.

You’ll need to decide on a format as well as the length of each episode. You’ll also need to plan out any music or sound effects you want to include and create a style guide for yourself.

Questions For Consideration:

  • What will your podcast’s focus area be?
  • How will having this show align with your consulting business?

Initial Considerations

  • Show Format (Solo, Interview, Co-Host, Hybrid): Will you be by yourself or will you have someone with you? Solo podcasts are easy to schedule but are challenging because you are by yourself. Interview and co-hosted podcasts can be more challenging because you have to find a time that works for both of you.
  • Audience (Who are they?): Understanding your audience and what they would like to hear about can help you in selecting topics and guests.
  • Guests (Who are they?): If you have an interview podcast, the first place to start is to see if the industry is on LinkedIn. Look at who is speaking about key topics at conferences. Also, who is writing about topics in industry journals? These individuals are in the public already. It’s easier to invite them for an interview on your podcast.
  • Topics You’ll Cover: You will need to understand your audience. If you don’t know what people want to hear, use this opportunity to invite members of your audience onto a call and ask them about the things that most interest them in your niche. What are the biggest challenges? Who would they want to hear from and if they listen to podcasts today what do they like and dislike about the shows they listen to?
  • Audio: Your audio needs to be good so having headphones and a microphone is an important consideration. In a pinch, headphones like Airpods (or something like them) will work.

Equipment

  • You can get started by recording shows by yourself with just your headphones (with a microphone) and your computer.
  • If you want to have a podcast that is an interview or co-hosted style podcast you can record episodes on Zoom.

Editing

Once you have the episode recorded, I highly recommend investing in Descript.

Descript makes editing the audio simple and it creates a transcript that can be used if you would like to embed the transcript on your site.

Hosting Platform

Podcasts are distributed via a podcast RSS feed. If you have a blog you should be familiar with RSS because it is how your blog is broadcast. Similarly, you will need a site to upload your podcast to like Libsyn or BuzzSprout.

Consider your goals for your organization. Your podcast should help you achieve those goals.

Takeaway Thoughts

Although creating a podcast is not easy work, I have found it to be one of the most rewarding forms of social proof in my consulting business.

If you find value in meeting and discussing issues with industry leaders, you too may find podcasting to be a great addition to your marketing strategy.

Good luck in creating and launching your own podcast — it is an incredible journey.

And when your show is up and running please tag me on social media. I would love to give you a thumbs up and comment on your getting started.

To keep things simple, I created a Jumpstart to Podcasting Checklist that will help you check all of the boxes in creating your podcast. Please download the checklist here.


don davis Don Davis is a Clarity Coaching client and expert operations leader in Healthcare and Life Sciences with a 35-year career in delivering leverageable capabilities that scale their organizations while increasing revenue and controlling cost. A podcast host (BeFused and Life Science Success), author, executive coach, keynote speaker, and consultant in Life Sciences. Don received the Outstanding Leadership Award by Health 2.0 in 2022.

After decades of working for companies like GE, BD & Roche in the fields of Healthcare and Life Sciences, Don helps others improve Operational Excellence, Program & Project Management, Analytics & KPI’s and IT Systems & Infrastructure that result in increasing profitability and improved ability to scale their organizations for growth as President & Principal of 5280 Life Sciences Consulting. He also recently started the digital media marketing company D3 Digital Media to help companies establish their digital media presence.

References

Watson, A. (Jan 2023) Topic: Reading habits in the U.S., Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/3928/reading-habits-in-the-us (Accessed: March 12, 2023).

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