If you’re a consultant, you’re sitting on a gold mine of opportunity.
In this article, I’m going to share some “shovels” with you that can help you to extract some of that gold — and open up new profit centers in your consulting business.
We call this the Ultimate Licensing Formula. It’s a six-step process that will help you sell, license, and rent your content to businesses of all sizes.
This formula will enable you to capitalize and monetize your IP: your intellectual property.
The Ultimate Licensing Formula looks like this:
- First is the possibility of licensing your most valuable IP to businesses of all sizes — and especially those that your content is suited to serve best.
- Secondly is to be paid well to be a Content producer for companies and retain your copyrights.
- Third is to find all-size companies that you will pay you to put your IP in front of tens of thousands of people you would never otherwise reach.
- Lastly is to use your IP as high-value marketing and customer currency: to potentially replace and outperform advertising and promotion.
Let’s dive in.
The New Knowledge Economy
If I were to ask you what the most valuable real estate in the world is, what would you answer?
People often answer:
- South of France
- Beverly Hills
- New York City
In my estimation, the most valuable real estate in the world is the six inches between your ears.
Why?
Because that’s what’s known as intellectual property.
You have it. I have it. We all have it. And my experience is that many of us are undervaluing it — and not deploying it in the best ways we can.
According to the World Bank, each of us has $700,000 of unrealized, uncapitalized, and unmonetized intellectual property.
IP is now a major currency in the new economy of knowledge. In this economy, wealth is generated through the creation and control of intellectual property.
A big part of creating and leveraging your IP is putting aside your preconceived notions and to start looking at the value of your intellectual property in a whole new way.
What Is Intellectual Property (IP)?
Intellectual property (IP) is what’s in your brain.
It’s the knowledge you put into forms, like courses and programs.
It’s also things like frameworks, models, recipes, and formulas.
Sometimes, these things can be just as — if not more — valuable than your other deliverables.
You can use IP to gather other people’s resources which you can use to trade, borrow, or exchange.
For example, I’ve traded my IP for vacation homes, cruises, and cash.
It also gives you an opportunity to potentially take equity in a business as a consultant. If you can improve the value of your client’s business, you could make an equity deal. IP is equity.
IP is also content marketing. If your IP can help your client generate more leads or traffic, you’ve got valuable IP. Your IP doesn’t necessarily have to show them how to do these things. But, if you can deploy it and it opens new markets, generates leads, or reactivates customers, you’re producing valuable IP.
Why Every Consultant Should Play The IP Game
IP is a great game to play. Not only is it a great game, but you already possess it. It gives you the opportunity to use it as a unique and valuable skill — a skill that can pay off for the rest of your life.
Selling your intellectual property is easier than selling your products.
By separating out your IP as a separate asset, you can create another revenue stream with the same clients you work with.
With IP, you capitalize on your intangible wealth. Since it’s intangible and intellectual, it has infinite possibilities. It can generate cash flow. You can have a bigger impact because you can deploy your IP in ways that you might not be able to sell consulting services or sell products.
Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.
A big part of creating and leveraging your IP is putting aside your preconceived notions and to start looking at the value of your intellectual property in a whole new way.
Don’t think inside the box. Don’t even think outside the box.
Instead, throw the box away.
Information Products vs Intellectual Property
30 years ago, I went to a Jay Abraham seminar — one of the greatest marketers in the world.
He gave us two big boxes full of videos, audio, reports and other goodies. There was no way we could bring it back with us on the plane, so they had to ship it to our homes.
30 years later, I moved out of my home from New Jersey to California. And I happened to find that box, which I had never opened.
The information game is a box game, even when it’s digital. You put it together into a “box.”
The IP game, on the other hand, is about essence. We reverse the process from creating it into form to going back to the essence that created it.
The value is not in the form, it’s in the essence.
Why?
Because you can only sell the form to one person.
But intellectual property, on the other hand, you can sell, rent, or license forever.
You’re in the IP game. Your clients don’t have to buy. They can rent, license, or deploy your IP. There are more possibilities than just buying it.
Positioning Your Intellectual Property
You position your IP from a conversation of collaboration and cooperation.
Now, this is probably less true for you than for many of your competitors. You’re not positioning yourself as a vendor. As a consultant, you have a more intimate relationship with your clients.
Unlike vendors, you’re not in the sales game. The sales game is a zero-sum game: they either buy or they don’t buy.
You’re in the IP game. Your clients don’t have to buy. They can rent, license, or deploy your IP. There are more possibilities than just buying it.
The IP game opens up the playing field for you to step on the field and score more points in multiple ways.
And in the IP game, you go into it with the highest and best philosophy.
Nilton Bonder said that “a good deal is the highest and best for both parties, with minimal disturbances to the marketplace.”
I think that’s an elegant definition.
There’s a Hebrew word, “geschäft” that means a good deal is one where everybody involved profits.
With my own IP, some companies rented my content. Other companies licensed it. Sometimes, I sold it. It gave me much more potential and scope for which to serve my clients.
Even if they didn’t hire me, I could deploy my IP to help them.
I’ve had the good fortune of training a million people face-to-face, virtually and on Zoom. I could never do that one person at a time. But, by deploying my IP, I was able to get in front of exponentially more people and have a greater impact.
In summary, information products you tend to have to build, develop, and then sell. You prepackage it in your own form way, like McDonalads packages the Happy Meal.
Then, the user consumes it as an expense until they turn it into a profit. If you’re selling an information product, you’re seen as a vendor.
But as consultants, you have a much higher position with your clients than a typical vendor. You’re already a trusted voice.
The intellectual property game is different. You sell it, and then you build it.
You can offer them a custom solution. Instead of being Mcdonald’s, you can be the one-of-a-kind gourmet burger shop.
Your IP doesn’t have to come in a pre-packaged form. Your clients can deploy your IP as an asset.
With IP, you’re in as a partner. It’s a collaborative, cooperative conversation in which you’re already engaged. It’s an adjunct to what you’re already delivering.
Everyone profits.
But how do we create the highest and best offer where all parties involved know they will profit?
Making Millions With My Intellectual Property
So let me take you back to 1992. In this photo is a mentor of mine Brian Tracy. I had the good fortune to be the keynote speaker at his international conference 2 years in a row.
In 1992, I presented him with the very first copy of my first program called 21 Ways To Double Your Sales.
Big doors swing on little hinges. I look for little things that are going to open up a big door — and you can do the same.
I had doubled my sales for three years running. So I put together a table of contents on, 21 Ways To Double Your Sales.
I called five businesses that I had done business with and said “I’m looking to do an all-day seminar called 21 Ways To Double Your Sales. Would you like me to do one for you? One said yes. They paid me $4,000 for the day and put 300 of their people to attend the seminar.
Before I could say it, the regional director of the company asked me “Mitch. Can we record the program?”
I said, “Absolutely, on one condition: I get the Master when it’s done.”
I was looking for somebody to record this program.
So I do the program, and it was a big success. The president comes back to me and says “Mitch, that was great. We want the recordings.”
I said, “What do you want to do with it?”
“We have 4000 salespeople. We’d like to give to them. How much do you want for them?”
“I want $10 per person.”
“That’s all?” he answered.
“Yes, on one condition: you package it, you master it, you reproduce it, and you ship it. I get the finished masters, and you cut me a check for $40,000.”
“Done deal,” he said.
Two weeks later, I had a check for $40,000 and the masters in my hand.
I then planned to turn “21 Ways To Double Your Sales” into a book.
The same executive calls me in 30 days later asking for a workbook.
“Funny you should say that, I’m writing one right now.”
“Great, we want it. How much?”
“10 bucks. You print it, you duplicate it, you ship it.”
“You got it.”
Here’s my mantra: big doors swing on little hinges.
I look for little hinges that open up a big door — and you can do the same. Every one of you reading this can follow this same model.
I built a million-dollar IP on a table of contents.
We licensed it to that company — and a few others — for a hundred grand.
We created our own audio package for $99. We sold 1,000 in 6 months for another $100K.
I also earned $100K in consulting.
Companies began calling and asking for me to come in and train their salespeople on the “21 Ways.” Another $200K there — all from a title and a table of contents.
Do you have a title? Or, do you have a program that you’d like to develop? If so, you could leverage this same strategy.
Your IP, even if it’s a table of contents, carries a tremendous amount of value. I didn’t even have a completed program when I sold it. I sold it just on the table of contents.
That’s the power of what a single piece of paper can mean for you and your business.
“Is the way you think it should be preventing you from having the way it could be?”
The Three Challenges Of Intellectual Property
There are three challenges of getting into the IP game:
- Mindset (the what): recognizing and appreciating the value of your IP.
- Motivation (the why): why you would want to do this, which creates the energy and drive to achieve the reward.
- Method (the how): how to actually put it into practice.
1. Mindset
Your mindset is how you think. In this game, it’s best to approach it with a blank slate.
Over the course of your career, do you think you’ve more often undercharged or overcharged? 90% of people I survey say they’ve undercharged — including me. You can go beyond time and project to value pricing.
2. Motivation
Everybody has their own motivation. What yours? You can improve lives tremendously, build wealth, and leave a legacy. Add your own why to the list.
3. Method
The method is understanding the IP game. Mastering some very simple basics and developing the IP skill set.
Options For Creating Your Intellectual Property
So, how do you get into the IP game?
- Integrate the IP mindset.
- Tap your motivation
- Modularize, disassemble, and deconstruct.
- And then assess and select your IP.
Then ask yourself these four questions:
- Who can you sell to?
- Who can you sell through?
- What can you rent?
- How can you license?
I’ll expand upon these four different choices of engagement below.
Option 1: Sell To
We all sell to someone.
You know clients are not buying the product or service.
They’re buying the change, the result, the return on investment, and the transformation.
We’re all in the transportation business.
Unfortunately, many of us focus on our transportation instead of the destination.
Always focus on the destination whenever you’re “selling to.”
This is a most powerful question: “What do they want to do with it?”
They can deploy your IP in various ways. What could they do with it that they might not be thinking of? Have a collaborative, cooperative conversation.
And then determine how they will measure success.
Option 2: Sell Through
I love selling through.
Back to the example of my all-day seminar. They wanted to produce the seminar and give it to their distributors. They were a conduit to their distributors.
Clients also used and deployed my IP for customers: either to attract them, convert them, upgrade them, reactivate them, or maybe break into new markets.
Some companies might actually like to be a profit center for you or make you a profit center for them. Maybe your IP fits into an area they could market up and sell it for more.
When you’re selling through, ask yourself…
Who is their audience?
Two words to etch into your mind: customer’s customers.
If you have B2B clients, those businesses have customers. You don’t just have to sell to the company. You can sell through the company to their customers, vendors and suppliers.
Next ask, how will they all gain?
Come back to the fundamental premise of highest and best for all.
If I can help create a triple win where everybody wins big, I become an invaluable asset — even if all they’re doing is tapping part of my intellect.
As a consultant, clients are buying your knowledge, your wisdom, your experience, your point of view — your transportation.
The big questions:
Do they want to make money on you?
Do they want to make money with you?
Do they want to add value in some way?
Option 3: Rent, License
If you thought of your IP as real estate, does that mean you possibly could rent it?
We rent houses, cars and software. I bet you are renting something in your business: think subscriptions or memberships.
Ever think of renting your content?
A company comes to me and says we have about $50,000 to spend and we have 500 reps. My program at the time was $500 to buy.
They weren’t paying me $500 per rep for 500 reps, $250,000. They said we’d like to try it.
I said how about this? How about I rent it to you for three months. At the end of three months, you can keep renting it, decide to buy it or you can say we don’t want it anymore.
He said how do you do that? Well, I give you access to a membership. Basically, I’m giving you the keys to my rental unit.
I give you the keys, you go open the door. You rent it for three months and at the end of three months, you decide to stay or leave.
And I’ll tell you what… if you decide to buy it, we’ll credit a portion of the three-month rental towards your purchase price.
Now you’re not in a zero-sum option. You’re in a rental option and that opens up enormous possibilities.
Create a continuity annuity — same thing with license.
So here’s the big shift in thinking:
All “license” means is use.
Don’t worry about the legal stuff. Do the business deal.
You can create a continuity annuity by renting something they can use for a lesser price than if they buy it, or maybe licensing it for a period of time where they can use it.
You can license for internal use for employees, families, and teams. And you can rent it to give away to buyers, suppliers, vendors, and influencers.
So, let me tell you about a friend who has a contract with AAA.
He has some software gadget. He gets five cents per customer per month. They have three million customers.
He makes $150,000 every month on five cents per customer renting out his gadget.
It’s incredible when you throw the box away and you open up the potential for all kinds of possibilities.
Option 4: Services
As a consultant, you’re already doing this.
Just as a thought process: what else can you help your clients do or accomplish?
Maybe you could collaborate or partner with somebody who could bring something to them that they’re not doing now?
And then how can they use you best or better than they use you now?
What are you worth?
How do you charge?
You never know how much you’re really worth until somebody is willing to pay you more than you would have asked.
Never price yourself until they tell you how much they think you’re worth — and you might be surprised.
Option 5: Combinations
Many IP deals are customized based on what they want and how much they can invest. If you have the __highest and best__ attitude— even if you take a little bit less — it tends to work out in your favor.
We’re all in the transportation business.
The Ultimate Licensing Formula™: The 6 Steps
Here’s my six-step ultimate license thing formula.
1. Assess and Select Your IP
Go back to your clients and ask them…
“Of everything you have gotten from me, what’s most valuable?”
We give so much in the course of consulting that we often stop realizing that each one of those nuggets of wisdom could be its own piece of IP — and we might not even know it.
Your clients don’t use everything you give them. It’s best to know what is good, what’s being used and what’s not being used. Then you can develop a menu of main dishes and sides.
Is there something that you have a la carte that they can order? Can you create something new?
Do you have something you can put into a table of contents and do what I did with 21 Ways to Double Your Sales?
Assemble a mini catalog — three to five pieces of IP — and identify the ones that are most used and most usable. Then determine which parts and pieces and singles are most viable and valuable.
Look at your IP and itemize it all based on individual pieces. You’ll be surprised at what you find.
2. Identify Needy, Ready, Willing and Able Buyers
Find somebody with a hole, a problem or an opportunity right now.
They must be ready to solve it right now or in the near future.
They’re willing to do what it takes, and they’re able.
These are the criteria for a real buyer: committed, ready, willing, and able. They have the time, bandwidth, resources and funds.
Make a list of people who need an intervention. You probably have needy, ready, willing and able buyers in your database right now.
3. Contact, Approach, and Book Appointment
The next step is for you to actually book this collaborative conversation with them.
Figure out a time that works for both parties, and simply book the call.
4. Meet to Get Alignment, Agreement, and Commitment
You meet with the client. I don’t use closing techniques. Instead, I get alignment, agreement, and commitment with the buyer.
Alignment is the purpose, agenda and outcome of the meeting.
Agreement is getting clear on what they want, why and how, especially outcomes and resulte.
Commitment is about them being ready, willing and able to move forward.
In the IP game, we’re in the commitment business, not the closing business.
5. Recommend a Solution, Create a Winning Proposal
I don’t do proposals unless the client collaborates with me.
We do proposals with the intention of getting them accepted.
With collaboration I know what to include and what to leave out.
It’s amazing what happens when you collaborate on a proposal. You find out if you’re the only game in town — or if you’re in a stack of other RFPs.
6. Seal a Deal, Sign A Contract
I love to have a collaborative conversation and get to the bottom of what the single most pressing problem I can help solve.
Because we’re not selling a product, we’re solving a problem, it’s a much easier collaboration than it would be if you were selling a product.
Here are some of the factors that will determine the deal:
Who’s going to use it, and how often they’re going to use it.
- Access: Do they want to access it in months, in time or based on the number of employees? Do they want to have access for their customers?
- Frequency: How frequently your client will use your IP — could be daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.
- Packaging: I like to let people package my IP with their label because then they take ownership of it and they feel much more attached to it.
- Pricing: Depending upon what you’re offering and what your structuring will determine how you price your IP. You can do it per person, per part, per piece, per program, per project, per year, etc.
- Scope: The size and scope of the project and the expected ROI (qualitative or quantitative)
- Experience: Can you create an experience of you that is unique and special that they can only get it from you? Then you can charge “experience pricing” which has no parameters — it’s whatever the market will bear.
- Payment: defining terms, the timing, and the transfer. You can close the deal, get everything put together, and the money gets messy over the terms, timing, or transfer. Work all of that out in advance.
- Commencement: When do we start? How long do we go? When do we finish?
Action Step: Creating & Deploying Your Consulting Intellectual Property
Here’s your IP game plan.
- Integrate the IP and Licensing mindset.
- Identify and assess your IP.
- Modularize, disassemble, deconstruct and repurpose wherever you can.
- Ask, who can I sell to, who can sell through? What can I rent? How can I license?
Ultimately, if you know what to do in these situations, you’re going to be well-positioned to strike gold with your intellectual property.
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Mitchell Axelrod is the founder of Axelrod & Associates, a business consulting firm, Axelrod Learning, a publisher of business and life skills training, workshops and materials. Consulting and speaking since 1978, Mitch has presented more than 3,500 live seminars, workshops, lectures, keynotes, webinars and clinics on business, sales, marketing, life skills and playing the NEW game.
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