Here are just a few ways to increase and diversify your
income from your consulting business.
1. Sell More Services to Your Existing Clients
Instead of spending all that time and money trying to get
new business, why not try to sell more services to your
existing client base?
If you are an accounting and tax consulting firm, for
example, you likely have clients who need some assistance
in their record keeping and documentation. In addition to
your year-end tax services, could you provide monthly
bookkeeping and financial statements, accounting system
setups, training in accounting software, or other services
to assist your client?
Monthly services, in addition to annually billed fees, will
help you smooth out your cashflow and minimize the seasonal
nature of your business.
2. Mass Market Your Advice by Productizing Your Services
Could you produce a folio, special report, newsletter,
e-book, book, audio cassette, video, or course? If so, you
could enjoy making money even when you're not billing for
your time. While asleep or on vacation, the sale of your
information products could be generating additional income
for you.
Sell such products through direct mail, mail order,
exporting, and Internet marketing (your own website,
your own affiliate programs, eBay auctions, and so on).
As well as the passive, residual income that information
products can produce for you, they also help establish your
credentials as an expert. This, in turn, produces more
consulting opportunities for you.
3. Perform Group Consulting
Seminars, workshops, and teleclasses enable you to help
many participants in a cost-effective manner. In addition
to paying for admission, your attendees may also purchase
some of your information products or even become your
regular consulting clients.
4. Consider Additional Markets
Could you sell your consulting services to federal, state,
provincial, or municipal governments? Could you be an
expert trial witness?
If you consult with local clients, could you extend your
reach nationally or internationally by using the telephone
and Internet?
These few ideas are a starting point for you to brainstorm
all the possibilities for exploding your consulting income.