The Future of Consulting: Opportunities to Advantages with Michael Zipursky (#045)

Michael Zipursky has helped over 500 entrepreneurial consultants in 50 industries around the world grow profitable, predictable and strategic consulting businesses, adding six and even seven figures to their annual revenue. He is the CEO and podcast host at Consulting Success and the author of four books on consulting and business growth.His recent book was the amazon bestseller Act Now: How Successful Consultants Thrive During Chaos and Uncertainty and I'm pleased to announce he has a new book out now called, The Future of Consulting: How to Turn Today's Opportunities into Tomorrow's Business Advantage.Mike is offering the book free for a limited time. The link is below.Topics Covered:At the start of covid, many were like deer in the headlightsDon't bury your head, act nowWhat is the future of consulting? Not next year, but 3, 5 or 10 years timeInterviewed lots of successful consultants; what seeds their planting now to benefit them in the futureThe most successful ones had a lot of assets already in placeWhere can I create points of leverage that will serve me and my clients?We truly believe people can be better prepared for future uncertaintyIt's not a question of will it happen, it's only a matter of whenWhere are you weak or susceptible to attack? Where can you strengthen?All to create more leverage and more opportunity to growLean in to your strengths, but ask questions around your weak pointsIf 90% of your business is through referrals, you might see that as a weaknessThen you have to ask what can you do about it?The people who suffered the least in this industry had a big list or a communityWhat if things completely changed, how would you navigate it?Better to figure it out before you're under fear, stress and uncertaintyWhether you act on it or not, it's helpful to have a contingency planNot just to future proof but spot opportunities in your business todayIf it's easier to deliver is it worth less or worth more?Think about any challenge from a different perspective and not just accept it as a setbackThe way b2b buyers are actually making decisions has changedA lot are making purchasing decisions virtually for far greater sumsLack of focus and being a generalist, huge problem for consultantsMost of the people who consistently get work have created contentThe more steps you take the build your brand, to get content out there, gradually the less you need to specializeTo compete at the beginning you need to say, they do five areas, we specialize in just this one, they don't, so that's where your advantage isMany establish themselves through simplifying their offerings, not offering too many things to too many different groups at onceHow do you demonstrate value before even talking to a potential client? Content!Lessons in showing you're ahead of the curve and you care, from a mentor in Kyoto, JapanConsulting Success podcast has over 45,000 downloads a monthIf you're interested in more visit ▶ https://almcbride.com/minicoursefor a free email minicourse on how to gain the psychological edge in your negotiations and critical conversations along with a helpful negotiation prep cheat sheet.If you enjoyed this episode of Dealing with Goliath Podcast, hit subscribe to hear about our latest episodes.If you're interested in more visit ▶ https://almcbride.com/minicoursefor a free email minicourse on how to gain the psychological edge in your negotiations and critical conversations along with a helpful negotiation prep cheat sheet.If you enjoyed this episode of Dealing with Goliath Podcast, hit subscribe to hear about our latest episodes.