How to Collaborate with Other Consultants to Create your Consulting Team
Be truthful about this: Does working as a solo freelance consultant get lonely sometimes?
Do you ever feel like you’re carrying too much of a burden on your shoulders?
Are you tired of doing everything (from finding clients to executing projects) yourself?
Well, then you’re not the only one. There are plenty of freelance consultants who have the same story as you.
So, is there a solution to this problem? Well, for one, you can form a freelance consulting team and start working with consultants who think like you.
Although one may think that freelance consultants work alone, forming consulting teams that have other consultants in them can work wonders.
Let’s find out the different ways of joining forces with other consultants and help each other grow.
1. Engage in Content Marketing Together
Imagine this: Consultant A has a Youtube channel with 10,000 subscribers and Consultant B has the same number of loyal fans on Linkedin. Now, Consultant A wants to grow their LinkedIn page in order to find clients there, and Consultant B wants a shoutout on YouTube to grow their channel which has been dormant because of YouTube’s algorithm. In this case, Consultant A and Consultant B can work together and introduce each other to their followers on their respective platforms. A series of such introductions and shoutouts can lead to social media growth for both consultants.
This is just one of the hundreds of ways that can be used to cooperate with other freelance consultants to reach a common goal. As a freelance consultant, you need to constantly remind yourself that forming consulting teams and working with consultants from time to time is not just possible, but it’s also necessary.
2. Write Books or Articles With Other Consultants
Even though posting content on social media can help you grow your brand, you should also consider publishing your own original literature. When a client asks you about your expertise in a certain area, for example, digital transformation, saying that you have written a couple of books on the subject or that you have a website on which you consistently blog about the subject will definitely give you a competitive edge.
Now, the thing is: Writing a book or blogging regularly is not a walk in the park. But you don’t always have to do it alone. Finding consultants to write books or blogs with has some more benefits. First, you will learn new ideas from each other that you didn’t know before. Secondly, you could find like-minded and passionate consultants like yourself with whom you could take on bigger projects in the future instead of working on smaller projects alone.
And finally, being an author in a particular field makes you a figure of authority and a force to be reckoned with. Anyone who doubts your capability may instantly change their mind when they learn that you have co-authored a 500-page book on the subject. Now, that’s a true figure of authority!
3. Help Other Consultants Find Work and Earn a Commission
Oh, the age-old commission model. It exists in almost every profession, even when one’s working with consultants. Now, you may be wondering: “Instead of recommending someone else, why shouldn’t I undertake the project myself?”
The thing is, the commission model can work to your advantage in many ways. Suppose that one of your current clients has hired you as a strategy consultant, they need an Agile consultant for a 3-month period. Now, if you look at the consulting team structure here, the Agile consultant will not be a direct competitor of yours as they’re offering services in a different area. So, in this case, you could help your client choose the right Agile consultant and earn a commission.
Similarly, in case you’re working on a project that needs more helping hands, you could also help a client hire junior consultants. Again, if you look at the consulting team structure, your position will still remain the same.
And finally, if you have plenty of work already, ignore the consulting team structure and recommend your peers, and even the consultants who are more experienced than you, to clients. The biggest benefit of doing this is reciprocity. If a consultant earns a project because of your referral, they may do the same for you in the future.
4. Work in Partnership With Another Consultant
“Two is better than one,” you may have heard the saying, and the song, too. Creating a consulting team of two could give you the much-needed push to get to the next level. Yes, a consulting team can consist of only two freelance consultants. You don’t need to hire someone who is not on a partner level because if you do that, you’ll become an employer and an owner of a consulting firm. By doing so, you’ll lose the flexibility and freedoms that come with freelancing.
If you ride solo as a freelance consultant, your project scope and income will be limited. By partnering with someone who is as experienced and driven as you, you could substantially increase earnings and improve your reputation in the market.
Apart from experience, here are some other traits you should look for in a consulting partner:
- Trust: This is key. If you two sign a contract with a client and undertake a huge project, you have got to be sure that your partner will stick with you till the end.
- Motivation: An employee can be motivated to work by a manager, and a manager can be motivated to achieve by a CEO, but a consulting partner must have an innate drive to wake up every morning and give their 100% without any external motivation.
- Goal orientation: Does your partner know where they are going, or are they just tagging along because there is nothing better to do? A consultant who has written goals and a plan to achieve them will make an ideal partner. So, make sure that both you and your potential partner have common goals before you bring them on board.
Final Thoughts
Being a freelance consultant does not necessarily require you to work alone. Freelance consulting is way more than just working on projects and sending invoices. If you apply the tactics mentioned in this article, you could reach a level in your consulting career that you didn’t think you could. So, join forces with other consultants to create valuable content and write books that position you as an expert. Help connect clients with consultants when you can and earn a commission. And don’t hesitate to start a consulting partnership if you find the right partner.
