Are you ready to build a consulting brand and share it with the world, but you don’t know where to begin? Or, maybe you’re currently a consultant, and you want to take your brand to the next level, but you don’t know how? 

At my second business, LEAP, I’ve been teaching consultants how to market their services, and I understand how important it is to have a solid brand as a consultant. 

But, how is it that you actually build a consulting brand? 

What are the key marketing materials that you need as a consultant to get that brand in front of your ideal client? 

We’ll walk through this below.

What is a brand?

First of all, to build a brand you and your clients will love, you have to understand what your brand is.

To put it simply, your brand consists of your:

• Name
• Logo
• Presentation to the World/Client Experience

What’s included in your ‘presentation to the world’? 

This includes your colors and your style of design (think minimalist, futuristic, classic, retro, etc.) Your presentation is also how you make people feel when they see your materials. And, your brand includes the experiences that they have with you. 

When you look at how to build your consulting brand, you will need to: 

1. Start by choosing your name
2. Create your logo (a true cornerstone of your brand)
3. Make supporting marketing materials that represent you and the value you bring to your clients

Branding Step One: Choose Your Name

I’ve found that most consultants come up with their business’ names on their own or through brainstorming with family and friends (as opposed to working with a branding agency to develop a name.) 

An important note, your name is first in building your brand, but having a solid plan is first in building your business. Some people’s first step in starting their consulting business is to choose a name. 

In actuality, a great first step for your business is to get your foundation and plan in place. At LEAP, we recommend you first get your business’s strategic foundation in place and then create your brand.

Learn more about the 10 Steps to Starting Your Consulting Business on LEAP’s website by clicking here.

Back to branding! 

When the time is right to choose your name, there are a few main things you should consider:

• What is the type of work that you want to do?
• Who are your ideal clients?
• How do you want to be perceived by your ideal clients? 

If you don’t know the answer to these questions, LEAP offers a program that is a great place to start.

Branding Step Two: Create Your Logo

Once you have your name, you’re ready to build the look and feel of your brand by creating your logo.

I have seen a wide variety of approaches when it comes to creating a logo. 

First, there are people like me who are creatives and designers and want to do it themselves. There are also people who don’t have a background in design and will try to do it all on their own (not really recommended.)

Then, there are various ways to pay professionals to get the job done. 

You could try to DIY with the help of someone on websites like Fiverr, 99Designs, or Upwork. To get a great result on websites like this, it’s important to have a clear picture of what you want and feel confident in your ability to communicate what you want. 

You can also hire a design and branding professional you know to create your logo. 

This is where Elevate Online can step in! First, we get to know you and your business during our Creating Your Brand Call. Then, we create a clear picture of what your stand-out brand will look like, and we turn it into a reality.

Once you have your logo, you’ll also have your brand’s colors. 

Colors carry a lot of weight psychologically, which means they are important to your look and feel. So, understand that getting your logo right is important on many levels, as it will be the key piece in your branding that you’ll carry forward.

Branding Step Three: Make Your Supporting Marketing Materials

As a consultant, the marketing materials you will need to support you as you go out into the market different than a normal small business. 

At Elevate Online, we recommend creating these materials:

• A business card for effective networking
• A one-pager that showcases why you’re the person to work with
• An all-star LinkedIn profile and the knowledge on how to leverage LinkedIn to build your business
• A one-page website where you can show your expertise and gather online leads

These marketing materials should be designed so that they clearly communicate who you are and the value that you bring as a consultant. The design should tie in with the colors and fonts you established in your logo.  

Remember, your brand also includes the feelings you give people when they look at/interact with your marketing materials! Create materials that are memorable and leave people feeling like they know you, your value, and what action they can take to interact with you next.

A One-Stop Shop for Your Consulting Business’s Branding & Marketing Needs

Creating your brand and marketing materials can be overwhelming and time-consuming. I have also seen consultants invest their time and money into building a brand and marketing materials that totally missed the mark and boxed them into a place they didn’t want to be. 

That’s why I created an Elevate Online package that fully addresses the needs of consultants who are looking to build their brand (and as a result, grow their businesses.)

This package is a mix of strategic marketing support and the key marketing materials listed above that will leave you well-positioned to share your brand with the world and attract your ideal clients. 

Click here to learn more about the Build Your Consulting Brand Package. 

Wishing you luck in your consulting journey, 

Katie McNamee