{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "A framework for the four levels of consulting — from 100-level freelancer to 400-level independent business owner — and what changes at each stage.",
  "path": "/articles/consulting-levels/",
  "publishedAt": "2017-02-22T00:39:25.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:jznynyzgerlqmdbbj33o7wfs/site.standard.publication/3mnll3icujb2z",
  "tags": [
    "Business Operations"
  ],
  "textContent": "Glenn S. wrote in to ask about a concept that Nick and I reference frequently on our podcast Make Money Online: Levels of Consulting!\n\nNick and I often refer to something as being a ‘200 Level’ or ‘400 Level’ consulting strategy and, well, what exactly do we mean when we say that?\n\nLet me say that this is very much an idea I am developing in an ongoing fashion.\n\nI think the concept is sound and true. As you get more advanced at the business of consulting, the arena that you operate in expands and you start exploring new and different concepts:\n\nPositioning\n\nDefined client intake processes\n\nMarketing automation\n\nOutreach Marketing (either promotional or sales)\n\nMarketing gravity\n\nProducts and courses\n\nMultiple income streams of differing degrees of leverage (i.e., running a 10-person 1-hour training at $200/person giving you an effective hourly rate of $2,000/hour)\n\nAs you become a more advanced consultant, you start using more advanced ideas and concepts in your business.\n\nBut what are these levels? How do you know what level you’re at? How do you know how to get to the next level?\n\nLet me share my most current working definition of these levels. I’m intentionally mimicking college or university levels with these concepts.\n\n100 Level: Freelancer\n\nYou are an independent business owner! You are doing a thing and getting paid money for it.\n\nFirst off, congratulations! You have made the jump to being a freelancer (full-time or part-time), and that is awesome.\n\nYou are primarily acquiring clients through word of mouth.\n\nYou have not thought about positioning or niching.\n\nYou are primarily selling a service or skillset rather than solutions or strategy\n\nYou (most likely) are charging hourly for your services.\n\nIn terms of revenue, let’s say you’re earning under $40,000 each year.\n\n200 Level: Consultant\n\nYou have started to ask — and answer — The Positioning Question for your business. You are niching down from being a generalist to a specialist in your target market.\n\nYou have a defined list of services. There are things that you do (and do well) and things that you do not do (that you turn down).\n\nPerhaps you have added ‘roadmapping’ or a paid ‘Initial Service Offering’ to your services.\n\nYou are starting to use tools like Basecamp or Trello to manage your projects.\n\nYou are acquiring clients through word of mouth, referrals, and inbound leads.\n\nPerhaps you are starting to use some marketing automation tools — Drip, Calendly, Wufoo, etc. — to have a formal, systematic process to accept and screen new leads, prospects, and clients and save yourself time.\n\nYou are moving away from charging hourly to either charging daily/weekly/monthly or flat-rate, fixed-scope for your services.\n\nYou are starting to think about email lists and how they might be a force multiplier for your business.\n\nIn terms of revenue, let’s say you’re earning between $40,000 and $70,000+ each year.\n\n300 Level: Advanced Consultant\n\nYou have specific, defined positioning for your business. You are starting to define yourself as the ‘go to’ person in your industry to solve a specific expensive problem.\n\nYou are starting to use sales tools — Pipedrive, Yesware, etc. — to manage your sales process and follow up with leads, lost leads, prospects, clients, and past clients for referrals.\n\nYou no longer offer your time hourly. You only offer your time daily/weekly/monthly or through flat-rate, fixed-scope service offerings.\n\nYou are acquiring leads, prospects, and clients through outbound marketing (outreach to appear on podcasts / write guest articles / appear on webinars), inbound marketing (hosting your own podcast, creating content on your site, etc.), referrals, and potentially paid advertising.\n\nYou are focusing on growing an email list for your business. You have ‘content upgrades’ in place on your most popular articles. When someone joins your list, you have a defined campaign that they receive that educates and nurtures them about working with you.\n\nYou say ‘no’ to more leads, prospects, clients, and projects than you say ‘yes’ to.\n\nYou are starting to think about products, courses, and training and how these offerings might fit into your comprehensive offerings. Your offerings may be inclusive of:\n\nEducational Products (hands-off training you offer on how a customer can do a thing, like get on podcasts as a guest) *\n\nImplementation *(you do a thing for a client)\n\nConsulting (you advise a client on how to do a thing, and then you do a thing for that client)\n\nStrategic Consulting (you advise a client on how to do a thing)\n\nMentoring (people come to you to ask questions about how to do a thing)\n\nCoaching (people come to you, and you give them specific direction on how to do a thing)\n\nTraining (groups of people come to you, and you give them specific direction on how to do a thing)\n\nIn terms of revenue, let’s say you’re earning, say, between $50,000 and $200,000+ each year.\n\n400 Level: Independent Business Owner\n\nYou have transitioned to primarily strategic work, with a little implementation work.\n\nYou may have mentoring, coaching, or training offerings.\n\nYou have one or more educational products that establish your authority in the market and serve as additional income streams for you and your business.\n\nYou acquire clients through inbound, outbound, paid, and referral, channels.\n\nYou are actively focusing on growing your email list.\n\nYou host events — online or offline — like webinars, seminars, or workshops that are either paid (to generate income) or free (to generate leads).\n\nIn terms of revenue, let’s say you’re earning, say, between $75,000 and $350,000+ each year.\n\nPost Graduate Work\n\nYou’re working on establishing multiple lines of business in one or many industries or target markets.\n\nThese are rough definitions of the different levels of consulting.\n\nI do not think these are 100% correct. Heck, I know I’m flat out wrong in some places.\n\nSo email me and let me know what *you think the different levels of consulting are.*\n\nWhat is a ‘400 level’ consultant? What is a ‘100 level’ consultant? What’s in between? What’s beyond ‘400 level’?\n\nExcelsior!\n\nKai",
  "title": "Levels of Consulting"
}