Generating leads for your consultancy business isn’t easy; especially when done through online channels. A few years ago, prospective customers didn’t care about websites.

In today’s world, B2B executives are constantly on the lookout for new consultancies that can make their lives easier. Ironically, attracting the attention of prospects is harder in today’s age because of the competition on online channels such as blogs and social media platforms. That’s why consultants need to plan their marketing efforts beforehand, keeping in mind the competition and nature of marketing platforms. Here are seven strategies that you can use to grow business for your consultancies.

1. Guest posting

Guest posting is a sure shot way of increasing exposure for your brand exponentially, while also creating the opportunity to attract leads.

So, where exactly should you guest post?

Well, that depends on the services that you are offering. If you are business management consultancy, then you should guest post on business and entrepreneurship journals. Where do your potential clients go for business advice? Make a list of those web properties and try to build relationships with the editors of those publications. You can create a presence for your brand on such websites by writing meaningful, valuable articles that also introduce your brand to potential clients.

2. E-Books, whitepapers, and webinars

Valuable content products such as eBook, whitepapers, and webinars act as great lead magnets.

Clients are always trying to improve their businesses at low cost, through free resources. By giving them such resources, you not only get on their good side but also get the opportunity to prove to them your worth.

Use your eBooks, whitepapers, and webinars to create brand awareness among your potential audience. Use this platform to show your audience exactly how knowledgeable and experienced you are in your niche. People always want to be certain that they are getting their money’s worth when investing in consultancies and other such services. Prove this to them by offering really valuable content resources in exchange for an email address or phone number.

3. Referral marketing

Service-based businesses do very well with referral marketing. What better way to prove your worth to potential clients than via actual client referrals? Clients are more likely to talk about bad experiences than good ones. That’s why you should prompt them to share their positive experiences. With a referral marketing system, you can reward clients who help you bring in other clients.

This reward could be in terms of discounts in the next set of services subscribed to, or in complementary tools, services or anything else that your clients might appreciate. The trick is to find the perfect motivator and automate the process if possible. If you have a website, you could set-up an automated system for clients to enter their details and redeem their points on their own.

4. Communities

One of the smartest ways to generate business online is through communities. But not everyone experiences success with online community marketing. That’s because marketing in communities is an art. Come across too strong, and you will lose everyone in the community. Play it too cool, and you may never get any real business from the communities.

When working with a community, it’s important to participate, not pitch. Establish your expertise by helping people solve real problems. Ensure that you network with influencers and turn them into ambassadors for your brand.

Finally, make sure you appear approachable, so people contact you when they need your services.

5. Creating a video course

When building an online course to attract business, you have to ensure that the course aligns with your business goals. Who are you trying to attract? What kind of course content is in demand among those target groups? These are the questions that you’ll need to answer before beginning to create your video course.

When finalizing the subject matter for your online course, you should invest in understanding the problems that your audience members are trying to resolve. Once you have, figure out how you will give exposure to your brand within the content. Is there any way to directly lead potential customers from the course content to use your services? If there is, apply this before uploading your course content.

6. Strategic partnerships

Partnerships have always been a central part of marketing. If you want to increase exposure and business rapidly, you have to invest in creating mutually beneficial and long-term relationships.

So, how do you decide whom to partner with? Ask yourself this question. Who has the same target audience as you but isn’t competing directly with you for business? If you are a business management consultancy, you could consider typing-up with a marketing consultancy or a content creation firm. These businesses are essentially targeting your audience without taking business away from you.

By combining your reach with theirs, you can expand your reach instantly. Co-create and co-promote content with such entities, and you’ll see instant benefits.

7. Local networking events

Some business management consultancies work with clients all around the world, but consultancy is most-effective in-person. That’s why you should first focus on acquiring local businesses as clients. When targeting local businesses, local networking events become very important.

If there are business workshops, meetups or networking events in your locality, attend them. You could also initiate such events by promising to share your expertise with the participants who show up. However, before you start acquiring clients in this manner, ensure that you have consultant liability insurance. Doing so will safeguard your business from the costs of damages incurred by libel and other such issues that you can’t control.

Attracting new clients in a competitive industry can be very challenging. However, you can use business generation hacks such as those on this post to overcome many of these challenges.