The Society of Professional Consultants

As a consultant, you often have to share hard truths with your clients — truths about the underlying cause of a problem they are struggling with or how they are exacerbating it. Sometimes, the client already knows the hard truth but doesn’t want to face it. But sometimes, you catch them off guard, and they must wrestle with your observations and recommendations. If you’ve been in business for a few years, you’ve probably gotten quite good at sharing hard truths with your clients.

Why is it, then, that so many consultants struggle to write about hard truths?

Articles that tackle hard truths directly and unflinchingly are extremely popular with readers and editors alike. Why? Because these types of articles, by their very nature, add to the conversation instead of the noise. They spark discussion and encourage people to think more deeply.

Many consultants want to avoid courting controversy by writing about a hard truth for fear of hurting the feelings of a current client or turning off a prospective client. Stating a hard truth in writing feels uncomfortable, so many equivocate and over-explain to soften the blow. But doing so simply dilutes the message.

When you share your observations boldly, you will provoke a negative response from those who benefit from the status quo. Sometimes, they will respond publicly and attack not only your argument but also your credibility.

But if you want to work with clients who value your perspective and are willing to work with you to tackle the challenges they face, writing about hard truths will enhance your reputation and directly benefit your business.

Hard truths are born of hard experience.

Your clients hire you to solve problems. Even before you start a new project, you ask questions about the problems your client is facing, what they have done to try to solve them, and where they think the source of the problem lies. This phase of a prospective project gives you a good deal of information — only some of which is accurate.

Once the project starts, you can observe your client in action. Your observations and further questioning help you understand how your client operates and what might be contributing to the problem they hired you to solve. You may also discover problems your client wasn’t even aware of that need to be solved. This process of inquiry and observation is crucial. Only after you understand the challenges at play can you diagnose and treat the problem.

This diagnosis and treatment often require hard conversations with your client.

Years ago, when I worked for a boutique nonprofit consulting firm, we were conducting a feasibility study for a capital campaign. As we spent more and more time with the board and staff, we realized that the executive director’s poor leadership was one of the organization’s biggest challenges. The staff did not trust him (with good reason). Neither did several influential community members. While these community members did intend to maintain their membership, they had no intentions of making a more significant gift so long as the current executive director ran the organization.

My colleague and I had to break the news to the board. Not only was a capital campaign to the tune of several million dollars not feasible, but the organization was at risk of losing several valued staff members and even more of its donor base if they didn’t take action. Quickly.

These difficult conversations took place in private meetings, but they brought to light several challenges faced by nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. And we wrote about those challenges publicly. Through our blog and articles written for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, we clarified the purpose of a feasibility study. We stated that if a study revealed a successful capital campaign was not feasible, we let our clients know. Even though it means we lost the opportunity to manage a capital campaign. Moreover, we gave them recommendations that, if followed, would strengthen their organization and put all the pieces in place so they could launch a successful capital campaign.

The benefits of writing about hard truths.

When you write about hard truths, your colleagues, prospective clients, and partners get a ringside seat to your thinking, approach, and willingness to say what needs to be said.

Writing about hard truths also differentiates you from your peers. You will attract attention if you write about challenges in your industry that few people address publicly. That is a crucial first step to building your business and positioning yourself as the obvious choice for specific types of projects.

By being bold enough to say what others want to ignore, prospective clients and partners who value your perspective will identify themselves. They will also feel validated and understood, which will help them see you as someone they can trust, someone who has similar values to their own.

Those with no interest in tackling complex issues honestly, who are unwilling to have a hard conversation or do the work required to address challenges within their organization, will distance themselves from you. And that’s great because you want to work with the people who value you, your approach, and your perspective. You don’t want to work with people who frustrate you.

How to write about hard truths.

As an established consultant, your experience-based expertise is invaluable. But your perspective can only enhance your reputation and help you build your business if you share it. But how? Here are five concepts to keep in mind to help you write about hard truths without damaging your reputation:

• Be you. You aren’t trying to provoke the reader. Instead, you are writing about a challenging situation you see regularly and offering your insights. You don’t need to use inflammatory language if that isn’t your style, nor do you need to cushion your message. Show up on the page as you show up at your client’s office.

• Bring the receipts. Back up your statements with research, facts, and illustrative examples whenever possible. When that is not possible (and there are plenty of times when that is the case), appeal to reason. Help the reader understand your perspective without making it personal.

• Show empathy. Demonstrate that you understand how people came to be dealing with the challenge they are facing. Consider incorporating your experiences, and don’t be afraid to dive into the nuances. Exploring the nuances is a great way to show that you understand their challenges are complicated. Let your readers know that they aren’t alone.

• Be bold. While it is essential to show empathy, you don’t want to shy away from the truth. Be clear, definitive, and respectful. If you try to soften the blow, your message may be lost (and that doesn’t help anyone).

• Offer actionable insights. Don’t simply point out the problem. Offer a solution or tools the reader can use to start addressing the problem. You might provide a diagnostic tool, a list of questions to ask, or a script. You want your reader to be able to take action toward a resolution, even if the action is small.

To serve your readers, you need to be clear and offer up the hard truths with a dose of empathy and some practical advice. While you might turn some readers off, you will also fire some readers up. Those who agree with your perspective will appreciate that you were bold enough to address the hard truths and go against prevailing wisdom (or the current fad). These readers will see themselves in you and want to engage with you further.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications, where she equips consultants with the tools they need to develop a body of work that builds their authority, increases their visibility, and opens the door to new opportunities. A strategic thought partner, she guides her clients through selecting and pitching the right publication writing and publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, and using those articles to achieve their business goals. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

Before undertaking any authority-building tactic, such as writing articles for high-visibility publications, speaking, starting a podcast, or writing a book, you must clearly identify the business case for doing so. As is true for every authority-building tactic, you are unlikely to be paid to write for high-visibility publications. (Indeed, you should expect to invest your time and possibly your money.) You need a reason to engage in authority-building that goes deeper than financial compensation.

Your contributions are crucial to most publications’ business models.

Business magazines profit from your expertise whether you are interviewed by one of their writers to serve as a subject-matter expert for an article or you write for the publication as a contributing expert.

The opportunity to write for publications as a contributing expert arose to satisfy a specific need.

Business magazines rely heavily on advertising revenue. Today, a great deal of that advertising happens online. Online advertising revenue is driven by website traffic. The more traffic the business publication’s website gets, the more advertising revenue it earns. Website traffic relies on search engine optimization (SEO), which is driven by a steady influx of original, high-quality content.

The magazine’s need for content far outpaces its capacity to produce that content.

We may be moving into a post-SEO world. If that is the case, original, high-quality content will be even more important.

The articles you write as a contributing expert help the publication reach its advertising revenue goals, which helps pay for the freelance writers, staff writers, editors, and countless other staff who keep the publication running. But more importantly, your articles help the publication serve its readers.

Today, readers can read articles written by professional writers who incorporate independent research and the perspectives of several subject-matter experts and articles written by working consultants with boots-on-the-ground experience. That’s a potent combination.

You receive real value in exchange for your expertise.

The value you provide to these publications is significant. The value you receive is equally significant — provided you use it wisely.

By writing for a high-visibility publication, you can build your authority and stand out from your peers. Writing for these publications lets you present your ideas and perspective to a well-established, targeted audience interested in your area of expertise. Other authority-building tactics, like writing a book or hosting a podcast, require you to build your own audience.

Writing for high-visibility publications also allows you to enjoy the imprimatur of the publication — their editorial team vetted you, and by publishing your work, they are signaling to their audience that you are an authority in your field. You are effectively borrowing the publication’s reputation and relationship with its audience and using that social proof to build your own reputation and relationships.

If you treat your articles as appreciating assets, you can translate the intangible benefits of reputation and relationships into tangible benefits to your business.

Chloé Nwangwu is the founder of NobiWorks. She has done extensive research on visibility biases and coined the term “underrecognized.” A graduate of my Pathway to Publication program, she published “Why We Should Stop Saying ‘Underrepresented’” in Harvard Business Review in April 2023. As a result of this article and her ongoing promotion thereof, she has been invited to speak at conferences and summits and serve as a guest expert on podcasts. She uses the article to expand her network and start conversations with prospective clients and partners.

Fair compensation is a value-for-value exchange.

A value-for-value exchange only works when both parties value what is being exchanged. The value exchange you engage in when you write for a high-visibility publication is quite different from the value exchange freelance writers engage in when they write for a publication.

Freelance writers provide a different type of value to high-visibility publications than contributing experts. Their ability to find a good story, identify all the angles of that story, conduct interviews, and craft that story so the reader understands every nuanced detail is a valuable skill. They also have the freedom to present a variety of perspectives in one article. They dive deep into the nuances, are skilled at sniffing out misinformation (and disinformation), and don’t shy away from asking difficult questions. They are exceptional researchers and interviewers. And, of course, they are excellent writers.

Freelance writers write about a variety of topics. Writing for a publication isn’t about building authority or connecting with a specific audience. It’s their job.

Freelance writers don’t write to support their business; writing is their business.

It is the craft they have dedicated years of their lives to learning and improving. Unlike consultants and other expert contributors, however, freelance writers only need to know who the audience is to ensure their piece is relevant to that audience. But they write for several publications, which means they write for several different audiences. Access to a well-established and well-defined audience isn’t valuable for freelance writers.

As a consultant, you undoubtedly write a lot. But writing isn’t your profession — it is a tool that helps you convey your ideas to your audience, differentiate yourself from your peers, and build your authority.

Only two authority-building tactics give you access to a tailor-made audience interested in your perspective: writing for high-visibility publications and speaking, whether at industry events, as a guest on a podcast, or at another gathering.

You’re not writing articles to get published; you’re getting published to achieve specific business goals. Whether you are looking to secure more speaking engagements, connect with fellow leaders in your industry, or get more meetings with the right prospects on the books, being invited to engage with an already-established, well-defined audience is significantly more valuable than the small sum offered by the few publications that pay their expert contributors.

Before investing your time in any authority-building tactic, make sure you have a clear and compelling business case for doing so.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications, where she equips consultants with the tools they need to develop a body of work that builds their authority, increases their visibility, and opens the door to new opportunities. A strategic thought partner, she guides her clients through selecting and pitching the right publication writing and publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, and using those articles to achieve their business goals. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

If you’ve never worked with a publication’s editor before, navigating the relationship can feel a bit tricky. Every editor has a different communication style, and every publication has different editorial guidelines. What passes muster with one editor may not satisfy another. In fact, the same editor can sometimes send conflicting messages. While they might quickly approve an article featuring one expert, they might cut several paragraphs from a similar article about another.

What should you do if you disagree with your editor? When can you push back? When should you just let it go? And what will happen if you do push back?

Even professional writers get upset when their work is heavily edited and nervous when they have to push back. If an editor has already invested their time and energy into your work, they are unlikely to pull the piece simply because you respectfully disagree. Give your editor the benefit of the doubt and look at your writing from their perspective so you know the best way to address the issue.

Remember that your editor is your partner.

Editors are working with you, not against you. They want your article to be as strong and compelling as possible; most edits are made to accomplish those goals.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to see your article marked up and torn apart.

The first time I wrote an article for a magazine, you could barely see the words for all the red ink! Sitting in a coffee shop across from my editor, I was mortified. My writing career was over before it even got started. I was also angry. I told her I wasn’t a writer when she first mentioned the idea. Why didn’t she listen?

Before I could spin out further, she told me I did an excellent job with my piece and asked if I would keep writing for the magazine.

I took a deep breath and a closer look at the article. There was a lot of red ink. But by looking at each edit and comment individually, I started to see my piece from her perspective. I realized how a little bit of restructuring would make the piece a lot stronger.

When an editor asks a question, they really do want to know what you think. They are opening a dialogue with you and want to understand your perspective. Their goal is to make sure your piece is crafted well and will reach the intended audience.

The more closely you can work with your editor, the better your article will be. Good editors appreciate a healthy and productive back-and-forth, so be forthcoming with your thoughts, and if you disagree with your editor, let them know why. If you understand the editor’s concerns but disagree with their proposed resolution, offer an alternative.

Understand the competing interests at play.

An editor’s first loyalty is to the reader. Publications exist to serve their readers, and editors will review every article from that perspective. Readers are the lifeblood of every publication. Annoy, confuse, or belittle them, and they will go elsewhere.

One of the quickest ways to annoy your readers is to treat them like walking wallets and publish articles that are nothing more than thinly disguised marketing collateral. If your editor thinks something you wrote is overly promotional, they will cut it (and you should let them). If what they cut changes the tone of the piece, offer an alternative paragraph or two so you still make your point but aren’t promoting your work or someone else’s work.

Knowing what is and what is not overly promotional is more of an art than a science. What is approved and published today might be cut from your next article. Don’t feel bad if you cross the line; keep learning so you can become a more and more valuable contributor.

An editor’s second loyalty is to the publication, which can get tricky.

There’s always been a bit of tension between the advertising and editorial departments of magazines. Magazines have always relied heavily on advertising revenue, so keeping advertisers happy was in the best interest of the publication and the primary interest of the advertising department.

When I wrote for a now-defunct print magazine, some of my assignments were first proposed by advertisers. If they had a good project that fit into the magazine’s editorial calendar, we’d write a piece about it. The problem arose when the advertising department asked the editor to promote the advertiser in the article. In those cases, the editor had to negotiate with the advertising department and the writer.

You aren’t likely to run into this exact scenario, but you will still feel the tension between advertising and editorial.

Traditional business publications with an online presence still depend on advertising revenue. Online advertising revenue, however, is driven by the amount of traffic the website receives. Traffic is driven by search engine optimization (SEO), which is driven by a never-ending stream of high-quality content.

Because SEO is crucial to the publication’s business model, editors may change an article’s title, subtitle, first few lines, and subheadings to make it more compelling. So long as they don’t change the tone of your piece, understand that they are doing it to entice more people to read it. If you can’t stomach a change, contact your editor. Explain your position and offer an alternative solution.

Protect your reputation.

While you want to have a good relationship with your editor, at the end of the day, your name is on the piece, and you have to be able to stand by it. In other words, you are responsible for what gets published under your name.

Choose your battles. Not every edit you disagree with is critical, and editors are busy. If you can let it go, do so. Speak up if a name is misspelled or a factual error has been incorporated into the piece. Editors want your article to be accurate as much as you do, so they will likely rectify the mistake quickly.

When you raise a concern, be polite and respectful. If that means you have to walk around the block before responding to your editor, do it. You want a good working relationship with your editor, and polite disagreement is a sign of respect and shows that you take your work seriously. Be clear about why the edit doesn’t work, and offer an alternative solution.

As a freelance writer, I vehemently disagreed with an editor on only a handful of occasions. Generally, I want to offer my editor as much support as possible because they know I only object when it’s important.

Anytime my editor asked me to promote an advertiser in an article I wrote for the home and garden magazine, I would do my best to help my editor appease the advertising department. But I refused to write an advertorial (an advertisement that looks like an editorial article). As the person with her name on the piece, I got to decide what was overly promotional and what was acceptable.

Only once did I have to stand firm and flat-out refuse to make a requested change. I told my editor that I understood where she was coming from and that the changes could be made to the article so long as my name was taken off the piece. I wasn’t privy to the conversations my editor had, but I know she fought like hell for me. My article was published as written — with my name as the byline.

As a freelance writer, I could take my name off a piece because I would still be paid for it, and my articles weren’t about me. As an expert, however, you always want your work published with your name because it is about you, your expertise, and your perspective. So, while you may not have the option to take your name off a piece, you can pull a piece if you and your editor can’t reach an agreement. Most editors will respect your decision. And once you’ve pulled a piece, you are free to publish it on your blog, as a LinkedIn article, or on another third-party publication.

Navigating disagreements with your editor can feel uncomfortable, but remember that this is a conversation with a colleague, and the publication wants your content as much as you want to write for the publication. A good editor will welcome your questions and concerns and do their best to address them. Before you push back, seek to understand your editor’s perspective. Stay curious, polite, and respectful. And always offer an alternative solution.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications, where she equips consultants with the tools they need to develop a body of work that builds their authority, increases their visibility, and opens the door to new opportunities. A strategic thought partner, she guides her clients through selecting and pitching the right publication writing and publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, and using those articles to achieve their business goals. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

As an established consultant, you are an expert with a deep understanding of your industry. You understand the complexities and nuances others miss and know how they can impact your clients. Given your depth of knowledge, you might be tempted to pick a topic and just start writing.

Writing is not about the ink; it’s about the think.

In addition to thinking about the topic, you must also think about how you will convey your insights and perspective to the reader. This step is crucial and often overlooked. But the more time you spend thinking about the structure of the piece you plan to write, the easier it will be to write it.

Get your head in the game.

Set aside some time to engage in deep work. Minimize as many distractions as possible, set the timer for 10 minutes, and get your ideas out of your head and onto the page. You can do a freewriting exercise, capture your ideas in a mindmap, draw a cartoon, or dump your thoughts onto the page.

There’s no wrong way to do this, so do whatever works for you.

The point of this exercise is to get into the right headspace to get clear about what you want to say. By taking a little time to capture your ideas, you can filter out the head trash and focus on your core message.

Identify the point of the article.

Every article you write needs a clearly defined point. Knowing the topic you’re writing about is the first step. Now, you must decide the angle from which you will approach that topic.

To ensure that every article you write builds your authority, captures your audience’s attention, and adds your insights to the conversations they are having, conduct a SOAR analysis by answering the following questions:

• Who does this article serve?
• What is the objective of this article? Why should this audience read it?
• What action will the audience be able to take after reading your article?
• Will this article enhance or diminish your reputation?

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Download a copy of The SOAR Model™ to improve your content.

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Publications are looking for experts to provide their readers with actionable insights. Every article you write must change the reader’s thinking, mindset, or behavior.

Equally important, every article you write, every speaking engagement you secure, and everything you do must enhance your reputation. The only way to ensure it does, however, is to be clear about the reputation you wish to build.

Create a container for your writing.

The SOAR analysis makes the point and angle of your article clear, but you still need to structure your thoughts. A simple outline creates a container for your writing and structures your article in a way that is clear, compelling, and easy for the reader to follow. You don’t need to go into much detail; a brief statement followed by bullet points works fine. An article outline includes:

• Working headline.The headline will likely change. Right now, all you need is a simple headline that reminds you of the point of the article.
• Introduction. The introduction makes the point of the piece clear to the reader and provides the necessary context.
• Subheads. Each subhead is a supporting point. Your reader should understand your point just by reading the headline and subheads.
• Conclusion. The conclusion closes the loop and ties the body of your article back to the introduction.

Business articles have a straightforward structure. But that structure is what allows you to unleash your natural writing style. Now, instead of trying to figure out what you want to say next while you’re writing, you can simply fill each container with the appropriate information.

Write your shitty first draft. Quickly.

With a simple outline in place, it’s time to write your shitty first draft. Set a timer for 20 minutes and fill those containers as quickly as possible. Your goal is to complete your first draft within the allotted time.

One of the benefits of quickly writing your first draft is that it shows you whether you’ve given enough thought to the piece. If your thinking is still muddled, it may be that the angle isn’t quite right. If your thinking is clear, but you could make your point stronger, you may need to do more research.

Good writing meets your readers where they are and gives them the tools they need to get value from your writing. It helps your readers understand the complexities and nuances of a specific challenge so they can take steps to resolve it. And it positions you as a trusted advisor and authority in your industry.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications, where she equips consultants with the tools they need to develop a body of work that builds their authority, increases their visibility, and opens the door to new opportunities. A strategic thought partner, she guides her clients through selecting and pitching the right publication writing and publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, and using those articles to achieve their business goals. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

The most effective way to demonstrate your depth of knowledge is to share your ideas and insights. You can do this through writing articles, posting on social media, publishing a book, hosting a podcast (or being a guest), speaking at conferences, or facilitating a workshop. Your goal is to add to the conversation instead of adding to the noise; to provide real value to your audience.

To accomplish that goal, you need to share actionable insights. And you need to share these insights in slightly different ways again and again and again. Because repetition builds your reputation.

Finding new and interesting ways to share the same old ideas requires you to be intentional. You must look for inspiration everywhere and actively read or listen to material about your industry. And you must capture your sources, quotes, research notes, and insights so you can refer back to them. Over time, you’ll start to see your research notes as a conversation, and you’ll begin to connect the dots in new ways.

Capturing and organizing this information can be a challenge. The best approach to organizing your research and capturing your ideas and insights is the one you’ll actually use. Even if it it’s messy and not terribly efficient.

Keep a research journal.

A research journal is a simple document that captures your sources, quotes, research notes, and insights. Keep topic-specific research journals that can evolve along with your learning. For each source, include a complete bibliography. Next, capture relevant quotes. Finally, write down your thoughts and insights.

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Download a copy of my research journal template.

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Use an online reference manager.

There are several citation managers on the market. While they are available to anyone, they are popular among academics because they can pull information directly from the university’s library. Here are three of the most common:

1. Mendeley Reference Manager is free desktop software that allows users to organize and store their references, create bibliographies and citations, and share their research with others. (This social aspect is quite popular with researchers.) The built-in PDF reader makes it easy to annotate and organize PDFs.
2. PowerNotes is a $10/month subscription service that allows users to create notes and organize them by project, topic, or source. It has a built-in citation tool that can automatically format citations in multiple styles and can capture content from across the web.
3. Zotero is free, open-source desktop software developed by a nonprofit organization. It allows users to collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research. It is similar to Mendeley but easier to learn. It has a browser add-on for Firefox and Chrome.

Customize an alternative platform.

Many people use other online tools to collect and organize their research, ideas, and insights. These tools tend to have a number of features that allow you to customize your experience (which can be both a blessing and a curse):

1. Evernote is a free note-taking and task-management application that archives and creates notes with embedded photos, audio, and saved web content. Notes are stored in topic-specific notebooks and can be tagged, annotated, edited, searched, and exported. The web clipper is especially helpful.
2. Notion is a free or low-cost project management, productivity, and note-taking web application with a ton of features, buckets of templates, and infinite flexibility. It organizes information hierarchically, allowing you to nest pages within other pages. It is popular with solo professionals and creative teams.
3. Walling is a free or low-cost web application similar to Notion. But instead of presenting information in a linear, hierarchical format, it is organized visually with the option to view information linearly. You can use each brick in a topic-specific wall to capture the source, quotes, and notes.

While it is important to capture your research, it’s even more crucial to capture your response to that research — your insights. Your insights are how you formulate your point of view or note areas requiring additional study. It’s where you begin to identify the gaps in the research or poke holes in other people’s conclusions. It’s where you figure out what you can add to the conversation that is uniquely yours.

To unearth your insights, take note of quotes that capture your attention and then explain why they caught your attention. One way to do this is to review each quote and write a statement that starts with “yes, and,” “yes, but,” or “no, because.” Those simple prompts help you dig deeper and bring more nuance to the conversation.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications, where she equips consultants with the tools they need to develop a body of work that builds their authority, increases their visibility, and opens the door to new opportunities. A strategic thought partner, she guides her clients through selecting and pitching the right publication writing and publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, and using those articles to achieve their business goals. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

When it comes to generative AI, I follow one simple commandment: Thou shalt not outsource your thinking, voice, or relationships to generative AI.

Generative AI generates media (images, videos, and text) from prompts supplied by the user. Applications like ChatGPT rely on Large Language Models (LLMs), algorithms that generate probabilities of series of words based on large datasets consisting of trillions of words scraped from the internet.

My biggest concern with generative AI is what it takes from us.

When we rely on generative AI, we outsource creativity to an application — a thing, not a person. A thing that cannot think and therefore cannot be creative. A thing that generates media in response to a prompt and deprives us of the joy of thinking deeply about an issue, wrestling with our ideas, and creating something in response.

Relying on generative AI deprives us of our humanity.

My laments for humanity are often dismissed by those who believe I am too idealistic. Others can’t hear my cries over the din of society’s demands to produce more and more, faster and faster. It’s true that I am an idealist. But I’m a pragmatic idealist (and a recovering attorney), so let’s turn to the business case against relying too heavily on generative AI.

The legal implications of using generative AI.

Erin Austin is an IP attorney who helps founders of expertise-based firms build and protect saleable assets. She discussed the legal implications of generative AI on her Hourly to Exit podcast with her guest, attorney Girija Patel. There’s a lot of depth and nuance to their conversation, but here are three key takeaways:

1. US copyright laws do not protect AI-generated content.
2. Content you produce with the assistance of AI might be copyrightable. If it’s easy to separate what you created from what AI generated, the portion you produced may be copyrightable. If that division is unclear, copyrightability will depend on how much control or influence you had on the AI-generated output. (Well, that’s clear as mud.)
3. Consultants, contractors, media outlets, and corporations are adding provisions to their contracts that clarify whether generative AI can be used and to what extent. Use these tools when your contract forbids it, and you’ll be in breach of contract.

The legal implications of using generative AI is a complex and evolving area of law. But the legal implications of using these tools shouldn’t be your only considerations.

Generative AI may negatively impact your reputation.

Your reputation is your single most important asset. When considering whether to use generative AI, and if so, how to use it, you must evaluate it against the potential harm to your reputation. Keep these three points in mind:

1. Generative AI cannot think. All it can do is use an algorithm to identify words that usually go together and spit out those pairings as sentences and pair sentences into paragraphs. That is why generative AI "hallucinates." If you use it, fact-check it. Always.
   
2. As a consultant, your clients pay you for your expertise. AI-generated content is generic; it cannot bring your experience or insights to bear on the challenges your clients face.
3. Some of your competitors are undoubtedly taking AI-generated content, polishing it up, and putting it out into the world as their own. They will put out a lot more stuff a lot quicker than you. But their work will lack depth, substance, and nuance. You can differentiate yourself by sharing your perspective and focusing on quality over quantity.

Generative AI can be a helpful tool if you use it wisely. And there are smart ways to use it to make the writing process easier, such as the approach shared by Neil Thompson in this LinkedIn post, especially if writing isn't your strong suit. But it can harm your business and your reputation if you don’t use it wisely.

Some will take the shortcut offered by generative AI, and many will get away with it even if their contract forbids it.

The internet is a noisy place. If you churn out as much content as possible as often as possible, you’ll do nothing more than add to the noise. Instead, focus on sharing your experience-based expertise and the insights your clients value most. Let others go after the immediate dopamine hit and burn themselves out on all the socials while you play the long game and build a sustainable consulting business.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications and a strategic thought partner to consultants who wish to build their authority and increase their visibility by publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, Inc., and Entrepreneur. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

I often tell the story of the mild anxiety I used to feel as a new consultant when I read a prospective client’s email. It wasn’t because I wasn’t happy to get the email. It was because I was knee-deep in client delivery mode. I was already working on a client deliverable, had a proposal to create and send, and a few meetings to schedule.

I wanted to respond immediately but felt obligated to maintain the momentum of the task at hand. Far too often, I would respond several days after they made the initial contact and, who knows, maybe if I'd responded sooner, I could have had more clients.

This scenario is what life was like for me as a new business owner who hadn’t yet learned the joy of automating certain business processes to save time, eliminate anxiety, and accelerate sales.

What is automation?

According to the International Society of Automation, automation is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the delivery of products and services. IBM describes automation as the use of technology to perform tasks where human input is minimized.

In a consulting business, automation can be used for functions such as marketing, customer relationship management, scheduling, financial management, payroll, project management, transcription, and more.

How automation is used in my consulting business

At Grants Works, automation is used for lead generation, lead qualification, lead nurturing, scheduling, onboarding clients and team members, email marketing, social media management, and research. There are other processes I plan to automate as the company grows.

How automation saves time 

It’s not hard to imagine how automating repetitive tasks can save time. Creating automations means you can keep business processes flowing while you’re in a meeting with a client, devising plans with your team, or completing on a client deliverable.

How automation increases revenue and ROI

Quite simply, automation increases revenue by shortening the sales cycle. Deskera defines the sales cycle as a series of steps that a company takes to turn a prospect into a customer. So, automation either drastically reduces how long each step takes or may eliminate a step or two in the cycle.

Automation can also increase your return on investment (ROI) because the application can complete many tasks over a shorter period than it would take a person or several people to complete those same tasks. So, instead of paying a person to send a marketing email each time a lead is engaged, the application does it…automatically. 

Automation also allows you to upsell or cross-sell products which means--more revenue. It allows you to segment and customize marketing messages and even price points based on what you know about the prospective client.

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Patrice A Davis is the founder of Grants Works Consulting, a government grant compliance consulting firm and the founder of Ready Set Go Consult, a consulting business accelerator for freelance or independent consultants who want to build, grow, and scale their consulting businesses. We teach strategies on how to operationalize their businesses, use their intellectual property, build thought leadership, and more. To learn about the accelerator, watch our free training on the Ready Set Go Consult website.

Stories are powerful. But they aren’t the only effective way to share your ideas with your audience. And if you are afraid that you are not a good storyteller or aren’t telling stories the right way, this emphasis on storytelling might be holding you back.

Yes, the power of stories is undeniable.

Stories bring data, facts, and figures to life by giving them context and meaning. They help us connect with our audience emotionally and intellectually, and that connection allows us to get our message across in a way that is not only memorable but persuasive. A good story can capture people’s hearts and change their minds.

But have we taken this emphasis on storytelling too far?

Stories can help, but they can also harm.

When we think about stories, especially within the context of business storytelling, the underlying assumption is that stories are good for our clients, good for our businesses, and good for the world.

But stories are not inherently good; they are merely tools.

A well-told story has the power to engulf our minds. It can help us see the world differently and open our minds to new ideas and possibilities.

When the message the story imparts is positive, a story can make that message clearer to the audience. It can help the reader understand the idea by giving it form and substance. Moreover, it can compel the reader to take action and implement the idea because they see how to do it and know what they expect if they do it well.

But what if that message is not true?

In an interview on HBR’s IdeaCast, the literary scholar and author Jonathan Gottschall raised concerns about the “storytelling industrial complex.” An entire industry has been built around teaching businesses how to tell more memorable and persuasive stories. Many talk about the potential of a good story to “go viral.”

It’s an apt metaphor.

Stories don’t care if the message you wish to spread is true or not. The job of a well-told story is simply to spread the message encapsulated within it. And because stories are so powerful, a good story can inspire good people to do horrible things.

Purdue Pharmaceuticals is the now-defunct manufacturer of OxyContin, one of the highly addictive painkillers at the center of the opioid overdose epidemic. Its marketing strategy was based on an uplifting story about helping those with chronic pain get back to the life they love. This story was bolstered by countless studies, underwritten by Purdue Pharmaceuticals, that claimed the drug was effective and non addictive.

What doctor wouldn’t want to help their patients live a fuller life? What salesperson wouldn’t take pride in helping people live without pain? When the only story you hear is one where you are the hero, it’s hard not to get excited.

Stories are tools, and like all tools, they can be used to help or harm.

Not every article needs a story.

We know that stories are powerful tools, especially when you’re trying to share your message and capture the fleeting attention of your audience.

But many articles don’t need a story.

If you’ve ever looked for a recipe online, you’ve experienced the unnecessary story phenomenon.

All you want to do is make Mediterranean chicken for dinner. But to get to the recipe, you have to slog through a long, pointless story about the food blogger’s entire family, the time they spent in Greece as a college student, their son’s gluten allergy, and their super-picky daughter who, shockingly, loves this particular dish.

Sharing a story before sharing the recipe is not inherently wrong — so long as it is relevant. But many food blogs share pointless stories that are way too long in order to boost their SEO (search engine optimization).

Your reader’s time is worth more than yours.

Always.

If a story doesn’t serve your reader, if it doesn’t add real value, or worse, it detracts from the point you’re trying to make, delete it.

Stories aren’t the only way to illustrate your point.

As humans, we use storytelling to make sense of the world around us. And we’ve been telling stories for as long as we’ve had language.

We all know how to tell a story.

But today, there are countless books, articles, and businesses dedicated to the art of storytelling. You can read about the Hero’s Journey, developed by the mythologist Joseph Campbell, dive into Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework, or check out the framework promoted by the good people at Pixar. And if none of those work for you, plenty more people can teach you how to tell a good story.

But the truth is, we’ve over complicated things.

And that has created a false story about our ability to tell a good story. The fear that we aren’t telling a story the right way and the belief that we are not natural storytellers stops us from sharing our ideas, experiences, and wisdom. And that’s a disservice to those with insights to share and those who wish to learn from those insights.

If telling a story feels intimidating, try reframing it. Focus on sharing illustrative examples, scripts, or case studies that help your reader understand the point you are making in your article. Write about the client you worked with who had the same challenge you’re addressing in the article. What were they struggling with? How did you help them? What was the result? And what can your reader learn from your client’s experience?

Debra Roberts, a conversation expert, regularly writes articles for Inc.com. Because she is teaching her readers how to initiate and navigate difficult conversations, she often shares a simple script or sample dialogue to demonstrate how a conversation can escalate into an argument and how to interrupt the pattern to keep the conversation from escalating. These practical examples give her readers a place to start when fear of saying the wrong thing keeps them from engaging in critical workplace discussions.

Whether you make your point through a story, illustrative example, script, or case study, keeping the reader in mind is essential. Only use these tools when they help your reader and make it easier to understand and implement your ideas. You are writing to serve your reader. Eliminate anything that doesn’t directly serve them — even if it’s a damn good story.

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Erica Holthausen is the founder of Catchline Communications and a strategic thought partner to consultants who wish to build their authority and increase their visibility by publishing articles in industry trade journals and business magazines like Harvard Business Review, Inc., and Entrepreneur. To learn how to raise your profile, register for Pitched to Published, a free monthly Q+A focused on writing, pitching, and publishing articles.

Regardless of whether you consider yourself a writer or enjoy writing, you likely know that it takes a bit of mental equity to put pen to paper. Nowadays, not only has content remained king, but its “kingdom” continues expanding—largely fueled by drivers such as increased consumer demand and the enhanced use of artificial intelligence. As a result, consultants need to explore new avenues to work smarter and not harder while demonstrating their value.

One of our colleagues, Erica Holthausen, has written extensively on how writing can increase your credibility—a fact that writers can further monetize into additional consulting opportunities. But how can you do so efficiently without burning out? Gridding offers one plausible solution.

Gridding is a term I’ve borrowed from my journalism ventures. It describes how you can repurpose one idea, pitch, or concept without significantly increasing labor or workload.

Allow me to illustrate this concept by using an important milestone in my career as an example. In 2019, I wrote an article about sickle cell disease for the now-defunct-yet-still-highly respected Hearst media publication, O, The Oprah Magazine. At the time, the magazine was one of my dream clients.

The piece required me to identify experts and conduct a great deal of research to write the article. Ultimately, I had amassed far more information than I could include into an article of ~1,000 words—regardless of how concisely I wrote. Determined not to let those unpaid labor hours and omitted content go to waste, I pitched concepts based on the unused information to additional publications and organizations that might find it of value.

Doing so successfully required me to understand how to tailor my language and concepts to each organization’s perceived needs. For example, Oprah Magazine was a consumer magazine read by primarily women between 40 and 60 years of age. While the audience included professionals and people of affluence, most readers had limited backgrounds in science or medicine.

Therefore, I had to simplify my writing and focus only on information the readers would find relevant. Any other information was omitted (and I had quite a bit of it). I used the excised information to pitch various on the same topic tailored to medical trade journals. Because those audiences comprised medical professionals, I wrote my pitches (and subsequent articles) using sophisticated jargon typically used in the scientific community. Doing so increased the likelihood the editors would accept my pitches by demonstrating that I understood how to engage their target audience. And, of course, sharing that I’d previously covered the topic demonstrated my credibility and the newsworthiness of the piece.

One of my pitches focused on the ethnic idiosyncrasies associated with sickle cell disease, as it typically affects communities of color. Another article addressed issues with medication access, as the three new medications that the Food and Drug Administration had approved for sickle cell disease that year bore six-figure price tags.

Ultimately, I placed three additional pieces on this topic in separate publications. Not only did this more than quadruple my revenue from what began as a single article, but my increased familiarity with the topic allowed me to write faster and with greater authority. I could pull unused content from interviews, research, and content without doing much additional work beyond writing the article. The pieces also expanded my influence. One reader, who happened to be on faculty at the State University of New York (SUNY), invited me to speak at a global health panel hosted at her institution.

For all its glory, gridding does come with one important caveat. Some writing and consulting projects may have contractual stipulations in which the client claims ownership of all materials created. So, the prudent consultant must review the contract or consult an attorney before making that content work harder. In my case, Hearst required that I receive permission to use unused material, and I was fortunate. Not only was the editor on board, but she showed genuine interest in knowing what other organizations published my articles and the extent of their influence.

That said, gridding definitely gives more weight to the saying, “The riches are in the niches,” doesn’t it?

Frieda Wiley, PharmD is the founder of Medvon Media and Consulting, LLC, an communications and strategic consulting firm. An award-winning writer, best-selling author, ghostwriter, and speaker, her client history includes O, The Oprah Magazine, WebMD, the National Institutes of Health, Pfizer, Merck, and many other notable organizations. Her book, Breaking Crazy: Working From Home Without Losing Your Marbles, is available through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and wherever else books are sold. 

You pick-up the phone and hear…

​“I was referred to you. I understand you are the expert, the Go-To-Person. I believe you might be able to help me.”

​As you listen your face lights up. You get off the phone. You are ecstatic. The person who called understood your focus, that one thing for which are known and the person who referred you understood your expertise. That is GREAT!

​Has this ever happened to you?

​*****

I love it when a client calls to say it has happened to them. I can hear the joy in their voice and their face is glowing. They talk about how easy the conversation was and how the next steps include a discussion about a consulting opportunity.

The first step to becoming a successful “go to” consultant is having clarity as to your WHAT, for want you want to be known, and WHY, the reason for doing what you do.

Determining your focus requires self-reflecting, assessing, and evaluating you in three areas:

• Understanding who you are and what matters to you.
• Leveraging your experience, expertise, and strengthens.
• Determining what a client needs, desires, and open to paying for assistance.

Determining your FOCUS, your What and Why, is a balancing act.

*****

But before I discuss each in more detail, let me clarify what I mean by FOCUS.

Focus is your consulting business’ FOUNDATION.

Think about the foundation as the base of a house. Getting the foundation right occurs before a builder can add the frame, roof, and windows. If the foundation is not properly set, the overall structure is weakened.

The same holds true when establishing a consultancy. You want ensure the foundation, your focus, is solid because it impacts just about every major decision you make within your business starting with how you define and find an ideal client to engaging with and building long-term client relationships. Clarity as to your focus helps you find people who want to work with you and for whom you want to serve.

Get you focus right and you can soar. Get it wrong and it is very possible you will struggle or even fail.

*****

When I started my own business, my focus was too board. I was considered the Jack of all Trades, the Master of None. I heard comments such as you have a great business plan; with your experience and expertise you wouldn’t have any problems; and you might want to connect with a ___________ (fill in the blank).

Looking back, I wish someone had pulled me aside and offered hard love questioning my focus because my focus was not that one thing that would make me soar.

Overtime I narrowed my focus down to an area of information technology for which I knew people needed and wanted assistance. I knew they were willing to pay for help but there was one problem. It was not an area of information technology that I enjoyed.

My internal compass was not aligned with the external need and no matter how hard I tried my heart wasn’t into it. There was no joy in running the business.

It took me time to get my focus right. I wish I could say I was unique but I am not. Many consultants struggle with clarifying their focus.

*****

Below is an approach to help you clarify your FOCUS – your What and Why. It is the approach I discuss in the Consulting Mastery program. It is an approach that requires you to self-reflect, assess, and evaluate.

Start by understanding who you are and what matters to you. This requires you to

• assess who you are and want to be,
• evaluate what matters to you and is important to you, and
• determine the effect you want to leave on others

You define who you are not only based on what you have done in the past professionally and personally but also based on what you want your life to look like in the future.

You evaluate what you like as well as dislike to do. Ask yourself what lights up your face when you talk about it. People say to me that when I talk about helping people become successful consultants, my face lights up.

You contemplate how you define success, success on your terms, not someone else’s. So often we define our success based on someone else’s definition.

Understand You is all about you. This is “Your Zone.” It is where everything seems just right for you. Life feels and is comfortable.

*****

Next Build on You. This is not about reinventing who you are. Rather it is about building on what you have already done. Many of us have done things because we needed to do them or people expected us to fill certain roles. As you assess your experiences, expertise, and strengths, you may need to change your mindset.

Start building on you by assessing your professional and personal experiences. Highlight what experiences brought you joy as well as those that you wish you never experienced.

Evaluate your expertise. Has someone put you on a pedestal because of your expertise? If so, why? You might be surprised to learn that the place on the pedestal, is an area you have never considered.

Finally, assess your strengths. You want to leverage your strengths and place your weaknesses on the sideline.

Don’t be surprised if you experience an “aha” moment as you evaluate your experiences, expertise, and strengths. The first time I seriously evaluated them, I did.

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Finally, evaluate the Demand and Desire. It identifies what people are open and willing to pay to get your assistance. It is a merger of their need and want. The easiest way to illustrate this area is to describe a scenario which I’ve encountered several times and you may have as well.

During a meeting, a person describes something that they would like or they want. They continue by saying they really need that something and provide a reason. However, the more you dive down and discuss that like, that want, and their need, you realize they are never going to be open to paying for any assistance. You might even realize they will never do anything. There is a need and a want, but no demand and desire to pay.

*****

The Small Sliver

​After assessing you, evaluating your experiences, expertise and strengths, and the demand and desire of people, combine your findings. Evaluate everything and look for areas of overlap and mergers. Keep evaluating until you find a point where all three intersect. This intersection is a small sliver of everything you have reflected on and evaluated.

This point, this small sliver, is where you will find your FOCUS.

*****​

Key: You could end up with several “things” in that small sliver. If that is the case, and that is common, ask yourself what are you most interested in. Often what you are most interested in is the problem you want to solve or the problem you solved for you.

If you follow this approach, can I guarantee that you will get your focus right the first time? No, I can’t. But I can guarantee you will be closer to determining a focus that you will enjoy, built on who you are, your experiences, expertise, and strengths, and it iwll be something for which people not only need assistance but for which they are will pay.

What I can ensure is that by following this approach will move you closer to determining that one thing for which you become known as the expert or the "Go To" person.

Sara Blakely said it well,

​“Differentiate yourself. Why are you different? What’s important about you? Why does the customer need you?”

My question for you: Do you have clarity as to the one thing for which you want to be known?

*****

Laura Burford helps solo-consultants create sustainable consulting businesses. She is the founder of Laura’s Consulting Guide and the creator of the Consultant's Blueprint and Consulting Mastery program. Check out her YouTube channel and sign-up for Consulting Insights newsletter.