"I don't know what makes you different"

Solving The Consultant's Biggest Problem

I spent my first year as a consultant chasing every opportunity that came my way. I'd meet potential clients and struggle to explain what made me different from other consultants. My pitch changed with each conversation.

I needed to find a consistent way to talk about my work.

That's when I realized I needed a consulting story: a clear narrative about who I am, what I do, and why I'm uniquely qualified to help my clients.

I want to share how I developed mine, using my work with Saidin Strategies as an example of the process I followed.

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Starting With Self-Discovery

I began by listing everything I'd accomplished in my career to find patterns. I wrote down metrics, achievements, and experiences without filtering. This became my personal inventory.

For my consulting company Saidin Strategies, this inventory included leadership metrics like overseeing a $70M budget and hundreds of employees, or retaining 92% of the people I directly managed. It included revenue impacts like generating $15M+ in new net revenue. It included entrepreneurial achievements like raising $3M+ in growth capital for social impact businesses.

I didn't know which parts mattered most yet. I just collected everything.

Then I looked for themes. What story did these accomplishments tell? What made my journey unique?

Finding My Narrative Pillars

After reviewing my inventory, I noticed three themes emerging. I had deep sector expertise, entrepreneurial experience, and a focus on practical implementation. These became my narrative pillars – the foundation of my consulting story:

1. My proven leadership experience in NGOs

2. My entrepreneurial credibility from founding successful ventures

3. My ability to bridge high-level strategy with ground-level implementation

These pillars connected directly to what my clients needed. They explained why I could help in ways others couldn't.

I settled on a company logo after about 6 months of work on my brand and story

Building Value Propositions That Matter

With my narrative pillars identified, I needed to translate them into clear value propositions. What specific problems could I solve? Why was I uniquely qualified to solve them?

I found it helpful to use a simple framework:

• Define the client problem

• Articulate my solution

• Explain my unique qualification

• Provide supporting evidence

• Show concrete results

For example, one of my value propositions at Saidin is "Strategic Planning with Implementation Focus." The problem I address is that organizations struggle to execute strategic plans. My solution combines high-level vision with ground-level execution. My qualification comes from 15 years of NGO leadership experience. My evidence includes frameworks still in use today. My results include growing net revenue by $15M+ through strategy implementation.

I tested each value proposition by asking: Can I prove it? Is it distinctive? Does it matter to clients? Can I deliver it consistently?

Gathering Evidence

A story without evidence is just a nice fiction. I needed to back up my claims with proof.

I collected quantifiable achievements, client success stories, testimonials, and examples of my thought leadership. Each piece of evidence needed to support my core story and demonstrate real impact.

For Saidin, this evidence included specific metrics like increasing annual gross revenue by $25M in a previous role. It included the development of frameworks like my Management Involvement Matrix. It included examples of client engagements like strategic communications support for environmental organizations.

This evidence made my story credible. It transformed abstract claims into concrete proof.

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Refining My Market Position

With my story and value propositions in place, I needed to define where and how I compete in the marketplace. This meant making choices about whom I serve and how I serve them.

I positioned Saidin at the intersection of strategic vision and practical implementation for mission-driven organizations. I didn't try to serve all consulting needs or all types of clients. I made strategic choices that aligned with my expertise and market opportunities.

I couldn't be everything to everyone. I needed to focus on the clients and problems where my story and value propositions gave me a genuine advantage.

Putting It All Together

The final step was packaging everything into materials I could use with clients. This included an executive summary, core story narrative, value proposition statements, case studies, and descriptions of my methodologies.

I created standard documents I could customize for different situations. I developed a consistent approach to sales conversations and proposal development. I built processes for onboarding clients and delivering services that aligned with my story.

Most importantly, I made sure everything connected. My website, LinkedIn profile, proposal templates, and client conversations all reflected the same core story and value propositions.

The Impact on My Business

Developing a clear consulting story transformed my practice in several important ways:

• More focused client targeting - I stopped chasing every opportunity and focused on clients where my unique value proposition resonated most strongly

• Higher conversion rates - When prospects understood my specific expertise and how it applied to their challenges, they were more likely to engage my services

• Premium pricing - A distinctive position allowed me to command higher rates than generalist consultants

• More referrals - Clients could clearly articulate what made me different, making it easier for them to refer me to others

• Greater confidence - Having a well-defined story eliminated the anxiety of "reinventing" myself in every client conversation

Overcoming Common Challenges

The process wasn't without difficulties. Some common challenges I faced included:

• Fear of specialization - Worrying that a focused story would limit opportunities

• Imposter syndrome - Questioning whether my experience truly qualified me as an expert

• Difficulty seeing my own value - Struggling to identify what made my approach unique

• Resistance to self-promotion - Feeling uncomfortable highlighting my achievements

I overcame these challenges by focusing on how my story served clients rather than promoted myself. I realized that clarity about my expertise actually helped clients make better decisions about whether I was the right fit for their needs.

A Living Story

My consulting story keeps evolving as I grow and as market needs change. I review it regularly to ensure it still reflects my best offering to clients.

What I've learned through this process is that a compelling consulting story starts with understanding the unique value you bring and communicating it clearly and consistently.

I'd love to hear how you've developed your own consulting story. What challenges have you faced? What approaches have worked for you?

All the best,

Sam