Are you sure a prospect will hire you, based on what they read?

You’ve got a great team in your corner. Let’s assume that. But if a potential client is shopping your firm against others, do you have the biographical edge that translates into their confidence—and your bookings? The “About Us” page on any website is guaranteed to be read by a potential customer, and the bios of you and your team must shine. Here are some tips for getting the job done right:

Consider the context. Prospective clients read bios as a part of their due diligence. But they don’t just want to know you’re qualified; they want to be impressed. And never forget that they’re, ultimately, comparing your team to another’s. This is where breadth and depth come into play. The bigger your firm, the more important the breadth. But if you’re a boutique shop—a specialist—this is your chance—indeed, your opportunity—to show off. The more you can focus on the type of potential client who will be reading this, the better you can empathize, and cast each team member’s story in its most favorable light. Don't try to be all things to all people. That will backfire.

Answer the reader’s questions. Sure, they’re tacit, but they’re not hard to deduce, so make sure you address them:

• Do you know your stuff?
• Are you a thought leader?
• What prestigious brands/accounts have you worked on?
• What big numbers/results have you helped your clients achieve?
• What awards have you won?
• Why would you be an ideal fit with the client’s team and culture?

Interview your subjects. It might sound silly to suggest interviewing people you already know well, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll unearth when you do. Start, of course, with their basic CV/LinkedIn profile, so you’re up to speed on the basics before the interview. But then probe from there. For example, ask open-ended questions such as, “Did you always want to do this? What did you want to be when you were a kid? What’s your favorite part of this job? What was your proudest accomplishment since you got here? What do you do when you’re not working? What’s something that people don’t know about you?” You’ll get interesting answers. Your subjects will be flattered that you care about these details. And you’ll find info that’s not on LinkedIn or in a resume. Most importantly, you’ll be able to paint a better verbal portrait of that person’s great personality, which is something your reader will want to understand.

Do it right. Book the interviews and set aside time on the calendar to do them. Take good notes—or even designate someone else to take them while you do the interview. And/or you can record the conversation. That’s up to you. And if your bio needs to be written, have someone else interview you.

Be a good interviewer. Don’t dominate. Ask just a few questions. Take your time: some subjects like to think a little before answering, so let them. In a good interview, they’ll be doing most of the talking, not you. Aside from “How would you describe your job at this company?” you may have noted a mere six questions in that earlier paragraph. You don’t need much more.

Find the thread. After you’re done interviewing, re-read your notes and compare them to the original input material (CV, LinkedIn, etc.) you’d received. You’re going to have way more information than you need; your job now is to find those few great “nuggets” that make that person unique and interesting, and their story compelling. Highlight/underline/cull those parts; those are the bones of your bio.

Tell the story. “Story” is the important word here. Your reader/prospective client is reading this bio because he or she believes, rightly, that he or she needs to. But they don’t expect it to be fun. So surprise them. Make it fun. It’s perfectly fine to open with a teaser, such as “When Jane Smith started working here, she thought she would be a [MENIAL JOB], and not end up the [KILLER DESCRIPTION OF THE ROLE SHE PLAYS NOW].”

Hit the mandatories. Awards won, professional associations, licenses, certifications, publications, etc. They’re important—but frankly, they’re not very exciting reading. Consider setting them as a bullet list or inset box, just so the reader can see them and be impressed, even if just skimming.

Shorter is way better. Remember your reader: They just want/need to be impressed, and quickly. They don't want to read an entire Wikipedia article. Plus consider these two arguments for brevity: 1) the fewer the words, the denser the accomplishments, and 2) shorter reads better on a phone screen.

Be consistent. We’ve seen potentially good websites taken down a peg simply by the inconsistency of the team bios. Don’t make that easy mistake. Look at it, again, from the reader’s point of view. They may click and read one bio in detail, then click a few others and skim… you can’t be sure. But you can be sure that if your bios aren’t congruent in terms of structure, style, voice, and personality, it will damage your credibility, your brand, and your chances. One exception: Your top team leaders can get longer bios than supporting staff. That should be obvious. But they still needn’t be novellas.

Even the bio photos should look consistent, as if they were all done at the same photo shoot. A cheap trick: If you’re stuck with disparate photos and no budget, convert them all to black-and-white, or use the same filter on them all. It can save you in a pinch.

Button with the personal. Save the fun tidbits/hobbies/spouse-and-kids for the end. Your reader wants facts first. But, believe it or not, they want this info, too. Why? They want to know that your people will be fun to work with. Yes, “fun” and “work” in the same sentence. They’re the client; you’re the vendor. Make their life better. Make them eager to work with your team. It may well be the razor-edge difference that makes them choose you over a competitor.

Consider getting help. Writing bios is, frankly, harder than it looks. A well-crafted bio is fun to read and compelling, leaving you both satisfied and excited about the prospect of working with that person. But it also requires time and effort, not to mention skills you may not possess. If you find the prospect daunting, or simply want to keep your time free for core activities, consider bringing in expert help. The results will be the best you can get, and the investment will pay strong dividends. Contact us and let’s get a quote in your hands. 

How do the top pros overload their plates—and hold down the fort?

It’s the classic Superman dilemma: Despite all his formidable powers, the Man of Steel simply can’t disarm a hydrogen bomb in Los Angeles, and catch Lois Lane as she plummets off the Eiffel Tower… at the same time.

How do you solve such Kryptonic conundrums? More importantly, how do the top solopractitioners and boutique firms successfully juggle far more than their own weight in terms of client load, locations, hours, and deliverables? If success is tied to scale, then this ability is an essential prerequisite. And aside from cloning yourself (yet another fantasy movie), your options may seem limited.

Fortunately for you, this code has already been cracked. Here are some best-practice pointers for increasing your billing without increasing your stress—or opening cracks for things to fall through:

Beat the clock(s). This is one of those so-simple-that-too-many-people-miss-it tips. In today’s instantly connected world, clients often span multiple time zones beyond your own. This can really amp up the pressure on you to meet impossible deadlines… only if you let it. Turn the tables—and the clocks—in your favor. Just as easily as different time zones can be your enemy, let them be your friend. Let’s say you’re on the east coast, three hours ahead of your west coast client. They want something by end of day today. You could sweat and work until nine o’clock at night, Eastern time, or you could simply ask them, “How would you like this in your in-box when you walk in in the morning?” The important thing is essentially re-defining “end of day.” If they want something when they’re leaving, it's the same as getting it the next morning. This, naturally buys you another three hours of stress-free time to work, including until noon the next day.

Let’s flip the scenario—and the coasts—and see how it still works: Now you work in L.A., and your client is in New York. Your client—now three hours ahead of you—wants something by his/her end of day. Even if they ask you late in their day—say, noon Eastern time—you’re ahead of the game, because it’s still only 9 a.m. in L.A. Again, the trick is to ask “How would you like this in your in-box when you walk in in the morning?” This way, you can comfortably work until the end of your day (which probably goes until 9 p.m. Eastern time, way after your client has left the office); you still got the extra three hours out of the time zone difference.

Obviously, this same trick works across continents, not just the continental U.S. And it doesn’t take much creativity to see how it applies to actual travel time/time-in-transit (for you or your client), too. But the common thread is how you approach the challenge, and how you couch and re-define the deadline, up front, to your client. It’s the exact opposite of sweating it out or—worse—begging for more time as the deadline looms.

Prioritize. Carve out a little time for yourself and jot down a list of all the things you do in a given day or week. Or simply look at your past week’s calendar, if you’re already keeping track. Which of those to-do’s are ones for which you, yourself, are absolutely indispensable and irreplaceable? Hint: It’s not all of them, that’s for sure. Your highest priorities are your face-time and phone-time (and Skype time/whatever time) with your clients. Also, what are the things that you simply enjoy doing the most? Be selfish; it’s an important part of this exercise. Similarly, your lowest priorities (you mean you haven’t yet found a dry cleaner that offers pickup and delivery?) have no place on your calendar. Cut ‘em.

But once you’ve culled those two extremes, you’re left in a tantalizing middle ground. (Or limbo. Or DMZ!) This is where you can make the leap from Smallville to Metropolis. You need to let go, and entrust someone else to do them. Some things may be pretty obvious: If you’re still trying to do your own taxes with some off-the-shelf software, hire an accountant. But other things—other essential things—may not seem so obvious to you. How much time, for example, do you currently spend on proposals? Presentations? SME interviews? Whitepapers? Session pre-reads?

Let go. All of those deliverables bear your stamp, and your brand. But they don’t necessarily require 100 percent of your time. They do require your ideas. But why play the perfectionist while paying the opportunity cost in terms of both clients and prospects left un-met and un-served?

The world’s top consultants figured this out a long time ago. If they’re big enough (think McKinsey or BCG), they’ve built entire back-office operations to silently support their front-line consultants. But you don’t have to be that big to appear that big. The right combination of your expertise and input, along with a trusted professional who can partner with you, under cover of your NDA, on the deliverables, will pay tremendous dividends in terms of your productivity, profits, and peace of mind. You’d be pleasantly surprised to discover just how much you can offload--while boosting your brand image at the same time.

What’s better, the process gets even faster and more efficient as it goes. Once you forge a partner-like relationship with a trusted resource, you’ll both crest the learning curve of getting to know each other, and details such as your IP, your preferred methods of communicating, your clients’ predilections, etc., will all become second nature. Email and phone makes all of this ridiculously easy to accomplish.

Think of Elvis. Put it this way: When Elvis Presley first started out, he’d lug his own gear and tune his own guitar. When he became a worldwide phenomenon, he didn’t have to do any of that anymore. But he was still Elvis. The same applies to you. Be a rock star. Get the support you need and start building.

A shameless plug. If you’re wondering how we got so many insights on the topics above, it’s because we’ve been part of that exact process for so many top consultants over the years. We bring to the table the unique combination of consulting, marketing, and creative skills which have let us help independent consultants and boutiques to overload their plates for more than 15 years. Best of all, we’re fast, efficient, and surprisingly affordable, given the value we provide. Contact us right now and let’s talk about growing your business as quickly and efficiently as possible.