Your Competitive Playbook - How You'll Win

Having advantages doesn't automatically translate into winning. You need a deliberate approach to using those advantages in the market. Without a playbook, you'll rely on instinct alone — and while your instincts are probably good, instinct without structure leads to inconsistency.

Here's the playbook that works for expertise-based consulting businesses built by industry veterans. It's not theory — it's what actually works when you're converting years of industry experience into a sustainable business.

Step 1: Niche Down Deeply

The single most powerful thing you can do to compete is to narrow your focus. This is counterintuitive — it feels like you're leaving money on the table. But narrowing your focus actually accelerates your growth, because it makes you the obvious expert in your space.

Here's the hierarchy of specificity:

• "I help businesses" — You're invisible. No one is searching for generic "business help."
• "I help healthcare companies" — Better, but you're still one of thousands.
• "I help healthcare startups" — Now we're getting somewhere. This is a definable audience.
• "I help healthcare startups navigate HIPAA compliance" — Now you're the expert. When someone has this specific problem, you're the first call.

The narrower you go, the more obvious it is that you're the expert. And the more obvious it is that you're the expert, the easier every part of your business becomes — finding clients, closing deals, setting prices, getting referrals.

How Narrow Is Too Narrow?

A niche is too narrow if it doesn't have enough potential clients to sustain your business. Here's a quick test: can you name at least 100 companies or individuals who have the problem you solve? If yes, your niche is big enough. If no, you might need to broaden slightly.

But here's the thing — most people err on the side of too broad, not too narrow. In my experience, 90% of new consultants need to go narrower, not broader.

Real-world example: Tom was a displaced IT director from a large insurance company. He initially positioned himself as an "IT consultant" — and got zero traction. Then he narrowed to "IT strategy for mid-size insurance companies." Within two months, he had three clients. The market he thought was too small was actually perfectly sized — he just needed to be specific enough for the right people to find him.

Step 2: Go Deep Before Going Broad

Before you try to expand your services or reach new markets, go deep in your niche first. Become known as the go-to person for one specific thing. Depth creates reputation. Reputation creates referrals. Referrals create growth.

This means resisting the temptation to say yes to everything. When a client asks you to do something outside your niche, you have two options:

1. Refer them to someone else. This builds goodwill and positions you as a connector — someone who knows the right people for every problem.
2. Do it, but don't market it. It's fine to take on adjacent work occasionally, but don't dilute your positioning by advertising that you do everything.

The "depth first, breadth later" approach works because expertise is more valuable when it's concentrated. A doctor who's "pretty good at everything" is less valuable than a surgeon who's world-class at one procedure. The same applies to consulting.

The Depth Progression

Here's what "going deep" looks like over your first 18 months:

• Months 1-3: You deliver your core service to your first 2-3 clients. You're learning what works, what doesn't, and what clients actually value most.
• Months 4-6: You refine your delivery. Your process is getting smoother. You know exactly what a typical engagement looks like and how long it takes.
• Months 7-12: You've done enough engagements to see patterns. You know the common mistakes clients make, the typical timeline for results, and the key moments that determine success or failure.
• Months 13-18: You're now the expert. You can diagnose problems quickly, predict outcomes accurately, and deliver results consistently. Your reputation in the niche is growing.

This depth creates a moat that generalist competitors can't cross. They might be able to do what you do, but they can't do it as fast, as consistently, or as confidently. And clients can tell the difference.

Step 3: Build Community Within Your Niche

The most powerful thing you can do for long-term competitiveness is to become a connector — someone who introduces your clients to each other, runs a community group, or creates a space where people in your niche come together. When you're the center of that community, you're the first call when someone needs help.

Here's why community is such a powerful competitive strategy:

• It makes you the hub. When information, connections, and opportunities all flow through you, you have more visibility into what's happening in your niche than anyone else.
• It creates switching costs. Clients who are part of your community aren't just buying a service — they're part of a network. Leaving you means leaving the network, which is much harder than just switching consultants.
• It generates referrals naturally. When community members talk to each other about their challenges, your name comes up organically. You don't have to ask for referrals — they happen as a byproduct of the connections you've created.

Ways to Build Community

You don't need to build a massive community. Even a small, focused group can be enormously valuable:

• Monthly virtual roundtable: Invite 8-12 people in your niche to a monthly video call where they discuss common challenges. You facilitate, share insights, and position yourself as the expert in the room.
• LinkedIn group or Slack channel: Create a private space where people in your niche can connect, share information, and ask questions.
• Quarterly in-person meetup: If your niche is geographically concentrated, hosting a quarterly breakfast or happy hour creates real relationships.
• Annual survey or report: Survey people in your niche, compile the results, and publish an annual report. This positions you as the person who understands the niche better than anyone.

Real-world example: Alicia, a former HR director in financial services, started a monthly Zoom roundtable for HR leaders at mid-size fintech companies. Within six months, she had 25 regular attendees. Three of those attendees became clients. Four more referred her to other companies. The roundtable cost her two hours a month and generated more than $120K in revenue over the next year.

Step 4: Share Knowledge Publicly

Write LinkedIn posts. Speak at industry events. Start a newsletter for people in your niche. Creating useful, free content builds your reputation faster than almost any other strategy. It attracts people who already want what you offer.

But there's a right way and a wrong way to share knowledge:

The Right Way

• Be specific. "5 HIPAA Compliance Mistakes That Cost Healthcare Startups $100K+" is better than "Tips for Healthcare Compliance."
• Share real insights. Don't write generic advice. Share the specific, counterintuitive things you've learned from years in the industry. The stuff that makes people say, "I never thought about it that way."
• Tell stories. People remember stories more than bullet points. Share anonymized examples from your career — the project that went sideways, the problem that seemed unsolvable until you tried a different approach, the client who achieved unexpected results.
• Be consistent. One post per week is more valuable than a burst of 10 posts followed by three months of silence. Consistency builds an audience.

The Wrong Way

• Being too generic. "Leadership is important" adds no value. Be specific or don't post.
• Being too salesy. If every post ends with "DM me to work together," you'll lose your audience. Give value freely and the business will follow.
• Being too theoretical. Your audience wants practical advice, not academic frameworks. Tell them what to do, not what to think about.

Content Ideas That Work

Here are 10 content topics that reliably perform well for expertise-based consultants:

1. "The biggest mistake I see [your niche] making with [your topic]"
2. "What I wish I'd known about [industry challenge] when I started"
3. "A client came to me with [problem]. Here's what we did and the result"
4. "3 things about [your topic] that most people in [industry] get wrong"
5. "The difference between companies that succeed at [your topic] and those that don't"
6. "A counterintuitive lesson from my [X years] in [industry]"
7. "The question I get asked most often by [your niche] — and my honest answer"
8. "What changed when a client finally [took the action you recommend]"
9. "If I were starting [your service] today, here's exactly what I'd do"
10. "The hidden cost of not addressing [the problem you solve]"

Step 5: Deliver Results, Then Ask for Referrals

The most underused growth strategy is also the most effective: do great work, then explicitly ask your happy clients to introduce you to others. Most clients are happy to refer you. They just need to be asked.

Here's the specific process:

1. Deliver a clear win. Before asking for a referral, make sure the client has experienced a tangible result from your work. They need to feel good about what you've accomplished together.
2. Name the moment. When the client expresses satisfaction — "This is exactly what we needed" or "I can't believe how much progress we've made" — that's the moment to ask.
3. Be specific in your ask. Don't say, "Do you know anyone who could use my help?" Instead, say, "Do you know any other [specific type of company] that might be dealing with [specific problem]? I'd love an introduction."
4. Make it easy. Offer to draft the introduction email for them. The less work they have to do, the more likely they'll follow through.
5. Follow up. If they say "Let me think about it," follow up a week later with a gentle reminder.

The math on referrals is remarkable: If each client refers you to one new client, and each of those clients refers you to one more, your client base doubles with every generation of referrals. Even if only half of referrals convert, you're growing 50% with each cycle — with zero marketing cost.

Step 6: Raise Prices as Demand Grows

One of the clearest signals that you're building real competitive advantage is that demand starts to outpace your available time. When that happens, raise prices. Higher prices signal higher value and often attract better clients.

Here's a pricing progression that works for most expertise-based consultants:

• Starting rate: Slightly below market to attract your first clients and build a track record. If market rate for your niche is $200/hour, start at $150-175.
• After 5 clients: Raise to market rate. You now have proof that you deliver results.
• After 15 clients: Raise above market rate. Your track record, reputation, and specialized expertise justify premium pricing.
• After 25+ clients: You should be in the top tier of pricing for your niche. At this point, your track record, reputation, and depth of expertise make you the premium choice.

Important: Don't raise prices on existing clients without advance notice and justification. The standard approach is to grandfather existing clients at their current rate for a period (6-12 months) while applying new rates to new clients.

Why Price Increases Actually Help You

Higher prices don't just mean more revenue. They also:

• Attract better clients. People who pay premium prices tend to be more committed, more respectful of your time, and more likely to implement your advice.
• Reduce overwhelm. If you can make the same revenue from fewer clients, you have more time to deliver great work and more energy to invest in business development.
• Signal expertise. In consulting, higher prices are actually a credibility signal. Clients often assume that higher-priced consultants are better — and they're usually right.

Step 7: Add Services Strategically

Once you've mastered your core service and built a reliable client base, look for the next adjacent problem your clients have. This is how you grow from one service to a full practice — by solving the next problem your clients already trust you to solve.

The key word here is adjacent. Don't jump to an unrelated service. Instead, look for the natural next step:

• If you help with compliance, the adjacent problem might be training staff on compliance procedures.
• If you help with operations, the adjacent problem might be implementing the technology that supports those operations.
• If you help with strategy, the adjacent problem might be coaching the leadership team to execute the strategy.

How to Identify Adjacent Services

Ask your existing clients: "What's the next problem you're going to have to deal with after we've solved this one?" Their answers will tell you exactly what services to add.

You can also look at what happens to your clients after they've worked with you. What do they need next? What do they struggle with? Where do they go for help that you could provide?

Real-world example: Rachel started as a cybersecurity compliance consultant for financial services firms. After several engagements, she noticed that every client struggled with the same downstream problem: training their employees on the new security procedures. She added a training service, which was a natural extension of her compliance work. The training service now generates 40% of her revenue.

Exercise: Rate Your Competitive Playbook

Rate yourself 1-5 on each of the seven steps above:

1. Niche Down Deeply — How specific is your focus? (1 = very broad, 5 = very narrow)
2. Go Deep Before Going Broad — Are you resisting the temptation to expand too early? (1 = saying yes to everything, 5 = laser-focused)
3. Build Community — Are you creating connections within your niche? (1 = working in isolation, 5 = community hub)
4. Share Knowledge Publicly — Are you consistently creating content? (1 = not at all, 5 = weekly)
5. Deliver Results and Ask for Referrals — Are you actively generating referrals? (1 = never ask, 5 = systematic process)
6. Raise Prices — Are your prices reflecting your growing expertise? (1 = still at starting rate, 5 = premium pricing)
7. Add Services Strategically — Are you expanding based on client needs? (1 = still one service, 5 = strategic service portfolio)

Which areas scored lowest? Pick the weakest area and write down one specific action you'll take this week to improve it. Small, consistent improvements in each area will compound into a formidable competitive position over time.