Consultants and firms that operate in that fascinating niche of (virtually exclusive) business development through referrals and recommendations are uniquely positioned for explosive growth... with the help of their website and online presence. Business development is powered by the cumulative strength of these ambassadors (the person referring, the quality of your previous work, your website, your blog...). The stronger the recommendation and then follow up validation, the more likely a higher value engagement will ensue - isn't this a wonderfully potent equation?

Your prospective client is seeking an ambassador to educate them - make no mistake, you are being sought after, investigated, and discovered. We see this frequently in our work; the emphasis is on the quality of the visitor – the expectation and intent is that prospective clients are current visitors; not random riff-raff stumbling in. Ultimately, we call this type of cornerstone website a 'destination website;' and its importance in validating and speaking for you should not be ignored. Your new clients are literally typing in yourwebsite.com - and they are expecting to confirm (and thus validate) the important things they've already heard.

As an ambassador, the destination website seeks to de-commoditize and uniquely position the firm / consultant; meeting the (typically high or senior level) professional on their level. Language, message, offerings. . . the whole gamut need to be calculated, tuned, and coordinated for maximum effectiveness.

Does your website:

1. Clearly state that you provide results, regardless of how you do it.
2. Create an emotional connection between your brand (whether it’s your person or your position) and your prospective client?
3. Immediately impress upon your visitor the wide range of engagement offerings (from free resources to your most lucrative engagements).
4. Validate your experience with ‘hard to ignore’ cues, such as: testimonials, a selection of well known clients, upcoming high value teleseminars or workshops, etc.
5. Offer portals to specific areas of interest so that the prospective client can immediately dig into what they’re looking for without having to search for it.

How strong is your online ambassador?