We attended the HECA annual conference in Long Beach, CA this year and had some excellent conversations with a side of southern California sun. Something that we found interesting was the volume of conversations happening among peers and in sessions that centered on how to expand your independent consulting business.
This being our first experience at HECA, we anticipated the usual conference discussions about new policies at schools or sharing a few things from a recent campus visit that were intriguing. Much to our surprise, there were so many generous conversations related to how small businesses have grown into groups and practices serving dozens of students at each grade level. At TestRocker, we can relate and have crossed a lot of the same bridges that you have. It's for that reason, we wanted to share some ideas on how to grow your business. Some of these ideas we got from consultants at the conference and others are practices we have stumbled upon as we grew our business from 1 country to 36 countries!
Without further ado, here are 3 ways to grow your educational consulting business.
1. Think outside the box for referrals.
There are many people in a student's life from family to teachers and coaches. Finding contacts in unique ways can not only be untapped wells, but also create helpful relationships with influencers in a student's life.
Is there an employer in the community that gives out internships to high school students? Are there Meetup groups in your area where you can not only engage with a hobby of yours, but also find parents of students with similar interests? What are students doing after school other than the traditional activities like sports, band or clubs? There are many organizations that offer non-traditional after school experiences now.
After coming up with your new ideas for reaching students, contact the necessary person in charge of that organization or event. Then explain how you can help them and vice-versa to help services for services. It works like a charm.
2. Use social media appropriately & effectively.
There's no doubt that social media plays a big part in every business now. It doesn't matter what the demographic is, there's a way to effectively use social media. It's especially influential to a teenage and parent demographic. Using social media can bring in new clients or keep existing clients. The best part about it: for the most part, it's free!
There are two key parts to social media marketing.
1. What social media outlets to use.
2. How to use social media to impact your business.
There's a lot to discuss on this topic. To get actionable ideas on how to grow your business with social media click here.
3. Adding Complimentary Services
Add complimentary services to generate additional revenue without changing the time you spend on regular counseling activities. By partnering with complimentary services, you generate additional revenue with the same amount of effort.
Obviously, it should mirror the same high level of customer service that you provide in your practice as well as be a trusted resource on whatever piece of the process you are helping with, from test prep and interview prep. It's just easier to sell a full service product than have potential clients spending additional time shopping instead of making a decision and getting to work sooner.
TestRocker is a perfect example of a service that operates on a similar timeline that you you'll inevitably address in conversations with your students anyway. College entrance exams are our specialty and we've been working with consultants and their students for over 5 years now, so we know the level of service that is required when you refer students to work with us.I'd love to tell you more about how we can support your practice as a complimentary service. Let's start with a quick 15 minute demo of the program so you can see how it works.
