How to Build Leverage

Techniques you can apply as an independent security professional to build leverage in your business and maximise the potential for growth.

5 min read · Written by Grant Rayner on 24 May 2023

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When designing your business as an independent security professional, it’s important to consider how you can effectively leverage your time, resources, technology, and professional network. Without leverage, you’ll be stuck trading time for money, and your revenue will be constrained. Building leverage is not only the key to growing your business but also the key to ensuring you’re able to live a meaningful life alongside that business.

Applying Leverage Across the Value Chain

A useful method to determine how to apply leverage in your business is to break down the “value chain” and apply leverage across different aspects of it. The term “value chain” refers to the series of activities that businesses go through to provide a product or service to their customers. In the context of delivering security services, a typical value chain might include the following activities:

• Market Research and Needs Analysis: This is where the you will identify potential clients, understand their needs, and identify market trends. The information gathered in this stage will help you to develop a more targeted approach to your services.
• Service Development: Based on the needs and demands identified in the research stage, you develop your service offerings.
• Marketing and Sales: During this stage, you promote your services to potential clients. This could involve content marketing (like writing blog posts or speaking at industry events), direct outreach, networking, and other sales activities.
• Service Delivery: This is where you perform the services for your clients. This could involve onsite or remote work, depending on the nature of the service. This stage might also involve project management, if the services are being delivered as part of a larger project.
• Customer Support and Follow-Up: After the service is delivered, you will need to follow up with the client to ensure they’re satisfied and to address any questions or issues they might have. This stage is crucial for building long-term client relationships and securing repeat business.
• Continual Learning and Improvement: The security field is constantly evolving, so you will need to continually update your knowledge and skills. You might also seek feedback from your clients to identify areas where you can improve their services.

Note that the specific activities in the value chain can vary depending on the exact nature of your services. However, in general, the value chain represents the process of identifying a market need, developing a service to meet that need, and delivering that service to the customer’s satisfaction.

Let’s expand on these activities and provide some examples of how you might be able to apply leverage across your value chain to maximise impact and make the best use of your time.

1. Market Research and Needs Analysis

• Leverage AI tools to quickly gather and analyse information about potential clients and market trends.
• Use automation software to track and analyse social media and news mentions of potential clients to gain insight into their needs and challenges.
• Collaborate with other professionals in your network to share insights and learn from each other’s experiences.

2. Service Development

• Utilise templates and frameworks to accelerate the service development process.
• Leverage your existing knowledge and expertise to develop niche services that meet specific client needs.
• Leverage industry standards and best practices to develop high-quality services.
• Use project management software to efficiently manage the service development process.
• Collaborate with other professionals to complement your services and offer a comprehensive solution to clients.
• Leverage training programs to acquire new skills necessary for developing advanced services.

3. Marketing and Sales

• Leverage digital marketing tools and techniques like SEO, content marketing, and social media marketing to reach a wider audience.
• Use CRM software to track and manage sales activities.
• Leverage your professional network to get referrals and introductions to potential clients.
• Use automated email marketing campaign to automate outreach and follow-up.

4. Service Delivery

• Leverage project management tools to efficiently manage the service delivery process.
• Use communication tools like video conferencing and instant messaging for effective remote service delivery.
• Develop clear and comprehensive service delivery protocols.
• Use customer satisfaction surveys to continually improve service delivery.
• Collaborate with other professionals to deliver more comprehensive services to your clients.

5. Customer Support and Follow-Up

• Use a CRM system to automate follow-ups and maintain engagement.
• Leverage online survey tools to collect client feedback.
• Use automation software to send timely reminders for follow-ups or scheduled maintenance checks.
• Leverage data from previous engagements to offer personalised follow-up services.
• Leverage self-service resources, like FAQs and knowledge bases, to help clients find solutions to common problems.

6. Continual Learning and Improvement

• Leverage online articles, courses, and workshops to keep skills current.
• Use feedback tools to collect and analyse client feedback for service improvement.
• Collaborate with other professionals to learn from their experiences and apply their best practices in your business.
• Apply data analysis tools to evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement.

These actions will not only help you to scale your business, but also to enhance your client relationships and stay ahead in what is a competitive industry.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that you need to implement all of these approaches in your business. However, evaluating each one and considering how it might benefit you given your specific business context and the needs of your clients can be a useful process. The key is to use a combination of technology, partnerships, and industry best practices to create a scalable and effective business.

Creating a set of internal procedures and templates may seem tedious, but it can save you a significant amount of time and ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for your clients.

A word of caution: you do not want to replace the personal touch that is essential in the consulting business. Rather, you want to augment your capabilities and extend your reach. Consider each point of leverage in terms of how it can help you deliver better value to your clients and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your business operations.

Other approaches to build leverage

In addition to the approaches detailed above, which are aligned with a typical value chain, there are other ways you can apply leverage in your business as an independent security professional.

Productise your services

Rather than trading time for money, consider creating products that encapsulate your knowledge or skills. These products could include ebooks, courses, or software that your clients can purchase and use without your direct involvement. In future posts, I will share some of my experiences developing products.

Automate processes

Look for areas in your business where you can implement automation. You could potentially automate client onboarding, meeting scheduling, billing, marketing, and other administrative tasks. Automating these tasks can free up time for you to focus on higher-value activities.

Outsource non-core tasks

Hiring virtual assistants or freelancers can free up your time to focus on your area of expertise. You can outsource tasks like bookkeeping, social media management, and administrative work. However, I caution against outsourcing activities like writing articles, which should remain an expression of your knowledge and experience.

Form strategic partnerships

Collaborating with other professionals can help you leverage their skills and resources, while they can also leverage yours. These professionals could be complementary service providers, which allows you to refer clients to each other. Alternatively, you could collaborate on larger projects where each person contributes their own expertise.

Scale your impact

Instead of offering one-to-one consulting, consider one-to-many models such as shared products and workshops. I have been using this approach with considerable success over the past few years, and I will share more details in later articles. Additionally, you could leverage your content by repurposing it for different platforms and media.

Build your personal brand

As an independent security professional, your personal brand is a crucial asset. By investing in your personal brand, you can leverage your reputation to attract more clients, command higher fees, and gain more opportunities.

Leverage technology

Utilise technology tools to streamline your operations, enhance your marketing efforts, and deliver your services more efficiently. This may include CRM systems, project management tools, online marketing platforms, and other similar tools. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an emerging tool that will have a significant impact on businesses. Based on my own experiences using AI tools over the past few months, I highly recommend it as a powerful enabler that can help you apply leverage in your business.

Remember, the key to successfully leveraging your business is to find the right balance that works for your specific situation and goals. This requires understanding your unique value proposition and focusing your efforts on amplifying that value.

Time is your most critical resource. You need to find ways to maximise the effectiveness of your time not only to earn revenue, but also to free up time for family, friends, and leisure.