My Philosophy for Building a Successful HR Consultancy Business

I was recently asked if I only help HR consultants with LinkedIn and email marketing.

And honestly — it shook me.

Because I thought it was obvious what I’m about, what I believe, and what I actually do.

Turns out… maybe it isn’t.

So I’ve recorded this episode to set the record straight.

To share my philosophy for building a successful HR consultancy.

So if you’ve ever wondered what I stand for, why I say the things I do, or how my clients build predictable, profitable businesses — this is the episode to listen to.

And if this episode has resonated with you and you want to explore your options to work with me to get to £70K and beyond, then click below.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 — What My Business Philosophy Is Really About
•  Why I recorded this episode to explain what I actually do and believe as a marketing coach for HR consultants.
• 01:10 — The Mantra Behind Every £70K HR Consultancy
•  How focusing only on actions that lead to leads, clients, and profit changes everything.
• 02:15 — The 80/20 Rule for HR Consultants Explained
•  How the Pareto Principle helps you prioritise marketing tasks that get real business results.
• 03:30 — Why Niching Is the Secret to Fast Growth for HR Consultants
•  How choosing a clear audience unlocks easier lead generation and simpler marketing.
• 04:50 — How to Find Your Ideal HR Consultancy Niche
•  Practical examples of how narrowing your focus makes marketing ten times more effective.
• 06:20 — Marketing Strategy for HR Consultants Who Hate Networking
•  Why relying on networking alone keeps your consultancy stuck — and what to do instead.
• 07:45 — Branding and Messaging Tips for HR Consultants
•  How to position your HR services so clients instantly see the value you provide.
• 09:00 — Why Most HR Consultants Struggle With Lead Generation
•  The real reason consultants find it hard to get clients consistently — and how to fix it.
• 10:30 — Email Marketing for HR Consultants Made Simple
•  How to use email to build trust, nurture relationships, and convert leads automatically.
• 12:00 — The Right Way to Measure Your Marketing Results
•  What metrics to track so you know exactly what’s working and where to focus next.
• 13:30 — How Paid Ads Can Fast-Track Your HR Consultancy Growth
•  Why Facebook and Google ads can be a predictable, scalable way to win new clients.
• 15:00 — The Difference Between Hope and Strategy in Business
•  How most HR consultants rely on luck — and how intentional marketing changes that.
• 16:30 — Sales Tips for HR Consultants Who Hate Selling
•  Why selling is simply about helping — and how to close clients confidently without pressure.
• 18:00 — Building a Predictable £70K+ HR Consultancy Step by Step
•  The intentional approach to creating consistent leads, clients, and income.
• 19:30 — Final Thoughts: Why Intent Is Everything
•  My closing message on why clarity, focus, and purpose separate successful HR consultants from everyone else.

Want My Help to Build Your £70K+ HR Consultancy?

1️⃣ Grab a copy of my book – The Complete Guide to Building a £70K HR Consultancy – and discover how to get every lead and client you need.

2️⃣ Apply to Join The Fastlane Formula – so we can work together 1-to-1 to get you earning £70K+ faster (and easier) than going it alone.

Transcript

00:00 Hello there and welcome back to another episode of Marketing Made Easy for HR Consultants with me, Nick Poninski. Today's episode's a little bit different.
00:10 I'm just gonna riff. I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna say what I'm thinking. Um, cause I got contacted recently, um, by somebody on LinkedIn, she was asking me about SEO, what my thoughts were on SEO, whether or not, um, I helped with SEO, and I shared some thoughts about it.
00:30 And then. They replied, and I'll come back to that and share my thoughts on SEO, uhm, in a second, but she replied to me and she said, so, is it, do you mainly just focus on LinkedIn generation, uhm, and email marketing?
00:45 And then I, uhm. Ended up going off on not a rant as such, but there are one, two, three, four, five paragraphs.
00:54 Um, and I thought that was really interesting that I got asked that because firstly, um, there is so much content out there that I share.
01:02 Um, secondly, um, you know, there's obviously my website and I've got my book and whatever else. So I thought it was kind of clear, um, what it is that I do, um, and how I help HR consultants build their business.
01:18 But obviously, it isn't. Perhaps it isn't. Perhaps, perhaps I'm missing something. Um, so I wanted to do this quick episode, um, and just talk really about what it is that I do, um, and what my aim is, really.
01:34 And my aim, I guess my mantra is to do, um, you know, to follow the Pareto Principle, to, to do, to focus on the results, uh, focus on the tasks which get the results quickly and efficiently, right?
01:49 So you know that Pareto Principle. The 28-2 rule or whatever. My mantra is to lean into that. To only do those activities which will generate leads, clients, sales, and profits.
02:05 That, that, that is my, my mantra. You know, that, that, that's my mantra. That's my thing, right? So, and this is why I am, it's all about, as far as I'm concerned, it's about being strategic.
02:14 It's about being, yeah, in, focused on what it is that you want to achieve. And the easiest and the quickest way of achieving that.
02:26 Now, this is one of the reasons, let me take it step by step, and let, uh, step by step, and let me link it back to, you know, my book, my, my philosophy, right?
02:35 This is one of the reasons why I'm so excited and enthusiastic about having a niche, right? Because if you are a HR consultant, or any business owner, and you go into business, and you say that you will work with anyone, or you say SMEs, and I say, like, that is not leaning into the target 20-80 rule
02:56 . That is leaving yourself open to.. Yeah, you have no intent about who it is that you want to work with.
03:04 If I say to people, you know, when they tell me they wanna work with SMEs, or any business out there who needs help scaling their healing, um, I say to them, right, well great, go and find a hundred leads by next Friday.
03:17 And they look at me like with shock, like the idea is, is, is ridiculous. Because it is a ridiculous idea.
03:25 Like, how can, how, if you, Tell me that you want to work with SMEs or businesses that want to scale or businesses that have 10 or more employees or something along those lines.
03:35 I get it. I understand why you are saying that. But in the real world, that's really difficult to manage. Right?
03:44 If I tell you to go and find 100 leads, you'll struggle. If I said to you, go to a website like people per hour and hire a freelancer and tell them to find you a database of 100 leads, they'll struggle because they have no idea what you're looking for.
03:59 If you go networking and you say you're looking to speak to a business owner who is struggling with their h.i.
04:04 stuff and they are looking to scale their business, there is no data point in their head, They will not know who to refer you to right, but flip that around.
04:16 Let's talk about niecing. If you say that you are looking, you know, you are the h.i. consultant for hairdressers, for example, and I'm not saying you should be.
04:25 I'm just saying, right? Maybe that could be your niche, right? If you went to that same freelancer on people pair.
04:31 Hour or five or whatever and said I want a hundred hairdressers, they would be able to find you a hundred hairdressers.
04:38 If I said to you, find a hundred leaves by next Friday and you know that you work with hairdressers, you'd be able to find a hundred hairdressers.
04:46 If you went network. Right? And you said, I'm looking to connect with hairdressers. Everyone in the room knows a hairdresser.
04:54 Right? And then the next time they go to the hairdresser and they're interacting with that hairdresser and they're like, oh, how's things, blah, blah, blah.
05:02 And all of a sudden they're forgotten about you. But as soon as that hairdresser says, oh, yeah, well, we've had staff issues, Stacey's left, and now we need to find a replacement.
05:10 Or you're having employee issues. Oh, God. Do you know, I know this HR experts is wonderful. I'll be able to put you in touch with her.
05:18 Umm, let me get my phone. I'll get you connected now. Equally, right? Do you see how this leans into the 2080 principle?
05:25 This leans into getting leads, clients, and sales and profits. Because we're being intentional. We know who it is that we're looking for, right?
05:33 And they know that you are for them and you know that you are for them. That is half the battle of lead generation.
05:40 Like, it's already half the battle. Now, erm, it's half the battle one. Now, let's take this, erm, er, er, a step further, right?
05:49 So, if you say that you are the H.R. company. That means that you know how to go and then get those leads, right?
05:58 Lead generation then becomes possible. Because you know where they hang out. You know that posting on LinkedIn is a waste of your time.
06:07 And you know that more than like, LinkedIn, you're probably going to want to be on Instagram, for example. And you're going to want to connect with as many hairdressers as possible on there, right?
06:15 And then you're going to put out messages which relate to them. And that is going to make them think, okay, she gets me.
06:23 Okay. Bye. I understand this. I'm going to explore this situation rather than HR consultant who works with SMEs. The hairdresser looks at it and goes, well, this is for someone else because I'm not an SME, right?
06:36 So this is why I am so adamant about I'm not meshing. It's because it is intentional. It is strategic. It is like having a sniper rifle.
06:47 It is, yeah, it's like that golden thread that's going to piece everything together. Because once you have that audience, then you understand what it is that you need to sell to you them.
06:56 Again. We're being strategic. We are being intentional rather than turning up and saying, I'll work with any business that goes.
07:04 And I will provide HR services. You know that you work with hairdressers. Then you know what kind of services those hairdressers need.
07:12 So. They don't want HR services, right? You know, uhm, that's a bit of information for you, just to get you a curious and it makes you, they're not interested.
07:22 What they want is a dream world they want to get away from the pain in their lives. And that is hairdressers.
07:28 But HR is the bridge that gets them from pain into pleasure. So, what you can do is package up your services and sell them as solutions that they are looking for.
07:41 So, you know, you can brand these packages in things. That makes sense for that hairdresser. So, when that hairdresser gets onto your website, or starts looking at all your services, they see branded, uh, H.I.
07:55 services packages. But they are branded in hairdresser terms. And, you know, one of your packages is the- they show it back inside, for example.
08:03 The hairdresser goes, ooh, this is interesting, this is quirky. And all your pictures relate to hairdressing stuff. And, you know, all that other stuff.
08:12 This is marketing. This helps the person go from knowing, umm, knowing- nothing about you, to knowing you and liking you.
08:19 You are building that relationship with this hairdresser, without you even being in the room. You are being intentional, you are being strategic with your marketing, with your, umm, with-with your business.
08:33 And then, that makes sales easier. You know, I say to my clients, like, somebody meets you and they are zero out of ten on the scale.
08:41 And, and they don't know you, they don't like you, they don't trust you. You've got to get them to attend.
08:47 Now, the marketing can do- as much or as little of that work as possible. But the better marketing you have, because you know who your target audience is, because you know what you're selling to them, that moves them along this scale so that sales has to do less of the work, right?
09:04 Hopefully that makes sense. That is my, my mantra. We have to focus on the tasks which get results quickly and efficiently, so that might not necessarily mean posting on LinkedIn.
09:16 It might not necessarily mean going LinkedIn, uh, going networking. You know, I, I'm, I think I'm rather not famous. Uh, infamous.
09:25 If you've seen any of my content, you'll know that I rail against networking. And the reason that I rail against networking is I understand networking can get clients, but it can't do it at scale.
09:37 It's not, How you build a business. You can't just, It's slow, it's unsustainable, it's uncontrollable, right? You can't just turn up with your business cards and expect to have a 70,000 pound business, you know, or 100,000 pounds.
09:53 Network, Networking takes time. People meet you, but when they're going networking, they're also very inclined to find out about whether or not they can sell you their stuff.
10:03 And then that becomes like these competing goals. They are working against one another. And, you know, these are one of- the reasons why I rarely ink networking so much.
10:13 It seems to me that everyone thinks when they go self-employed as a HR consultant, you can just say that you work with anyone.
10:20 You sell any HR service under the sun, update the LinkedIn, grab a website, go networking. Hey presto. All of this is hope.
10:27 This isn't being strategic. This isn't saying who you're going to serve, how are you going to serve them. This is, this is hope.
10:34 This is hoping that when you go networking, you meet someone who you can help. This is hoping that you meet someone who knows someone who you could.
10:42 This is hoping that somebody clicks on your landing page, your website, or whatever, and they want to work with you.
10:50 It's hope. It's not strategy. And that's the problem with networking, with saying that you work with SMEs, with, saying that you sell every H.I.
11:00 service under the sun. Now, there are many tools that I talk about that I advocate for to get these excellent results, to get you to 70K or above.
11:11 Intentionally, right? Email marketing, being, One of them. You are able to have a conversation with people without even being in the room with them.
11:19 You are able to build a relationship with them. Without them even being in the room. And you can do this en masse.
11:25 And you can see who's engaging with your content and who isn't engaging. You know, when you post on the- content, there are lurkers.
11:32 People may see your post. People may not. People, uh, might like it. Might not. It's very uncontrollable. Whereas email marketing, if you've got people who are hairdressers, let's say, for example, on your list, and you are talking about all- the world that hairdressers are interested in, they'll be 
11:50 opening your emails. You'll be building a relationship with them on mass. You'll be sending out one email. Let's say, for example, one email a week.
11:58 And let's say you have a hundred people. And then you have an open rate, industry averages. About 30%. But let's say, for example, you've got 40%, which is possible because your audience is actually your audience rather than a big spread.
12:14 Then you are more likely to build that relationship with them. And then you will s- See how, who's interacting with your emails and who isn't, who's opening them, who's clicking on things.
12:24 And then you can, you could be intentional with how you approach that situation. You know, if you can see that somebody's always, always opening up your emails.
12:34 Always. Clicking on things. You can have automations in the back of email marketing so that certain things happen. So that they are sent certain special offers or they're sent certain emails or whatever.
12:47 You can unsubscribe people who aren't interacting. Or you can- You can send them a specific message and say, listen, are you interested or not?
12:55 You know. And then you can be, as I said, this is all very intentional. This is how you build a business with intent, with strategy, rather than hoping for the best.
13:05 So hopefully all of this- make sense as to what my mantra is all about. My mantra is all about focusing on the tasks which get results quickly and efficiently.
13:16 Now, I want to talk about lead gen very briefly because lead gen is super important, right? Everyone's out there. Everyone wants more leads for their business.
13:24 I get it. And I see people post on LinkedIn. And say, you know, oh, I'm having this event. I saw it recently.
13:30 There's a lead issue posted. It said how to win, uh, more clients for your HR consultancy or something along those lines.
13:37 Lots of people signed up for it. I ran an event, I don't know, two months ago, three months ago, whatever it was.
13:42 Lots of people. Turned up, right? Because everybody wants more leads. Everybody wants more clients. Everyone's more sales, more profits. It makes sense.
13:49 So let's talk about lead gen a second, right? Let's be strategic with our lead gen. If you, there are free ways to build an audience, right?
13:57 To get leads for your, your business. You can build an audience, you can borrow an audience, and you can buy an audience.
14:04 And buying an audience is the quickest and easiest way to get an audience, right? It's controllable. There are maths behind this.
14:12 We know if we show adverts on Facebook. We know what an average industry click-free rate is. There have been billions and millions of data out there from everybody who works.
14:23 So we know what to expect. If your adverts are out performing industry averages, great. Let's ramp them up, rather than put in five, Like pounds a day, let's put ten pounds a day.
14:33 Let's put fifteen pounds a day. Because we know we're generating leads, right? Why wouldn't you increase your ad spend? Alternatively, if you are not meeting industry averages, then we know something's wrong.
14:44 So stop running those adverts. Let's tweak some, Let's change something. Let's be intentional. Let's be strategic. Let's not be hoping.
14:52 Because adverts are not gambling. We know, because of industry averages, what we should be expecting. And therefore, if you are not getting the industry averages, something needs to change.
15:03 Right? And it's the same with, let's say, for example, direct mail, right? If you send out some sort of letter in the post to somebody who is in your target audience, and you do not get certain levels of responses, again, you know some f- things wrong.
15:19 So you don't send out any more letters. You send out, let's say, for example, a hundred, right? We know that industry averages have a 2% click free rate, something along those signs.
15:30 So if you are getting 2% of the people out there who are responding to your direct mail. Go. Go. Great.
15:35 That's about the industry average. Send out more letters. If you're not getting 2, then there's something wrong. If you're getting more than 2, great.
15:43 Let's ramp it up. And it's the same with cold calling. It's the same with turning up at their place of work.
15:49 These are all things which are not normal. For HR consultants, because they all tend to do the exact same thing.
15:56 Which is hope and pray about their marketing post on LinkedIn. Go network him. These are not methods that you can control.
16:03 These are methods where you build an audience, right? SEO is one of these things. But it takes time. It's not something that you can, uhm, control as such.
16:12 SEO is a little bit more controllable. Uhm, post on LinkedIn is a little bit more controllable. If you're really good at it, you can get excellent results from it.
16:20 But if you're not really good at it, then, Adverts direct mail. Once you've got these pieces in place, and you are meeting the industry averages, then all you need to do is just turn them, turn them on, turn the adverts on.
16:33 It's like, it's like a cash machine. You know, once you've got your adverts running, and you know you're putting a pound.
16:39 And get them five pound out, then put ten pounds in and get fifty pounds out, put a hundred pounds in and get five hundred pounds out, right?
16:47 Ramp it up. And that's a, uh, that is being strategic. You've been strategic with who it is that you want to speak to.
16:55 With. The messages that you want to put in front of them and you are being strategic by measuring the results.
17:01 So that, that is how you measure it. But that is how you are successful at lead gen. You have to try something and then work out whether or not it's working.
17:09 And if it is working, keep going. If it isn't working, stop and change something, right? That is how we are strategic with LinkedIn.
17:18 Now, the other thing that I talk about as I say, um, is sales, right? Sales is super important. Because when someone meets you, they have free options.
17:26 They can even buy what you- You're selling. They can. Not buy what you're selling. Or they can go and buy from someone else.
17:33 Now, sales, rather than sending through proposals, sales is something you can control. You can have scripts. You can have the industry averages.
17:39 You know that you should be closing. Let's say, for example, one in three people, one in four. People. And scales is a skill that you can learn.
17:46 A lot of people say to me, oh, Nick, I'm scared of selling. I don't want to sell. I, uh, you know, blah, blah, blah.
17:52 You worry to sell every day as a HR consultant because you have to sell business owners on the solutions that you are proposing, right?
17:59 You have to. I've talked to them about the bad side of doing whatever it is that they're doing. You have to talk to them about the good side of doing what it is that you are proposing.
18:08 And you have to sell them on the solution. Sales takes this to the next level. But it is something you can control.
18:14 It is something you can learn. And when you get really good at it, that is how you are able to build your business by being intentional with your conversations, with your qualifying questions before you get on a sales call.
18:28 All that good stuff. So hopefully all of this has made sense to you, and you understand- time.
18:33 A bit more about my mantra. As I say, I thought it was already out there. But, perhaps it isn't. So, here we go.
18:41 Here's another episode where I've gone on a bit of a rant about what it is that I do. Now, if any of this sounds really good and you want to- I've got two options for you.
18:52 The success squad or the faceline formula. Either way, whichever package you choose to work with, uh, to work with me, that's what we do.
19:00 We are intentional about who it is we're speaking to, what it is we're selling to them, how- Now we're going to convert them from prospect to lead to client to more clients.
19:11 That is what working with me is all about. It's about building a successful business. So I talk about 70k, but let's be honest, it could be 100k, it could be 100.
19:21 It doesn't really matter. If you do the maths, if you work out why I've said 70k, I talk about it in my book.
19:28 70k is a great number and it's very achievable. And once you realise why I'm saying 70k, you can actually do 140k, it's not that.
19:37 Bigger step as much as it sounds. Either way, whether or not you want to work with me or not, hopefully this episode has been useful for you, um, and you've understood a bit more about my mantra and why I am so very much focused, arm-meaching.
19:54 On packaging services, on intentional lead generation. Why I believe in adverts so much. It's because this stuff works, and it only works, but, well, I mean, it works, and it works if you do it.
20:08 It only works if you do it. I mean, you're not. A lot of HR consultants will listen to this, and they will do nothing.
20:14 They will go back to their comfort zones. I hope that you have listened to this, and thought to yourself, do you know what?
20:21 He's on to something. I'm gonna go and explore this with him. And most people won't. Most people, will listen to this, and stay quite happily in their comfort zone.
20:29 That's okay. That's fine. But if you are one of the people listening along, and you are thinking to yourself, do you know what?
20:36 He's on to something. I want to build a 70K or more HR consultancy. Then click one of the links in the show notes.
20:42 Go and explore the Success Squad, the Fastlane formula. Go and look at the book. It'd be great to hear from you.
20:49 In the meantime, as ever, because it's Wednesday, get marketing. Because if I'm marketing, there's not And without sales, there's no business.
20:57 So get marketing. them.