Facebook ads for consultants who want clients beyond referrals

Do Facebook ads work for consultants?

Yes, when there is real demand for the outcome you sell. Ads cannot create demand, but they can reach the decision-makers who already want that outcome. The words in the ad, not the interests you pick, decide who sees it.

Many consultants we speak to win most of their work through referrals, partners and their own network. That works until it slows down, and many owners tell us theirs has. You cannot turn referrals up when you need more work. Ads give you a second source of calls that you control.

A lot of people think targeting means picking the right job titles or interests. Today, the platform does most of the targeting from what the ad says, how it says it and when it says it. So when the ad speaks clearly to the decision-maker you want to talk to, the platform finds more people like them.

Why is it hard for consultants to stand out with ads?

The market is saturated. Buyers have seen the same promises many times, so they ignore them. Consultants stand out when they position the offer around one ideal client and the one big outcome that client wants.

Consultants are experts, not marketers. Many tell us they post, network and hope, which some call "spray and pray". It is not that they do things wrong. Everyone does the same things, so the message gets lost.

• Lead with the outcome, not the service: the market has heard every list of services before. Talk about the result the buyer wants.
• Speak to one ideal client: if you try to speak to everybody, you speak to nobody. Many consultants find this hard because their method helps lots of people, but a narrow start works better.
• Be the pink tree: on a road lined with trees, you only notice the pink one. The aim is an offer that is impossible for the right buyer to ignore, with no change to what you deliver.
• Add markets later: once the first market works, we copy the system for the next one.

One client on what working out their angle did for them:

How do consultants qualify leads from Facebook ads?

Let the wording do the qualifying. The ad and the VSL page speak to one kind of buyer, so poor fits find it irrelevant and leave. A form or other filters come later, only if they are needed.

A VSL page is a page with a video sales letter and your calendar. It has no opt-in step, so every person who clicks sees the offer. The video shows how you think and that you have a different path to the outcome. Then the only choices are to book a call or to leave.

The page sells the conversation, not the service. It shows no price and no list of what is included. You talk about the price on the call, where you can offer whatever level of work fits that buyer.

We start with flow and add friction only when it is needed. A long form is easy to fill in with the answers people think you want. The wording on the page does more of the filtering, because it pushes the wrong people away on purpose.

What does the consultant do, and what does BlackSky do?

BlackSky does the work, done for you: the positioning, the scripts, the VSL page, the video edits and the ads. You fill in one framework document, record short videos from our scripts, and take the calls.

• You fill in a framework document, record the videos we script, sign off on everything, and take the sales calls.
• BlackSky positions the offer, writes the scripts, edits the videos in your brand and voice, builds the page and runs the ads, with a team member in the account every day.

Nothing goes live until you are happy with it. The system sits apart from the rest of your business, so your website, your back end and your other campaigns stay as they are. Calls land on your own calendar, and your own sales process takes over.

You own everything. BlackSky works inside your own ad account, and the account, the pixel, the data, the scripts and the videos are yours to keep.

How much does it cost a consultant to win a client with Facebook ads?

Cost per client equals cost per booked call, divided by show-up rate, divided by close rate. Once you know those three numbers, it is just math, and you are buying clients at a known cost.

Work out the cost per client, then set it against your fee. When we model it, we use a close rate of 1 in 4, even for consultants who close more, so the maths stays safe. If the cost to win a client sits well under your fee, you can raise the budget. For the full method, see what a good CPA is for a high-ticket offer.

Here is what clients say about it, in their own words.

Real client outcomes, in their own words. Individual results vary.

Should consultants replace referrals with paid ads?

No. Keep your referrals and add ads as a second source you control. The ads run apart from everything else, so your referral work does not change.

Many owners tell us their lead flow comes in waves: a full quarter, then a quiet one. They want a steady flow before they hire or grow. A funnel that books calls each week gives you that, and it lets you choose the kind of client you want, instead of whoever your network sends.

How quickly do consultants see calls from Facebook ads?

First booked calls usually come in within 1-2 days, depending on spend. You can start from $25 a day, then turn the tap up once the right people are booking.

Some consultants tell us their deals take a long time to close. Pre-qualified calls often close sooner, because the buyer already knows how you think before the call, and some clients close on the first or second call. Even so, judge the funnel on clients won, not on the first few days of calls.

What should consultants measure in their Facebook ads?

Measure cost per acquisition (CPA): what it costs to win one client. That is the number that matters. Cost per booked call is the main number higher up the funnel.

CPM, click-through rate and cost per lead do not tell you much on their own. A $1,000 CPM (the cost to show your ad 1,000 times) is fine if your CPA is profitable. Also remember that more spend does not make more sales by magic. It lets you reach more people, so raise it only when the cost per client works.