How to Become an Esports Consultant
When you set up your consulting website, what information should you present that will attract clients to your services? Your goal is to productize your services in such a way that a prospective doesn’t see your methods, but the desired end results of that method. When writing website content, remember three questions: Who do you serve? What problem do you solve? and How can you fast-forward your clients to that solution?
In this article we take a look at a website for an esports consultant whose goal is attract highly skilled gamers who wish to become full-time professional gamers. Still, the lessons here can apply to any business-related website productizing a service.
What does this site do wrong? It has vague terminology and open ended promises, like “People you can trust” and too much explanation of methods.
What does it get right? The site asks a question. “Do you want to become a professional gamer?” At that point, the consultant’s goal becomes specific: we help you become a professional gamer by developing your fan base. At this point, the website can attract a specific type of prospect with its productized service.
What Service Should Be Productized?
There are a couple of questions we should be asking so that our focus is in the right place. You've probably heard me say this term, “productized,” over and over again. At its concept it makes sense, but in its detail it can have some nuances.
- Remember that “productized” doesn't mean “organized.” The number one mistake that people make taking all their expertise and trying to organize it in the best way they know how. They think that organizing their expertise is productizing. That is incorrect.
- Do not productize what you do, productize the desired end result. There is a desired end result that your client wants. Identify that result and work backwards. Determine the most efficient process that will get them to that result, that's productizing.
- The questions to ask. Now let's look at his website like a prospective client would and we're going to consider those subtle questions that are being asked that may never come out of their mouth.
- Who do you serve? The big question here is, who is your best client? As a prospect, I'm viewing this site and I want to know, is this for me?
- What problem do you solve? What can you do for me?
- How I can fast-forward my client to that desired end goal. An expert's money isn't found in their knowledge, it's found in their ability to accelerate people to their desired end result.
Examining the Competitive ESports Consultant's Website
Esports is an actively growing industry. Essentially it is competitive gaming. If you've never heard of it, it's got sponsors, fans, and a community. There is commerce. There are services to be offered and products to sell.
I had a dialogue with an expert who wants to offer services in this niche. He already has one high-profile client and would like to have more of them. He said, "Right now I'm in the process of setting up proper infrastructure for more productized service. The video I'd like to see is how to educate my clients on the value they're getting from that service. I want to productize my service and I want to make sure that the value of the services that I offer is clear. I'm a content manager within esports. I work with professional gamers.”
What I'm going to do is review his website, because that's the main place where we express what we do and the value proposition it has.
Let’s scroll down my expert’s web page and have a look at it, and see if it answers those questions.
- When I land, the first thing I see is a gamer. I have an idea of who you’re focused on. Am I a gamer? That answer is yes. That's good. I know who you serve and that checks off for me.
- Continuing to scroll down, I see the following information:
- “We build gaming brands that can't be matched.” Gaming brand, what does that mean?
- “Stop trying to do it all yourself.” What is “it?”
- “People you can trust.” Who are the people? And trust to do what?
- “Your dream is our plan.” Do you really have a plan to accomplish my particular dream?
- “Introducing the Meta method.” For the moment it doesn't matter what your method is. I don't care what you call it.
- “Develop storylines.” As a professional gamer, am I into storylines? I don't think so.
- “Network in a way that connects you to high-level people.” Do I want to network as a gamer? Am I excited about networking? I don't think so.
Let me explain the error that's taking place. This is an example of an expert explaining what he does. He knows that it's all necessary and valuable. He's trying to explain the value of his work, but half the bullet points don't really resonate. It still feels high-minded and intellectual. It may even feel salesy. This is an ode to someone's expertise. Everything else down this page just slides down the slippery slope.
The website explains different elements of the method - but if the method hasn’t resonated with me already, it won’t with more information. I do not argue the need for all of these things. I'm simply saying that describing how the sausage is made doesn't get me excited about the sausage.
- Now, though, as we continue to scroll, the website begins to say things that resonate with me.
- “If you really want to make this a full-time career.” What that means is that prospect is not currently a full-time gamer. Will they have the budget? Will they be willing to spend the budget to become a full-time gamer? Because right now their full-time career is in something else. That's what this headline articulates. It has specified who is being addressed.
- “Scale your fan base by utilizing a proven step by step methodology.” Now, a fan base is something I might be into.
- “Collaborate with other creators.” That could be something I could be into.
- “Build in public so that your fans can engage with you.” Fans engage, okay. I might be into that.
Now the steps here are organized. This is a snapshot of how you would work with him. He's got testimonials. He's got a picture of himself down here at the bottom. All awesome. So let's look at the site again with a new set of eyes and try to highlight the appropriate priorities for productizing the right service.
- Who are we talking to? Gamers who want to go professional.
- What problem does that pro gamer have? Scaling the fan base. As a pro gamer has more fans, then they become highly sought after, in terms of partnerships, sponsorships, and new fans. The fan base becomes the catalyst for other things.
- How do we solve that problem as fast as possible? I imagine that's what's in the mind of a pro gamer. The expert's job is to help build their platform and get them fans. Then, if getting the fan base is the problem to be solved, then all of this methodology should only be focused on getting the fan base. The product is a quantifiable fan base as quickly as possible. So then what happens is that a lot of this stuff can now be stricken from your scope. Do you want to get a 1000 fans? Well, here's the route we would take to get you a 1000 fans right now. It speeds up the conversation and the mental math.
Now we get down here and this point is really important to highlight here, because you want to attract clientele with a budget. You want to attract people who are prepared to spend money to accomplish this particular goal.
There's space here for a dialogue on how someone with an existing career can build a fanbase as a pro gamer on the side with this expert's help. Then there's a picture you can draw on how they might become less dependent on their current career and become more dependent on their pro gaming career. That is the thought process in the head of the prospective client who is reading this website, but that level of grounded-ness, pragmatism, reality - is not reflected here - not yet.
In closing, the biggest mistake being made by this website is simply organizing “what we do.” The expert took all of his knowledge and turned it into a method and he put it on a webpage. That is step one. Sometimes you’ve just got to get it out of your head. I appreciate that. Sometimes you start where you start, and this is step one. But we see how simply organizing your expertise doesn't resonate the way you want it to resonate. Answer the three questions and your prospective clients will understand immediately if your service is the right one for them.