How to Create Your Consulting Value Proposition

If you want to become a successful HR freelancer, you’ll need a solid web presence to help shape perception of your skills and generate confidence for hiring you. Part of that is coming up with what I call a “CVP” or consulting value proposition. Your CVP serves as a message that helps potential clients understand what you offer and why you are different from all the other HR consultants in the world.

Your CVP should be the first thing people see when they visit your website. Usually that comes in the form of a simple tagline that expresses why they should hire you in big bold lettering.

Think about how employers do this today to attract talent. They come up with an “EVP” (employer value proposition). It’s a phrase that encapsulates why you should work there. It works the same for HR consultants except that it communicates why they should hire YOU.

The CVP tagline should be front and center and backed up by a paragraph or two (on the homepage) that delves further into how and why they should hire you.

My own site is designed to communicate one message about what I do;

I “inform the modern recruiter” through my blog, podcast and events which helps establish me as an expert about recruitment technology. It's only four words but it says exactly what I do in the shortest way possible.

Here are some other HR consulting websites that offer a solid value proposition;

This one comes from Flynn Barrett Consulting. In this case, I prefer the 2nd line as the CVP. “We employer human resources to thrive” is more specific than the line above it which is quite generic and an often overused phrase about people.

HR Lancer Alissa Penney’s CVP is buit right into her domain name (abetterhr.com). Hers tries to elevate the thought of improving your company’s HR into something better than its current state.

Greenleaf HR uses a question for their CVP. Their focus is on a particular industry that centers on payroll and HR solutions. The sentence below helps to reaffirm how they help employers.

Tracey Parsons, who does recruitment marketing consulting, uses a three word CVP followed by a supporting paragraph. 

So what's your CVP? Why should a client hire you?

I suggest starting by thinking of several short taglines around the benefits of your services. What outcomes will potential clients get if they hire you? How will their business change as a result? 

Use these answers by compiling a list of 8-10 taglines. Bounce them off some other colleagues to see what they think resonates with them. Use the wisdom of the crowd to help you craft the right wording.

While working on EVP projects I often survey the employees to get their real world reaction about working for their employer. If you have clients do the same with them. Ask them to elaborate on why they like working for you. 

Coming up with your CVP just takes a little brainstorming and gathering feedback, but this effort will help you define your value proposition in clear terms, that will eventually help you win more clients.