Expert (consultant) Guide

Digital is the new reality of every industry, and consulting is no exception. If you are a professional of any field and believe your recommendations would be valuable to share, this is the right time to take a leap and join Consultida as a consultant. Here are couple of reasons why:

  • Even if offline consulting is your priority over online, you will not prosper much today without your presence on the web. Every field professional needs a solid online positioning of its service to create credibility, proof reputation, increase visibility and meet shifting demands of the audience.
  • Becoming available online is the rightest way to scale up your consulting business to the next level – with no set-up cost, hidden charges and financial risks involved, you have new possibilities to deliver your services to an online audience and start earning more.
  • You don’t have to start from scratch – Consultida is a ready-made platform, with every feature you need to make online consultation a seamless experience for both you and your audience. Plus, we have a dedicated support team ready to guide you through technicalities, if need be. 

We spend income we generate through consultant and customer fees on:

  • Promoting your profile through our own digital channels and other general marketing costs
  • Website maintenance –  developers, hosting, servers, data protection measures…
  • Support team – we have a dedicated support team we already mentioned, always happy to guide you through technicalities, if need be.
  • Research and Development – we constantly seek ways to advance our service and meet newly emerging needs of the digital consulting industry.

FAQ

Who can register as a consultant?

Anyone, who owns specific expertise and knowledge, that others might find beneficial. If you are a professional in your field, be it medicine, business, engineering, marketing, psychology, agronomy, music, programming or any other, you are welcome to join.

How do I register as a consultant?

you will need a valid Gmail account to register as a consultant. The same email address will be used for further communications with you. Joining is free of charge.

How do I set up my profile?

After logging in, you will be redirected to the Consultant’s dashboard. This is your working space. Setting up your profile is a primary thing to do, and it is worth investing time, as the info you provide here is what is displayed to the users, by which they make a decision to book a session with you or not.

After filling in your contact details (email and valid phone number), you need to choose the currency you’d like to be paid out and languages you speak. The next mandatory fields are Category (where you choose the industry you represent) and Expert In – which is dedicated for listing all of your unique skills and competencies in detail. If you don’t find a concrete skill in the predefined list, you can add a new one.

Next fields to fill in are Short Description (50-200 symbols, summary of your profile) and Detailed Biography (100-1000 symbols). Consider these as an opportunity to pitch to your potential customers – be precise and focus on your competitive advantages over other consultants.

Dashboard allows you to upload profile and cover photos, and copies of your diplomas and other achievements. To add more credibility to your profile, we recommend you also provide links to social media profiles you run.

You will need to choose your preferred payout method, indicate time slots available for online consultations and add pricing settings – we offer duration-based pricing for online sessions.

Finally, you need to decide to be listed on the Consultants’ list publicly or be reachable only through a direct link to your profile.

How do I get verified?

After you set up your profile fully, it will take a while before we check if nothing is missing. You will receive a verification email no later than 5 business days after joining.

Do I need special software and equipment to get started?

Online consultations are done through Google Meet – free online tool for premium video meetings. You can join from any modern web browser or download the smartphone app, and you’re ready to go. Here are detailed instructions of how to make the best out of using Google Meet. Once the user books a session with you, an event is created in your Google calendar and the invitation is sent to the user automatically, so you both have a valid Google Meet link to join. It is the same for your webinars – users registering to it are invited automatically to your event, which is created in your Google Calendar after you add an event at Consultida from Consultant’s dashboard.

How do I add a webinar?

Webinars can be added from the Consultant’s dashboard by adding title, description, start date and time, language it takes place in, indicate attendance fee and maximum number of participants and duration. If you are using a free version of Google Meet, please note that up to 60-minute webinars are available with a maximum of 100 participants at a time.

How do I earn at Consultida?

The financial model we use is simple, transparent and effective: in exchange for using our ready-made, exclusive service, we charge you 20% of every appointment/webinar booked. So roughly, your earning is 80% of your booked appointment price. 

How do I get paid out?

You can withdraw your earnings once every month in 1-15 period via a pay-out method you select while setting up your payout preferences – it may be PayPal, wire transfer with IBAN or a US bank transfer. Please note, that transfer fees vary per financial service provider and $100 or equivalent in your currency of choice is the minimum amount available for withdrawal.

What are the ways to promote my profile to reach a wider audience?

We will promote your profile through our own digital channels, this is part of our general marketing scheme. However, to reach a wider audience, we suggest you promote your profile through your own social media and other digital channels, targeting potential audiences that might need your expertise. To increase visibility, use a direct link to your profile in promotions. Same can be done to increase attendance to your webinars as well.

Can I reschedule a session / webinar that is already booked?

Once someone books a session with you, an event is added to your Google Calendar automatically. From the event in your calendar, you can “propose a new time” to reschedule the invitation, if you and the user agree on a new date and time that is convenient for both of you. Or you can use the email address of a user shared with you after booking a session to directly communicate and agree on a new date and time for a meeting.

How do I set the price for a consultation session?

Choosing the right consultation fees for your services can be challenging. We offer duration-based pricing, to make it easier for you to define the worth of your time and set prices accordingly and convenient for the user to choose whatever fits their budget. Consider competitor prices not to stand out too much from the market situation and elaborate your value proposition carefully.

Where can I check upcoming consultation sessions?

Upcoming sessions are available in the Consultant’s dashboard, under appointments in the form of a list or a calendar. The booked sessions are synced to your Google calendar automatically as well, so you can check your schedule there too.

How can I check my finances?

There is a section in Consultant’s dashboard dedicated to your detailed earnings you can check anytime.

How to avoid overbooking and collision with our everyday schedule?

To best integrate your online schedule at Consultida to your offline life, you need to indicate your available time slots before you get listed. By this, you make sure your online consultations never coincide with the rest of your duties. Booked appointments on Consultida automatically appear in your Google calendar too, for efficient time management.

Once you go through a simple registration process at consultida with your valid Gmail account, the first thing to do is to fully set up your profile to get listed as an active, verified consultant.

Some mandatory fields to fill-in include category and the area of your expertise – this is where you type-in your skills and background very thoroughly, as your profile appears in search results according to the keywords you provide here. Try to be as precise as possible, break it down to details and try to identify the niche area of your industry that you own best.

You have options to upload your profile / cover photos, photos of your diplomas and achievements, which is not mandatory, but a preferable thing to do for higher credibility and better positioning in the eyes of users.

The process is totally intuitive, however, if you ever need guidance, our dedicated support team will be happy to help.

You will need to come up with a wise pricing strategy so your return on time invested online is highest possible. We at Consultida offer duration-based pricing, which we believe is the most flexible and efficient option for both consultants and users.

To best integrate your online schedule at Consultida to your offline life, you need to indicate your available time slots before you get listed. By this, you make sure your online consultations never coincide with the rest of your duties. Booked appointments on Consultida automatically appear in your Google calendar too, for efficient time management.

You can also drop a webinar at Consultida for a group audience on any specific topic of your expertise. In difference with private consultations, which are user-driven, webinars are more of a broadcasting type of video conferences, where you are in total control of the agenda. You can simply add a new webinar by entering its title, description, date and time, duration, language, participation fee and # of maximum participants allowed.

The financial model we use is simple, transparent and effective: in exchange for using our ready-made, exclusive service, we charge you 15% of every appointment/webinar booked and 5% is the customer fee on top of your session cost. So roughly, your earning is 85% of your booked appointment price. You are allowed to withdraw your earnings once every month in 1-15 period via a payout method you select while setting up your payout preferences – it may be PayPal, wire transfer with IBAN or a US bank transfer. Please note, that transfer fees vary per financial service provider and $100 or equivalent in your currency of choice is the minimum amount required for withdrawal.