101 TIPS FOR CONSULTANTS: Current List of Tips

Current List of Tips After Round 4

Total Number of Tips: 142

TIPS

Note that the numbers are for identification only (and do not go in any particular order).

Business Aspects
- 128. Take time out to put together a strategic plan for your own company (even if/especially if you are a solo practitioner). Make a plan to be doing what you want to do, where you want to do it. Then put that plan into action. (David Herdlinger)
- 131. SOURCES OF CHEAP HELP. Many new consultants can't afford to hire a secretary or bookkeeper to help moderate the administrative burden. Try these sources of cheap labor. Hire a neighborhood teenager for filing or phone duty after school. These kids can often do simple programming, too. Talk to a local college about a non-paid intern. If you give them a real project and coach them, they may be able to get credit while you get free assistance. Barter with a local group that needs your kind of services. Make a deal with your spouse or S.O. to give you 4-8 hours a week of their time in exchange for help with chores they hate. (Kaye Vivian)
- 106. WORK REALITIES. When you start working as a consultant, you won't be working 100% on the work you love to do. Plan on 1/3 new business development, 1/3 administrative work, and 1/3 doing the real work. The more help you can get with the first two, the more time you will have for the last third. (Kaye Vivian)
- 117. Get all agreements in writing-verbal agreements and lent have about the same weight. (Rowland Yancey)
- 122. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB YET. One day you are a drone, slaving away for an employer. The next day you are a glamorous free-lance pursued by affluent clients. No, it does not work that way. The best approach is for you to get some consulting engagements while working on a regular job that makes your mortgage payments. Gradually accumulate enough reputation and long-term projects to make a transition to full-time consulting. Don't be sneaky, though. Inform your employer and get permission. Some of my successful consultant-friends have a mutually-beneficial arrangement that enables them to work part-time both as an external consultant and as an internal consultant for their corporation. (ST)
- 27. Get good legal and accountant advice from the get-go. (Pshank)
Clients
- 121. Often times, clients know the solution to their problems, They just need someone to boldly go where they are uncomfortable treading. (Rowland Yancey)
- 107. WHO'S IN CHARGE? Different projects for the same client may have different decision makers. For each project, identify who your key decision maker and your key influencers are, and then enlist their aid in getting the project accomplished. (Kaye Vivian)
- 108. WHO'S IN CHARGE? To identify your key decision maker on any project, here are some reliable indicators. The decision maker is the person who can say "yes" (many others can say "no"). The decision maker may be the one who controls the budget expenditure. The decision maker may be in a department unrelated to the project. The decision maker may not be your main contact, even when they say they are! Use tact to find the real source of authority. (Kaye Vivian)
- 15. Remember your clients' names and keep them holy: When you are being introduced to your client's associates, shake hands, trade business cards, and above all, remember their names. Don't try to impress them, or it will confuse you. Don't even try to make them laugh, or it will distract you. (BDeKoven)
- 2. Acknowledge resistance. At the start of many consulting projects, some of the client staff might be resistant to your participation as an outside consultant. From the beginning, make it safe for them to air their concerns, and acknowledge these concerns. Don't refute them (which makes people defensive). Just make it okay for the client to have them. (Alain)
- 13. A consultant should try to learn not to take things too personally. The client often has a hidden agenda that has nothing to do with you. (France-Marie)
- 67. When all is said and done, it is the clients decision not yours. The goal of a consultant is to facilitate decision-making by the client-not for the client. (Rowland Yancey)
- 64. Keep your ego in your pocket. Remember that you are getting paid to help the client be successful, not to make the client wrong so that you can be right. Your ego (and your bank account) will be much better fed over the long haul from the pocket spot than from the center of the table. (Michele Ehlers)
- 65. Remember: The client often knows the right answer for them better than you do. You just need to help them discover it. (Michele Ehlers)
- 66. Talk to as many people in a client organization as you can before you start making suggestions. You won't get the whole picture from one person, and you don't have the whole picture until you've gotten the whole picture. (Michele Ehlers)
- 59. Nothing you have to say is as important as anything the client has to say. Listen actively, and empathetically. Frequently summarize the clients needs, ideas, feelings. (Andy Kimball)
- 60. Know a need when you see one. Most consultants mistake solutions or interventions for needs. "They need training! They need a job aid! They need a left handed widget with 192 megabytes of RAM. It is more useful to look for client needs in their vision, their objectives, their challenges, their values. (Andy Kimball)
- 61. The Client doesn't care what you know until they know that you care. Take time to connect with the client. Find out what how they are measured. Find ways to make them a hero. Volunteer to help them prepare their presentations regarding your solution. Find ways to make their life easier. (Andy Kimball)
- 49. Assess the level of comprehension of your trainees and ensure that the training mainly be at the level of the trainee whose comprehension is the least. Or you could isolate and destroy his/her confidence. (Manjoosh)
- 47. Always place the interests of your clients ahead of your own personal interests. (David Herdlinger)
- 39. Listen, listen, question, question, listen some more. Sub text - just shut up. This must be constantly in your conscious mind. (Lou Russell)
- 38. Focus on customer benefit, not your feature. It's easy to get sucked into a speciality looking for a place to happen vs. really helping this particular customer in this unique context. (Lou Russell)
- 31. Build a relationship with the client. Don't be focused only on the technical deliverables. (Norm Gustafson)
- 1. Choose your clients carefully. Ensure there is a good values match, approach, etc. This will make for a more mutually enjoyable working relationship. (DGouthro)
- 14. A successful consultant is a great listener. Listen carefully to make sure you understand the client's needs and you deliver exactly what is expected of you. (France-Marie)
- 73. One of the most important skills we can use to be a more effective consultant is to listen! (Kevin Eikenberry)
- 78. Always remember, you are doing business with people. (Denise O'Berry)
- 79. Clients will buy for their reasons, not your reasons and sometimes they will buy in spite of your reasons. (Denise O'Berry)
- 88. Prospective clients don't care what you know until they know that you care. (David Herdlinger)
- 92. Drivers on slippery roads know that you need to drive in to the skid and not fight it. Similar principle is applicable when you face a 'skid' situation in training when a trainee may disagree and vocalize it. Don't drive against it by putting him down. Drive into it. Acknowledge, respect his experience and stand, promise to spend time with him later so that you don't waste others time. (Manjoosh)
- 96. Sheep begets sheep, a dog begets dogs, and Trainers begets Trainers. This is an unbreakable law. Trainers, you have a powerful calling, only you can make other trainers. Do that with passion. Envision producing trainers for the next generation. What you see is what you get. When you train visualize your trainees as what you want them to be. (Manjoosh)
- 98. If you really want to find out what's going on in your client's organization, make acquaintance with the custodian(s). They have uncanny knack for giving invaluable insight. (Rowland Yancey)
Concluding a Project
- 16. Always give a little more than expected; the client will appreciate it and it will mean more billable work coming your way. (France-Marie)
- 50. Transformation Principle - Part 1: Be sure that your trainee knows that effective transformation through training comes through putting to practice principles trained after the training is done. Build this awareness from the start of the training and reinforce as you go on. (Manjoosh)
- 51. Transformation Principle - Part 2: Build the awareness for the need of a healthy and balanced sense of accountability to a trusted friend or family member who will help the trainee to put to practice and transform to principles after the training. (Manjoosh)
- 52. Take time to spend a quality time with each trainee to build a personal bond and develop a healthy follow-up system beyond the training, where the 'training' can continue beyond the scheduled training in to complete transformation. (You can't train a winning team in 3 or 5 days, some need more help). (Manjoosh)
- 43. A successful project requires the input of many individuals. Be sure to recognize and thank all contributors. Consider sending personal notes of thanks. (Doreen Brady)
- 3. Do a +/Delta at the end of your project. Ask your clients what they liked about the project and about your participation, and ask for ideas they have for things they'd like to see next time. (Alain)
Conducting a Project
- 118. Develop your work plan and include an evaluative component-"fly by the seat of your pants" consultants often crash, leaving their projects an unsalvageable smoldering, twisted wreck. (Rowland Yancey)
- 101. Don't be afraid to ask the client for periodic assessment and feedback on your work with him/her. Your ability to accept and integrate honest feedback will ensure that you become a better consultant and that you get repeat engagements. (Rowland Yancey)
Credibility
- 4. Be open, honest and direct in all your dealings with clients and colleagues. The effort required to keep a good reputation is much less than what's required to get it back if you "stray" in the interests of building business "at any cost". (DGouthro)
- 62. Under promise and over deliver. Promise only what you can deliver, then go the extra mile and give them something they want but didn't contract for. Many consultants nickel and dime the client charging them for every penny spent and every minute of time spent on a project. Consistently give them more than they negotiated and you will find them looking for ways to return the favor. (Andy Kimball)
- 58. Be realistic about what you can and can't offer. Then, deliver what you promise. (Anne Thornley-Brown)
- 46. Do not represent two or more competing clients in areas of vital interest without informing each client. (David Herdlinger)
- 45. Always obtain your client's consent before you disclose any confidential information learned during the course of a professional engagement. (David Herdlinger)
- 34. Don't be afraid to say that you don't know. You can follow it with ". . . but I can find out." (Michelle Wolfe)
Financial Aspects
- 69. Get the cash in hand before developing any solutions. Clients have no problem with using gratis advice. (Rowland Yancey)
- 56. Don't allow clients to "low ball" you in terms of your fee. It will not give you an opportunity to build up a cushion to see you through the periods of low cash flow or the resources to invest in your marketing. (Anne Thornley-Brown)
- 57. Cash flow is everything when it comes to the long term survival of your business. If possible, save enough money to cover 4 - 6 months worth of your basic expenses and always keep refreshing that reserve after you find you have to dip into it. (Anne Thornley-Brown)
- 41. When pricing the project, include enough for regular face-to-face information gathering sessions/meetings, at least until you and the client have built a strong trust relationship. DON'T rely on e mails, whatever you do! (Jerry Hollis)
Follow Up
- 23. Keep yourself in front of any client with articles you know may interest them, new information to add to your past work and even something that addresses a personal interest or hobby. This helps to nuture the relationship. (PW)
- 20. Follow through, and stay in touch with the leads you develop, even if they don't lead to business right away. As time goes by, you'll find that you are receiving calls for your services by people who read an article you wrote, or attended one of your presentations, a year or more ago. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 5. Reflect on how you might have done a better job even after your invoice has been paid. As a consultant it is critical to continue to grow one's skill and capability. It is easy to stop once the cash is in the bank after any particular engagement. (DGouthro)
Initial Activities
- 136. No Vision, No Change: You can't implement real change without first understanding the organization's vision. Where does the client want the organization to be in 5, 10, 50 years? (Rowland Yancey)
- 140. Ask questions. (Glenn Parker)
- 138. Focus on the Business Success Basics: Keep costs low, productivity high, service positively outrageous, and black ink on financial statements. (Rowland Yancey)
- 129. During your initial meeting with a prospective client you are there to gain favorable attention and to do some fact finding. Be careful with the "c" word. How would you react if within the first 15 minutes of someone meeting you, they told you how they wanted to CHANGE you? (David Herdlinger)
- 18. Emptiness is good. When conducting your first interview with a new client, come empty-handed and with an open mind. If you have a solution to sell, leave it at home. Listen first. Listen well. Ask questions. Save your answers for later. (BDeKoven)
- 68. REMEMBER-the tip of the iceberg is not what sank the titanic, but the mass underneath. Clients will initially present the that tip of the iceberg as the problem. Successful consultants delve beneath the surface to solve that problem mass. (Rowland Yancey)
- 32. Clarify all client and consultant expectations up front. (Norm Gustafson)
- 33. Verify how the client defines success. Incorporate those definitions into the measurement of consultant deliverables. (Norm Gustafson)
- 28. Make sure emotional, financial, and social supports are in place. (Pshank)
- 21. Summarize. Before you end your first meeting with a new client, summarize what you think you heard. Summarize. Don't recommend. Don't empathize, apologize, or sermonize. Rather, do what you can to make sure that you understand what your client wants, and that your client knows you understand. (BDeKoven)
- 6. The harder it is to close the business, the harder it will be to do the business. There is a certain ease when there is a match between right consultant and right client. I have inevitably found that the ease or difficulty experienced in securing the business is reflected in the ongoing working relationship. Be prepared to walk away from business that is too difficult to obtain. (DGouthro)
- 74. Be clear with your client on what your deliverables are and make sure you have a common definition of them as well! (Kevin Eikenberry)
- 75. Leave your assumptions at the door. Every client situation is different. (Kevin Eikenberry)
- 76. The number one predictor of a successful engagement is a clear contract between you and the client. (Kevin Eikenberry)
- 80. Never answer an unasked question. (Denise O'Berry)
- 89. During the sales process get on the decision maker's agenda by asking questions--not lecturing. (David Herdlinger)
- 91. Clients buy your consulting services to satisfy their needs, to solve their problems, and to achieve their goals. Get on their agenda and begin every sale with the client and discovery of their needs. (David Herdlinger)
- 93. Always use a sense of anticipation as bait when you are training. Never give away the whole game plan up front, then you lose. A sense of anticipation hooks the trainee and keeps him alert through the session. (Manjoosh)
Interactions
- 139. Innovation is thinking of a way to sidestep an obstacle that blocks the vision and going another way. (Rowland Yancey)
- 141. Shut up. (Glenn Parker)
- 142. Say "Thank you." (Glenn Parker)
- 134. Practice what you preach ... if you believe in opening up people's creativity and imagination then be creative and imaginative yourself. Demonstrate those traits in everything you do. Lead by example, it gives others permission to do the same. (Chris Marino)
- 124. Be consistent. That doesn't mean be predictable. But it does mean give your clients a consistent view of who you are and what they can expect of you, and you'll find not only customer satisfaction, but customer loyalty in the process. (Austin Kirkbride)
- 126. Virtually everyone with whom you come in contact during your engagement can help or hinder your efforts. Deal with all of them with utmost courtesy and respect. (David Herdlinger)
- 109. GET BUY-IN IN ADVANCE. When you want a client to try something new or take a step in a direction where they have no experience, spend time with each member of the team privately to explain the idea in terms of their individual interests. By coaching them in advance, you will overcome the resistance to the new idea and find it pretty easy to bring everyone to where you want them to go. (Kaye Vivian)
- 119. Meetings over 1 1/2 hours will suffer from the law of diminishing returns. (Rowland Yancey)
- 120. Use reflective listening when communicating with the clients and colleagues- restate, rephrase, reflect feelings, and clarify- so that they know they are being heard. (Rowland Yancey)
- 100. When meeting with a client, try using "and" instead of "but". But negates every thing that was said previous to it, and nobody, particularly clients, likes to be negated. (Rowland Yancey)
- 102. One thing that drives clients crazy, is if you answer every question with a question. As the consultant, the client expects you to share your expertise in something. (Rowland Yancey)
- 104. How I interact with a new client is different from how I interact with an established client. For example, I can provoke, challenge, and question a client whose trust I have earned through years of collaborative work. With a new client, I try to more tactful. This does not mean I hide the truth from new client. It is just a choice of how blunt I want to be with a particular client. (ST)
- 94. A good consultant answers the client's questions. A great consultant questions the client's answers. (ST)
- 99. I used to get frustrated when my "good" ideas weren't [ac]cepted, then I noticed a remarkable phenomena that I call the "Phoenix Principle". If an Idea is beneficial and can possibly solve the problem, then like the Phoenix rises from the ashes, it's time will come. Clients WILL accept what will help them, when they are ready. (Rowland Yancey)
Marketing
- 127. Upon completion of a successful engagement ask your client for permission to use them as a reference. If they agree, ask if they would put their reference in writing to you. This way you can begin to put together your "brag book". (David Herdlinger)
- 133. GIVE IN ORDER TO GET. The old saying goes, "What goes around, comes around." Don't be afraid to give away some of your knowledge and experience for free. Put tips on the Internet, write articles for professional journals, speak to non-profit groups, give handouts containing more than your contact information. If you demonstrate what you know, people will call you for more. Don't worry, you'll discover you always have more! (Kaye Vivian)
- 123. DO IT BY THE BOOK. The best way to gain reputation is to write a book on the topic that you want to consult on. Invest the time to write this book. Make it different from other books in the area. Clearly indicate the process and conceptual framework that you will be using in your consulting work. Don't hold anything back. Try to make it a best seller. Find a reputable publisher. Include a page in the back of the book indicating that you are available for consulting projects. Conduct workshops around your book. (ST)
- 110. SELL CONSTANTLY. There's no better time to develop future work for the same client than when you are in the middle of a project. Take time to do little things for each member of the project team that will help them succeed and make them feel glad to have you around. Go the extra mile when you don't have to. You never know when an assistant manager on one project will be the leader on another. (Kaye Vivian)
- 113. Current clients provide the best source for referrals of new clients. Ask your clients for referrals (unless you really like cold calling). (David Herdlinger)
- 114. Look for companies needing to change out of inspiration and desperation. (David Herdlinger)
- 115. Poor salespersons attempt to sell products and services. Good ones sell solutions. However, the great ones sell their clients measurable results. (David Herdlinger)
- 9. Develop an area of industry expertise and vertical specialties. It makes it much easier to target your marketing efforts with credibility. (DGouthro)
- 54. Concentrate on marketing to potential clients within the "line" functions, not your HR and training colleagues. Unfortunately, the power and decision making authority still does not lie within those areas in many corporations. (Anne Thornley-Brown)
- 55. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Advertising in training association directories rarely pays off. Instead, save up your money and invest it in a logo, upgraded business cards and stationary. (Anne Thornley-Brown)
- 48. If you're talking, you're not selling. LISTEN for and to your client's needs. (David Herdlinger)
- 35. It's a good idea to have a web page so that potential clients can look at the quality of your work in advance. If you're developing a web page, use a graphics designer! Use caution in off-the-shelf themes that will look like what you paid for them (nothing). Keep a consistent theme that coordinates with your business cards and other marketing material. Web Page Design for Dummies (part of the "Dummies" series) offers great advice for what to do in this area. (Marilyn Fritz)
- 30. My business coach told me this. Ask your clients, if they are satisfied with your work, to give you three referrals who they will send a reference letter to. Ask them to give you copies. When you call these referrals, marketing is easier because your client created the red carpet treatment for you. (PW)
- 25. Stick with what you do well. You can't do it all and won't be able to. (Pshank)
- 24. We often evaluate the merits of a purchasing decision intellectually, but in the end, we buy things emotionally. When listening to a client, direct his/her description of the current, or "as/is" environment to where the "pain" is. Once you've established pain, ask questions like "what does this mean to you personally?" It's much easier to discuss money when the client/prospect is feeling personal pain over the current situation. (Peck)
- 22. Develop an "elevator speech." How would you describe what you do in 30 seconds, if you were riding down the elevator with a prospective client, and s/he said "what kind of consulting do you do?" (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 29. If you can only invest in a few things, at the beginning, good places to begin include: development of a professional logo; development of stationery and other marketing collateral that look truly professional and give you a big-company image, even if you are a one-person firm. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 19. You have to spend money to make money. Many trainers and consultants are reluctant to spend their own money on things like marketing, graphic arts services, training materials, etc. Yet we, of all people, should appreciate the value of specialized expertise, and be willing to pay for the services of those whose talents complement our own. If we don't, we run the risk of looking amateurish. While all new entrepreneurs do have to find ways to economize, leverage scarce marketing funds, and manage cash flow, cheap can be very expensive, and can cause us to lose business. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 7. Live long and prosper. I have been in the consulting business for more 20 years and most of my business is from repeat customers and word of mouth. Successful consulting is not a temporary activity between jobs. Stick to it for long periods of time (even if you have a day job to pay the mortgage). It takes time (among other things) to gain a credible reputation. (ST)
- 17. Learn to enjoy the low periods instead of getting over anxious and depressed; if you have done your marketing , you will soon be overwhelmed again. In the meantime you need to relax. (France-Marie)
- 71. Realize that as a consultant you should spend 50% of your time marketing and 50% delivering: the trick is to find a balance between these two essential aspects of your job. (France-Marie)
- 82. Strategic alliances are extremely important in the new economy. Form collaborative relationships with other entrepreneurs whose talents and services complement your own. Example: perhaps you can open doors for a colleague who provides training on computer software in exchange for leads to clients who need the soft skills training that you provide. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 83. It pays to advertise: Advertising in local ASTD publications is often far less expensive than direct mail, and it really does pull. If you can't afford to advertise on your own, perhaps you can team up with one of your strategic allies, and share the cost of an ad that focuses on the expanded range of services that your provide, through your alliance. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 84. Create a website for your business, and spend the few extra dollars needed to reserve your own domain name (xxxxx.com) rather than using the space your ISP gives you as part of your internet service package. Use the free space as a practice site; having your own website gives your company a stronger, more professional image and an address that can't be taken away from you if you decide to switch ISPs. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 85. Search for opportunities to gain exposure, even if you don't receive a fee. Professional associations like ASTD, ISPI, and NASAGA offer wonderful opportunities to make presentations, write articles, show what you can do, and build a following. (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 86. Think about your market positioning. No one can do everything for everyone. What do you offer that makes you different from other organizations or consultants in your field? What is your vision for your consultancy? Why should people hire you, rather than somebody else? What vertical market(s) (e.g., health care, higher education, non-profit organizations, government, manufacturing) would you prefer to serve? What background, experience, or special expertise do you have that qualifies you to serve these market(s)? (Barbara Blakeslee)
- 87. During the sales process, remember and use the 10 most persuasive words in the English language--discover, guarantee, money, proven, save, easy, love, new, results, YOU. (David Herdlinger)
Networking
- 8. Look for and value the opinions of consultants in areas other that your own. Internal & external consultants have lots to learn from each other; public and private and not-for-profit sector consultants have much to offer each other; and so on and so forth. (Dgouthro)
- 44. If you are an individual practitioner, it is difficult to establish quality control over your written documents. You should have someone else review your documents for accuracy and clarity before you submit them to your clients. (David Herdlinger)
- 26. Meet and form relationships with related consultants whose skills and ethical orientation mesh with yours. (Pshank)
- 72. See if you can barter your services for services that you need. Example: Perhaps you have a colleague who can design your website in exchange for services that you can provide to them. (Barbara Blakeslee)
Personal Growth
- 135. WINNING CONSULTANTS FOLLOW THE RISK TAKERS MOTTO: If the chances for success are good, then Go For IT! (Rowland Yancey)
- 137. If you can't be anything else in your life as a consultant, BE PROVOCATIVE. (Rowland Yancey)
- 112. Practice Authenticity. (David Herdlinger)
- 77. My tip is to BE YOURSELF and to remember to breathe so that you can be present with the client. Every time I think I need to know or do something other than being myself, I get distracted and nervous and I don't serve the client well. Breathing helps us to relax and think more clearly. If you're nervous or tense you will tend to hold your breath. How about taking a nice deep breath right now...ahhhhh. (Leslie Brunker)
- 70. Be true to your beliefs. Express what you truly believe in, not what you think your client wants to hear. Through being authentic, develop a client-consultant relationship based on honesty, truth, and openness. (Geoff Selig)
- 53. Trainer must always remember that a teacher teaches what he knows but a trainer trains what he is. Be a practicer of what you train or you will be just be teaching. Practice empowers training. (Manjoosh)
- 36. Take care of yourself. Consulting means that you are constantly bombarded with other people's projections about who you are and what you should be. Make sure you take plenty of time to be stable about who YOU think you are. This includes reflection / prayer, sleep, good food, exercise and friends. (Lou Russell)
- 37. Have hype, but never believe it. Someone else gave me this advice, and it is so true. You have to have brochures that make you sound like you walk on water but if you start believing your own hype, you can't help others. It's a game! (Lou Russell)
- 90. Your consulting practice is more likely to succeed, if you believe it will. Use affirmations every day. (David Herdlinger)
Pricing
- 105. A THREE-STEP PRICING FORMULA. How much should you charge for a day of your service? Step 1. Choose your annual income. Step 2. Multiply this number by 3 (because you need money for taxes, rent, insurance, equipment, supplies, marketing, and hundreds of other things). Step 3. Divide this number by 80 (approximate number of chargeable days in a year). This gives your daily rate. Example: I want to make $40,000 per year. Multiplying by 3, I get $120,000. Dividing by 80, I get $1500. Of course, you have to take other factors into consideration before you determine your final daily rate. (ST)
- 116. If you allow your fees to be lowered, they will be. Don't do it. Stand up for value. (David Herdlinger)
Professional Development
- 125. When you Give Your Word (regarding appointment, deadlines, action steps, etc.), Keep Your Word. This is your integrity at stake. (David Herdlinger)
- 40. Never stop learning - rookies make better consultants because they are not locked on to a fixed set of ideas. (Lou Russell)
- 81. Keep your role clearly in mind at all times. Are you a pair of hands, a subject matter expert, a mentor, a coach, or something else? (Kevin Eikenberry)
Proposals
- 132. WRITE EFFECTIVE PROPOSALS. When a prospect asks for a bid, it's an opportunity to display what you know through a specific lens. Put yourself in the prospect's shoes. Think about all the influences and factors they live with. Now, what would you need to know about yourself in order to pick you from the pack? What would make you stand out? Regardless of what they ask for, they really just want to know you have the solution for their problem. Make your proposal address how you'll solve the problem. (Kaye Vivian)
- 11. Keep your proposals short and sweet. Many traditional management consulting firms create enormous proposals... but the best consulting sales I've seen were accomplished through the relationships, complemented with a brief proposal. (Alain)
- 63. Offer to write their RFP for them. Clients hate to write RFPs. Offer to write the RFP for the service they are considering you for delivering. By helping to craft the questions in the RFP, and by helping the client to understand the importance of your structure of criteria for evaluating a vendor you will have a significant advantage over the competition. You might also offer to help evaluate the responses. Make sure to get your response in early. (Andy Kimball)
- 10. If you do need to submit a comprehensive proposal, do so. But remember, when it is time for face to face, to let go of your attachment to the document. In face to face, you need to listen to your clients more than ever and be responsive to what they say, not refer to the document for "proving" you have thought through everything. (Alain)
Resources
- 130. BECOME YOUR OWN LIBRARIAN. Learn to use search engines. It may seem obvious, but we all often put in key words and get thousands of useless returns. Choose one or two search engines you like and then study their Advanced Search pages to learn the best way to get results. It will pay off when you are under pressure to deliver a project and need some specific piece of information that you know is out there somewhere. (Kaye Vivian)
- 111. CONSULTING IS COACHING. You can think of consulting as coaching your client or your client group. Therefore, many of the skills associated with coaching are applicable to consulting activities. For a list of powerful coaching tips, check out the website page www.thiagi/email-coach101-tips.html . Select those that are immediately applicable to your consulting situation. (ST)
- 12. Play it by the book. Read Elaine Biech's The Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond (ISBN: 0-7879-4021-6). If this book were around when I started consulting, it would have saved a lot of my time. (ST)
- 42. Read Geoffrey Bellman's book, The Consultant's Calling: Bringing Who You Are to What You Do (ISBN 1555422535). It's full of wonderful advice including suggestions for finding an appropriate balance between work and family life. (Doreen Brady)
Time Management
- 103. For you to function effectively as a full-time consultant, you need these assistants: marketing and sales person, accountant, business manager, and secretary. I know that you cannot afford to hire any of these people, but their functions still have to be fulfilled. If you don't take time to market your services, send invoices, pay taxes, proof-read reports, and make hotel reservations, your clients will think that you are running a sloppy operation. Remember that you need to set aside a couple of preparation-and-follow-up days for each day of contact time with your client. (ST)
Training
- 95. Use word pictures or parables when you are training. Some abstract principles may not be easy for some trainees. A word picture can communicate these powerfully and easily. It will save you a thousand non-picture words and time. Rethink, restructure your principles into word pictures. (Manjoosh)
- 97. When you train plan to make them better than you. Give every thing you have and more. Don't hold back. If you hold back you are choking the lifeline of the next generation. If you give all have and more, you are leaving a legacy. (Manjoosh)