There are many facets in the preparation to becoming a good consultant. The education levels and experience of an individual are some of the key factors for success. A good consultant has to have the ability to work with people, as well as being able to run a business as a sole-proprietor. Some of the skills that are important to a consultant include the ability to plan, prepare, organize, and handle many tasks at once and diligence. A good consultant should also be able to learn from other people in order to keep on sharpening their skills. Consultancy requires a hard-working individual, who has the ability to be creative in offering solutions to different individuals. It also requires a person who thinks quickly and a person who takes initiative to find new opportunities around them.
A successful consultant requires possessing certain skills that will enable them to be successful in their career. One of these skills is an understanding of business development. As a consultant, business development is an activity that is always in the background as it never stops. An individual need to be continuously involved in networking activities, as well as looking around for opportunities to do business (Weiss, 2011). Finding opportunities require that a person is alert to issues happening around them whether it is on social media platforms or in real life situations. Various situations can lead to a business opportunity that may benefit an individual.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
A second skill that is important to a consultant is clarity in terms of the services that an individual offer. This skill appears easy to many consultants but it requires tact. The skill requires selling of solutions to the problems which customers face (Matthias & Campbell, 2017). A successful consultant is one who is able to code solutions into fairly priced services that customers can understand and purchase. The ability to explain to individuals why they should pay for a certain service demonstrated an ability to clearly communicate to prospective customers about services an individual can offer. A good consultant also needs to be a closer. This means that they can easily understand the problem of a potential client, view it as an opportunity and quickly frame a method of delivering a solution that will be interested in purchasing.
The success of a consultant also comes from their ability to know their worth. Skill in business development may ensure a steady flow of work, but the correct pricing of services determines the profitability of the profession. The rate that a consultant charges their customers should be a reflection of the years that they have spent crafting and perfecting their skill (Markham, 2019). A consultant who knows their worth is able to command exceptional fees for offering their services. While negotiations for an agreeable price can be made, it does not mean that a consultant should accept less than their worth. A good consultant should also know their buyer. This means that a consultant should be able to know when and who to charge for their services. Sitting on advisory boards for instance could open doors for more clients in the future. However, a consultant should know when they need to stop offering free services.
A good consultant should also be a student of their craft. Successful consultants are passionate and need to be interested in continuous learning about their subject matter. They have the ability to integrate their career experience, research, and their consulting practice to come up with new frameworks that can be used in offering solutions to clients (Nash, 2016). An admirable consultant is one who is willing to make plans, strategize, and move on to execution of plans without fear.
One of the ways of attracting clients in consultancy is through asking for referrals from friends, and former clients. Referrals are a sure way of landing clients as they can only come from people who have been satisfied with services in the past (Akaeze & Akaeze, 2017). While referrals may be rare and far between, they can almost guarantee a business deal. Clients can also be obtained by offering an incentivized program to anyone who brings in a new client. A flat rate fee or percentage of the business deal can be offered, and this will increase the number of new clients a consultant will have. Networking can also be done in various social media platforms and a consultant can make comments that may help them to get more clients to serve. However, caution needs to be exercised as there are many scammers on social media who may be looking to defraud individuals.
Clients can also be attracted to a consulting firm through intensive marketing. A consultant can use a marketing strategy where they ask people in their circles to always recommend them for consulting services (Poulfelt,Oslon, Bhambri & Greiner, 2017). This approach could be used by a group of friends and acquaintances to ensure that everyone in the circle benefits from referrals from other members of the group. For instance, the doctor and lawyer in the group could always recommend each other to their specific clients to ensure that they both benefit from the same group of people. It is therefore crucial that a consultant interacts with individuals from other professions related to their industry and seek to obtain mutually benefitting referrals for all parties involved.
Proposal writing is an important skill that every consultant should be willing to learn. A good proposal should explain the identity of the consultant, what they do, their qualification for the job, and also demonstrate their ability to deliver the job (Weiss, 2011). A proposal should also include a demonstrated understanding of the requirements of a client, the discernment of the problem, the approach and methodology to e followed in tackling the problem, reasons why they should be chosen to complete the task, previous experience, references and costs of taking on the job. Proposals vary in size and content, depending on the client, and they also show variations in length, scope and format, but they fulfill a similar objective (Nash, 2016).
Independent consulting is highly individualistic in that the success or failure of an independent consulting firm is based on the belief system and work ethic of the owner. More often than not, consulting firms belonging to individuals are influenced by personal characteristics and their unique circumstances. The influence of individuals in consulting firms can be good or bad for the firm depending on a few factors. Positive influence of a consultant can positively impact the business in the same way that negative influence will impact the business negatively. In sole proprietorship businesses, the personal values of the owner tend to be reflected in the dealings of the business as well (Markham, 2019).
Personal characteristics of an individual can affect the type of cases and clients that a consultant will take on (Matthias & Campbell, 2017). In the legal profession for example, a lawyer may be selective in regards to the type of clients they may choose to take. Some lawyers are notoriously famous for taking on cases of people who are guilty of certain crimes such as murder, or embezzlement of public funds. These are cases which few lawyers would choose to take due to their personal beliefs, moral values or personal characteristics. In the same way, consulting firms tend to work with clients that share similar moral values to that of the firm or the owner. In consultancy, it is important to work with clients and companies with a shared moral value as one will be able to work passionately and guarantee higher chances of client satisfaction in the delivery of services.
Consultancy is a noble and honorable profession with many advantages and benefits to its practitioners. One of the greatest satisfactions of consultancy is when one is able to use their expertise to offer solutions to another person. These solutions also have the potential to be life-changing to individuals and they make the profession worth all the hard work, commitment and dedication involved in offering timely solutions to customers. In order to run successful consultancy firms an individual needs to be ready to learn, and develop decision making skills alongside critical thinking skills. The ability to carry out business development helps a consultant improve how they attract clients and package themselves to potential clients. A consultant also needs to wear many hats especially those who run firms by themselves or are in partnerships involving few people. It is imperative that consultants choose to engage in areas where they are passionate about as personal values and characteristics tend to influence how they conduct business.
References
Akaeze, N., & Akaeze, C. (2017). Skills required by consultants for success within the competitive auto sales business environments. Journal of Business Theory and Practice, 5, 42-63.
Markham, C. (2019). The Art of Consultancy. Legend Press Ltd.
Matthias, O., & Campbell, J. (2017). Consultancy in management education. In Management Consultancy Insights and Real Consultancy Projects (pp. 124-132). Routledge.
Nash, S. (2016). Starting and Running a Successful Consultancy 3rd Edition: How to Market and Build Your Own Consultancy Business. Hachette UK.
Poulfelt, F., Olson, T. H., Bhambri, A., & Greiner, L. (2017). The changing global consulting industry. In Management consulting today and tomorrow (pp. 5-36). Routledge.
Weiss, A. (2011). The consulting bible: Everything you need to know to create and expand a seven-figure consulting practice. John Wiley & Sons.
