By defining your goals for reading this book, you can focus your attention on the areas that are most interesting to you. So now that you've decided what you want to achieve, let's see how you can use this book to make it happen. Reading this book will help you decide whether consulting is an option you want to consider.
If you decide yes, this book will give you an understanding of the steps you need to take to create a successful consulting business.
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SECTION ONE
CHAPTER ONE
In the United States, it was found that almost 33 million people - more than the population of Canada - were out of work. With the recession of the 90s and the breakdown of the perceived employment contract between employers and employees, there has been a huge jump in the number of people classified as self-employed. Due to the many changes in the business world, there are many more consultants today than ever before.
In the same way, you can choose to work on a consulting contract even if you answered "yes" more often as a different way to start and build a network of contacts and some credibility with successful client engagements.
CHAPTER TWO
Listed on page 16 are some of the pros and cons that should be evaluated when considering consulting as a full-time career. One of the most common false assumptions is that you will earn more money and have more. As a result of her work with the training company, she has an excellent knowledge of the consulting process and possesses excellent sales and marketing skills.
In the following table you will find an expansion of the list you just started about the general characteristics of the four animals.
CHAPTER THREE
Your vision describes the big idea of what you stand for, the future you want to have: 'I am working on. The vision statement should be fairly precise, yet provide general direction for your consulting business. Key words in his vision statement were “call centers” (this could include technical support and customer service centers), “optimize,” “productivity.”
When you get started in your consultancy business, it is probably sufficient to just use a vision statement, with the key result areas.
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4 Some
Key result areas reflect the most important areas of your consulting business responsibilities, the areas in which results must be achieved. Headings Key result areas should be headings that describe the areas within which the team's results are to be achieved. Complete key result areas should cover all aspects of your business – everything you do and need to do should be included somewhere in a key result area.
X When you define your key performance areas, they are representative of your entire workload.
CHAPTER FOUR
Financial plan Your financial plan identifies the sources and uses of your money in your business. After determining how much money you need through your profit and loss and your cash flow, your business plan should indicate where the money will come from. The business plan should include an overview of your credentials, including major accomplishments, degrees, and any other information that will position you as an expert in your field.
X Take a moment to think through the sections in the business plan and complete the answers as best you can to the questions below. X Provide a cohesive strategy by completing an eight-page business plan, including a finalized vision and unique selling proposition, by December 31, 200X. In the meantime, he began creating a simple PowerPoint marketing presentation that captures some of the information in his business plan to ensure he is coherent and consistent in positioning his business to potential customers.
Taking the time to complete the business plan will ensure that you are taking the right steps to build your consulting business and will not be sidetracked into other areas. If you are ill or have illness in the family, your business may be exposed and you may have insufficient financial resources. She has written a simple business plan following the outline in the materials for her own use only, as she does not want to use outside funding to start the business.
Once you've established your key performance areas and written your business plan, it's critical to write goals for your business and create a list of milestones to ensure you're making progress. X What software or books do you intend to buy to help you write your business plan.
SECTION TWO
CHAPTER FIVE
Depending on your company's focus, formal and informal approaches can be used in the market research process. In this phone interview, you could ask questions such as: “If you were in my position, what would you do?” “Who do you think would be interested in the services?” “What else might they be interested in?”. She created a list of 30 people she plans to talk to over the next three weeks.
Be sure to set specific goals for your marketing plan – what doesn't get measured doesn't get done. It answers the questions 'What's in it for me?' or 'What's in it for the company?'. But the mental exercise of distinguishing between the features and benefits of your consulting service will help you in the sales interaction and as you create marketing confidence for yourself (as described later in this chapter).
As you can see in the funnel shown in Chapter 6, promotional activity helps increase awareness and create interest, but does not validate a need. There are more than 7,000 trade publications in the US, most of which are actively seeking material. In the early stages of your business, trade shows can seem like an expensive investment.
In the next chapter, we'll look at how this database can be used proactively in your business development process. X In terms of your marketing plan, what do you consider the market for your product or service.
CHAPTER SIX
Customers If you are successful in clearly defining the customer's requirements, the prospect will often become a customer. X Think about the client's current business situation, overall business goals, and specific challenges in the area you can help. X Be sure to position the additional person in the client meeting as a colleague from your advisory team.
X To what extent did the consultant pay attention to the client's body language and move on to gathering information about needs. X Paraphrase the key information gathered in the meeting(s) with the client and repeat what the client requested. X Indicate what expected results and potential benefits the client will obtain as a result of the appointment.
Background Information Include a summary of the background information you gathered during the meetings. If this is the first time you are working with the client, you may need to include a summary of qualifications, client list and possible references. If you provide too much advice and/or data, the customer may decide to do the work themselves.
Now you have to make sure that the client pays you and that you get the job done successfully. Obviously, the more information you have at your fingertips before meeting with a client, the better.
SECTION THREE
CHAPTER SEVEN
The purpose of the cash flow analysis is to determine whether you will have sufficient sources of incoming funds to meet the required outgoing uses. In the previous example, if everything else remains constant, however we use cash flow statements to manage the financial side of the business, you can see the difference in the following example. Most likely, many of March's costs will have to be paid before those revenues are received.
When determining your billing rate, be aware of the customs of your community and industry. The disadvantage for the developer of this structure is that they do not know how much the project will cost and have less control over the cost outcome. To reduce your risk, you must have a very clear overview of the project's specifications.
That way, if the customer asks you to do something extra, you can say you'd like to help, but since the terms of the contract have changed, you'll have to negotiate for more money. In addition, if you have to travel out of the country, you can consider charging a lower daily price for the travel day in question. X Be aware of the financial consideration: see later notes, not only with regard to the amount to be paid, but the terms of payment that you will adhere to.
X Be clear about the ¢nancial payment. see below), not only in terms of the amount to be paid, but also the payment terms you will accept. The general industry standard is for the consultant or consulting organization that gets the work to keep about 50% of the revenue.
SECTION FOUR
CHAPTER EIGHT
X You can look like Edward Scissor Hands when you talk to customers and they wouldn't know it. X Self-discipline is essential to avoid temptations such as good weather, soap operas and drinks from the fridge. X Office space can act as a 'red flag' for the tax man if you claim deductions for a home office.
X There may be complications when you sell the house, because you are now selling a house and an office. Marie has decided to work from home and has created a dedicated office space in what used to be the dining room. This is separate from the rest of the house, so it has the advantage of being able to close off the office when not working.
She learned from the first time she was a consultant that her family had a tendency to forget she was working when she was home, so this time she made sure to set ground rules around office and break times. X Share an office with other professionals; You might even be able to trade services for space. The most important factor to consider when deciding on office space is to ensure that you have a dedicated space and that you can separate/close off the office space from your home.
When consultants start their consulting practice, working from home is often the simplest and most suitable option, and in view of this it is worth thinking of ways to overcome the disadvantages.
