SolveYourProblem
eBusiness Series:
How To Start Your Own
Coaching or Consulting Business
( 18 pages )
Consulting Tips
- When approaching
someone for the first time looking for a potential client,
do not ask for their help or for a job, ask them for advice.
Although there are some charitable folks out there who
like to help people, everyone loves to give advice. You
can accomplish the same thing you would by asking for help,
simply by posing your question in the form of “asking for
advice”.
- Make the advantages of your
services easy to understand. Be clear and concise whenever
you are communicating the features and benefits of your
services. Be sure to explain what it is that you can do,
and more importantly, why your client will benefit from
securing your services.
- Set yourself apart are through
great service. Always treat the customer as #1. Be willing
to go the extra mile for your customers. This will garner
you more hat you ill ever know in the realm of word-of-mouth
referrals.
- Work for referrals. Word of
mouth is the least expensive, most effective way to get
new business.
- Don¹t try to be everything
to everyone. You know what you do well, and you should
capitalize on that. At first it may be necessary to take
jobs that you would rater not be doing, but you will find
that shortly after, if you do the footwork, word of mouth,
as well as other forms of advertising will carry you to
a point where you can pick and choose your clients. Pick
and choose well…
- …just as customers screen you,
you should decide who you want to work for. If you have
the opportunity to do so (i.e.: enough business), screen
your clients.
- Never sell, help people buy.
No one likes to be “sold to”, but it’s all in the delivery
(see tip #1). When you honestly put your client¹s
interests above your own, you will become a better consultant,
a better partner, and a better team member for your client.
When you put the customer first, you earn a long-term loyalty
that is an order of magnitude more profitable than a one
time quick sale, no matter how large that one sale would
be.
- Use online marketing as much
as possible. Dollar for dollar, the Internet is the most
cost effective method of advertising. Start with a web
site, but don’t stop there. Targeted e-mail marketing (not
unsolicited, untargeted spam) can work wonders for all
kinds of businesses. Internet message boards are an awesome
vehicle for homegrown grassroots guerilla marketing. For
the cost of a broadband Internet connection, you will have
an entire planet of ‘net users to get the word out to,
all it takes is a little experience, and a little skill.
- Partner with other businesses
that serve your market. This can be especially effective
when you have two up-and-coming startups who service similar,
yet not competitive markets. It can also be helpful to
talk to people working for established companies that serving
the demographic you wish to reach.
- Create free publicity for yourself
whenever possible. Even if it means giving away some of
your work for free. There are times when “2 birds in the
bush” are worth more than “one in the hand”.
- Shift the risk to yourself
and you will profit. A realistic guarantee makes it safe
for potential customers/clients to try your services. Very
few people will take advantage of a generous guarantee
compared to the extra business it can generate.
- Be personable. To build relationships
you have to build a personal connection with people. It
is critical to be personable without being phony.
- Be opportunistic. A career
as a consultant means having to be on your toes and on
the lookout for opportunities whenever they may arise.
Always be prepared to do business in a different way and
accept things as they come to you. While you are paying
attention to every possible way to advantage yourself also
make sure you are…
- Flexible. Flexibility is a
core quality of all successful consultants. While you cannot
be everything to everybody, it is important some times
to be as “much as you can be” at any given time. Consultants
are not hired on as extraneous staff for “just in case”
scenarios. Consultants are hired because they are needed
right now because they are the cream of the crop. Consultants
get things done and they get it done yesterday.
- Don’t be too proud to give
your work away. There will be times, especially near the
beginning of your career that you may find the need to
work a little overtime for free, or perhaps even give away
an entire project or two. While giving away your skills
may not seem like the most cost effective thing to do with
your time, if you are opportunistic (see #13) and have
the insight to know when a little freebie here could potentially
mean a lot of paying work at a later time, it will definitely
pay off.
Consulting
Summary
By applying the
techniques documented in this guide, we believe that anyone
out there can become involved in the extremely rewarding,
highly profitable world of consulting. In closing, we just
want to emphasize that the core competencies of the successful
consultant are organization, proactive behavior, and consummate
professionalism.
This career choice
can be summed up in one word, and that word is “autonomy”.
If you are interested
in taking control of your personal freedom and professional
future, then you should seriously consider a consultant path
for your career. The amount of control you can have is unparalleled
in other career paths, and the benefits, after your “dues
are paid” greatly outweigh the negatives.
For those of you
about to take a step to emancipation from the shackles of
the typical corporate ideology, we wish the greatest of luck,
and happy consulting!
 
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