Successful Consultants

RSS Feed Homepage

Building Your Prospect List (Part 2)
2010-12-29 21:30:00
// In Part 1 I wrote about where to find your prospects. Today I’m going to tell you about another way to find prospects and also how these and your other prospects can opt-in to receive information from you in the future. The Internet is vast and it takes your ability to connect with potential ...
More About: Building , Consultant , List

Building Your Prospect List (Part 1)
2010-12-29 21:18:00
// Your prospect list is perhaps the most valuable asset you will acquire and use repeatedly over the years to come. You have a service to offer people, you have a web site to act as a shop front or brochure and you have many ways in which you can build your reputation. The next thing ...
More About: Building , Consultant , List , Part

Focus on 5 Points Every Single Day
2010-12-29 14:55:00
I want to share with you a few quick tips that will make your journey to six figure successful consulting a lot easier, more enjoyable and increase your chances of success. Focus on the following 5 points every single day: » Positive attitude » Hard work » Knowledge » Excellence » Giving to others With a ...
More About: Consultant , Single , Points

Create Your Client Getting Commercial
2010-12-29 14:51:00
// When I started out consulting, I was proud to be an independent consultant and I had some great looking business cards. But when I was at an event where I had the opportunity of speaking to people who might be potential clients, I tended to clam up when they asked; “so what is it ...
More About: Commercial , Consultant

25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself
2010-12-29 14:41:00
I want you to download an ebook which is called “25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself” Click here to download the ebook It covers the following 25 points: 1) Care as if it’s your own 2) Do your daily work with passion 3) Build strong relationships 4) Dream big 5) Set the right expectations 6) Ask ...
More About: Consultant

Useless Consultants
2010-12-29 14:07:00
It still astonishes me to walk the coridors of leading organisations and witness consultants consistently turning up for meetings late, mobile phones being used in meetings, miserable faces and sub-standard communication which causes confusion, misunderstandings and a waste of time and effort. The list below is a simplistic reminder of what ‘should’ be second nature ...
More About: Consultant , Useless

Building Your Consulting Web Site
2010-12-29 12:41:00
Your web site is the most basic part of your consulting business. It’s your brochure, your showcase and shop window to the outside world. Tesco, Harrods and Boots are all very complex businesses but the strategy and structure within theses companies would mean very little without their shop floor where their customers come to buy. It’s the same with consulting, you ...
More About: Building , Consultant , Consulting , Site

Independent Consulting ? is it for you?
2010-12-29 12:23:00
Regular people are earning $100K to $800k per year as ‘Independent Consultant s’ – helping people and businesses every day, in many ways. If you are an expert in something, you have the potential to be a successful consultant. If you are already established as a consultant, you have every opportunity to take your income into ...
More About: Consulting

First Timer?s Guide to Consulting
2010-12-29 03:49:00
1. Is contracting the life for me? In this guide we explore the advantages and disadvantages of contracting and give 10 qualities that make a successful contractor. 2. How to write a good CV Your prospective employer will very likely be bombarded with CVs for any given vacancy. We tell you how to make the ...
More About: Consultant , Consulting , Guide , Timer

Successful consultant stories wanted
2007-02-02 16:00:08
I might be a successful consultant in my own area (IT Management Consulting) and I can write about that all day long. But like all of us, I’m not not sitting in the right place to write about all types of consulting. So I’ve decided to put the word out and ask for successful consultants from all areas of expertise to write something (200-400 words) about their story of being a successful consultant. It doesn’t matter what type of consultant you are. I’ve listed a few types below but really, I want to hear from all kinds of successful consultants.   Management consulting Human resource consulting Career consulting IT consulting Marketing consulting Legal consulting Financial consulting Medical consulting Government consulting Manufacturing consulting Training consulting Scientific consulting Process consulting Personal finance consulting Alternative medicine consulting Spiritual consulting Image consulting Health and fitness consulting Send your article to me...
More About: Stories , Consultant , Success , Tories , Sultan

Careers at 10 top consulting firms
2007-01-29 21:56:04
If you don’t want to miss any superb career opportunities that appear in a HR department of one of the world’s leading Cons ulting firms, then consider registering your CV with them. I’ve pulled together some of the best career portals at some of the world’s best consulting firms and included their links below. You might be actively looking out for your ext opportunity or just passively interested in opportunities that could catapult your career into a new an exciting phase. Over to you! …     McKinsey Logica CMG IBM EDS Deloitte Booz Allen Hamilton Atos Origin Accenture Bain and Company Bearing Point But if you have the time and opportunity to choose from more than one opportunity from the above and other top consulting firms, which would you go for? Consulting Magazine surveyed 5,058 consultants from 32 consulting firms - around 152 consultants per firm. Questions were grouped into six: Compensation Work/life balance Care er development Job experience ...
More About: Careers , Career

Top 25 management tools for 2007
2007-01-29 09:56:02
Darrell Rigby from Bain Company has just published “Mana gement Tool s 2007: An Executive’s Guide”. It’s an excellent PDF which looks at the key management tools used by executives, including five new tools that have entered the game. With the explosion of available tools, it’s not always easy to ensure that you use all that are appropriate. Darrell’s document allows us to take stock and reflect on what is available and how we might use those tools in our environment. In fact Bain looks at the top 25 tools every year or so. There’s a link at the bottom of this posting where you can download the report. But before that, here’s the list of tools that are discussed in Bain’s document; 1.   Balanced Scorecard 2.   Benchmarking 3.   Business Process Reengineering 4.   Collaborative Innovation 5.   Consumer Ethnography 6.   Core Competencies 7.   Corporate Blogs 8.   Customer Relationship Management 9.   Customer Segmentation 10. Growth...
More About: Men

Top 75 UK consultancies
2007-01-27 21:54:02
The total fee income for the top 75 consulting firms in the UK grew by £455m for the 2005 financial year, or 9.6%, according to a survey conducted by managementconsultancy.co.uk. This a much lower rate of growth than the previous year. It’s also a much lower fee income increase. The 2003/04 gain was 13.9%, which included an extra £574min total fee income. It’s is a big disappointment for the industry. The survey, managementconsultancy.co.uk noted that in 2006, Detica joined the ranks of the £100m+ players, who together earned a total fee income of nearly £4bn,or 77.6%of the total of all firms on the UK Top 75 list. It was also interesting to learn that consulting firms with above-average growth for both of the past two financial years shows that 25 firms, have consistently grown at rates far above the industry norm. Download the six page PDF report here
More About: Sultan , Cons , Ulta

Being an independent consultant
2007-01-26 09:53:01
A consultant is an independent contractor who sells professional expertise in a particular area of specialisation. The consultant performs work for a fee within an agreed time frame with his customer. Note that I’m not talking about people who are employed by a consulting firm. I’m talking about people who stand on their own two feet and are independent consultants in their own right, who run their own business. Depending on the specialisation, the consultancy field can be highly competitive, but it can also be highly lucrative. There are many who have the skills and knowledge required to do the work of a consultant, so if your area is in Java Development, you might be the greatest coder around, but the real challenge in being a successful consultant is not just being good at your trade. You have to be business savvy too with an ability to market yourself, negotiate and more. The consultant who is only good at his trade will often find himself working for low fees, taki...
More About: Consultant , Sultan , Independent , Bein , Being

Management consulting associations
2007-01-26 09:53:01
Below is a list of some of the organisations that support professional development and ethics of Management Consultants. This is very unexhausted so please feel free to let me know of any others that could be included here. Institute of Management Consultants USA Canadian Association of Management Consultants Institute of Management Consultants Australia   UK Institute of Management Consultants International Council of Management Consulting Institutes Association of Management Consulting Firms Soci ety for the Advancement of Consulting   Association of Internal Management Consultants   European Federation of Management Consultancy Organisations
More About: Men

Document management questions
2007-01-26 09:53:01
If you’re unfamiliar with document management, you’ll naturally have a host of questions that you’d like answered. Data Capture Solutions in the UK has provided an clear and consise FAQ page on their web site that address the following questions: 1.   What is document management? 2.   Is document management the same as document scanning or document imaging? 3.   What is an Electronic Document Management System? 4.   What is a Web based document management System? 5.   What are the advantages of Electronic Document Management Systems? 6.   How does this help document and information management? 7.   Is there a Document Management Return on Investment Analysis? 8.   Is there a document management systems comparison available? 9.   What document management software is available? 10. How can I perform a Document Management Cost Analysis? 11. What types of documents are included within a document management system? 12. What types of organisation can benefit from electro...
More About: Question , Questions , Men , Quest

How to hire a management consultant
2007-01-26 09:53:01
So you know that a management consultant is an expert who helps the management of client organisations define and achieve their goals. But that’s just the beginning because you are likely to have any nunber of unanswered questions that prevent you from moving forward. The Institue of Management Consultant s USA has published an excellent PDF which addresses many of the common questions that arise when considering the idea of using a management consultant. These are: 1.  What kind of management consultants can I use? 2.  How can I tell if I need a consultant? 3.  How do I determine what needs to be changed? 4.  How do I find a competent consultant? 5.  How do management consultants charge for their services? 6.  How do I screen recommended consultants? 7.  How do I make the final selection? 8.  What kind of an agreement do I make with a consultant? 9.  How do I assure the successful completion of the project? 10. How do I assure confidentiality and avoid conflict of interest? 11...
More About: Hire , How To , Men

Institute of Management Consultants USA
2007-01-26 09:53:01
The Institute of Management Consultant s USA, INC. was founded in 1968 to establish management consulting as a self-regulating profession meriting the same public confidence and respect as medicine, accounting and law. Its primary purpose is to assure the public that its members possess ethical standards, professional competence, and independence required to practice as management consultants. Those individuals who meet the strictest professional requirements are designated Certified Management Consultants and may use the designation CMC after their names. All IMC USA members pledge in writing to abide by the Institute?s Code of Ethics. Their adherence to the Code signifies voluntary assumption of self-discipline above and beyond the requirements of law. Key provisions of the Code specify: My Commitment to My Clients 1.0 I will serve my clients with integrity, competence, independence, objectivity, and professionalism. 2.0 I will mutually establish with my clients realistic expectati...
More About: Men , Sultan

Top 25 management concepts
2007-01-26 09:53:01
Bain & Company began a research project in 1993 which spanned 12 years, consisting of 10 surveys and 7,283 participants in over 70 countries. The objective was to gather facts about the tools managers around the world use, and the trends that the respondents saw impacting their businesses in the years ahead. Bain?s objectives were: 1) To provide managers with information they need to identify and integrate tools that will improve bottom-line results 2) To understand how global executives view their strategic challenges and priorities The latest survey focused on 25 of the most popular management tools and techniques. This is an excellent list of the top 25 concepts that management consultants should be conversant in. 1. Activity-Based Mana gement 2.  Balanced Scorecard 3.  Benchmarkng 4.  Business Process Reengineering 5.  Change Management Programs 6.  Core Competences 7.  Customer Relationship Management 8.  Customer Segmentation 9.  Economic Value-Added Analyses 10. Growth St...
More About: Men , Concepts , Once

Document management and compliance
2007-01-26 09:53:01
Compliance has made it essential for organisations control all its documents. This means it is critical that orginisations install good document management systems to ensure ease of use, security and easily available documents. Good business intelligence systems and effective enterprise content management systems are now in high demand, as are the document management consultants who can help companies prepare and present documents in thr ight way. Based on the needs of a particular orgainisation, an experienced Document Mana gement Consuluant will ensure that the most appropriate system is deployed. For compliance strategies to be effective, users must have access to reliable, secure and smooth flowing content. When the compliance requirements are used effectively, the system performance can be greatly enhanced. All documents generated by company staff, (including e-mail) must be carefully recorded, archived and readily available. Document management systems used to facilitate  docum...
More About: Men , Comp

Document management consultants
2007-01-26 09:53:01
Document Management Consultant s provide a range of document and information management solutions and services that help companies to more efficiently manage their company documentation and business data. A document management system (DMS) is a system used to track and store electronic documents and images of paper documents. Document management consulting will advise on systems which can provide capabilities such as; Metadata, Integration, Capture, Indexing, Storage, Retrieval, Distribution, Security, Workflow and Collaboration. A document management consultant will address the matter of Document Storage. Document management consultants will ask: 1) Where will we keep our documents? 2) How much can we spend to store them? A document management consultant will address the matter of Document Retrieval. Document management consultants will ask: 1) How can people find needed documents? 2) How much time can be spent looking for them? A document management consultant will address the matt...
More About: Management Consultants , Men , Sultan

The cost of working overseas
2007-01-26 09:53:01
If you’re like me, you’ll have either spent years providing your consulting services overseas or you at least like the idea of it. Ever since I began collecting foreign coins as a six year old kid, I had aspirations to explore far flung places. I used to dribble over those ‘Computer Weekly’ magazines in the 1980’s and dream of plying my ‘not yet acquired skills’ in other countries. Indeed I went on to live in about 10 countries and travel in almost 70. But like my hair, the appeal is growing a bit thin on me. If you’re considering going overseas, you really need to take a good look at the cost of living there before you agree any rates with your new found client. The cost of living can vary hugely from one country to the next and the last thing you want to discover when you arrive in the new land is that accommodation costs (if not covered by the client) are collosal, food prices are frightening and shop prices in general send shivers ...
More About: Work , Cost , Over , King , Verse

Start a business with no money
2007-01-26 09:53:01
Being a consultant is being in business. I’m not talking about the consultants who are employed by companies such as Accenture, KPMG, etc. I’m talking about independent consultants who stand on their own two feet and who actually run their own business. Of course being in business requires far more than any regular employee needs to survive. There are some great gurus out there who provide us with plenty of ideas on how to succeed in business and one of those is Seth Godin. A few years ago, Seth wrote a book called The Bootstrappers Bible. Since then, he’s filtered it down into a 103 page PDF which I have permission to make available to you (it’s at the bottom of this page). So I hear you asking; “what the heck’s a Bootstrapper?”. Below is how Seth answered this question. For me, a bootstrapper isn’t a particular demographic or even a certain financial situation. Instead, it’s a state of mind. Bootstrappers run billion-dollar co...
More About: Business , Money , With , Start , Star

Have you got the people skills?
2007-01-26 09:53:01
  If you want to be successful consultant then you need to be far more than good at your job. In fact,being good at your job is just the beginning and this is where we start talking about what differentiates the typical employee from the consultant. To be a successful consultant, you need to be the type of person that people like to work with. I’m not talking about the same kind of relationship that gradually builds over years in an organisation between its employees. There’s no time for that. I’m talking about a consultant very quickly being liked and respected by people who they’ve spent very little time with. It’s like that instant spark that people talk about in personal relationships. That chemistry. This is where a consultant’s people skills are paramount and this is one of the greatest stumbling blocks for so many people. Every client will have a different personality and many different personalities will exist within an organisation. When...
More About: People , Have , Skill , Skills , The People

A consultant by definition
2007-01-26 09:53:01
    The consulting profession is summed up in just a few short words in the Oxford dictionary as being ‘a person who provides expert advice professionally’. The Cambridge dictionary similarly describes a consultant as ’someone who advises people on a particular subject’. According to the Oxford dictionary, the word ‘consult’ dates back to 1635 and the first use of the word ?consultant? was recorded 62 years later in 1697. In those days, the word meant the opposite to what it means today and in fact, it wasn’t until 1878 that the current meaning of the word began to be used. Perhaps it’s time that the word ‘consultant’ enjoyed a richer and enhanced definition to describe this wonderfully lucrative line of business. The book ‘Breakthrough Cons ultant ’ actually proposed a new definition which I like a lot better than those given in the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries and it reads like this … ‘A consul...
More About: Sultan , Definition , Ulta

62 tips for consulting success
2007-01-26 09:53:01
  Michael McLaughlin publishes an interesting blog called ‘Guerrilla Cons ulting ’. He has also published a 75 page ebook with 62 tips for consulting success. It’s organised into seven parts. 1.Managing Your Practice 2. The Consulting Process 3. Marketing 4. Pricing Your Services 5. Proposal Writing 6. The Language of Consulting 7. Selling Your Services The Foreward to Michael’s ebook reads; In 1891, Carl Eisner invented the now-famous Swiss Army Knife, which is shipped by the thousands every day. Although this e-book cannot hope to rival the utility of Eisner?s invention, the tips in it were inspired by the tool?s versatility. This modest book offers a range of ideas for you to consider as you work to become a better consultant. The topics aren?t totally random?I chose them from posts I wrote for my Guerrilla Consulting blog. Like the Swiss Army Knife, these tips won?t solve all of your problems, but maybe you?ll find an idea or two you can use or pass along t...
More About: Tips , Success , Irritating