Consulting 101, 2nd Edition: 101 Tips for Success in Consulting

Kindle Highlights

Learn from Criticism

Be Prepared for Long Days

Under-Promise, Over-Deliver

Learn the Client’s Business

Focus on Solutions, Not Blame

Tip #101: Have a Passion for What You Do

Adopt Mentors and Accept That They Are not Perfect

Don’t burn bridges. Regardless of the situation around leaving the client,

Consulting is not for everybody. It requires the flexibility to work in an unpredictable environment.

When starting any client engagement, a critical step is to have the client define their view of the project’s success.

When you receive an individual award or promotion, a hand-written note to your immediate supervisor is also appropriate.

Request for Proposal (RFP): An invitation from a business for service providers to bid on the right to supply a service.

An additional criteria that firms look for is someone who is hard working and not afraid to work overtime to get the job done.

When telling the interviewer about your past experience, focus less on the tasks that you completed and more on the benefit it produced.

Helping out your fellow teammates can not only advance your career. Your teammates may just remember what you did the next time you get behind.

In consulting, the service you provide is your only product. Customer satisfaction is obtained by setting the bar high and then providing service above the bar.

So when a consultant leaves a project, the following tips should be considered. Make sure the client identifies at least one contact to transfer your knowledge.

But more than that, she developed a reputation with the client and with the firm as someone that could overcome whatever hurdles appeared to get the job done on time and done right.

It is more impressive to the firm to show interest in the roles and responsibilities of the job and show that you are interested in their firm for the work rather than the compensation.

The fully loaded cost of an employee is the consolidated cost to a company for her salary and benefits, such as vacation and insurance, plus the overhead costs–office space, heating, cleaning, etc.

Part of being a consultant is being able to deal with criticism and moving on rather than dwelling on it. No one enjoys criticism or ridicule. But a good consultant is able to let it roll off her back.

Ron realized that Max’s curiosity had given him a broader understanding of their processes, which allowed him to understand obstacles they may run into when communicating with other departments within the bank.

Connect with your client colleagues via LinkedIn. There isn’t a more powerful way of keeping up with people than LinkedIn. This will insure you are accessible to them, and vice versa, for future networking opportunities

Come in early and stay late. Nothing shows your commitment more than the willingness to work long hours. If you are on an hourly billing rate, it will be necessary to get the client’s approval for the additional billing.

Prepare. Once you’ve read as much information as possible about the company, take some time to absorb it. Take notes and come up with intelligent questions that will inform you more about the company that could not be learned online.

Whether you are the host of a meeting or an attendee, one of the most effective ways to show your disrespect and unprofessionalism is to show up late. This also clearly demonstrates to your client and peer group your total disregard for their time.

Consulting rates are expensive. When economic situations get tight, clients have a tendency to start cutting consultants. If the client sees the consultant as indispensable, they will see that the value you provide to them is greater than the cost of your billing rate.

is also important to show gratitude with a client on a day-to-day basis. Always thank the client team members when stopping for a question or when they send you information that they think would be helpful to you. It is amazing how far humility and gratitude will take you.

Throughout the project, continue to monitor the client’s definition of success for the engagement. If their focus changes, the consultant may need to work on resetting the client’s expectations or on refocusing the objectives of the team in order to achieve project success.

Once a firm wins their first project at a client, their goal is to make them an annuity client and perform additional projects for them. The best way to do that is to provide excellent service. In addition, the firm wants to continue to develop a relationship with the client.

As a consultant, your personal brand is critical. It is essential to have a specialty that makes people seek you out for advice. If you are also known as one that will go the extra mile and make sacrifices that others aren’t willing to make, you will eventually brand yourself within the firm.

Say goodbye. If time allows, make sure to make the rounds and say goodbye to the people you worked with. It’s also nice to send out a short e-mail to anyone you worked with. Tell them that you are moving on, that you’ve enjoyed your time working with them, and leave your contact information. Keep it brief.

There is a famous story from the early days at IBM where an employee made an error that cost the company over $100,000. The employee somberly approached the founder and chairman, Thomas J. Watson, Sr., and said, “I presume, Mr. Watson, that you will expect my resignation.” Watson looked at him and said, “Resignation? I just spent $100,000 training you!”

“Clients hire consultants for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes they’re looking for an expert in some area, sometimes they just need more staff than they can hire. But in almost every case, they’re looking for people who will go the extra mile to get something done; more so than their regular employees will go. If you want to be held to the same standard as their employees, you could become an employee.

When receiving a team award for which you are expected to make a public acceptance, always give thanks to the supporting team. If they are present, invite them with you to the stage or front of the room to be part of the acceptance. Within a week of acceptance, be sure to send a hand-written note of thanks to your direct manager and any other superiors who were instrumental in helping you with the achievement.

In addition to the standard benefit offerings of health insurance, retirement savings programs, and vacation time, most companies provide informal employee benefits. These include events such as company picnics, golf outings, and discounts on their products. Consultants are sometimes included in these employee activities, but it cannot be assumed. In many cases, consultants are considered outsiders and held to a different standard. You are not an employee of the client

The company’s website. Read all of the main pages of the website. Take note on their lines of business and read as many of their blog entries as possible. Download and listen to their podcasts and write down any follow-up questions you may have about them. Annual Report. If the company is a publicly traded company, their annual report can be found online. Read it thoroughly to learn how they communicate with their investors. Google search. Doing a simple Google search will give you information from external sources. Some sites provide a forum for current and former employees to describe what it’s like to work there.