Transcript Should I Become a Consultant?

Marketing Your Consulting Business
by
Robert H. Badgley, Ph.D.
Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
How the Consultant Works
Getting Contracts
Types of Marketing
Examples of Marketing
1. How The Consultant Works
A Consultant --• Is an independent professional, retained by an
organization, and sells results by the hour or day
• Brings his / her own knowledge and a substantial
set of files to meet the client’s requirements
• Is his / her own boss
• Has no routine work hours at the client’s firm
• Is not one of the group, and is not a contractor
• Often works on relatively short projects
The Consultant as a Subject Matter Expert
• The Consultant fills a specific technical niche, which
is sometimes quite narrow
• The Consultant is in demand because of in-depth
knowledge of a topic in which a Client needs help
• People skills and organizational boundaries are not
usually important to solving the Client’s problem
• Single projects are common, and might result in a
long-term support effort
• Results are often difficult to predict in advance
The Consultant as a Process Expert
• The Consultant understands most aspects of entire
processes, which may be quite broad
• The Consultant is in demand because of knowledge
of how organizations function
• People skills and organizational boundaries are
usually important to solving the Client’s problem
• Client process problems usually require a continuing
effort and are often cyclical in nature
Consulting – Positive Aspects
• Great autonomy in selecting and conducting jobs
• Great variety in work
• Business can be set up and conducted with little
investment
• Potential for high income
• Great job satisfaction.
Consulting – Negative Aspects
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Little involvement with client firm’s staff
No support system
Irregular cash flow
Regular retraining may be necessary
Work level may cause problems at home
The Successful Consultant Has --• A strong drive to maximize his / her income
• A clear belief in his / her unique ability to solve
Clients’ problems better than anyone else
• An exceptional interest in becoming and remaining
an acknowledged expert in his / her chosen field
• Strong self confidence that no matter what type of
Client problem is encountered, it can be solved
The Successful Consultant Also --• Has inherently strong skills at reading peoples’
moods, and is unusually good at understanding
motivations and agendas
• Communicates well over a range of
organizational levels
• Understands and practices self-promotion
continuously to keep the contracts coming
• Deals well with change and rejection, and is
pragmatic
2. Getting Contracts
Time Commitment for Marketing
• You should spend almost full time marketing your
services until you receive your first contract.
• You can never stop marketing. There must be
almost continuous marketing throughout your
career as a consultant, regardless of workload.
• After your first contract is received, your
marketing effort can decline to those hours not
spent on your first project.
• Regardless of project workload, you must always
do marketing – never less than 5-10% of your
hours, or about 2 - 4 hours per week.
Focusing The Marketing Effort
First, ask yourself three key questions:
• How will prospective Clients learn about my services?
• What Consultant qualities should I emphasize?
• What will be my most effective marketing methods?
Your Present Assets
• If you were just laid off, call your former boss. He /
She has an immediate problem, knows you, and may
plan to hire a temporary worker. You know the work.
• Immediately start networking with all of your business
contacts. DO NOT WAIT for an engraved invitation.
Which Marketing Activities Work Best?
• Emphasize personal contact networking with
selected colleagues who may need specialist help in
their work.
• Focus on national associations in the technical area
where you want to sell your services - their member
firm lists will be valuable.
• Join special focus groups who will market your
services to select types of clients.
• Develop regular communication schedules, using
telephone and email, with key people.
Other Effective Marketing Activities
• Focus on your past technical accomplishments,
regardless of where they were achieved. Clients
want to know if you have solved their kinds of
problems before. Your experience is key.
• Consider using a newsletter which highlights your
accomplishments and successes. Your mailing list
will become your networking list.
• Avoid expensive printed brochures, flyers, ads,
and direct mail. Potential clients don’t select
consultants by reading promotional material.
Marketing Via The Internet
• Consider using a web page. Templates are
available to get you up and running quickly.
Monthly costs are reasonable.
• Provide your email address and phone numbers.
• Focus on presenting your qualifications.
• If you discuss examples where you have solved
problems, try to be as generic as possible.
• Be careful not to reveal proprietary information
from former clients.
Marketing Via The Internet (Cont’d)
• Provide information on your web site which clearly
demonstrates your experience and credentials.
• Help your prospective clients to visualize clearly
how you can be of assistance to them.
• Consider interactive options to tell your story
better, and in a way more meaningful to clients.
• Update your web site frequently, to keep
prospective clients returning to see what’s new.
3. Types of Marketing
Contact Thread (Network) Marketing
• Identify one or more individuals who helped you
get contracts in the past
• Make up a contact data base for those individuals,
including telephone numbers, email addresses,
web sites, and physical addresses
• Keep in regular contact with those individuals
• Tell them about new contracts you have gotten,
technical successes you have had, etc.
• Some contact threads will persist throughout your
entire career
Contract Follow-On Marketing
• The most effective point to start selling the Client
on a follow-on project is when the project shows
the first signs of success, often at the 90-percent
completion point.
• Selling the Client on a follow-on project is easiest
when the Client knows about project successes,
and the Consultant’s role in achieving them.
• The greatest chances of success with a follow-on
project come when there is a strong professional
bond between the Client and the Consultant.
Professional Association Marketing
• Accept all opportunities to appear in professional,
noncommercial, settings. This may be as an
unpaid speaker at professional meetings, where
you can become more visible.
• Demonstrate during your appearances that you are
a leading edge expert in your field.
• At professional meetings, conduct regular and
continuing networking in a style which is
comfortable to you.
Specialty Focus Group Marketing
• Some groups are formed to offer specific services to
specific groups of clients
• Some groups may serve only a limited geographic
area, such as YourEncore, a mid-West group.
• Expert Witness groups support the legal profession
in law cases:
– ForensisGroup
– Round Table Group
4. Examples of Marketing
Example No. 1
Contact Thread (Network) Marketing
1. Met contact person named “Greg” after he had
been unable to solve a “Fans” vibration problem
for his commercial building client. The client
subsequently contracted me, and I asked Greg to
re-join the “Fans” project as my assistant.
2. The “Fans” project was eventually solved.
3. Greg later asked me to assist him on a “Large
Fans” project at the Smithsonian Air & Space
Museum.
Example No. 1 (Cont’d)
4. The “Large Fans” problem was eventually
solved.
5. Greg asked me to assist him on a natural gas
line valve vibration problem for Washington
Gas.
6. The valve problem was subsequently solved.
7. Greg later asked me to assist him on a steel
rolling mill vibration problem.
8. A solution was subsequently found.
Example No. 1 (Cont’d)
9. Washington Gas later asked me to assist in
resolving vibration problems on two different
kinds of hexane injection pumps, with Greg
making the vibration measurements.
10. A solution to this problem is currently being
implemented
Example No. 2
Contact Thread (Network) Marketing
1. Met contact person “Bill” when he was retained
to solve a machinery failure problem at my firm
2. Was later contacted by Bill, after I left my firm to
work as a consultant, to assist in a factory
explosion investigation. Effort lasted 2 years.
3. Was later contacted by Bill to work in a refinery
investigation. Effort lasted 3 months.
Example No. 3
Special Focus Groups
• YourEncore Group
– US Navy LCAC project
– RFP preparation project
• ForensisGroup
– Catalytic converter project
– Wind turbine project
– Patent evaluation project
Example No. 3 (Cont’d)
• Round Table Group
– HVAC fans project
– Parking garage equipment project
– Washing machine project
– Fan blade failure project
– Heat exchanger project
– Machine safety project
– Hot water heaters project