The Profitable Consultant E-Book

Jay Niblick

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 401

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Selling can be uncomfortable for professional business consultants and executive coaches. The two biggest problems are generating more qualified leads, and turning those leads into actual paying clients. Taking traditional beliefs about how best to "sell" and turning them completely upside down, author Jay Niblick rewrites the sales playbook for the consulting and coaching industry. His proven five-step sales process is specifically designed for independent business consultants and coaches, serving as a common set of rules to grow their practice, deliver more value and generate more revenue. The Profitable Consultant delivers a suite of ready-to-launch tools that will automate readers' marketing efforts, so they can focus more time delivering revenue-generating services -- to even more clients.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Praise for The Profitable Consultant

Title Page

Copyright

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Is Consulting Even Right for Me?

Why Choose Management Consulting as a Career?

What Does a Management Consultant Do?

Types of Practice Mind-Sets

Trends in Management Consulting

Risks of Independent Consulting

What Experience Is Needed?

Chapter 2: Build a Foundation That Supports Heavy Profits

Opening Your Doors

What Should You Call the Business?

What Business Structure Should You Choose?

Should You Have Insurance?

The Importance of Planning

The Critical Importance of Branding

What Business Supplies/Materials Will You Need?

Business Cards, E-Mail, and Letterhead

Brochures/Marketing Collateral

Phone Lines

Stock Headshot

Webinar Capability

Establishing Your Internet Presence

Listing with Website Directories

Banking

Do You Need an Office?

Software Programs

What Will Your Role Be?

The Myth of Strengths and Weaknesses

The CEO Bucket List

Outsourcing

Talent Bartering

Chapter 3: Poor Pricing Equals Poor Profits

The Money Side

Determining Your True Hourly Base Rate

Types of Fee Structures and Benefits

Thoughts on Pricing in General

How to Deal with People Who Always Want a Deal

Proven Methods to Increase/Protect Your Profits

How to Increase Fees Appropriately

Chapter 4: How You Charge Is as Important as What You Charge

Proposals as Confirmation—Not Negotiation

A Brief Word on Contracts

The Option of Multiple Yeses

Negotiating Price for Maximum Profit

Invoicing Properly

Dealing with Deadbeats

Firing Your Bottom 10 Percent

Justifying Your Fees

Chapter 5: Not Just Any Ole Fishing Hole Will Do

Choosing Your Target Market

The Greatest Profit Key in the World

Team Separation

What Is Your Final Offering (UVP)?

Chapter 6: Seek Only to Give—Marketing That Actually Works

Effective Marketing

Education-Based Marketing

The Golden Rules of EBM

The 16 Marketing Vehicles

Website Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Blog Marketing

Article Marketing

Lecture/Seminar Marketing

Webinar Marketing

Presentation Marketing

Video Marketing

Audio Podcast Marketing

Workshop Marketing

Book Marketing

Drip or E-Mail Marketing

Referral Marketing

Effective Partnership Marketing

Network-Based Marketing (i.e., Networking)

Research-Based Marketing

Press Release Marketing

Where to Take Your Awesome Press Release

Nonstarters in Marketing

Chapter 7: Why Selling Sucks—The Profits from Your Practice

Cause #1: Selling Is a Full-Time Job

Cause #2: Selling Isn't Right for What You Do

Cause #3: Selling Isn't Right for You

Cause #4: The “Die-chotomy” of Being an Independent Consultant

Chapter 8: He Who Identifies the Cause of the Problem Gets to Fix It

Becoming the Business Diagnostician

“He Who Identifies the Cause of the Problem Gets to Fix It”

The Psychology of Sales

The Diagnostic Sales Process

The Physician Analogy

Induce the Customer to Come to You

Establish a Concrete Power Source

Advance a Hypothetical Cause

Recommend Diagnostic Profiling

Behavioral Profiles

Motivational Profiles

Organizational Profiles

Negotiate the Appropriate Solution

Connecting the Dots

Don't Forget to Close

Chapter 9: The Golden Rule Is Just Plain Wrong

Effective Communication = Effective Persuasion

The Seven Buying Motives (Why People Buy)

The Four Buying Styles (How People Buy)

Buying Style Communication Tips

Who's on First?

Connection versus Speed

Chapter 10: Be Bold and Mighty Forces Will Come to Your Aid

Squeezing the Trigger

Comfort Zones

Courage to Change

Just What Is a Qualified Prospect?

Always Deliver Superior Customer Service

When to Squeeze the Trigger

Your Launch Checklist

Conclusion: Don't Lose Sight of Your Success

Appendix A: Putting It All to Work for You—A Review

Appendix B: The EBM Guide: How to Get Started on an EBM Campaign

Appendix C: Press Release Template

Appendix D: Launch Cheat Sheet

About the Author

Index

Praise for The Profitable Consultant

“The number-one complaint my customers have is, ‘I need more business!’ Why? They don't have a great system, best practices, or a methodology for it; or at least not one specifically designed for consultants and coaches. The Profitable Consultant provides a system, a methodology to get more business and faster—if you are a consultant/coach. Most importantly, Jay introduces the powerful psychology every consultant, coach, and expert needs to break through and become a six-figure earner or go from six to seven figures! Do yourself a favor and adopt these concepts. It just might be the best business investment you ever make—period!”

—Mike KoenigsFounder/CEO, Traffic Geyser

“Jay Niblick has cracked the code when it comes to growing your consulting practice. His method to attract more clients is both simple and amazingly effective. As I read this book, I had one ‘aha’ moment after another. If you want more clients and more time to do what you love, study this book and put Jay's methods to use. It will change your business—and your life.”

—Noah St. JohnBestselling author of The Secret Code of Success

“Having worked with thousands of coaches and consultants, it's heartbreaking how many never achieve success because they never figure out how to generate profits. In The Profitable Consultant, Jay reveals a fascinating but simple strategy to be yourself, enjoy the process, and still dominate your market at will. The first time I saw Jay's work, I immediately realized its sheer power and brilliance. It provides the missing piece that I've never seen anyone else reveal. That's why we now make his work a mandatory part of all our training programs for coaches, consultants, professionals, and entrepreneurs. If you're looking for ways to grow your practice, stop searching—this book is the answer!”

—Greg HabstrittFounder and President, SimpleWealth Inc.

“It's about time someone stepped up and took on the conventional way consultants have been taught to grow and sell and turned that on its head. The Profitable Consultant challenges you to be you and simply communicate what you do and how you do it, making the ‘hard sell’ not required. Instead of teaching you how to change yourself to become a great salesperson, Jay does not want to change you; he just wants to enhance you and the way you do business.”

—Philip McKernan,International bestselling author, speaker, and President at Philip McKernan Inc.

Cover design: Courtesy of Art Direction Book Company

Cover design: Chris Wallace

Copyright © 2013 by Jay Niblick. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Niblick, Jay, 1968

The Profitable Consultant: Starting, Growing, and Selling Your Expertise/Jay Niblick.

pages cm.

Includes index.

ISBN: 978-1-118-55313-8 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-1-118-61627-7 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-61637-6 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-118-61638-3 (ebk)

1. Consulting firms. 2. New business enterprises. I. Title.

HD69.C6N53 2013

001—dc23

2012048299

Foreword

Sales and marketing can be uncomfortable for professional business consultants and executive coaches. I've known many coaches who want to be above promoting or selling their services. They believe that their work should speak for itself and that marketing and promotion—selling—is demeaning.

Maybe they don't want to be associated with those pushy or annoying people that so often garner the title salesperson. Perhaps they don't want their clients to think of them as one of these distasteful people. Possibly they see self-promotion as a reflection of professional or personal deficit.

Whatever the case may be, it holds them back. One of the things that I frequently tell people when they ask me for advice about how to get a job in consulting is: “You have to sell yourself. You have to develop the [You] Brand.” Most people aren't really salespeople. You still must sell; the trick is to do it in such a way that you are not seen as a salesperson—and that's where people need significant help.

The Profitable Consultant will give you that help. Taking traditional beliefs about how best to grow a practice and generate revenue, and turning them completely upside down, Jay Niblick rewrites the business development playbook for the consulting and coaching industry.

We're in a different field than most other professions. What we need isn't conventional business development techniques; it's a new methodology specifically designed for us—independent business consultants and coaches—and that's exactly what Jay gives us in The Profitable Consultant!

So, stop struggling to grow your practice and pick up this book—you will be glad you did!

—Marshall GoldsmithNew York Times and million-copy bestselling author of MOJOand What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to all those consultants around the globe who have so graciously and generously shared their best practices with me, who have put their faith in me, and who have contributed so much more than just professionally to my life. Thank you!

And to my parents, who inspired the courage to “Go boldly in the direction of my dreams”; my sisters, who supported me; and to my wonderful Melanie, Zach, Baker, and Joe, who so bravely suffered the pains of living with an entrepreneur—bless you!

Introduction

Welcome to the greatest profession in the world. I'm talking about being an independent management consultant, an incredibly exciting and rewarding career that can also be an exceptionally lucrative one, if done correctly.

It's what I call a brain job. Peter Drucker would call it a knowledge worker's profession, in line with his description of a world changing from an economy of laborers to one of thinkers. Consider it becoming a free agent in an entire economy of free agents. In this career you get to take all that wonderful knowledge and experience you've developed in your professional management career and turn them into a dream job.

What other career allows you to incur almost zero overhead, work a majority of your time from home (yes, even in pajamas), spend all the time you want with your loved ones, and control exactly what work you do, and for whom?

It's no wonder that the occupation of management consultant is the single fastest-growing job in the entire country right now. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, this occupation is growing at 84 percent, nearly double that of the next closest job title. From those who have been laid off to those who no longer wish to allow someone else to control their entire lives, people around the world are taking this leap.

Don't let this statistic scare you, however. There is still plenty of room to grow. What statistics like these do mean, though, is that this isn't the same industry it was 20 years ago. Gone are the early prospector days where all one had to do was hang out a shingle, call himself or herself a consultant, and take an ad hoc approach to building their practice. Those who plan on succeeding today and staying for the long haul must differentiate themselves and step up their game.

My job in these pages is to help you do just that. I will help you reduce the number of mistakes you will make (I said reduce, mind you) and give you the wisdom and experience of thousands of other consultants who have gone before you and thrived. I know a little bit about doing that myself.

In 1998 I founded a consulting firm called Innermetrix Incorporated with my partner Damon Kohler. Originally it was just me doing consulting, with Damon handling all the technology. Today Innermetrix is an international firm with over 750 consultants in 23 countries helping tens of thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of their employees.

The biggest benefit of working with all of these consultants and corporations has been the learning. Far more than thoughts from a single consultant, this book holds the wisdom of the very best in our profession. You will learn at the feet of many hypersuccessful consultant brothers and sisters who made their mistakes so you don't have to.

If you want to build a profitable business today, you can't just sit back and wait for business to come to you. And you can't just read this book and gain understanding of the practice of consulting. You must learn to apply these lessons. The effort you put into practicing the understanding I will give you in these pages is the key.

As the subtitle states, you have the expertise. That is not something I'm going to be able to help you with. If you're considering becoming a consultant, the presumption is that you've spent a good portion of your lifetime honing your business expertise in whatever industry or field you're in. While you bring that expertise, my job is to make you an expert in how to grow a profitable consulting practice.

These solutions have been field-tested and battle-proven. They work for all types of consultants and in all the different business cultures I've worked in as well. Through my training and certification programs I've conducted from New York to Johannesburg, Sydney to Hong Kong, and all over Europe and the United States, I've taught over 1,750 independent management consultants the same lessons contained in this book.

Even though, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 65 percent of all new start-ups fail to survive past the five-year mark, of those 1,750 consultants I've trained, 95 percent of them have survived past that same five-year mark and are profitable. Some of these consultants consistently achieve seven-figure revenue year after year, and the majority maintains healthy six-figure incomes steadily—even in the current economy! I know these lessons work, and I'm excited about helping you add your name to this list!

Welcome aboard—and now let's go build your profitable practice! For additional learning and resources on all of the lessons in this book, visit www.TheProfitableConsultant.com.

1

Is Consulting Even Right for Me?

Why Choose Management Consulting as a Career?

The career of management consultant is one of the most envied roles a person can be lucky enough to play. That title, however, is somewhat of a catchall, thrown about by people who provide a wide range of services (accountants, lawyers, strategic planning, HR, operations, etc.). For the most part professionals employed in this field provide outsourced services to organizations in need of whatever specialty that consultant provides.

For our purposes we need to differentiate between three main types of consulting firms: large diversified organizations, medium-sized management consultancies, and boutique firms.

The large diversified firms are represented by the likes of McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen, PWC, and KPMG. Mid-sized consultancies, while smaller than the large international firms, can still employ hundreds of people, and provide broad services similar to those of the large diversified firms. Then there are the boutique firms, typically having only one independent consultant and offering a more specialized suite of services or specialties. It is this last category of consultancy—the independents—that this entire book will focus on.

Typically an independent management consultant is someone who:

Works for themselves, or possibly as part of a very small group.

Works from home, or has a small office.