Question

Topic: Our Forum

Share Your Experience With New Consultants

Posted by mgoodman on 4/16/2009 at 5:36 PM ET 1000 Points
You asked for it. A number of you have read my book on management consulting – Rasputin For Hire : An inside look at management consulting between jobs or as a second career.

And you may know that one of the most popular sections of in the book is Advice From the Experts (pp 195-213). It’s essentially a round-table discussion with a panel of 8 savvy consultants who share their own experience and advice with (a) new consultants, (b) those considering a short-term stint consulting between jobs, or (c) those ready to hang out their shingle and start a second career in consulting.

So a few months ago I enlisted the aid of a handful of consultants to participate in a second discussion – with a few of the same questions and several new ones – and packaged that as a separate report that expands on the popular section of Rasputin For Hire.

It won’t surprise you to learn that the consultants in that new report are all experts here on the MarketingProfs Know-How Exchange! And you’ll find their input extremely valuable if you’re looking for advice or guidance in a marketing service business.

The new report is titled, “Experienced Consultants Talk About Consulting” and it is a free download when you buy the book ($19.95, plus postage/handling). But several folks who knew about the report have asked if they could get their hands on a copy without buying the book … so we’ve created a way for MarketingProfs visitors/members to do that.

If you’re interested, the report can be downloaded by clicking on the title/link below. There’s a $4.95 price tag to help cover the expenses in creating/designing the document … or you can buy the book and get the report free. If you fall into the target audience (see the first paragraph), the book is highly recommended … not just by me but by dozens of other consultants, authors and customers.

Here’s the link:

Experienced Consultants Talk About Consulting

And if you have suggestions you’d give marketers who are thinking about becoming consultants, post them here and we’ll award points for the best ones!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 4/16/2009 at 5:53 PM Accepted
    Mr Goodman,
    congratulations on what looks like a great book...

    I would consider myself more Rasputin-like if I could get my eyebrows to grow in a bit bushier.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/16/2009 at 6:42 PM Author
    Excellent point, Phil. When your job is to be the expert, it's all too easy to forget that the world is constantly changing, new things are coming into play, and old things are morphing or dying out.

    It takes a real effort to stay current -- but it's imperative if you're to stay ahead of the pack and deliver the value your clients expect and demand, especially if you're charging them for your know-how.
  • Posted by telemoxie on 4/17/2009 at 8:24 AM Accepted
    One major mistake which I made while I was in business is assuming that I could bill for all my time. Someone here on this forum said that, generally speaking, you can only build for about half the time you actually work. I found that to be true in my own business, and I wish I had known that when I was initially pricing my services.

    The other major misconception that I had was that I could be fully employed as a sole consultant. There is a book called the E-myth which states is very difficult if not impossible to remain fully booked as a single consultant. Now, I have not read Rasputin for hire, and I am sure I have much to learn, but I also found it very difficult to operate as a lone wolf.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/17/2009 at 8:34 AM Author
    Interesting, telemoxie. Someone told me when I began consulting that I should take the amount I thought I needed to earn and multiply it by 2.5 to get a fair billing rate. That multiplier is supposed to cover operating expenses other than salary.

    At one point I had other consultants working for me and I got a real taste of what it really costs to maintain a business -- not just a solo consulting practice -- and sure enough the 2.5 multiplier was pretty accurate.

    As for not being able to bill 100% of your time as a lone wolf, that's been my experience too. In fact, I think I spend about 20-25% of my time on admin and other non-billable activities. But I still need to eat (and pay rent, etc.) on Fridays, so the 2.5 multiplier covers some of that as well.

    Thanks for the comment. New consultants take note!

  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 4/19/2009 at 12:26 PM Accepted
    I agree with Phil that constant learning is a key to being a well-respected, referred and profitable consultant.

    Since referrals are going to be where the bulk of your new business comes from, it is important that you are always knowledgeable about the new "new " things in and around your particular niche(s).

    You may not want to fold these into your consultative offerings, or may want to wait awhile until you do, but in constant learning you will spot opportunities in the course of daily business that if they don't interest you they do provide an opportunity to refer to your network.

    The effect here is that your referral to/for them will come back as a referral for you when they hear about opportunities outside of what they do or they may integrate nicely with your core competencies.

    I like to diversify my learning across different mediums and platforms: written in print & digital, audio and video. I find this better utilizes my time and provides deeper retention.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 4/19/2009 at 1:54 PM Accepted
    I can relate with telemoxie. I sometimes error on the side of over delivering, at least in terms of time, because the consulting budget isn't enough when the delays, start/stop's and hurtles of working with management are considered. I know it's a self-discipline to not let this get out of hand. And I have learned some ways to keep it to a minimum.

    Also, I bought a small manufacturing company several years out of college. I hired a general business consultant with good qualifications to help create a business plan. Overall it was a good experience and a learn quite a bit. But my expectations were a little higher than what was delivered and looking back I can see why. The consultant didn't really manage my expectations and clearly communicate what I was going to get. Another lesson learned.

    I'm planning on reading your book Michael.

    Best of luck,

    Steve
  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/19/2009 at 5:31 PM Author
    Steve,

    I think most of us who have gone into consulting quickly realized that (a) it's way too easy to be unfair to ourselves by over-delivering on projects in order to meet or exceed client expectations, and (b) one of the keys to success is setting the client's expectations properly to begin with.

    It's very hard to really "get it" until you've been through a few iterations, and I wonder if alerting a new consultant to this familiar syndrome is something they can accept without experiencing the phenomenon themselves.

    Your point is certainly right, but my experience has been that somehow each person has to find that "sweet spot" for themselves. It's a delicate balance between promising the moon and stars in order to get the job, and then living up to the expectation you set once the project is yours.
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