February 2004
Question
I have been working for my current employer for 5 years as a Training Specialist. My primary responsibilities have been to teach instructor led courses designed by our Corporate Development group. We are an Employee Resource Management software company. My employer now has asked us to start wearing 2 hats. When we are not in the classroom they want us to sell our services through our sales folks to provide consulting on learning and deployment strategies to our customers to have greater success. My background has always been teaching a software program in a classroom. How do I learn how to become a consultant? I am up for the challenge. My employer is putting together a 3 day workshop but I would like to be prepared before I attend the workshop.
Answer
Two books can assist you immensely. Peter Block’s Flawless Consulting will provide you with techniques for uncovering what your customers might need. Sophie Oberstein and Jan Alleman have written Beyond Free Coffee and Donuts: Marketing Training and Development. In it they share techniques for reaching the right trainers. I believe both books are available from ASTD. Hope this helps.
Question
I am about to retire and have an offer to provide independent consulting services through a company to a third party. What steps should I take about taxes, liability, fees?
Answer
The first step is to make appointments with your attorney and your accountant. You will need to begin paying quarterly taxes, obtain liability insurance, and determine the fee you will charge. I have addressed each of these in previous columns. You may also want to obtain a copy of The Consultant’s Legal Guide, Linda Byers Swindling to provide insight on other legal issues.
Question
I am very eager to enter into the field of customer service consulting but I am not sure of where or how I should begin! Can you help me please?
Answer
I assume that customer service is your area of expertise and that you have a good deal of experience in the area. If the answer is yes, starting your consulting practice will be similar to starting a consulting practice in any content area. Review responses from previous Ask a Consulting Expert columns: You might start with March 2003, Question number 2. Good luck!
Question
I am a new external consultant. I have spoken at 2 national conferences this year for 2 different professional organizations (one in the T&D field, one in my field of expertise). I was approached to write an article for a professional journal based on my work. However, at this point, none of these have brought in any returns - but sure cost me a pretty penny to participate (travel costs, conference fees, materials & time). Is it worth the cost to do conferences and other speaking engagements to become more nationally (internationally) known? What other ways can I expand my sphere of influence so that I can get work outside of my local arena and get into the large corporations too?
Answer
Speaking at conferences is just one of thousands of ways you may wish to market your consulting services. If your goal is to be more well known, writing articles or writing a book can assist also. However, each of these are merely contact generators. You still need to identify specific potential clients and sell your services to them. Check questions number 4 in November 2003 for other marketing direction. A more important concern of mine is whether you have used your conference experience to generate leads.
- Did you spend time planning how you would make contacts before you attended the conference?
- Did you make appointments with individuals who would attend the conference for networking as well as pitching your services?
- Did you gather business cards at your presentation? You can do this easily by conducting a drawing for a book or some other prize.
- Did you meet prospective customers and obtain their business cards throughout the conference?
- Did you attend the sessions presented by your competition?
- Did you hand out at least 20 business cards each day?
- Did you offer to help someone and then followed up once you returned home?
- Did you spend time listening to people and sharing of yourself? (Consulting isn’t just about making money.)
Think about the conference as a complete experience. You should return home with at least a week’s worth of follow up.