Much of my time spent as a consultant is giving people real solutions.
Now I know you've heard many a consultant say that before - "real solutions for real businesses/people/clients/mental health patients" - you name it, there is a consultant for everything. We tend to pop up in the most unexpected places (can you believe there's even a market for traffic and parking consultancy?) You see, where there is a business, there is somewhere a consultancy for it.
What I tend to put together is tangible solutions to problems, rather than creating problems for clients and then spend the next half of my invoice to them, convincing them they actually have this problem in the first place. If you think you have a concern with the colour of your teeth, I will tell you to change your toothpaste. Most other over paid consultants will tell you that it's not your toothpaste you need to change but your fluctuating staff resistance programme (what's more, you didn't even realise you had one.)
When you work for "the people" and yes, I am donning my Citizen Smith hat once again and standing outside Tooting Bec station, you don't get paid a great deal, then again that's what separates one group of consultants with another. There are some who do it to charge a four figure sum for a day's work and another group who do it simply because they want to give something back (am I sounding like a multi level marketing empire after your money? Probably.)
The problem is when you are a consultant is where to start first with the whole business. As we all know, nearly all work which comes in to an SME is through referral. Don't worry, this isn't a post teaching you to suck eggs. What does count is being personable. You need to network and you need to be liked. When you are liked, you are trusted after a period of time and not only do you acquire good friends but you earn clients, and yes, I did say the word 'earn.'
We don't come into this business demanding clients. If you do that, you are soon out of business, yet so we don't end up sitting around watching Jeremy Kyle every morning waiting for the phone to ring - we network. Be it online or face to face. For me, it comes before everything else - admin, budgeting, accounts - if you haven't got work - none of these pastimes will get you anywhere.
Now you can drop direct marketing and door drop advertising like a couple of hot bricks. Unless you are a roofer/plumber/electrician and just about any other business which offers a service or product for the HOME - don't bother to drop leaflets through people's doors. Nine times out of ten, most businesses earning a substantial profit which they might consider giving some of that to a consultant - do not operate from their home address - I say 'most,' in fact, I have yet to come across a business with 200+ employees all working office hours from the directors spare bedroom. If you are going to provide a service to someone in the home - then drop your flyer's. If it is business to business, then catch them at the office, not at home.
With consultancy, or at least, my business which is in social services, you are reaching out to all people. Now this presents a problem. Many of my clients might not be able to read or write, so there is no point shoving a flyer through the door. So how do I go about this? Well, that's a good question and the day I find the answer, I will immediately become a millionaire. In the mean time I build relationships with as many fantastic and awe inspiring people as I can. I don't look at business networking for the sake of grabbing as many business cards as I can in one lunch time, I talk to everyone, regardless of which business they are in. People are people and I expand my knowledge of life by creating an interesting circle of friends and associates.
Network at will. That's all you can do. It gains everything but if you're far from confident in a room full of people then you have to overcome that, the same I had to. Today's lesson is to appreciate your contacts. The ones you already have the one's you will find tomorrow. There are a whole of host self struggling sole traders and other such businesses out there who are just as nervous and human as you. This, I will tell you for nothing was my biggest challenge - not my first project but actually getting around to walking into a room full of strangers to promote myself. Take a deep breath and if it really scares you, take someone along with you.
Enough can't be said about such networking. If you attend as many courses as you can (Business Link or Train to Gain etc) they can be an event where you not only learn something but network as well.
When business is quiet, finding new contacts to share a few consultancy jokes with will perk you up no end and put your confidence back in good shape.
If you need a hand looking for good networking clubs in your area in the UK, email me at mail@communityconsultancy.com and I will try to help you out....
Good luck and until the next time...
Michelle Duffy 2009
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