HOW TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICE
A consultant works with the management of a business to improve
the profitability of the business.
Working with the top management, you can rest assured the
consultant is a very highly paid individual.
Some consultants charge £100 per hour. Others charge £1,500 per
day for their services, and still others work on an annual
retainer fee of £12,000 to over £30,000 per year from any number
of large corporations.
Until a few years ago, the title "consultant" was more or less
limited to retired diplomats and top corporate officers.
In other words, until recently, the consultant's position was
more honorary than actual.
But that has all changed dramatically in the past few years.
The number of consultants for almost any problem in life has
increased by tenfold or more during the past ten years!
And the field of consultants is continuing to grow.
In fact, independent consulting is one of the fastest growing
businesses in the country today!
A consultant is an expert at recognising problems and shaping
solutions to those problems.
The need for problem solvers for business problems - among large
and small businesses world-wide - has never been greater.
The ever changing moods of the buyer plus the myriad of crisis
situations faced by businessmen almost daily, have created this
"seller's market" for the alert consultant.
Reaching for a consultant when problems arise is as natural as
looking for the sun to come up every morning.
When you're not feeling well, you call for the services of a
doctor. If your car isn't running right, you take it to a
mechanic.
And so it is with a businessman, when he encounters a problem
whether it be in the field of accounting, legal, sales or
customer relations.
Another Side of this need for consultants is in the case of the
over enthusiastic entrepreneur who rushes headlong into a
business in which he hac little or no experience.
Many such dreamers invest their life savings in questionable
projects without even considering the idea of bringing in a
competent business consultant to analyse and evaluate their
plans.
Even experienced people are prone to overrate their own ideas.
The image of the end result, and dedicated enthusiasm toward the
attainment of one's goal are the prime pre-requisites for
success; however, unmerited enthusiasm and dedication can also
be very dangerous as well.
Unless it is based upon solid research, it may cause people to
chase headlong after nonexistent rainbows.
And that's where you can fit in as a business consultant.
It is not necessary for you to have owned or operated a
successful business to become a successful business consultant.
Nor is it imperative that you have been in management or have
held a titled position.
You will, however, need the ability to sell yourself, and an up
to date understanding of the area in which you intend to assist
others.
The first step is to make an honest evaluation of your own
training and experience.
You might be an ambitious tax consultant who was never
recognised for your abilities.
You might be especially good in general areas as system design,
marketing, advertising, distribution, sales, or even efficiency,
time management, scheduling, expediting or productivity.
There are hundreds of consultants across the country
specialising in Direct Mail and Mail Order operations.
Most of these people enjoyed some measure of success in those
fields, and then discovered the easier way - advising others on
how to operate successfully.
There are consultants for people who want success with a garage
sale, party plan merchandising, or even multi level operations.
The important thing is to choose an area in which you've had
some experience: an area that you have spent some time learning
about, and of course, an area of work that you enjoy.
Almost everyone is afraid of the responsibility involved.
They claim they don't have the experience or the knowledge.
Such was the case of a young lady I know who was seeking work as
a personnel clerk. She had worked five years as assistant to
the personnel manager of a large manufacturing plant, yet when I
advised her to become a consultant to people looking for work or
to start her kwn CV writing service, she pleaded lack of
knowledge, experience and ability.
Just about everyone has had special training in a certain line
of work, and they've gone on to absorb special studies or
education along the same lines, and most people have worked all
their lives along or very close to a specific line of endeavour.
So, why shouldn't a women who has worked 20 years as a waitress
represent herself as a consultant to the training programme for
waitresses within a restaurant organisation?
A shipping and receiving clerk would be a natural for setting up
efficient operations and for solving problems for businesses
just beginning or expanding their production output.
The point is, most people don't realise how much expertise they
really have, or the probable marketability of their training,
knowledge and experience.
The important thing is to look over your educational strengths,
combine that with any special training or on the job experience,
and then offer your expertise to help others with their problems
along the lines you know best.
You don't need a big, fancy executive type office in order to
get started, especially if you start your cmnsulting business on
a part time basis.
A spare bedroom, a section of the basement, or even a corner of
the dining room, will do very nicely.
If you handle your own book keeping, and filing, you will need a
ledger of some kind, and a file cabinet or two.
You will need a good typewriter if you plan to do your own
correspondence.
An alternative is to do all letters, etc, in long hand, and hire
someone to put them in final form for you. Check your local home
typists.
Instead of going to the expense of paying for a business phone,
use your residence phone and train all members of the family to
answer it in a business-like manner, during normal working hours.
Save copies of all the sales letters you send out, and of
course, all job proposals you submit. Set up your file system
with your final plan in mind, and you'll save a lot of time and
frustration. keep your files in alphabetical order. It is also a
good idea to keep your active accounts in one drawer, your
"hoped for" accounts in another and master copies of all your
letters, proposals, business contacts information ,and records
in still another drawer.
You'll need business cards and you should have a pc,copier, printer, fax machine.
Once you have decided what kind of business consultant you want
to be, you need to let people know you are available for work.
Generally speaking, you will pick up some customers, regardless
of the problem area you specialise in, by advertising in your
most popular local paper. However, I wouldn't recommend much
more than a small ad in the weekend editions, unless you're a
direct mail, multi level or garage sale consultant.
Check with your Chamber of Commerce for a list of trade and
specialised business publishers.
Either pick up a copy of the business journal, or write to the publisher and ask for a sample.
Look through those catering to the type of business you want to
serve.
Check the editorial styles, and types of advertising they carry,
then select the one that corresponds with your needs.
Basically, unless a publication reaches the people you are
trying to sell to, don't advertise in it regazdless of style,
quality, or advertising rates.
Radio advertising would je a complete waste of advertising
money, unless you're offering help with direct mail, multi luvel
marketing or car sales.
The best time for any broadcast advertising in order to reach
your best prospects seems to be in the evening hours after the
late night news, when these people are either still labouring
over their special projects or relaxing before going to bed.
If you do use broadcast advertising, the commercial is very
important. Really concentrate on this, and use a lot of common
sense in writing the message.
Even if you engage the services of an experienced broadcast
copywriter, make sure the message speaks to your potential
customers, and convinces them that you can help solve their
problems or improve the profit picture of their business.
Finally, where to advertise.
Go with an ad in the local yellow pages. The space salesman
will help you with the ad, but remember, you want it to catch
the eye of your particular client, and offer a promise of an end
to his problems.
Always talk to your kind of people, emphasising the benefits of
your services.
It's not good practice to quote or even discuss prices in either
your advertising or on the phone when people respond.
Always get names, addresses, and telephone numbers, then explain
your services in general.
Set up an appointment to look over their operation, analyse
their needs, and make a written proposal to solve their problems.
Another way to find new clients is by direct mail. This is done
by either using a postcard or sales letter mailings. For your
mailing lists, contacT your Chamber of Commerce or a list broker
from Yellow Pages, or look up the names of businesses most
likely to be interested in your service in your areas business
directory.
Your postcard solicitation should basically be an elaboration of
your printed advertising. An ad for a Direct Mail Consultant
might be transfered to a postcard along the lines of the
following:
ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE GETTING RESULTS WITH YOUR DIRECT MAIL
BUSINESS??? I can help you!
Show you how to double, maybe even triple the
response from your mailings! Expand your
market! Increase your profitability!
Whatever the needs, I can HELP! Whatever your
problems, I can SOLVE THEM! Call now, and let
me explain.
After the message on the postcard, add your telephone number and
your name, followed by your identification as Direct Mail
Consultant.
A direct mail solicitation sales letter simply uses more words
than the postcard, reads smoother and forces the reader to
respond as you direct him.
Your sales letter can be any length needed to tell your story,
and achieve the objective.
To be successful, though, it must embody and follow the "AIDA"
form: A = Attention; B = Interest; D = Desire; A = Action on the
part of the reader.
Another point to remember when writing sales letters: Always
appeal to the needs and wants of the person who's going to be
reading the letter.
He will start reading to see if your services can benefit him.
He is greatly interested in more profits, reduced production
costs and higher efficiency.
He is looking for answers to his most pressing problems.
Keep these elements in mind when you write a sales solicitation
letter whether for yourself or for a client.
As a consultant, your letterhead should be simple while still
conveying to the reader a sense of class.
Your paper should be the best quality you can afford - not
flamboyant, but sending`a subtle message of success.
Direct mail surveys show that slightly better numbers of
responses are received when a light beige or off-yellow paper is
used.
Basically, your letter should do what the postcard does for you
move the recipient to call you and allow you to set up an
appointment to discuss his needs as a your client.
Whether you're writing an advertisement or a sales letter, it's
important that you have the objective clearly in mind - what you
want the reader to do.
With this in mind, you need not use the "hard sell" approach
quite as forcefully as someone asking for money on the first
contact.
All that's left is meeting with the prospect, listening to his
problems, and hearing what he wants, then write out a proposal
to solve his problems and satisfy his wants.
This means selling yourself to the prospect - assuring him you
know what you're talking about, and that you can make him more
successful.
There you have it - a plan that can lead you to success as a
Business Consultant.
Remember, though, no amount of research, reading, listening or
investment can make you successful until you do something with
them.
Action on your part is the absolute ingredient that must be
added, and that's up to you. Your future is in your own hands!
