How to Make It Big As a Consultant

You know you want to try a career in consulting, but where do you begin? How to Make It Big as a Consultant provides the aspiring consultant detailed advice on every aspect of starting up and maintaining a highly lucrative consulting career.

Informationen zum Autor WILLIAM A. COHEN! PH.D.! President of the Institute of Leader Arts and The California Institute of Advanced Management! was Drucker's first executive Ph.D. graduate. About him! Drucker wrote: "My colleagues on the faculty and I learned at least as much as we could teach him." He has held executive positions in several companies and served as president of two universities. He is the author of many books! including Heroic Leadership! A Class with Drucker! Drucker on Leadership! and Drucker on Marketing. Getting started in consulting can be a tricky prospect. How much should you charge? What type of language should exist in the contract? How can you find clients? Written by a veteran consultant with hundreds of consulting engagements to his credit, How to Make it Big as a Consultant is filled with highly-focused, detailed advice on every aspect of starting up and maintaining a highly lucrative consulting career. Completely updated and revised throughout, the fourth edition features three new chapters on developing strategies for clients, how to lead consulting teams, and the consulting wisdom of Peter Drucker. This long-depended-upon guidebook will help any aspiring reader become the kind of outstanding consultant that clients will turn to again and again. Zusammenfassung Getting started in consulting can be a tricky prospect. How much should you charge? What type of language should exist in the contract? How can you find clients? Written by a veteran consultant with hundreds of consulting engagements to his credit! How to Make it Big as a Consultant is filled with detailed advice on every aspect of starting up and maintaining a highly lucrative consulting career. The book helps readers: get a handle on the legal! tax! and insurance issues involved in setting up and running the business understand what clients really need create the structure for an assignment (proposals! pricing! contracts! scheduling) market the business * solve clients' problems using the Harvard Case Study Method Completely updated and revised throughout! the fourth edition features new chapters on developing strategies for clients! leading consulting teams! and more. This trusted guidebook will help any aspiring reader become the kind of outstanding consultant that clients will turn to again and again. CONTENTS Preface: The World's Foremost Consultant and His Impact on This Book Drucker's ConsultingHow Consultants Get StartedMy Initial Ignorance about ConsultingAn Academic Course in Consulting The Information in This Book 1 The Business of Consulting What Is Consulting?How Big Is the Consulting Industry?Types of Consulting FirmsWhy Does Anyone Need a Consultant? Signals Indicating the Need for a ConsultantHow Do Potential Clients Analyze Consultants for Hire?What Makes an Outstanding Consultant?How Much Money Can You Make as a Consultant? How Do People Become Consultants?Summing Up 2 How to Get Clients: Direct Marketing Methods Direct ...

Autorentext

William A. Cohen, PH.D. is a business professor, speaker, and President of the Institute of Leader Arts, as well as the author of numerous books, including A Class with Drucker (978-08144-0919-0).

Klappentext

Getting started in consulting can be a tricky prospect. How much should you charge? What type of language should exist in the contract? How can you find clients? Written by a veteran consultant with hundreds of consulting engagements to his credit, How to Make it Big as a Consultant is filled with highly-focused, detailed advice on every aspect of starting up and maintaining a highly lucrative consulting career. Completely updated and revised throughout, the fourth edition features three new chapters on developing strategies for clients, how to lead consulting teams, and the consulting wisdom of Peter Drucker. This long-depended-upon guidebook will help any aspiring reader become the kind of outstanding consultant that clients will turn to again and again.

Zusammenfassung
Offers advice on various aspects of starting up and maintaining a highly lucrative consulting career. This book features chapters on developing strategies for clients, how to lead consulting teams, and the consulting wisdom of Peter Drucker.

Inhalt

CONTENTS

Preface: The World's Foremost Consultant and His Impact

on This Book

Drucker's Consulting—How Consultants Get Started—My Initial

Ignorance about Consulting—An Academic Course in Consulting—

The Information in This Book

1 The Business of Consulting

What Is Consulting?—How Big Is the Consulting Industry?—Types

of Consulting Firms—Why Does Anyone Need a Consultant?—

Signals Indicating the Need for a Consultant—How Do Potential

Clients Analyze Consultants for Hire?—What Makes an Outstanding

Consultant?—How Much Money Can You Make as a Consultant?—

How Do People Become Consultants?—Summing Up

2 How to Get Clients: Direct Marketing Methods

Direct Methods of Marketing—Direct Mail—Cold Calls—Direct

Response Space Advertising—Directory Listings—Yellow Pages

Listings—Approaching Former Employers—Brochures—Designing

Your Brochure—Summing Up

3 How to Get Clients: Indirect Marketing Methods

The Basic Indirect Methods—Speaking before Groups—Sending

out Newsletters—Joining Professional Associations—Joining Social

Organizations—Writing Articles—Writing a Book—Writing Letters

to the Editor—Teaching a Course—Giving Seminars—Distributing

Publicity Releases—Exchanging Information with Noncompeting

Consultants—Summing Up

4 Marketing Consultant Services to the Public Sector

The Government Requires All Sorts of Consulting Services—

Consulting for the Government—How Do You Get on the

Government Bandwagon?—Federal and State Bidding Portals—

Small Business Administration—The Buying Process—The

Importance of Preproposal Marketing—The Marketing Sequence for

Government Consulting—Locating Potential Clients—Screening—

Visiting and Making the Initial Presentation—Maintaining Contact

and Gathering Intelligence—Preparing the Proposal—Negotiating

the Contract—Summing Up

5 Making the Initial Interview a Success

Looking and Acting Like a Professional—How to Build Empathy

with Your Potential Client—Seven Essential Questions—Taking

Notes—Holding off on Giving Advice—Interpreting Body

Language—Making Use of Listening Techniques—Identifying

Emotions from Facial Expressions—What to Do When the

Interview Is Over—The Company Audit—Identification of

Facial Expressions in Figure 5-1—Summing Up

6 How to Write a Proposal

Why a Written Proposal Is Necessary—How to Write a Good

Proposal—The Structure of a Letter Proposal—Opening—

Background—Objectives—Study Methods—Potential Problems—

Data Flow Charts and Product Development Schedules—The

Finished Product—Cost and Payment Information—Converting

a Proposal Into a Contract—Summing Up

7 Pricing Your Services

Price Strategies and Some Other Considerations—Three Price

Strategies—Other Considerations—Investigate the Marketplace—

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