Image via Wikipedia

For quite some time I’ve noticed the word consultant used rather loosely to define a person working independently. He or she has their own business with proprietary goods and services, however they may be affiliated with a known product or service they are offering. Some may attach themselves to a brand to help increase their visibility.  While there is nothing wrong with that, I’m sure my commentary may rub some people the wrong way as I believe if you sell something like candles or cell phones in the Business to Consumer space (B2C), you are not really a consultant.

It is not my intent to offend, rather it is my attempt to define the term consultant and bring clarity to what is often a misrepresented profession in the minds of the public and business community. Perhaps this may help. Here are few definitions for the word consultant.

• Adviser: an expert who gives advice.
• Consultancy: the practice of giving expert advice within a particular field.
• An individual who provides guidance and information to another individual. A professional that helps you plan that appropriate course of action.
• Consultants: people providing professional advice for a fee.

You get the point. Essentially it is one person with knowledge on a given subject providing advice and guidance to another person, often times for a fee. Even though you may have knowledge of technology like cell phones and which models meet the needs of a buyer, I still don’t think it justifies labeling one’s self as a consultant.  If that’s true, in an early career I could have called myself a clothing consultant as I sold clothing in my parent’s clothing store. I had knowledge of which clothing works best for people based on weather conditions or the environment where someone would work.

Rather than trying to define the term consultant and defend it for the Business to Business space (B2B), I guess should be flattered that people in the B2C space wish to call themselves consultants to help elevate their level of professionalism. I mean, would you rather buy from a salesman or from a consultant?

What do you think? Am I wrong to say that people in the B2C space should not call themselves consultants as all they really are is salesmen or saleswomen?

Related articles

• b2b or b2c (patrikolson.wordpress.com)
• Defining B2B Sales (windmillnetworking.com)

Image via Wikipedia

We’re pleased to announce the launch of a new e-book available here at Consultant Base Camp called Blogging for Consultants. It’s an e-book that teaches you the tools, tips, and tricks to use blogging as a means to develop your brand as a consultant – regardless of your field of expertise.

Blogging is an excellent way for consultants to establish themselves as a thought leader in their respective field. It provides a way for you to establish credibility, authority on a subject, and it allows you to engage with your readers.

The objectives of this e-book are fairly simple:

• Eliminating the fear that comes with starting a blog. Many people who consider starting blogs are reluctant to do so out of fear that they’ll have nothing to write or they may appear to others as someone they are not. This e-book removes that fear and helps you build confidence to put yourself out there so you can build your brand as a consultant.
• Selecting a blogging platform that will meet your specific needs. There are many platforms to choose from like WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad. Each have their own strengths and weaknesses and this e-book helps you choose which one is right for you by examining their pros and cons of each.
• How to monitor online and offline sources to generate ideas for blog posts. Ideas for blog posts are everywhere! You just have to know where to look and how to collect your ideas to form into engaging posts. This e-book offers up suggestion on how you can form ideas to write about for your blog.
• How to promote your blog in social media to generate interest and traffic. This is the most important part of blogging. You have to find ways to get your content in front of people who would be interested in what you have to say. Social media is best method to connect with your audience and keep them informed through your blog posts.

Blogging for Consultants is a quick read and will help you get started right away to begin using blogs as a way to develop your brand as a consultant. Download your FREE copy of this e-book today!

Related articles

• Blogging and Social Media Tips (j9styleblog.com)
• Be social: How to keep your business blog regularly updated (marketing.yell.com)
• 10 Social Media Tips for Bloggers (mashable.com)
• Be social: How can a blog help your small business? (marketing.yell.com)

When working with a client, you ultimately want to move toward a retainer fee or contract of some kind where regardless of the amount of work you produce for them, or the amount of your time you contribute to them, you will get a guaranteed amount of money for your services be it monthly or quarterly. Most consultants starting out normally are unable to make such demands in their client negotiations, so it is wise for new consultants start on smaller jobs or tasks with the client to establish trust and credibility. Once established, they can move toward a retainer or contract relationship with the client.

To justify this, you as the consultant will need to be willing to take on higher level work with the client. In addition, be bold and take the initiative to pitch a new project idea to them when the opportunity arises. The longer you work with a client, the more you get to understand their business and the industry they serve. Consultants have a keen sense of observation that a client doesn’t necessarily have about their own business and can identify needs that they may not have considered themselves. If you can fulfill those needs, you’ll likely get additional work.

More importantly, do monthly follow-ups with recent clients to see how your work for them was received and if any assistance is need. It’s good customer service to this, but it also keeps you top of mind with your client so the next time a project or task comes up, you’ll be their go-to person.

If you are fortunate to be able to craft a retainer agreement between you and your client, be careful to not leave it open and subject to interpretation later if there is ever a dispute or disagreement. A retainer agreement should be no different than any other contract where roles and responsibilities are defined, work you will do and won’t do under the agreement, and a maximum number of hours you will work under the agreement. You want to make sure you are providing the client best value for your services, but not short-changing yourself in the end where you end up losing money in the agreement. At the conclusion of the contract, provided the relationship with the client is in good standing, the two of you can evaluate the work and time spent working to determine if any adjustments to the next agreement should be made.

By working toward establishing a retainer fee among your clients for your consulting business, you will be more prepared to handle the ups and downs that come along when client work is plentiful or when it becomes scarce. If you have successfully negotiated retainer fees with clients, we’d like to hear about it. Provide your tips in the comments below.

Related articles

• Top Tips for a Safer Client Contract (freelanceswitch.com)
• My Freelancing Rules of Engagement. (xemion.com)

We talked about:

• How entrepreneurs can conquer the fear of selling.  This is probably the most difficult part of the job. You have to do it in order to get business and keep it. Here are some sales tips consultants can apply if they hate to sell.
• We published a new blog post – Is There Such a Thing as an Original Idea?  It was sort of an epiphany for me.
• 6 tips to avoid IRS audits for freelancers. It’s that time of year. Learn how to avoid the taxman.
• How to become a successful business coach or consultant. It takes time and hard work, but it’s worth it. Michael Port will show you how.
• Is this you? The balancing act of working two jobs. It’s a great case study illustrating what many new consultants have to go through, especially when you don’t have an established client base.

It’s been a great start to the new year and we have many more things to share with those who follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to do so today.

Out of these links shared, what catches your attention the most?

Related articles

• 35 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed (mashable.com)

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The longer your career as a consultant, the bigger your library. That’s what I’ve found since starting my consulting business almost 7 years ago. In that time I have managed to build a collection of books that served me well in my professional development. Once in a while, I find myself going back to these books to remind of certain concepts, techniques, or tools. Other times I return to these resources for inspiration to develop new ideas.

Here are the books my library that I think every consultant should consider adding to their own.

• Creating You & Co.: Learn To Think Like The CEO Of Your Own Career by William Bridges. If you are looking for inspiration to take charge of your career, here’s the book for you. It will do a lot to help brand you as an authority in everything you do.
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. My favorite author! Gladwell has a unique perspective of the world around you. The lesson learned from this book is that little changes have the biggest impact. Imagine how much easier your consulting work will be if you took this approach.
• The Expert’s Edge: Become the Go-To Authority People Turn to Every Time by Ken Lizotte. A great book on branding that will help you establish yourself as a thought leader in your field.
• The Innovation Killer: How What We Know Limits What We Can Imagine… And What Smart Companies Are Doing About It by Cynthia Barton Rabe. This book illustrates how consultants, external to an organization, can effectively contribute and make a positive impact.
• Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port. Having trouble developing a marketing plan? Read this book and you’ll produce a bulletproof plan that will ROCK!
• What Customers Want: Using Outcome-Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services by Anthony Ulwick. Through the case studies outlined in the book, you’ll learn how to segment and target your audience effectively.

These books are just a fraction of my library that contains books I find useful in my career. These will help you in your consulting as you engage your clients (whatever your profession may be) and they will help you establish yourself as a thought leader in your  field of expertise.

Do you have any books that have helped you in your career as a consultant? Comment below and tell us about them. What makes them an important part of your library.

Related articles

• Book Review: Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell (litterachi.wordpress.com)
• Forget Networking. How to Be a Connector (entrepreneur.com)

The rate you wish to charge is based on two fundamental things:

First, how much money do you want to make? Be realistic about this, especially when starting out. The best way to figure out what you intend to charge for your services is to research what someone equivalent to your consulting services, working in a company as a full-time employee, would make in a yearly salary. For instance, the equivalent of my consulting services at PinPoint Performance Solutions in a company as a full-time employee would be as a performance improvement specialist. The last time I researched the average salary of a performance improvement specialist, I discovered it was around $60,000 per year plus benefits.

Second, you simply need to know what your overhead costs to run your business will be. An educated guess will work to begin with, but track your expenses so you can get an accurate account in the future and apply it to subsequent rate calculations.

These two fundamentals will set the foundation for calculating your rate. Your outcome will be two different rates you can then quote to clients – hourly and daily. Ideally, you want to charge a daily rate or project fee. If you feel confused, don’t be. Here’s a great post on how to calculate your consulting fee using simple a simple formula. In addition you can read this post to help you determine your consulting fees.

I know some peers who did some impromptu market research among colleagues to determine what and how they should charge for their services. To them, they felt that determining their value was probably the hardest part of starting their consulting business. Going the unscientific route (impromptu market research), however, is harder because it’s difficult to be objective about yourself. Unless you have an over-inflated sense of self-worth, you’re probably not going to set a rate for your services that you likely deserve unless you do the math (the subjective route) and determine a rate that the market can easily bear.

Whether you arrived at a rate objectively or subjectively, you have to be able to look in the mirror and say “My rate is $100 / hour.”, without snickering or cracking a smile. You have to believe you are worth that rate and leave no doubt in the client’s mind that you are worth every penny.

I hope this helps.

These are just a few ways to look at and figure out what to charge for your services. How about you? Do you have a formula you use that helps determine what you should charge for your services?

Practical Guide to Starting a Consulting Business is a step-by-step guide that outlines the process of starting a consulting business. The publication discusses basics such as identifying your start up costs, setting up an office and marketing tips for promoting your consulting services. New to this edition is information for entrepreneurs on how to leverage social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to develop a brand and demonstrate expertise in their field.

I wrote Practical Guide to Starting a Consulting Business to help those aspiring to be consultants to begin with confidence and create a firm foundation to build a consulting practice on. Many things were learned in the early years through trial and error as I developed my own consulting business, PinPoint Performance Solutions, back 2005. The content of the book is largely based on the lessons learned from mistakes made such as spending too much money on marketing endeavors that produced little or no return on investment. I hope this educates readers so they don’t make the same mistakes I made early on, thereby increasing their chances of early success.

Practical Guide to Starting a Consulting Business is available for download directly from Consultant Base Camp.

Related articles

• As a Jobless Recovery Becomes a Very Real Possibility, More Americans are Choosing to Start their Own Business (prweb.com)
• Why Would Any Business Ever Hire A Consultant? (timberry.bplans.com)
• What are the basic services an SEO consultant should provide? (marketing.yell.com)

We talked about:

• Our LinkedIn (er..) link emerging again as a popular item…
• Selling without “selling”? Apparently, it can be done…
• The fear of selling. There’s a way to conquer and overcome it…
• An oldie, but a goodie, coming up again – when should you subcontract…

Probably one of the reasons why these old posts we shared on social media popped up again, is we shared our top links posted to our Facebook and Twitter accounts for 2011 in a separate post.

It’s a new year and many new things await those who follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to do so today.

Out of these links shared, what catches your attention the most?

Related articles

• 7 Ways Businesses Can Get More Social With SlideShare (ekaterinawalter.com)
• How to Automate Your Social Media Marketing Like the Pros (hubspot.com)
• What Will it Do For My Business? (digitalbrandmarketing.com)

In the world of consulting, I wonder if guarding your thoughts and ideas can really be done? Sure, we could encrypt the data, password protect it and place it on a server where a registered user we fully vet (through payment) has to authenticate in order to see it. In the end, is it really worth the effort?

There are many consultants who come up with their own original ideas, concepts and models to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise. They use these “artifacts” as their product to sell to clients. There are others who synthesize ideas and concepts from others, boil them down and present them as their own. There’s nothing wrong with this, as long as you cite your sources and inspiration for those thoughts and concepts – the ones consultants use to promote themselves. In other words, give credit where credit is due.

I’m not sure there are many new, original ideas in consulting these days. If I am wrong, please tell, but to me consulting is about serving the client by pulling together information and shaping it in a way that makes sense to them and in context to the issue they wish to solve. Whether it is through original ideas or ideas drawn from other sources the result is the same – changing the client’s condition for the better.

Related articles

• Is it a good idea to be a consultant? (bripblap.com)
• 5 Tips for Effective Consulting (iseejane.wordpress.com)
• Intellectual Property answer: What is international character of intellectual property (wiki.answers.com)
• Entrepreneurs shouldn’t wait to think about intellectual property (themetropreneur.com)

Image by Christopher S. Penn via Flickr

Throughout the year, Consultant Base Camp makes some interesting finds on the web that apply to back to the life of a freelancer or consultant. When we make these discoveries we like to share them with our followers on our social media accounts.

Here were the top 5 items we shared in 2011:

1. 25 Essential Entrepreneur Resources – Cut through the clutter with this nice list of 25 resources all entrepreneurs can use useful government sites to free web tools you can use to run your business.
2. When Should You Subcontract – There gets to a point in your business where you need delegate and bring someone in to help. This resource explains when you should do that.
3. 10 Tips for Consultants to Sell without “Selling” – To some consultants, “sales” is a dirty word but it’s a necessary part of the game. Not all consultants are cut out to sell who they are or their business for that matter. This article discusses how you can sell without feeling like you are selling out.
4. 10 Key Points Freelancers Must Know About LinkedIn – This social media tool is probably the one of the best any consultant can use. This article has 10 things every consultant needs to know about LinkedIn.
5. How Entrepreneurs Can Conquer Fear of Selling – These are sales tips any consultant can use if they are not so keen on selling.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter to be informed of finds like this on the web when we run across them in 2012.

Related articles

• No BS Social Media With Jason Falls (epodcastnetwork.com)
• Social media is ruining our minds and we have the proof [Infographic] (inquisitr.com)
• Social Business: It’s NOT About the Next BIG Thing! (pammarketingnut.com)
• Top 10 Favs for 2011: Social Media (mathieson.typepad.com)