Step 3: Before You Accept A Consultancy Review The Problems You've Seen And Suggest Solutions

The very act of reviewing a prospect's situation is going to turn up problems large and small. Maybe you've discovered financial difficulties. Maybe the prospect is being overly optimistic about what he thinks can be done during your consultancy. Maybe it's as small a matter as the executive refusing to give you his home telephone number because he "doesn't want to bothered after business hours."

First, make sure that every red flag, big and small, gets noted during your prospect review. This is the moment for complete candor. If, for instance, you like to work on client business in the evenings, week-ends, etc. your inability to reach a client at those times may later present real problems, at the very least it may prove frustrating to you and create resentment. If so, be totally honest with the prospect now, before it becomes a problem.

If the prospect either doesn't grasp your point, is difficult or even intransigent, now's the moment to decide whether you can 1) live with this situation as it is, or 2) decide to decline the assignment because your experience tells you you're not going to be able to live with it and produce optimum results.

Note: if your prospect review has turned up potential problems that stand in the way of a successful outcome and if you have decided you need certain things to achieve this outcome, be sure to mention them in your contract, if you take the assignment. Thus, if you need regular access to key personnel and sense a reluctance on the part of the decision-maker to provide it, first bring it up as an issue to be solved during your review process. Then, if you're able to reach agreement on the matter, put what you want in your contract. Thus, each client contract may have different clauses in it depending on what you've discovered during your review procedure. The important thing is that what you need to succeed is clearly spelled out in the contract and that you don't feel the slightest hesitation or doubt about spelling that out both in discussion with the client and in any contract.

Step 4:

Step 5: Start The Way You Mean To Go On

The beginning of a consulting relationship is the time to make major progress. At this point, you're the new broom that sweeps clean. People are prepared to listen to what you had to say... and there is real good will and enthusiasm to draw from. Take full advantage of this moment to push for as many constructive changes as possible that help ensure success.

Make sure everyone involved knows the objective.
Be sure all those who are supposed to assist in bringing it about are fully involved and both their opinions and resources solicited.
Brief decision-makers frequently and fully.
Keep urging them to take prompt, efficient action towards the objective.

Importantly, be prompt to bring up any problems you see. Don't let them slide by just because you're the new boy or girl. There is a special moment at the beginning of a consulting relationship when you can accomplish an enormous amount of good, if only people are prepared to work with you and do what it takes to help the project succeed.

Thus, if the following kinds of problems crop up, bring them to the decision-maker's attention immediately to get them resolved so that the burgeoning momentum (not to mention the overall positive environment) is not damaged.

You place calls, but they are not answered.
You send faxes and e-mail, ditto.
Scheduled meetings with personnel (perhaps even with the decision-maker himself) are cancelled. No notice is given to you, and nothing is rescheduled.
Key personnel are not forthcoming about what they'll do, when they'll do it and in fact make it plain that your presence is a nuisance.
You're now told that things you were promised before the contract was signed are now going to be difficult to deliver, etc.

The less experienced you are, the more you may reckon that the diplomatic thing to do is simply to grin and bear it. That, however, would be a mistake.

Your job as a consultant is to be the midwife of success. It is to assess problems and make sapient recommendations about what to do to achieve the results that you and the client should both want to achieve. As soon as you discover that things are happening that block the realization of this success, you must take action to ensure that these problems are solved.

Thus, if your client schedules a meeting with you and cancels it without bothering to inform you (a common occurrence in our uncivil days), you need to bring this up and solve it promptly. Consultants, you see, have influence but not power. We are seldom in a position where we can say, "Jump." Instead, our job is to say, "I advise you to jump." Thus, we must do everything possible to protect this influence, to ensure that we are never put at a disadvantage or that we are so handled that we can easily be disregarded. If we allow that, we undercut our ability to deliver the success result.

Step 6: Document All Your Recommendations

Your job is not just to make good recommendations... but to document your good recommendations. There are many reasons for doing so:

you can make it clear not just what your recommendation is but why you are suggesting any given course.
What you recommend will be clear and less subject to being misconstrued.
You will have a complete record of every recommendation you've made, the date it was made, the reasons you made it, and a reasonable record of what you did to get to that point.

We live in the most litigious society in the history of the world. People think nothing these days of threatening law suits even over the most mundane matters. As a consultant you need to be aware of this fact and protect yourself accordingly.

People, of course, do lots of business by phone or in person. That's convenient, but it does have its own dangers. You may be the best consultant in the world, but if you've left no paper trail of recommendations should problems emerge you could be put in a situation where you've got nothing to support what you've done, the recommendations you made, when you made them or the results they produced. Don't let this happen!

After any meeting (telephone or in-person), jot a brief memo to the person you spoke to (often a paragraph will do) on what you discussed, what was decided, including specific tasks to be accomplished by whom at what date. Either fax or e-mail this memorandum. Note: if you e-mail be sure to print a hard-copy for your files.

Believe me, your clients will rarely, if ever, be as thorough as this about your consultancy. Thus, you will have the most complete records in existence about what you did, when you did it, what you said, to whom, when, etc.

Should there ever be a question about what you've done or any complaint made that you "weren't worth the money we paid you," you'll have a file stuffed with evidence that you did what you were supposed to do, brought problems promptly to the attention of the decision-makers, worked with all concerned, made constructive recommendations, and generally did what was necessary to achieve the results. If these results were not all that were wished, it's not because you failed to do your bit.

Step 7: Document All Your Results

In the final analysis, consultancy is about success. Did you help the client achieve measurable and meaningful successes -- and do you have proof?

As your recommendations are implemented, watch for improvements. As these occur, make sure they're documented by the people you're working with... and that you get copies for your records.

As positive results mount up, it's easy to forget that things may not always be so rosy with any given client. One thing about life is certain: things tomorrow won't be what they are today. Prepare accordingly.

Thus, when your client says good things about your work, write them down, date and file. Or, ask the client for a testimonial on the spot. If your results are summarized in various client materials, ask for copies. Be sure they're dated. If your client is not of the spontaneously praising variety, then you take the initiative to get the results-confirming materials you need. It's insurance which may well come in handy later.

Last Words

I like consulting. I like the fact that you can make very good money while helping people reach their objectives. But consulting isn't for everyone. The people who do best in this career are those without illusions. Those who see things as they are and understand precisely what they need from a client to help that client achieve the success that the client says he wants. The more experienced you are as a consultant, the more successes you have, the less patience you'll have with clients who are disorganized, vague, unsystematic, difficult to work with, and unwilling to shoulder responsibility, set objectives or work with you to achieve them. They stand in the way of their own success, of course... but they also stand in the way of yours.

As tempted as you might be to take on such clients either because you need the money or because you think you can change them after you're aboard, think twice before taking the assignment. If you can really deliver success, you owe it both to yourself and your next clients, to pass on the assignments that your gut and homework tell you just won't work out. Remember, while they're frustrating you, people who really could use your talents and are willing to work with you to achieve results are missing out. The better you get, the more successes you deliver, the more of these people there are, and the less you ever have to deal with the life-draining flatworms, the ones who tell you they want success, want to work with you, but never do the sensible, systematic things necessary to succeed.

Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the internationally known marketing and business development consultant. When you want to dramatically increase your sales, he can help by instituting a systematic step-by-step program, including setting objectives, creating client-centered cash-copy marketing communications, and providing on-going, focused consultation. For complete details, call (617) 547-6372, e-mail drjlant@worldprofit.com or use 24-hour fax-on-demand (403) 425-6049, document #6. To become a successful consultant, use his well-known 203-page resource THE CONSULTANT'S KIT: ESTABLISHING AND OPERATING YOUR SUCCESSFUL CONSULTING BUSINESS. $39.50 postpaid from JLA Publications, P.O. Box 38-2767, Cambridge, MA 02238. You can also request a subscription to his quarterly 32-page Sure-Fire Business Success Catalog. Be sure to check out Jeffrey's 10 Worldprofit Malls on the Internet at htt://www.worldprofit.com, visiting by over 200,000 people monthly. Get details on them from fax-on-demand documents #1 & #2 or from webmaster@worldprofit.com. Dr. Lant also offers you FREE advertising through his CashQuest Search Computer, the only Internet search engine entirely dedicated to promoting businesses and money-making enterprises. Access it at http://www.worldprofit.com and click on the 'cashquest' link..