A number of years ago a friend of mine, who was a logistics consultant, was trying out methods for selling consulting projects. He decided that one thing he would try would be to hold a free one day seminar in a local hotel and to offer a sort of training class/sales pitch to local transportation companies. Sure enough, lots of people showed up, the presentation was good, and it looked like a big success. The only problem was that out of all this work he only received one inquiry about doing a project and that never turned into a paying job. Not only had he spent a lot of money and time but it was a big downer for him personally. As a result we spent a good bit of time discussing what had gone wrong and why this hadn’t worked as well as he had hoped.
My only thought on the subject was this – the decision makers weren’t there. He had invited them but they, in turn, had sent their managers and supervisors – those that could benefit from the information but couldn’t make the actual decision to initiate and buy a project. As a result there was little real follow-up response.
I thought his idea was a good one and maybe there were other reasons it didn’t produce as he expected, but as a rule, when you are talking about consulting projects, you need to talk directly with the decision maker. If you are looking to sell a consulting project to an organization, sooner or later you have to reach the person who can make it happen. Others may be interested but won’t be able to give you the go-ahead.
And this is true of any consulting effort, big or small – at some point find a way to reach that person that can say, ‘Yes, let’s do it, and can we get started Monday?’
Do great work. More later
RW
Monday, 20 April 2009
Friday, 6 March 2009
Consulting Opportunities
For those of you who would like to plug into some of the biggest industrial construction projects either underway or soon to be starting take a look at the following web site: http://www.industrialinfo.com/ . (Paid subscriptions but lots of free info) These folks keep up with what’s happening, construction wise, around the world. If one of these projects is near your location it may pay to do the legwork needed to land a consulting assignment with one of the contractors or sub-contractors.
Obama’s plan doesn’t have much to do with correcting problems in the banking system but there is lots of pork to go around. In fact, reports are that there are around 8,570 earmarks in the package. The big three of course, are energy, health care, and education, none of which are directly tied to our economic problems, (banking and housing). But, however you might feel about that, there are sure to be some super consulting opportunities coming out of this.
Take green energy for example. Back in the 70’s during the Carter oil shortage, consulting friends of mine developed and build consulting practices based on doing an energy assessment of businesses, then developing recommendations as to how the businesses could cut energy usage and, ultimately, costs. This has been around for a long time, but demand for services like this should skyrocket once energy cost pressures mount. It’s likely there won’t be enough people with the right skills to handle the work. It’s the kind of service virtually every size business could use. Sources indicate oil prices will likely shoot upward again – maybe by the end of the year - and the cap and trade program will put further cost pressures on energy users, so there are lots of ways for consultants to take advantage of this opportunity. Keep it in mind as you develop your consulting business plans.
Check back soon. I'll be posting more consulting tips later.
Regards and God Bless:
RW
Obama’s plan doesn’t have much to do with correcting problems in the banking system but there is lots of pork to go around. In fact, reports are that there are around 8,570 earmarks in the package. The big three of course, are energy, health care, and education, none of which are directly tied to our economic problems, (banking and housing). But, however you might feel about that, there are sure to be some super consulting opportunities coming out of this.
Take green energy for example. Back in the 70’s during the Carter oil shortage, consulting friends of mine developed and build consulting practices based on doing an energy assessment of businesses, then developing recommendations as to how the businesses could cut energy usage and, ultimately, costs. This has been around for a long time, but demand for services like this should skyrocket once energy cost pressures mount. It’s likely there won’t be enough people with the right skills to handle the work. It’s the kind of service virtually every size business could use. Sources indicate oil prices will likely shoot upward again – maybe by the end of the year - and the cap and trade program will put further cost pressures on energy users, so there are lots of ways for consultants to take advantage of this opportunity. Keep it in mind as you develop your consulting business plans.
Check back soon. I'll be posting more consulting tips later.
Regards and God Bless:
RW
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Welcome Notes
All:
Welcome to the brand new road warrior discussion group blog. This space has been added so you can post information about how to become a consultant, tips about how to improve the quality of consulting life (life on the road), or stories you'd like to share about your consulting practice or travels.
Got a tale from the road - add it / Have a tip for a beginning consultant - make some notes here / Like to pass along some info about a place, hotel, or airline - go for it.
Please, keep it civil, positive, and helpful.
RW
Welcome to the brand new road warrior discussion group blog. This space has been added so you can post information about how to become a consultant, tips about how to improve the quality of consulting life (life on the road), or stories you'd like to share about your consulting practice or travels.
Got a tale from the road - add it / Have a tip for a beginning consultant - make some notes here / Like to pass along some info about a place, hotel, or airline - go for it.
Please, keep it civil, positive, and helpful.
RW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)