Practicing the ‘in-the mud’ work improves results ...

Last week I was reminded how often ideas for consultancy growth can look very good on paper … but in reality don’t translate into business results.

It’s a bit like the big fat strategy reports produced by the largest consultancy firms. Insightful perhaps but lacking the ‘in-the mud’ details to make results happen.

Following these ‘book learning’ ideas blindly can be a disaster for consultants. After all you have very limited time for business development. So you must be picky.

With that in mind here are three things you might consider practicing over the next few weeks:

1. Visioning. That is, painting pictures of your client’s future as a result of working with you. Ultimately this will be part of your pitch to engage the client emotionally.
2. Business casing. That is, putting together and explaining the rationale for clients to invest in your support. Ultimately this will be of value for your client champion to use internally.
3. Bar raising. That is taking the fee you were thinking of and comparing it to the business case value … then learning to confidently ask for 25% more than you were thinking of (if you’re worth it). Ultimately this will dramatically increase your reputation and profits.