Established consultants and professional advisors seldom consider their own success in a systematic way, despite working with clients to accomplish that objective … for their clients. Consultants and professional advisors often think about building value into their businesses but don’t know the enablers and tactics for growth to build that value.

This course helps consultants and professional advisors to position their businesses for greater success and value, by:

• Setting / resetting position on a services continuum
• Determining / re-determining services provider type
• Pulling success levers according to that type
• Understanding the enablers for growth
• Choosing relevant tactics to build value
• Developing a realistic action plan.

Session 1

Services continuum

• Review current position, and attributes, to determine whether or not to reposition

Services Provider Type

Assess services importance & services uniqueness to determine current and, optionally, future type (one of these four):

• Vendor
• Specialist
• Total solution provider
• Game changer

Strategy

Are the five strategy success levers set for your services provider type?

• Value proposition
• Service offers
• Drivers
• Differentiators
• Critical metrics
• Which of the 15 ways to collaborate and co-operate with other consultants might aid growth?
• Review the eight Strategy enablers of business value, and choose relevant tactics to deliver value

Marketing

Are the four marketing success levers set for your services provider type?

• Market message
• Brand building
• Pricing
• Services portfolio management
• Review the three Marketing enablers of business value, and choose relevant tactics to deliver value

Selling

Are you following the ten selling keys?
Does your selling approach match your services provider type?
Review the four Selling enablers of business value

Session 2

Delivery

Are you following the eight delivery rules? Does your selling approach match your sevices provider value
Review the four Selling enablers of business value, and choose relevant tactics to deliver value

Delivery

Are you following the eight delivery rules?
Review the two Delivery enablers of business value, and choose relevant tactics to deliver value

Operations

Is the leverage model set for your services provider type?
What is the structure of your knowledge management system?
Are you following the five service quality keys?
Review the two Operations enablers of business value, and choose relevant tactics to deliver value

Talent

Do the staff characteristics match your services provider type?
Are you following the ten core practices for recruiting, hiring, developing, retaining your staff?
Review the two Talent enablers of business value, and choose relevant tactics to deliver value

Core business functions & processes

Review the 17 core processes and align them with the business.

Action plan

Prepare the initial action (3W) plan – what? who? when?

Delivery

A highly interactive and flexible course, effectively a workshop, which covers the key points to develop a sustainable and profitable consulting business – one that is positioned for greater success..

Participants may seek individual assistance from the presenter during the course.

Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will have some confidence that their positioning will support growth and realise value, which in turn will lead to a sustainable and profitable business.

Suitable for

Personal interest, adult learners, active retirees, early career professionals, professional development learners, and senior executives.

Consultants (sole practitioners, consulting firms) who have been operating for two full years or more.

Participants who had previously attended the Operating a Consultancy Business course.