The Consultant Hub - Managing a Portfolio Career
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A guide to developing and growing your Consultancy Portfolio career by Anne Watson. ۩ In Touch Networks 2017
Contents — Learning and Development 2017
Contents 1
Contents
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Introduction
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Defining yourself as a Consultant
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How to market yourself as a Consultant
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Crafting the perfect CV
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Taking your CV to the next level
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Winning consultancy projects
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The art of asking the right questions
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The listening Consultant
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career
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Introduction — Learning and Development 2017
Introduction People have many reasons for wanting to become a consultant. A portfolio career can be very attractive, allowing you to take a step back from the full time commitment to one company or one employer. The key benefit of working as a consultant is that suddenly your time is your own. You can decide how much you want to work and you can take holidays when it suits you and you will be rewarded accordingly. Life as an entrepreneur, working as a consultant and being in charge of your own destiny, puts control in your own hands. You can work as much or as little as you like. Decision making is all yours and this can be a great thing but sometimes you may miss the contribution of others.
Self employment, running your own business, being a consultant, brings life under your control and you will reap what you sow.
A good way to start would be to work out what you are leaving behind when you leave employment. Life insurance, pension contributions, insurances are now all down to you. You are responsible for your own tax
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and NI contributions so how do you structure your self employment? There are a number of options available, including setting up as a limited company or moving to a partnership and self employed status. Make sure you take proper advice from a qualified accountant. It is easy to
Introduction — Learning and Development 2017
make fundamental errors without even knowing it, and fall foul of IR 35 and VAT regulations. How many potential traps are there that you are unaware of? Before you begin, get the right advice and work out what you need to do to be structured properly.
The message therefore is that you need to work actively to manage your own business. You are now in charge of finance, sales, marketing PR, administration, operations, project management, IT and office cleaning. Whether you choose to outsource any of this is another decision to make but day 1 it is down to you to decide.
When you work in a business as an employee, finance send out invoices and someone chases payment. Cash in the business is managed by the CFO together with the banking relationships ensuring that the annual accounts are produced, audited and filed. Insurances are all in place. Colleagues in the business manage sales, marketing, finance, PR, engineering, operations, IT and your “only� responsibility is to fulfil the
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demands of your job description. When you are consultant, suddenly everything sits with you. You may have decided to become a consultant as you are excited at being personally responsible for projects or diverse assignments. However, you will have to turn your hand to everything. Do you have a website? Do you need one? My view is that a website probably won’t’ generate sales on its own but it will give you the
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credibility that you need. A website doesn’t need to be expensive so long as it is well written and looks professional. A social media presence for your new enterprise will also be essential so take the time to review Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and decide how you want to handle
Introduction — Learning and Development 2017
them.
The temptation as a consultant is to plunge into what you know best. A good plan is to begin the task that you dread or vaguely dislike. The most successful people are those who stay in control of all areas.
If you don’t have a ready made network of accountants, pension advisers, insurers or IT specialist, use your own network of trusted friends and colleagues for recommendations. They will gain kudos from their contacts for having put you in touch and you will be a warm connection rather than someone who has walked in off the street.
Getting the basics right of how your business will be run in a legal and safe way with all angles covered is the right way to begin. Once you have launched into action with business development and moved into the delivery of your projects, you won’t have time for the more mundane yet essential aspects of your own business. Self discipline will see you
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through, knowing that when you begin to win new business you have a robust process and system to support you.
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Defining yourself as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
Defining yourself as a consultant It is now safe to assume that you have decided that being a consultant is the right route for you and you are now ready to press ahead. You have created your company name and you have put in place everything that you need in order to ensure that your business runs smoothly. You have got a website, you have a business card and you are ready to begin. You know what you want to do and the challenge now is to ensure that you have a clearly defined route with measurable goals along the way.
What are the personal qualities of a successful consultant? Being organised and detailed in the list, making sure that you comply with all legalities as well as being ready to take every customer from prospecting
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and marketing through to banking the cheque in payment for the invoice of a job well done.
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Here are some of my suggestions about what is needed in order to
Defining yourself as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
succeed in creating a portfolio career.
Firstly, you need to be very self aware, knowing what you do well and where you are likely to fail. It is what we do least well that will lead to errors, flaws and problems.
Use your self awareness to work with your strengths, maximising the benefits they will bring you, and find a way to cover for your weaknesses . You also will need to have an independent mindset, resourceful and able to manage on your own with boundless motivation.
Managing the art of networking, establishing connections with people, building relationships and maintaining your existing network at the same time that you are growing it is vital to provide you with potential new business contacts and to ensure that you are up to date and informed. People are the route to success so ensure that connectivity is a key part of your plan.
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You will soon discover that you will need to be tenacious and persistent. You need to be undeterred by obstacles and determined to win through. Bear in mind that it will get easier as the months progress as you establish a track record and your customer base widens. Success will breed success. Remember also that you need to have confidence. Competence breeds confidence and you already know you are good at what you do otherwise you would not be making the move to becoming a consultant.
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“Emotional Quotient is the set of skills that enable us to make our way in a complex world - the personal, social and survival aspects of overall intelligence, the elusive common sense and sensitivity that are essential to effective daily functioning. It has to do with the ability to read the political and social environment, and landscape them; to intuitively grasp what others want and need, what strengths and weaknesses are; to remain unruffled by stress and to be engaging. The kind of person others want to be around and will follow� . — Daniel Goleman 12
It stands to reason also that you need to be commercially aware, financially literate and with a good appreciation of risk.
Successful people have a strong intellect and technical competence in their chosen area of specialism but more important than this is having emotional intelligence. To succeed in a business where you need to be very competent in so many areas, you will need to demonstrate emotional intelligence.
It stands to reason that if you have this level of mastery and intuitive connection with people and communications, you will be able to develop your portfolio career and succeed as a consultant.
Knowing yourself Self awareness is the key to understanding yourself and will also help you understand others better and thus improve how you communicate with them. It is an active step that will differentiate you from others and will give you the skills to articulate with confidence who you are and how you do things.
The heart of emotional intelligence is self awareness as it influences
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our ability to sustain behaviour despite setbacks. We need to be able to manage emotions and control our responses to others. We need to have heightened awareness of others and we need to apply emotional
Defining yourself as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
understanding in our dealings with others.
It may seem to be self indulgent to be thinking about yourself and exploring what you do well and where you might need to improve. However this is the opportunity to consider how your personality traits will work well for you and where you might need additional support.
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The best athletes in the day, the Gretzkys, the Michael Jordans, they all had a coach. Still to this day, the best have coaches. Because a coach can see what you can’t see. — Tony Robbins
How to market yourself successfully as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
How to market yourself successfully as a consultant We can now safely assume that you have set up your business and created a plan to work effectively from a compliance and financial perspective. You know what your brand is and you are working on your website so you can establish your credibility in front of colleagues, connections and prospective customers.
You probably have a marketing plan, understanding what you will be offering and who is likely to be interested. You will know what kind of consultancy interests you and you will have a clear idea on the fees you
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will be charging. You will have a Powerpoint/ Keynote presentation at the ready that sets out in general terms who you are, what your skills
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How to market yourself successfully as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
are and what you have to offer to potential customers. You have got your business card and you are ready to go.
The challenge now is to work out where you should be focusing your attention and deciding how to reach the decision makers within businesses to ensure that you are considered when an opportunity crops up. You are going to have to be more inventive and creative in your search as it requires a different mindset and a different approach to a more conventional job search when you might be looking for a full time role.
The starting point for any search is networking because, after all, it is people who make decisions on who they want to help them on a permanent or a temporary basis.
Research shows that new opportunities are likely to come through people who are part of your extended network, not those who are closest to you. In order to market yourself as a consultant, you have to have an audience. What is the membership of your own particular audience?
It is highly likely that the starting point of any business connection is probably through your network. Human engagement and communication
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is what we are aiming for so you need to create a plan that will work for you.
Start by carrying out a full audit of who you know. You will want to raise your profile and remind people about who you are and what you are doing now,. Networking is a legitimate and essential business skill and it needs to be planned for in the same way as other business activities. Now is the time to accept an invitation automatically rather than a
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How to market yourself successfully as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
default position of declining it. Once you start this kind of networking and engaging, it will create more and more opportunities.
Whatever your approach to Social Media may be, the reality is that you already have a Social Media presence. The best attitude therefore is to make sure that it reflects who you are. There are varying levels of potential engagement with Social Media. Twitter, if you have the right information stream, is a great way to have a high level sweep through diverse strands of information.
How up to date is your linkedin profile? Is it the profile of someone who is now a consultant? Spend time working on your profile so it reflects past experiences and successes as well as establishing you firmly in your new persona. Anyone who is seen to be active on linkedin is generally considered to be looking for something. The message therefore remains consistent - engagement will bring results. Passivity will give you nothing.
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How do you establish yourself as a thought leader? If you want to share your views on business, leadership, management, people or the challenges of your specific sector, why not decide to write a blog and build up a following of interested people? If you don’t want to write a blog, why not find a blog that interests you and leave comments and views on the topic being discussed?
There are many route to gaining consultancy opportunities and you probably have already created the list of people you will approach and these are the foundations of a long term plan.
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Crafting the perfect CV — Learning and Development 2017
Crafting the perfect CV Building a successful career in the right way may seem like a very tough and daunting thing to do. However for many people creating a 2 or 3 page summary document that encapsulates your experience, your achievements, your qualities and the core traits of your personality is even harder.
You may say that as a consultant you don’t actually need a CV but often if you are part of a project team, you will be asked for a CV. Better to have it ready and available, just in case. It is also an excellent opportunity for reflection on your past glories so don’t miss this chance to bring to the fore successes and skills you may have forgotten you had.
This is a consultancy CV. You are evaluating all of your skills, knowledge and personal qualities and then presenting them in a different light, showing that what you can offer flexibility and versatility with an
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immediate impact. Given the complexity of what you have achieved, you are likely to create a number of versions of your career history,
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emphasising different areas of your experience that match the needs of prospective clients
A standardised CV will instantly reduce your
chances of success.
Once you have created the best CV that you can, you can use this to improve your profile on our networks; you can use it to bolster your
Crafting the perfect CV — Learning and Development 2017
linked profile and it can sit at the centre of any communication that is about you.
The first challenge is to make sure that you get the facts straight so take the time to go through your entire education and career, getting down all of the facts and the dates so that you have a complete inventory, allowing you to select the relevant points for your CV. You won’t be including everything but this is a thorough and systematic approach that will lead to success. It is the starting point of a generic CV. It is giving you the opportunity to go back over the years and it will probably bring to the surface things you had forgotten. However tempting it might be to guess, embellish or exaggerate, don’t do it. Make sure you check with your other online profiles, such as linkedin, to be sure that the dates and the facts correlate.
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A CV should always be in reverse chronological order. Always include a one line description of every company, with sector, turnover, location and products, together with a website,
Rather than describe responsibilities in your CV, you need to describe achievements and successes so create a comprehensive list from every role. These are the kind of achievements that will be sufficiently impressive to attract the interest of prospective clients. As a consultant
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you will need to manage a lot of relationships and be able to adapt to many different styles so find a way to demonstrate your skills in getting results through people. Be ready with examples that you can use to show your successes, following the principle of “show-don’t tell”
Crafting the perfect CV — Learning and Development 2017
At the top of every CV is a short paragraph that is a summary of your skills and experience. In a profile, every word counts and the opening sentence is the most powerful and the most important. It needs to be compelling. Profiles that begin with “I am a retired civil servant” or “I am a solicitor” or “I am an independent consultant” or “hard working individual”do not have the same power as someone who sets out a confident assertion of who they are. “A skilled business leader, profit generator, who has a track record of delivering tangible results in short time scales “ is positioning themselves immediately and in very few words. Writing it in the third person helps to see it as something that is factual rather than personal. The best way to move into the mindset and adopt the right vocabulary is to read other people’s profiles. It will not take you long to see the profiles that make an impact on you so analyse the style and the vocabulary and experiment with your own profile and you will see how it improves.
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A final few points
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the CV should be no more than 2 pages long.
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The most common error in a huge percentage of CVs is
spelling errors and employers find them to be the most irritating. Check and double check.
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A photo - in this world of open communication
through Social Media, a photo is usually expected so make sure it is a professional shot.
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Font, style and size. This is not an opportunity to stand
out for the wrong reason. Presenting a document in 8 pt so that you can squeeze more words on the page is merely irritating. Conservative restraint will give the reader an easy experience and, in the process, it will endear you to them.
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The CV format Check out formats through google search
Crafting the perfect CV — Learning and Development 2017
and choose one that you like. There are many template available so find one that you like. Be ready to experiment and change
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Leisure pursuits on the CV- I do not think that they have
any relevance unless you are listing charitable works or voluntary roles that give an indication of your values.
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Date of birth Age discrimination is illegal so it is not
relevant or needed to include your date of birth.
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CVs need to have up to date contact information with
mobile phone numbers and e mail addresses. It is astonishing how often these are overlooked so make sure that it is easy for people to find you.
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Saving the file - when you save the file electronically,
name it with your name and today’s date, not “My CV” that will get lost in someone else’s filing system.
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Taking your CV to the next level — Learning and Development 2017
Taking your CV to the next level The consultancy role you are applying for or being considered for could well prove to be the source of repeat business and recommendations, to others and therefore has to be considered to be potentially huge. The person reading your CV may well be the person who assigns work so although it isn’t easy to quantify the size of the prize, it is potentially of great value. In any business for an opportunity like this you would be harnessing the skills of your best people and making sure that you were maximising your chances of success. Make sure that you treat the creation of your CV and profile in exactly the same way.
For example, if you are working towards a consultancy role with a specific company, that CV should have significant differences to one that
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you might upload to Linkedin or to our Consultant Hub network. The audience of the network for LinkedIn is a broad one and your purpose
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Taking your CV to the next level — Learning and Development 2017
is to be visible and to let people know what your capabilities. However, if you are responding to a perceived need for a consultancy role or if you have been invited to meet people who may well need a some consultancy services, then this is your opportunity to match your skills with their needs. Where do you begin?
Carrying out a detailed research exercise on the company you are interested in is an essential first step. You need to immerse yourself in who they are and grasp the key facts about their company, products, people, locations and turnover. You can look at LinkedIn and see if you have any connections to people who already work in that company. You may decide not to contact them but at least you will have a view on who is working with them and you will have an insight into their culture.
Once you have completed the research, you can then match this with any details that you have about the project or role itself.
Measure your skills, experience and successes against the needs of the role and against what you know about them because of your research. Revamp your achievements so they are positioned in a way that will more accurately match what they are looking for. This is examining your experience to highlight specific examples that are more relevant than
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the ones you chose for a generic CV. It is your chance to sell yourself positively when you are looking to move into a different sector. It is down to you to reflect on how your skills are transferable. Leadership, management skills, commercial nouse, strategic thinking are common to all senior roles so show that you have them. Highlighting how you achieved business success in your role establishes you as a business manager who is now offering those skills as a consultant.
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Taking your CV to the next level — Learning and Development 2017
If you were in an elevator and found yourself alongside a high profile business person, how would you introduce yourself in the the two minutes available? What is your elevator pitch? Most people can give a convincing account of themselves if they have long enough but they struggle to be succinct . The hard point is to remember that you are defining yourself and not the company you work for or the function that you lead. You need to make sure that it is compelling and leaves the audience wanting more. One possible framework for a powerful elevator pitch could be:
“You know how… Well what I do is And the consequence of that is….”
Whilst the elevator pitch is something that is usually spoken, preparing one now will mean you truly have to focus on the essence of your success, particularly if you imagine yourself presenting to a CEO who is seeking a consultant.
You cannot just set out everything you have done and everything you have achieved and expect the reader to interpret these facts and work
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out how this could apply to their organisation. The responsibility is firmly and squarely with you. Your goal is to fire up someone’s interest so that they invite you for a meeting or give you a call.
At the heart of every assertion you make in your CV, you must match it with a specific example. Have you backed up every claimed achievement with an example of how it worked for you?
The biggest danger in any CV or profile is using cliches that no longer make an impact and that only irritate. Research shows that this is second only to spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in irritating potential employers. so make sure you avoid hackneyed phrases. You are creating the CV of a consultant so this is the occasion when you should be using the language that you would expect a consultant to use.
You now have a new version of your CV and it is ready to go. The prospective client will want to know that you have taken time to create something especially for them. They will appreciate that you have taken time to reflect, rather than sending out a CV that you pulled together 6 months ago.
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Taking your CV to the next level — Learning and Development 2017
The accompanying e mail or letter is another chance to stand out from the crowd. Please don’t do what so many people do which is to cut and paste from an e mail to someone else. This leaves you open to the possibility of the cardinal sin of using the wrong name or showing through some small error that this e mail is one of many. There is not much point in saying that you are excited by this particular consultancy opportunity if you get a fact wrong. Use the e mail to highlight why you think you are right for the role or the project . Draw comparisons between the needs of the role and your skills.
You should now have a CV and a covering e mail that you are happy with. You have the structure that you will follow for every application or every situation when someone asks you for your CV. You will tailor it for the specific project and it will impress. Everyone should keep their CV up to date, regardless of whether or not you are seeking a new role.
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Winning consultancy projectds — Learning and Development 2017
Winning consultancy projects Let’s now move on to planning for the meeting or the interview itself. At this stage you will know when it will be, where it will be and who will be meeting you. You probably will have further information about the role and what the expectations of you that there would be. Hopefully the business need will have been defined so you can take the time to analyse their needs and draw from your own background the resources you have to solve their issues. The focus of your attention and time has got to be their needs and what you have got to offer them to help. When you meet them it will not be the time to plunge in and talk about yourself. You are planning for a meeting that will mean that you are moving one step closer to establishing trust and you are also demonstrating to them with every single interaction what kind of
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consultant you will be. What do you want to show?
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First and foremost you need to show that you have the skills of a consultant who understands the difference between this and a permanent executive role and the starting point of this is ensuring that
Winning consultancy projectds — Learning and Development 2017
you already think of yourself in this way. You are a consultant and this is the transition that you need to have made mentally before you attend the interview.
By applying for consultancy based projects, you are putting yourself into an unfamiliar position of vulnerability. You are the person who needs to prove yourself and you are being assessed. Make sure you are ready to make this mental adjustment.
In every single dealing that you have with the company or the recruiter charged with sourcing a consultant, ensure that you show them the kind of person that you are. The easiest thing is to be prompt in your responses to them, courteous and succinct in your communications and always showing that you are professional and efficient.
When you are planning for the interview, take nothing for granted. This is the time for punctuality. Find out if you can what style the interview will be. Who will be attending? How long have they scheduled for the meeting? Is it an informal first stage chat over a coffee or is it a panel
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interview - or is it something in between? If possible it would be good to know. You need to make the right kind of impact and establish credibility to ensure that management teams will be ready to listen and respect your experience and your plans.
Being interviewed for a consultancy role will be very different from any interviews you may have had for an executive role. It may not even be called an interview but could be called an opportunity to present, to
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bid, to tender or to have an informal discussion. whatever it is called, the outcome will be the same - a decision on whether or not to hire your
Winning consultancy projectds — Learning and Development 2017
services.
You need to be ready to deal with whatever method of evaluation and decision making that the company has. Whilst it is impossible to second guess the track they will go down, it is possible to anticipate what most of the interview questions could be. The most successful person at interview is generally someone who has spent time reflecting and anticipating the questions that could be asked. Not only that, the best person at interview is the one who is able to set the agenda and subtly get in control by guiding the debate down the routes that show them up in the best light, highlighting their strengths or showcasing their subject matter expertise.
It is safe to assume that that company will already know something about you. You will have sent them a link to your website, they may have your CV and any marketing materials that you have created to support your business. However, the best way to be prepared is to have a presentation ready to show them when the opportunity presents itself. Some businesses will ask you to prepare something in advance but
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the best approach is to have something anyway. This should not be a generic “salesy� PowerPoint that you have got on your laptop for sales situations like this. You are pitching for an assignment that will have a significant monetary value so take the time to create a slide show that is short, creative and focuses on the business you are meeting. This will be a consultancy presentation on how to approach the specific needs of this one business. If possible you should include previous examples of how you have tackled and resolved similar situations. The risk in creating this presentation is that it will be an active example of how you work. If the presentation is long, dull with 1000 words per slide, then you run the risk of killing the project off. However, a creative short slideshow that is colourful, insightful and concise , clearly created specifically for this one meeting, will win the day. This is a chance to show your consultancy skills so make the most of it.
My message for this initial meeting therefore is to plan your answers and have examples and illustrations front of mind. Strike a balance between a strategic approach and providing specific examples and anecdotes that are backed up by data, turning the meeting into an opportunity to showcase your personal style. The prospective client will be using this interview to gauge what kind
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of consultant you will be and how you will fit into existing teams. Think about the qualities you wish to demonstrate - not someone who has
Winning consultancy projectds — Learning and Development 2017
the answer to everything. When they ask “Do you have any questions for us?” have 2 or 3 carefully crafted questions that show you understand the business issues. This meeting will require you to be firing on all cylinders. Not only are you ensuring that you are giving the best possible picture of who you are, you need to making points as well as answering them. You need to be highly observant, noticing the dynamics of the people you are meeting and working hard to establish the rapport you need in order to leave them with the instincts that you would fit well with them. You might have the perfect background and have the best imaginable skills and experience, having answered every question impeccably but if you do not fit with them or they do not fit with you, you will get nowhere.
In addition to having presented brilliantly, when you leave that meeting you need to have gathered more information about them so that you know if you want to proceed with your interest in the project. Remember that the decision making is two way and you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.
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The art of asking the right questions — Learning and Development 2017
The art of asking the right questions As a consultant or as someone who has to convince prospective clients of your capabilities, one of the core competencies is to be able to ask the right questions, anticipate the questions that might be asked and be ready to listen to answers as well as provide them. How hard can that be? Well, have you ever been in a situation when you are putting forward some cogent arguments and you can tell while you are talking that the person you are talking to is just waiting to speak? They are not listening, they are just wanting to give their view. This is not an interaction or a debate and it won’t get you anywhere. How do you change the dynamics and get people engaged?
In order to bring depth to your questioning, let’s take time to consider
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what is a good question and, more importantly, what is an appropriate question. This is important because the right question posed in the
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The art of asking the right questions — Learning and Development 2017
right way will give you access to the information that you need. It is also important to know this so that when you are being asked questions, you will understand what the questioner is looking for. Your response will therefore be the one they are looking for. It will also be framed in the way that they want.
As always, the right way is to plan and prepare. Before any kind of meeting, whether it is an interview or a team briefing, be on top of all the facts. Have your list of questions prepared. You may not necessarily ask them all but you need to have identified the areas you want to explore further. People say that there is no such thing as a stupid question but that is far from the truth. As a consultant you need to establish your credibility very quickly when you are working with new teams. They will be expecting great things of you so you don’t want to put yourself at a disadvantage by asking a question to which the answer is obvious. By all means challenge acronym,, ask for clarification when people are being unclear or when information packs are not sufficiently detailed.
Let’s therefore explore ways in which you can ask questions in the right
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way so you maximise the information you receive in response. The first kind of question is the open question. These questions probably start with What, When, Why, Who or How. The purpose is to cause the person answering to reflect and give full information and opinions. It gives them a free rein to give their thoughts and feelings as well as the data.
The opposite of these would be a closed question. These tend generally to be avoided as they would seem to invite a one word answer. “Do you
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think we are going to hit budget? Did you hire a new Sales Director?
The art of asking the right questions — Learning and Development 2017
The simple answer to this kind of question is yes or no. People tend not to like being put in a corner so this isn’t the route to create rapport and friendships. It is however useful when you have run out of patience and you want a definitive answer.
Let’s move on now to probing questions. These are useful when you want to probe for further details or when someone has gone off the point or is avoiding issues. They are specific. They don’t carry with them any kind of threat or challenge but it is not inviting opinion or vague outlines. You are saying baldly - Give me the facts.
Reflective questions are very useful if you think that the person speaking has been unclear or vague. This is the time when you reflect back to them what you have heard. You can do this by saying: “In other words…..” “If I understand you correctly” “So in summary what you are saying is….”
These are useful as they will show the kind of consultant that you will be, one who believes in checking and summarising.
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Framing questions are also useful when working with teams to get people to disclose more than the facts and moving the person to explain the potential outcomes of their actions. For example: “What were you trying to achieve here?” “What was your ultimate goal?”
The next style of questioning, the Challenge Questions, needs to come with something of a health warning. Be aware of the consequences of challenging someone directly. You may need to do so in a team meeting to demonstrate that you have authority and you are not afraid to ask difficult questions. You are doing this in order to get the answers you are need to solve the problems. However, it may ruffle feathers and it may cause upset. Challenging questions are more direct and more hard hitting. The purpose is to test the approach to objectives and targets.
The next kind of question would be something that you would use when you are opening up a conversation and getting people to talk. You would use this when you are interested in getting an insight into someone’s opinions or attitudes. For example, “Tell me more about..” “What do you think about?”
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They can be difficult to answer because they are so general so be ready
The art of asking the right questions — Learning and Development 2017
for an unstructured response.
Finally, in the midst of all these questions, remember the power of silence and the long pause. Generally people are uncomfortable with silence and someone will rush to fill the gap.
We have all been asking and answering questions all of our lives. This is nothing new to us. What I am inviting you to do is to develop a more forensic attitude to the questions in your life. This is a chance to bring them up to a conscious level, actively deciding how you will frame your question. It will help you in those early days of a new consultancy project to get the information that you need to do the excellent job that you are being paid to deliver. It will enable you to understand the purpose behind someone else’s questions. By spending time developing greater skills in asking and answering questions, you will be able to improve the way that you communicate with your new colleagues and team members.
Spending time in ensuring you are asking questions in the right way will ultimately save you time, creating shortcuts to gaining information,
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something that is vital when time is short and when you need to make an impact.
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The listening consultant — Learning and Development 2017
The listening consultant Having spent a lot of time dissecting the art of asking questions, what we are going to do now is to take time to think about how we listen. Remember that we are considering this from both sides of the same coin - how people listen to you and the conclusions they draw and then how you listen to others and the decisions that you make as a consequence.
Do you consider yourself to be a good listener? Do people listen to you? Have you ever been in a situation when you are speaking and you catch someone furtively flicking through their phone? Have you ever been speaking to someone in a room full of people and you catch their eyes moving beyond you as they spot someone else? How does that make you feel? What message are they sending you? That not all your words are worth listening to? That you are boring? That they are looking for the next person to talk to?
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There are a number of barriers to listening. The major modern distractions are phones and tablets. E mails, texts, tweets, postings are
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a constant deluge for everyone. Constantly glancing at a phone can be addictive behaviour but when this is done in meetings, in conversations or social gatherings, it is difficult to interpret this as anything other than rudeness. If you are doing something other than listening to the person, The listening consultant — Learning and Development 2017
then you are saying that they are only of secondary importance and your mind is not really on them.
Another barrier to being listened to is the person who interrupts, not allowing you to finish. Someone is preventing you from completing your thoughts because either they are impatient or because they are eagerly waiting to speak. The person who is waiting to speak is not listening. They are formulating their own response and they cannot possibly be hearing every word.
Another barrier to proper listening and something that is probably one of the biggest risks in meetings with new colleagues and teams is spending the time when someone is speaking to rehearse what you are going to say next. While the internal voice in your head is choosing words and phrases, you cannot be listening. Listening to speak is not listening.
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An obvious part of the skill in listening is to make sure that the person who is talking knows that you are listening. How might you do this? Well, the most obvious way is to engage in eye contact. 75% of the time should be enough as 100% eye contact could be a little scary. No one wants to work in a team when colleagues are not listening. or only doing so half heartedly so be a listener and create a culture of courtesy in your team meetings.
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By listening hard you will understand what people are saying. However, by also understanding their Non Verbal Behaviour, their body language, you will find another dimension of understanding. Non verbal behaviour governs how people think and feel about you. What are you communicating at an unconscious level and what are people
The listening consultant — Learning and Development 2017
communicating to you without realising it?
As a consultant you need to win the hearts, the minds and the cooperation of people you are working with. They don’t know you and they may not welcome you with open arms. The challenge you have is to demonstrate confidence but not arrogance. You need to show that you know what you are doing and you are ready to take the lead, at the same time as being inclusive. Listen to the messages that people are sending and choose your own with care. Watch the body language of the people in the room. The powerful people who occupy more space are showing their confidence. With that confidence will come a greater willingness to take risks so you need to be on top of this. You also need to be aware of the people who are quiet and are not pushing themselves forward. Watch for this and make sure that you invite their contribution.
One way to establish yourself as both a leader and a listener is to match
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or mirror the body language of colleagues. Firstly you will be sending a message about parity of status. Secondly though this is an excellent way of establishing deeper rapport. If someone leans forward and puts their head to one side, then you could do the same, perhaps in a slightly more contained way.
You may also wish to use this when you are in an interview situation as it is an excellent short cut to creating invisible bonds. Noticing what people are doing with their bodies can be just as revealing as listening to their words. What is it telling you and how can you deal with it? Very small changes in your own body language can make big differences in the power of your communication.
What we are working towards is establishing what the real meaning of someone’s communication might be. Another clue to underlying meaning and subtlety can be the tone of voice that someone uses. Are they unusually soft in their tone, are they becoming louder and perhaps strident? What does this indicate about their state of mind? Examine carefully their vocabulary as choice of words can also help you find a route to their unconscious desire to send a stronger.meaning. Look to see where they are placing their emphasis. What is this telling you?
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Rapport building with your colleagues will be the easiest way to win their confidence and cooperation. If they know you are listening to them then this is a sound foundation on which to build.
The listening consultant — Learning and Development 2017
Perhaps you already do most of these things and it is a natural skill set. What better way to ensure that as a Consultant you are working in the best way possible with new colleagues in a new and challenging situation.
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant Tip no 1 - Know your stuff Something motivated you to move into consultancy role. Whatever other reasons lie behind this decision to run your own business. you know that you have something to offer companies that need an injection of some kind of expertise for a specific period of time. Take the time
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to define exactly what you have to offer and what services you will offer that will be attractive to others. You need to be able to articulate them and the real test of this is to be able to condense them into an appropriate “elevator pitch�. This will form the basis of all your marketing materials, your website and all your sales pitch so know your stuff and know what you have that others will value and want to pay you for your contribution.
Tip no 2- Structure your business Before you get engaged in hunting for work and before you embark on the networking that will help win work, get the business structured properly. Make your mind up whether it is a limited company or a partnership. Take advice. Get insurances, including professional
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
indemnity as well as life insurances and health so you are covered if ill health should strike. Again, take advice. Sort out your pension and make sure that HMRC know what you are doing with 3 months if you are going down the self employed route. If you are not going to do your accounts yourself, find a solution to it. Tax, National Insurance and VAT all need to be dealt with.
Tip no 3 - Create the brand Decide on your business name and secure an appropriate website, Twitter name and Facebook name to match. Find the brand for your letterhead, your business card and finalise powerpoint branding and anything else that you know you will need to support you when you are out marketing your business or delivering a finished project.
Although a website probably won’t win you any business, not having one could lose you business so decide whether you are ready to invest in a professional looking site that will give you credibility in your new career.
Tip no 4 - Know yourself The beginning of the road to a consultancy based business has to be
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self awareness, knowing who you are. How can you expect others to make the decision to appoint you as a consultant if you are unclear about your core personality traits and how this translates into your behaviour? During the meeting, clients are, amongst other things, trying to work out how you are likely to behave once you have started to work with them. Take the time now to reflect on the past in order to plan the future. Once you understand your own style and you know what drives you, you will recognise the culture where you will fit. Know what your
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
own personal traits are and understand how this translates into your behaviour with many different teams with different styles. A consultancy life is diverse and will require flexibility from you if you are going to succeed.
Tip no 5- Know where you are going Before you embark on the search for consultancy work, start with the end in sight. What does the perfect project look like? If you could
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choose, what would it be? What size company would suit you? Large, small? What sector? PLC? Private, family owned, Private Equity backed? Public sector? What kind of products or services would you prefer to work with? Will it be a UK business or a global one? Are you someone who will help build and develop or are you positioning yourself as a troubleshooter, working with businesses who are floundering and need your expertise to find their way through? Are you looking for enjoyable work with like minded people in a culture that you recognise or are you looking for adrenaline fuelled life? Decide now what you would find completely unacceptable so you will be able to discount easily the roles that do not suit you. That way you won’t waste your time. At the same time you need to keep an open mind.
Decide on what time you have available and what you are ready to commit. Are you looking for a portfolio of projects that are running simultaneously or do you wish to handle them one at a time? Look at locations and work out if you have any geographical constraints. Work these things out now rather than wasting time pursuing projects where in the end you know you won’t be able to commit.
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
Tip no 6 - work on your collateral Getting the right CV and the right profile takes time. Make sure you rework your CV, starting with a blank piece of paper. You need to craft your CV so that it highlights the most relevant points in your career for each individual opportunity. A generic CV will usually just miss the mark whereas one that has been written to align with the needs of the project you are applying for will stand out.
Spend time on your profile and get it right. Remember that this is your personal document that only you can create. The same applies to the accompanying e mail or letter. Write an individual email or letter for every opportunity. Writing a new letter every time keeps it fresh and allows you the opportunity to be inventive in your approach.
Tip no 7 - Do your research Before you pursue any consultancy opportunity, and certainly before you turn up for a meeting, get your facts straight. Become an expert on the company and the markets or the sectors it operates in. Get your hands on any information you can find, whether it be through the company’s website, relevant websites, trade press, publications, news releases, mentions in the press - find it all. Scour Social Media to find out what you can. If it is out there, you need to know it. Look at your
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network and find people who may be a customer, a supplier or a former or current employee. Using tact, diplomacy and subtlety, you can find out from them the kind of informal information that is invaluable. This will ultimately help you make the decision on whether or not you wish to accept the offer of work.
Tip no 8 - Find the gaps Look carefully at the job description and pay particular note to the
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
profile of the ideal candidate so you know the kind of experience they are looking for. Compare and contrast this with the CV you have sent them and highlight potential gaps or areas where you may appear to be light on the right kind of experience for them. Re examine your career and successes and see what you can find that would serve to enhance your suitability. Find specific examples of the kind of challenges or successes that they believe you need to bring to the table. Be ready to show them that you have thought this through and you have what they are looking for. It is up to you to show them why they want you.
Tip no 9 - Plan the meeting The people who are interviewing you are generally the ones who are in charge. They know what they are looking for, which areas they intend to probe and they also know how they are going to structure it. You are in the dark so the only way you can gain an advantage is to be prepared. Find out who you will be meeting and know as much as you can about them. You have already researched the company so spend time focusing on the company accounts so you will have identified where the key challenges of the company lie from a financial perspective. This will allow you to prepare questions that show your analytical skills and your preparation.
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Most questions that are asked at this crucial interview stage have been asked before. Make sure therefore that you have thought through your responses to as many as possible. Do your reflection and thinking before hand so that you have specific examples of your career successes and challenges at the front of your mind. Have a PowerPoint presentation ready that is short, creative and has been written with this particular client in mind. Draw parallels between their needs and your capabilities.
When you are in the interview, behave like a consultant and talk like one. Show who you are and demonstrate the kind of behaviour they can expect from you.
Tip no 10 - Be the best person for the job When you go into the client meeting or interview, go with the mindset that you are best person for the job. Be on top of your game, listening hard, watching the body language of the interviewer, making sure yours is saying what it should. Show yourself to be a top notch consultant already by demonstrating the attributes and qualities of a consultant.
Your final statement before you leave the meeting should be a summary of why you think this role is right for you and a summary of the value
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Top ten tips you need to fuel your portfolio career as a consultant — Learning and Development 2017
that you will add. Be in control and help people reach the conclusions you would like them to reach.
Initial successes based on a plan you create to achieve a solid consultancy based career will give you the confidence to do more. A well rounded approach, embracing all the necessary perspectives will deliver results — good luck and make sure you use all the resources we provide on our Consultant Hub network. We are here to support you.
۩ In Touch Networks 2017
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