Customer Reviews

Getting Started in Consulting

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you've already read Getting Started in Consulting, chances are you've re-read it several times and checked out some of Alan Weiss' other books. If you haven't read any of Weiss' books - and are a Consultant or are thinking about becoming a Consultant - this is a good place to start. Although this book covers some common ground with Weiss' popular "Million Dollar Consulting", there's enough unique information in each to warrant reading both.

The book starts out auspiciously in "Chapter 1 Establishing Goals and Expectations: You Will Be What You Decide to Be, Nothing Less, Nothing More". To support this thesis, Weiss points out that despite experts' warnings about much hard work and travel a consultant must endure for a maximum of a $300K income, he runs a 7-figure practice from his house with no staff or office. "The problem is that if you educate yourself incorrectly at the onset, you're vulnerable to successfully meeting the exact wrong set of expectations." - Written like a true consultant.

The first order of business is to manage your financial situation - be prepared for a slow first year.

He presents the Ten Traits - "ideal consultant behaviors and attributes as they apply to a solo practitioner, based on my observations of success and failure over 27 years.... If you have a reasonable chance of performing well in these 10 areas, you've got an excellent shot at making it as a consultant. Eight out of 10 might do it. Less than that and you may be setting yourself up..."

Other important areas covered in the book are:
Why collaboration is often a bad idea.
Your office space, office equipment, and software
Legal, Financial and Administrative
The essential components of marketing and selling

In finding the right buyer, don't get stuck with the gatekeeper. A number of very useful techniques are presented to identify and get past the gatekeeper, among them the simple test "If you and I reach agreement today, can we shake hands and begin tomorrow?"

Closing the Sale actually begins much earlier than you would think. By the time the proposal is presented, the sale should have already been made. The relationship building process provides the foundation for the "conceptual agreement on outcomes"; the proposal is just a formality to acknowledge that agreement.

Weiss explains why your proposal should be simple with no "legalese" and short (2-3 pages).

The key to a high-dollar practice is using a win-win pricing model where the client participates in establishing the value to the organization of what the consultant will provide.

Although the section "Forty Ways to Increase Your Fees" is very enticing, it's generally 40 tips to support the results-based approach, although a number of the suggestions could be used to increase the contract amount by expanding the scope/results..

In the latter part of the book keys top maintaining a successful practice are presented along with ways to achieve passive income which can in some cases lead to more active income business.

If you've read through this review to this point - why aren't you reading the book?

I have been preparing to walk away from a six-figure job and launch a consulting practice for almost a year, and during that time I read every book I could find on that profession. Not that I believe that reading a book is all one needs to do to qualify; rather, it would be foolish not to perform as much research as possible before taking the plunge.

Alan Weiss' books offer the most practical, best-written and truly valuable advice I've found. And this one is the most wide ranging for kicking off a new full-time practice.

And I suspect that like most works that run counter to conventional wisdom, the majority of readers will not perform the necessary "background" marketing activities, will not make their proposals the logical culmination of a collaborative sales process, and will not base their fees on demonstrated value rather than billable time. All the better for those of us who do.

I followed Alan Weiss' guidelines and donated a nine-hour training program to a major non-profit group -- which will not only help some people who desperately need it, but also put me in front of a formidable board of directors for some potentially significant engagements.

Win-win, anybody?

First, this is not really a beginner book. Oh, it's great for people just starting out in consulting. But it is doubtful they will fully appreciate the advice in this book.

If you have read Million Dollar Consulting by the same author then you will be prepared for his recommendation on billing on value... not on hours.

In this book, Dr. Weiss presents his grand unified recommendations on the proper way to organize and start your consulting practice. This book is easy to read. And, there's lots of examples of real situations.

Dr. Weiss has a web site and lists other materials for sale. I reviewed one of his videos on line and he is very humorous in person.

He claims to make more than $1 million per year consulting (and speaking). He went from 0 to over $1 million in 6 years. He's an organizational consultant.

I rate this book a MUST READ if you are a consultant. I've also ordered his other materials. A fair amount of this other material was included in this new book.

John Dunbar

Don't go in the water without this consulting life preserver if you're just starting out, OR you're not making enough money. This book pulled the entire strategy of developing a top flight practice completely together for me with the why's, what's, and how's. Once you've read this book, move onto the other books by Mr. Weiss. He gives invaluable advice and walks his talk. Each and every time I have contacted him via email, I have been floored that he not only responds to my messages in a thoughtful way, but he does so before I expect it -- and I'm not a client, mentoree, etc. So stop schlepping your services, GET THIS BOOK, follow his advice, and read all the others you can find. NOt only does Getting Started... tell you what to do, it tells you WHY you need to do it and then how to use it. The reason I found this so enlightening is because I came from an industry in which MANAGEMENT SKILLS are avoided like the plague and effective, strategic marketing skills are theories, at best. In fact, if you're working for someone, you'd be wise to get this book and start thinking like you're on your own. After all, it's a guarantee that you will be one day in this marketplace.

Alan's book has shown me a totally new approach to consulting. I was surprised to find out how simple, but straight-to-the point a proposal should be to generate results without wasting several days on writing it.

I really like the questions to ask to determine the economic buyer and then guide him / her towards the clear understanding of the value of the service, so there will be no resistance when presenting fees.

And then his fee structure is just amazing. So deceivingly simple - based on delivered value, but overlooked by most consultants. I feel that in today's consulting marketplace Alan is one of the very few consultants who has something really unique and profound to share with his readers.

I look forward to his upcoming publications, because I know I will always find something new in his books.

I came across this book when I was looking for a good book that provides a comprehensive guide to those entering the consultancy profession. How lucky was I to find "Getting Started on Consulting" which is a fantastic guide. I found Alan's advice on value based fees to be innovative and equitable. All the other books I have read on consulting have only discussed billing by hours.

I also liked Alan's advice on closing a sale, going round gatekeepers, relationship building and writing good and effective proposals. The tips on "Forty ways to Increase Your Fees" are very handy and useful. Although I am based in Nairobi, Kenya, I have found Alan's book to be very relevant and applicable to my situation. The author's professional solutions to the challenges that I have to grapple with in setting up my practice are very positive and inspiring.

I have done part-time consultancy before and many of the mistakes that I used to make became very apparent after reading the book, such as selling myself short, not being selective about my clients and not having a business plan. I am now well equipped and ready for a full time career in consulting and with the kind of advice and wisdom I have gained from reading this book, I am ready to excel.

This is a very well written book which provides excellent guidance and smart advice that is written by someone with several years of outstanding success and experience in the practice. The book is required reading for anyone embarking on a career in consulting.

It is easily the best I have read on the subject.

For most beginning consultants, the major problem is the marketing of our services. Closely following is gaining the confidence to charge what our services are worth. In these two areas and more, Dr. Weiss book provides specific and detailed advice. Emphasising the relationship centred nature of the consulting profession, he insists, and I think most practitioners' experiences bear him out, that you must make the sale "conceptually" before you can hope to successfully make it in fact, in a manner that leaves all parties satisfied. In presenting your proposals, Dr. Weiss advices that you provide outcome based options, so that your prospect asks himself, "how should I use Alan?" rather than "should I use Alan?" which is what a single option proposal with time based fees will likely elicit.

I wish I had discovered Alan Weiss' books five months ago. A prospect had called me out of the blues for a consulting assignment. When I got to his site for preliminary discussions to understand the points of pain and scope the project, he handed me over to a subordinate. With no opportunity to build a relationship (a mistake), it is no wonder that when I presented my $20,000 proposal which provided no options (another mistake), the prospect immediately asked for a 30% discount. Not wanting to give the impression that my figures were pulled out of a hat, I pushed back and offered an 18% discount instead. The prospect is yet to commit.
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Fast forward two months. The client earlier referred to saw an article I'd written that touched the nerve of the issues facing his business and invited me back for a discussion. Then he again asked for a proposal. This time I offered three options, ranging from 30% to 80% above my original proposal. He chose the most expensive, negotiated it down (the final figure was still a full 50% above the original proposal). We commenced work on the project in December.

This is a fairly comprehensive book on how to start a consulting business. I followed the steps outlined in the book to start my own business, but some of the recommendations Mr. Weiss makes go a little overboard. For instance, do you really need a copy machine? Do you really need a postage meter? Spending money on these things will burn through your start-up funds quickly!

One thing Mr. Weiss misses out on is how consultants should leverage the power of the internet to get the word out about their knowledge and expertise. Very surprising for a book with its latest edition published in 2003.

As the title suggests, this book is intended to help consultants get off to a successful start.

Weiss does an admirable job, pointing out not only things that you need to do (Marketing, Pro Bono Work, Outsourcing etc.), but also what to avoid. The latter is possibly even more important as it covers things that could "kill" you before you even get under way. This category includes things like: becoming a consultant in the first place (if you haven't got the right set of attributes), taking on much personel without them carrying client-aquisition weight, pricing to low or per day etc.

The book mainly aims at consultants starting out on their own. However, being a member of a larger consultancy group (Detecon if you must know), I found that the book contained a number of helpful hints for me when I first started out too. For more experienced consultants, it might help re-focus their minds, although for them I would recommend "The ultimate consultant" by the same author.

This is a great book to get when you're even thinking about entering the field of consulting.

I have read two of Alan Weiss' books already ("Million Dollar Consulting" and "Getting Started in Consulting"). Both were essential in their inspiration, ideas, and techniques that led to my decision to actually go out on my own recently.

STRAXIS Management Consulting has only been in existence for about two months. My first foray into the public to let the world know I exist (not counting our first E-Letter) was less than a week ago as I write this review. In that short time, I have received three requests for proposals; have one meeting set with an existing client to explore her business and marketing strategy, with the intent from her to get a proposal from me; two more meetings set with new prospects within the next week, with the intent from them to let me explore their business and possibly submit a proposal; several "high confidence" contacts to follow-up with this week in the aim of getting that first meeting (They have already expressed an interest in meeting); and at least one large project (by my current standards) as a real option in my pipeline this fall.

The point in sharing was not to brag, but to note that the techniques I used to present myself to the world were derived in large part from these books. If the interest received and the "leads" I have generated thus far (in less than one week) are any indication, these techniques are indeed very powerful. It is important to note that NONE, but two, of those contacts were in place in my own network prior to this week. Next step: get PAYING clients. Step after that: SATISFY and exceed in serving those clients ... and read more of Alan's books!!