Million Dollar Consulting: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The acclaimed Million Dollar Consulting gives consultants the tools and advice they need to grow a firm that rakes in at least $1 million per year. Alan Weiss, "the consultant's consultant," shows step-by-step how to raise capital, reel in new clients, set fees, accelerate growth, and more. This updated and expanded edition will appeal to both Weiss's many current fans and a whole new generation of readers looking for the best advice available for anyone who wants to build a million-dollar consulting/speaking career.

From the Back Cover

"If you're interested in becoming a rich consultant, this book is a must read."­­Robert F. Mager, Founder and President, Mager Associates, member, Training & Development Hall of Fame

Completely updated for today's consultants, this classic how-to handbook gives you the strategies and guidance needed to grow a firm that can bring in $1 million-a-year. Step by step, Million Dollar Consulting explains the ins and outs of:

• Raising capital
• Reeling in new clients
• Setting fees
• Accelerating growth
• Relationship selling
• Value pricing
• Self-promotion
• And much more!

Consultants will find critical new material on how to overcome objections and vital information on internet- and e-based marketing and sales. There's also a new chapter on how to work in smaller markets with family owned businesses, non-profits and other "non-traditional" clients. Packed with the most up-to date information available, Million Dollar Consulting will boost performance and profits for you and the companies you consult.

"Blast out of the per diem trap and into value billing."­­Jim Kennedy, Founder, Publisher, and Editor, Consultants News

"The advice on developing price structure alone is worth a hundred times the price of the book."­­William C. Byham, Ph.D., author of Zapp!

"'Must reading' for those who are beginning a practice or seeking to upgrade an existing practice."­­Victor H. Vroom, John G. Searle Professor, School of Management, Yale University

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Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 3 edition (August 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007138703X
• ISBN-13: 978-0071387033
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #245,254 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For the Lone Wolf, May 24, 2001

By	"cued" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Million Dollar Consulting, New and Updated Edition: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book. As other reviewers have pointed out, a lot of
the advice given is just good ol' common sense for the professional
service provider in general (I can easily see some of the tips given
here being used by lawyers, accountants, etc to sell their services to
business). Plus, the idea of moving from hour-based billing to
value-based billing is invaluable. As a sole practioner, you can only
bill so many hours a day... but if you can add value and charge for
the value added... "ah, there's the rub." Alan Weiss here
provides a clear sense of the mechanics and operation of your typical
small professional services firm, with a well-written emphasis on
customer retention and relationship marketing.

Weiss gives no advice on growing a
practice into an organization that will outlive its founders. There
is only advice on improving your personal bottom line. In fact, after
reading it, I realize Weiss's formula for making a million is simple:
generate business revenues in excess of a million and keep expenses as
low as possible so that you can pocket the rest as dividends and/or
salary. That works fine for the individual practioner S corp / sole
proprietor, but what if you are already in the consulting business and
you are looking for ways to grow, add new services, increase firm
reputation, or otherwise move away from the lone wolf image? Taking a
million in dividends out of your practice each year doesn't leave much
for growth or future investment. What Weiss doesn't tell you is that
consulting (as opposed to public speaking, a distinction Weiss
sometimes forgets) is subject to economies of scale. That is why
formerly one-person shops like McKinsey are now huge global firms. Is
it better to run your own shop for 20 years, withdrawing all excess
earnings as dividends to support your lavish lifestyle or is it better
to reinvest most of those earnings by adding new services, increasing
clients, hiring more top-notch staff so that by the time you are ready
to retire, your firm is worth $30 million based on expected future
cash flows? Weiss wrote this book for the former, and gives little
advice on how to achieve the latter.

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Found late in my career, but not to late!, July 6, 2000

By	Chris P. Kunicki "ChrisOfOfficeZealot.com" (Chanhassen, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Million Dollar Consulting, New and Updated Edition: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice (Paperback)

I have been consuling for 10 years. About 4 years ago I stumbled across this book. I bought it principally because I was going on a trip and needed something to read, I had no expectations. I was surprised to find a wealth of advise that I really needed to bring my consulting to the next level. Issues such as: Setting value based fees, building relationships, dropping the lower end of the business to make room for bigger opportunities and importance of self promotion through publishing & speaking.

The other thing I enjoyed is that Alan presents consulting as an honorable trade that can really help effect change and growth for our customers. If your a consultant, you should read this book! At a minimum your guaranteed to find a few useful points.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Relationship selling and value pricing., July 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Million Dollar Consulting, New and Updated Edition: The Professional's Guide to Growing a Practice (Paperback)

I guess the book can be summarised as having one underlying strategy of becoming a million dollar consultant, with many tactics in order to get there. Relationship selling is one tactic that is explained in depth because it is so different to the way most people sell. Value pricing is the other main tactic in obtaining this status. This books touches on so many aspects of consulting it is difficult to summarise everything. If you want to know how to start a new consulting business, how to set up an office, what equipment you should buy, how to market yourself, which groups you should join, how to work with and recruit sub-contractors, how to allocated project revenue between sub-contractors, planning, down to some ethical decisions, the book covers them all. If you want to become a well known speaker, writer or well know industry expert, this book discusses the tactics to get there. The one thing this book does not do, is tell you it is easy. To achieve these goals, takes dedication and persistence even during the tough times. What do you do when you are down to your last few dollars? Sell the furniture? No, there are even tactics to deal with this situation. I would recommend this book to all consultants and sales people. The consultants will get the most out of the book, and the sales people will learn a lot about relationship selling that is sadly lacking in most of the sales people I know.