I am often asked when I decided to become a consultant. My standard answer is, “10 years too late,” but I am glad I made the choice when I did.
Consulting has helped me become more present for and more valuable to my clients and my family.
I attribute this to three things:
- I now work with my clients, not for them.
- I help them work on, not in, their businesses
- I practice empathy
Working with your clients. I spent 30 years in corporate sales management and leadership roles. During those years I was often asked “Who do you work for?” Now that I’m a consultant, the question is “Who do you work with?”
That’s the benefit of a consultant’s life. You work with clients, helping them solve problems, create new solutions and find breakthrough ideas that propel their business forward. You provide hope while bringing a new and different perspective.
Working with a client brings an entirely different perspective. You spend as much time listening and learning to discover the root cause of issues and challenges and creating solutions from what you’ve learned. Working with a client is all about building trust and understanding that can be used to open the team’s minds to the opportunities in front of them.
Working on a business versus working in a business. I like to say that I work on my client’s business, not in it. As a consultant, it is critical that I observe the day-to-day looking for opportunities that my clients cannot see when they are deep in their day-to-day activities.
I compare this to flying a plane. The view from 10,000 feet is clearer and broader than that of being on the ground. So many business leaders are on the ground, in the foxhole of their businesses every day. Looking at their business from a different perspective and vantage point helps them see opportunities that perhaps they could not see on the ground.
Since I work in sales, I focus on my client’s customer targets and ways they can better channel their activities to meet their customers where they are at. I spend most of my time creating and executing sales processes and helping sales teams practice daily and weekly. It is not so much about the product or service they provide; it is about a repeatable and trackable process that helps them hold their teams accountable.
Empathy is essential. Now that I live the consultant life, I find myself discussing the value of empathy for success in business and sales. By taking a broader perspective, I realize that walking someone else’s walk is the key to being a successful consultant. Anyone can talk the talk but walking in their shoes and helping clients see the opportunity is what makes a big difference in a consultant’s life.
I work in sales strategy and sales process but whatever your expertise, there are many ways you can contribute and improve the clients’ prospects and future. If you are thinking of starting your journey as a consultant, find your passion, leverage your strengths, and build your network of like-minded and trusted confidants to help you along the way. It has worked well for me and will for you.